Band Biographies: Hunted

The UK’s Hunted have been known since their inception in South Wales in the early 2000s for making music that straddles many different branches of the Metal tree. Starting out covering their heroes in Iron Maiden, Megadeth and Metallica, they soon progressed to composing and performing music that took in a wider field of influences from bands like Blind Guardian, Dream Theater and Nevermore. After the departure of original singer John Coles, the addition of experienced vocalist Chris G added new dimensions to the foundational line-up of Jon Letson (bass), Steve Barberini (guitars), Dave Edwards (guitars) and Adam Gregory (drums). As they took to the stages of venues around Wales and England, they gained a reputation for kinetic live shows and innovative songwriting and musicianship. With Dave and Adam leaving to work on other projects, a further personnel change resulted in Matt ‘Animal’ Thomas (drums) and Dan Angelow (guitars) adding their talents to the band’s ranks.

Well-received first EP Alone followed, together with a coveted slot on the Unsigned stage at Bloodstock Festival 2009. With momentum building, Hunted began working on their first full-length album while continuing to deliver memorable and energetic performances to their growing fanbase. The band crafted the album Welcome the Dead to take in their panoply of Metal influences and to reflect the development of their distinctive compositional and instrumental styles. Recorded at Sonic One Studios with the renowned Tim Hamill (producer/engineer for Girlschool, Anterior, and others), the self-released Welcome the Dead (2010) garnered great initial reviews and brought Hunted to the attention of Massacre Records, who signed the band and re-released Welcome the Dead on their imprint in 2011. Meanwhile, guitarist Dan Owen had come on board as Dan Angelow left to pursue professional opportunities elsewhere.

The album’s official release resulted in more excellent reviews – and an enhanced reputation for genre-spanning composition, being labelled ‘power metal’, ‘progressive metal’ and ‘thrash’ among other tags, sometimes within the same review – and successful slots on further UK stages. When Dan Owen moved on, Hunted decided to remain a four-piece, with Steve, Chris, Jon and Matt choosing to take time away from the live arena and focus on refining their song writing craft to distil the essence of the diverse sounds driving their work.

As personal circumstances changed and moved on, the band continued to work painstakingly on their second full-length album. After a long and thoughtful time, Deliver Us began to take shape at Sonic One Studios, Tim Hamill once again lending expert hands and ears to the process. With the completed album reflecting Hunted’s growth as songwriters and musicians, they’re thrilled to be able now to add their unique voice to the Metal world once again. In 2021, Hunted signed to Pitch Black Records for a global release of Deliver Us and for promising times ahead!