Hunt the Dinosaur hit the scene like a cinder block to the head in 2019 with the release of their album Dankosaurus. The video for Destructo put the band at the forefront of the genre;with its low tuned guitar riffs with a bit of tech thrown in, as well as an eccentric front man in Hunter Madison. Hunter’s vocals rip through his lyrics at a rapid pace while maintaining growls and high screams that are fitting for the deathcore genre. Hunt the Dinosaur are the new kids on the block but are quickly becoming a staple of what the next generation of metal has evolved to. HTD has teamed up with Brojob and Left to Suffer to hit the road for their current tour running through January 31st. I was able to talk to Hunter and Trevor to learn more about the band and what is next for HTD.
GA: Let’s start with introductions can you tell me a little bit about HTD was formed?
HM: Hunt the Dinosaur started around 2014 – 2015. I am a drummer originally and I was playing drums for a few bands. At the time my roommate recorded music, and I did a cover of ‘Look at Me Now’ by Chris Brown and Lil’ Wayne, which he recorded. I didn’t have the intention of starting a band vocally. When I put that song out online it got a good buzz. I figured I would roll with it and see what happens, and just went from there.
GA: Recently the HTD Facebook page was hacked and deleted, how is the band recouping from the hit?
HM: We got the Facebook page back. There are a few things that happened. He deleted all our posts, which sucks but we will be able to update everything; we will be putting all the videos back up. The main thing is we got the page back and we didn’t lose any of our likes. I never spent a cent on the advertisement or marking for Facebook for the band, it has been all organic reach. My manager Taylor is a social media marketing director, so he has been working with me on bringing the page back. He knows how to manipulate the page and whatnot; I am just the talent man I just want to scream, and smoke weed.
GA: HTD released ‘Dankosaurus’ in 2019, how has the reaction been to the album?
HM: The reaction has been awesome. The album has been streamed over 100,000 times, the album hit number 8 or 9 on the iTunes metal chart when it was released. So far, I think the album has gotten a really good reaction; I think people are liking it and I am very proud of it. The album took awhile to get out as we were sitting on it, shaping it and trying to get everything perfect. I think it came out awesome. Shout out to Buster Odeholm of Impact Studios, he is the guitar player for Humanity’s Last Breath. He did an amazing job with the record. I consider him the Dr Dre of metal, from the production side of it.
GA: The band did several videos for the album with Destructo, Get Up on My Level, and Couchlock. What was the process like putting the videos together and who did you work with?
HM: We got together with our friend, who flew out from Columbia to Texas to film a few of these videos for us. Out of all three of the videos Destructo has to be my favorite. We went out to this cool place in Fort Worth, TX. In the 1930’s the building from the video was used as an old incinerator unit for burning trash. It was closed many years ago but still sits there today. It’s huge and there is a bunch of fucked up shit in there. It looks all gnarly and really cool inside with all the graffiti. We brought all our gear and cameras out there and did our thing.
TS: It was literally just the band and the video guy. The product that he came out with at the end of it, made everything look way bigger than what it was. That dude is a fucking genius with a camera. We played the song like twenty times that day, setting up repeatedly which ended up being like a 12-hour day. It was a lot of fun but was hard work.
GA: I showed my girlfriend the video and was telling her that this was the guy I was going to interview. Her reaction was like, ‘that place looks sick with all the graffiti all over the place’.
HM: It is a bit of a sight to behold in person. Its on a bunch of land and there is a ton of fucked up shit out there. People throw dead animals out there, and needles. When we were filming there was a guy who was definitely on meth or heroin, perched on top of the roof watching us. He kept staring at us the whole day, Our bassist at the time was 300lbs and would have crushed his ass if he started anything, so we weren’t too scared.
GA: Deathcore and death metal has been on a rise over the last few years and has been evolving quite fast, what do you think makes HTD stand out in the genre?
HM: Me! I’m just joking, you have to be here to take this all in so please don’t get on me. I feel like I want to take over the world and I have that aspect that I want to be the best at it; but at the same time, it is not a competition to me. I just want to perfect my craft, and make people smile and have a good time. I consider myself an entertainer, it is more than just music to me, I want to entertain you. There are probably people out there that think Hunt the Dinosaur is a joke band because of the weed and stuff, and that is cool because I understand that aspect of it. There are certain elements of HTD that are comical, but this music is not a joke to me. I love this shit with all my heart, my name is in the title of the band. I think what separates HTD from everyone else at the end of the day is my presence; because I don’t think anyone has a sound or flow like I do. I get compared to Attila all the time; I’m not lying when I say this, but I discovered Attila through releasing that ‘Look at Me Now’ cover. This was because the first comments that popped up were from people saying this sounds like Attila. We just played with Attila last August. I got to talk with Chris (Fronziak) when he came to Fort Worth. He knew about the band and seemed like a good guy.
GA: I have to say your vocal style has a different feel to it with the rapid fire lyrics, can you tell me more about your vocal style and did you take any lessons or are you self-taught on your craft?
HM: It’s a little bit of both, I have been listening to metal for 25 years now, pretty much from when I could comprehend sound. I grew up in a conservative Christian home, so I had to hide my music from my parents. I started doing vocals around when I was 17. In one of the bands I was drumming for I was also doing vocals, which I did for a few years. I did that ‘Look at Me Now’ cover when I was 24, and when I seen the buzz from it, I wanted to do something more serious. Every band that I had been in where I was drumming has always failed, and I kind of wanted to be a front man and see what that would be like. Hunt the Dinosaur is the very first band that I ever have been a front man for.
GA: HTD has several songs dedicated to cannabis and being high, what would you say is your favorite form for getting THC, like edibles, flower, dabs… etc. Do you have any favorite strains?
HM: I do love the marijuana; I am not a big drinker of alcohol really. Most people would think by looking at me I am 23 or 24; I feel young, but I am actually 30. I attest marijuana to my young age, to my beautiful voice, and to all the creative juice that flow through Hunt the Dinosaur. On a serious note, I do love cannabis, I think it is good for some people and don’t think it is for everyone. I think for some people it can hold them back from certain things. I don’t try to be the guy that’s like, ‘Oh weed cures everything.’ As far as my favorite method, I like to smoke out of a bong.
TS: That’s got to be the only method for me, I can smoke joints and pipes all day and not get nearly as high as I do with a bong.
HM: I love dabs as well. Indica. Sativa. I have had so many of both strains, if it’s good shit it’s good shit, but if it’s that foo foolame shit get the fuck out of here.
GA: You teamed up with Brojob for this recent tour, how did this partnership come to be?
HM: Trevor is a member of Brojob as well. We talked and figured all the logistics out before going on this tour.
TS: It ended up being so convenient. Josh (Brojob’s guitarist) is filling in for guitar for HTD.
HM: Josh is killing it. It is awesome because it’s only the five of us between two bands. It has been nothing but a good time so far. Today is the 2nd day and we are touring till the 31st. Tour has been going well so far, and they are great guys. It has been the perfect little match up. The first show did really well, tonight looks like its going to go well, I’m looking forward to it.
TS: Big shout out to the locals tonight!
HM: Erie, Pennsylvania has got some shit bro. Inertia and Perdition you guys killed it tonight.
GA: What is next for the band after this tour?
HM: We have some unannounced tours we will be going out on later this year. I have a new guitar player that I have begun writing with and feeling out. We have written one song together so far, so we will see how this goes. I am looking to release more covers this year. HTD won’t be releasing a new album this year. I’m looking at 2021 as when we will release another album. For now, I just want to hit the road and play to as many fans as we can.
GA: We touched on the loss of the Facebook page, but if people wanted to follow the band online where could they go to keep up with HTD? If someone wanted to purchase merch but couldn’t make it to a show do you have an online store and where is that located?
HM: We do have an online store through MerchNow.com. What is cool about this store is all our designs are customizable. They will print the design on a shirt, a v-neck, or a hoodie and in any color you want. The shirt materials are good quality as well. As for social media, you can follow me on Instagram, and the Facebook page will be back up soon. You can follow all our personal pages, Hunter Madison and Trevor Scott. We also have a YouTube channel you can subscribe to as well. Also follow the man doing the interview (George Archibald @Garchibald4) and EmpireExtreme.com.
GA: Anything else you would like to add?
HM: I want to say thank you to all our fans around the world. Thank you to anyone who has ever thrown a dime at Hunt the Dinosaur, if you bought a shirt or a cd, or gave any of your time listening to our music. It is a fantastic feeling. It is funny to see how this thing has manifested from a fun cover to what it is now. I hope to see it grow more, and I appreciate you for coming out and taking the time to interview us.
TS: Thanks to everyone who comes out and supports us. You make it so we can go and do shit like this. We are living our dream right now, because of people that listen to the band, and come out to shows. Many people don’t realize how much that means to bands.
HM: It is a very humbling feeling, like it’s not real. It is very surreal, but we enjoy it. Thankyou everyone.
Instagram: @huntthedinosaur
MerchNow: merchnow.com/catalogues/hunt-the-dinosaur
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