Mark Hunter (born May 26, 1977) is an American musician best known as the former vocalist of heavy metal band

Chimaira Chimaira () is an American heavy metal band from Cleveland, Ohio. Formed in August 1998, the group was a member of the New Wave of American Heavy Metal scene. The band's name is derived from the word Chimera, a monstrous creature in Greek myth ...

Early life

Hunter was born in

Parma Heights, Ohio Parma Heights is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States and a western suburb of Cleveland. Parma Heights is surrounded on the north, east and south by the larger city of Parma, Ohio, Parma. The cities of Brook Park a ...

, on May 26, 1977.

Career

Hunter started

in 1998. The band has sold over a million albums worldwide and have debuted on the Billboard 200 Chart six times. 2013's ''

Crown of Phantoms ''Crown of Phantoms'' is the seventh and final studio album by American metal band Chimaira. It was released on July 30, 2013, via record label E1 Music. It is the first and only Chimaira album to feature Austin D'Amond, Jeremy Creamer, Sean Zat ...

'' debuted at number 54 selling over 7,400 copies in its first week of release. Hunter was one of the main songwriters for Chimaira and considered the band leader. He is also credited in the album

liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for cassettes. Origin Liner notes are desce ...

for assisting with guitars, artwork concepts and album production. He was the only original member of Chimaira after departures in 2010 and 2011. ''

Cleveland Scene The ''Cleveland Scene'' is an alternative weekly newspaper based in Cleveland, Ohio. The newspaper includes highlights of Cleveland-area arts, music, dining, and films, as well as classified advertising. The first edition of the newspaper was pub ...

'' nicknamed Hunter "Metal Moses" in 2002 for his popularization of the

Wall of Death The wall of death, motordrome, velodrome or well of death is a carnival sideshow featuring a silo- or barrel-shaped wooden cylinder, typically ranging from in diameter and made of wooden planks, inside which motorcyclists, or the drivers of mi ...

Influences

Hunter has cited

Stanley Kubrick Stanley Kubrick (; July 26, 1928 – March 7, 1999) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and photographer. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, his films, almost all of which are adaptations of nove ...

Gaspar Noé Gaspar Noé (, ; born 27 December 1963) is an Argentine filmmaker based in Paris, France. He is the son of Argentine painter, writer, and intellectual Luis Felipe Noé. In the early 1990s, Noé along with his wife Lucile Hadžihalilović were ...

Trent Reznor Michael Trent Reznor (born May 17, 1965) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and composer. He serves as the lead vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, and principal songwriter of the industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails, wh ...

, and

Slayer Slayer was an American thrash metal band from Huntington Park, California. The band was formed in 1981 by guitarists Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman, drummer Dave Lombardo and bassist/vocalist Tom Araya. Slayer's fast and aggressive musical style ...

to be among some of his influences. Some inspiration for lyrical content was drawn from Hunter's love of movies. ''

Beyond the Black Rainbow ''Beyond the Black Rainbow'' is a 2010 Canadian science fiction horror film written and directed by Panos Cosmatos in his feature film debut. It stars Michael Rogers and Eva Allan. ''Beyond the Black Rainbow'' was distributed by Mongrel Media ...

'', ''

Fire Walk with Me Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material (the fuel) in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction products. At a certain point in the combustion reaction, called the ignition point, flames are p ...

'', and '' The Shining'' have been mentioned in numerous interviews.

Personal life

Hunter practiced

Muay Thai Muay Thai ( th, มวยไทย, , ), sometimes referred to as Thai boxing, is a combat sport that uses stand-up striking along with various clinching techniques. This discipline is known as the "art of eight limbs", as it is characterised ...

and was featured in the July 2008 edition of ''Fight!'' Magazine, and the April 2009 edition of '' MMA Weekly''. Chimaira and director Nick Cavalier released the documentary ''Down Again'' in 2018, in which Hunter shares his struggle with

bipolar disorder Bipolar disorder, previously known as manic depression, is a mental disorder characterized by periods of depression and periods of abnormally elevated mood that last from days to weeks each. If the elevated mood is severe or associated with ...

as well as his interest in photography. Hunter was diagnosed with

thyroid cancer Thyroid cancer is cancer that develops from the tissues of the thyroid gland. It is a disease in which cells grow abnormally and have the potential to spread to other parts of the body. Symptoms can include swelling or a lump in the neck. C ...

but is now in remission after a full

thyroidectomy A thyroidectomy is an operation that involves the surgical removal of all or part of the thyroid gland. In general surgery, endocrine or head and neck surgeons often perform a thyroidectomy when a patient has thyroid cancer or some other conditi ...

Writing and blogs

Hunter wrote regular columns for ''

Revolver A revolver (also called a wheel gun) is a repeating handgun that has at least one barrel and uses a revolving cylinder containing multiple chambers (each holding a single cartridge) for firing. Because most revolver models hold up to six roun ...

'' magazine and ''GunShyAssassin''. Some of topics included meditation, travel, and nutrition. He also penned the

for '' The Best of Mercyful Fate''.

Social media

In 2011, Hunter took to his

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

and

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...

accounts to discuss his frustration with the music industry resulting in praise from fellow musicians and journalists.
Metal Sucks – Why You Should Be Following Mark HunterMetal Insider – Mark Hunter Discusses His Twitter Outburst

Discography

Chimaira

*'' This Present Darkness EP'' *'' Pass Out of Existence'' *'' The Impossibility of Reason'' *''

Freddy vs. Jason ''Freddy vs. Jason'' is a 2003 American slasher film directed by Ronny Yu and written by Damian Shannon and Mark Swift. It is a crossover between the ''A Nightmare on Elm Street'' and ''Friday the 13th'' series, being the eighth installment i ...

''(soundtrack) *''

'' *''

Resurrection Resurrection or anastasis is the concept of coming back to life after death. In a number of religions, a dying-and-rising god is a deity which dies and is resurrected. Reincarnation is a similar process hypothesized by other religions, which ...

'' *''

The Infection ''The Infection'' is the fifth studio album by American heavy metal band Chimaira. Released in the US on April 20, 2009 and worldwide on April 24, it reached position 30 on the ''Billboard'' 200 charts on its first week of release, selling a ...

'' *'' Coming Alive'' *'' The Age of Hell'' *''

Previous bands and guest work

*Guitarist and vocalist for

hardcore Hardcore, hard core or hard-core may refer to: Arts and media Film * ''Hardcore'' (1977 film), a British comedy film * ''Hardcore'' (1979 film), an American crime drama film starring George C Scott * ''Hardcore'' (2001 film), a British documen ...

band Skipline (1995–1997) *Guitarist for

stoner rock Stoner rock, also known as stoner metal or stoner doom, is a rock music fusion genre that combines elements of doom metal with psychedelic rock and acid rock. The genre emerged during the early 1990s and was pioneered foremost by Kyuss and Sleep. ...

band High Point (2003) *Guitarist for The Demonic Knights of Aberosh *Backing vocals on "In the Face of the Faceless" by Forever in Terror on the album ''

Restless in the Tides ''Restless in the Tides'' is the first full-length album by heavy metal music group Forever in Terror. Track listing Personnel ;Forever in Terror *Chris Bianchi - Vocals *Johnny Burke - Lead Guitar *Nate "Nate Dogg" Marti - Rhythm Guitar *Josh ...

'' *Vocals on "13 Years" by

Stemm STEMM is an American metal band from Niagara Falls, New York. STEMM was formed in 1998 by Joe Cafarella. He, along with Louie and Jimi Penque, Russ Martin, and Alex Scouten made up the original lineup of the band. Alex left the band in 1999, ...

on the album '' Songs for the Incurable Heart'' *Vocals on "The Enemy" on the album ''

Roadrunner United ''Roadrunner United'' was a project organized by American heavy metal record label Roadrunner Records to celebrate its 25th anniversary. It culminated in an album released worldwide on October 11, 2005, entitled ''The All-Star Sessions''. Four ...

'' *Vocals on "Mask of the Damned" by The Elite on the ''World War 3'' EP *Vocals on "Faith Destroyed" by

Excellent Cadaver Excellent Cadaver is an American film and television production company founded by actress Jennifer Lawrence. History In 2018, Excellent Cadaver was founded by actress Jennifer Lawrence. Lawrence will produce with her producing partner, Justi ...

on the album ''Faith Destroyed'' *Vocals on "Desert Dread" by Ghost Iris on the album ''Comatose''

Production credits

*'' The Impossibility of Reason'' (co-producer) *''

'' *''

'' (co-producer) *'' The Age of Hell'' (co-producer) *'' Crown of Phantoms DVD'' (assistant camera/editor)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hunter, Mark 1977 births Living people American heavy metal singers American heavy metal musicians Nu metal singers Musicians from Cleveland Chimaira members People from Parma Heights, Ohio 21st-century American singers 21st-century American male singers