William Hunt (born September 5, 1971) is an American drummer. He has been a member of rock band

Evanescence Evanescence is an American rock band founded in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1995 by singer and musician Amy Lee and guitarist Ben Moody. After recording independent EPs as a duo in the late 90's, and a demo CD, Evanescence released their debut s ...

since 2007, and has also played for

Skrape Skrape was an American heavy metal band formed in Orlando, Florida in 1997. History Formed in 1997 under the name "Jojo", they later renamed to "Skrape" two years later. Prior to their formation in 1997, members had been involved in notable ac ...

Dark New Day Dark New Day was an American hard rock supergroup formed in 2004 featuring Brett Hestla of Virgos Merlot, Clint Lowery of Sevendust, Troy McLawhorn of DoubleDrive, Corey Lowery of Stereomud and Stuck Mojo, and Will Hunt of Skrape. Their debut al ...

Black Label Society Black Label Society is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1998 by guitarist/singer Zakk Wylde. To date, the band has released eleven studio albums, two live albums, two compilation albums, one EP, and three vid ...

, Device, Crossfade,

Staind Staind ( ) is an American rock band from Springfield, Massachusetts, formed in 1995. The original lineup consisted of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Aaron Lewis, lead guitarist Mike Mushok, bassist and backing vocalist Johnny April, and dr ...

Static-X Static-X is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1994. The line-up has fluctuated over the years, but was long-held constant with band founder, frontman, lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Wayne Static until his ...

, and Slaughter.

Career

He looks up to

Tommy Lee Thomas Lee Bass (born October 3, 1962) is an American musician and founding member of the heavy metal band Mötley Crüe. As well as being the band's long-term drummer, Lee founded rap metal band Methods of Mayhem and has pursued solo musical ...

John Bonham John Henry Bonham (31 May 1948 – 25 September 1980) was an English musician, best known as the drummer for the rock band Led Zeppelin. Esteemed for his speed, power, fast single-footed kick drumming, distinctive sound, and feel for groove,J ...

Peter Criss George Peter John Criscuola (born December 20, 1945), better known by his stage name Peter Criss, is a retired American musician, best known as a co-founder, original drummer, and vocalist of the hard rock band Kiss (band), Kiss. Criss establi ...

Abe Cunningham Abraham Benjamin Cunningham (born July 27, 1973) is an American musician, best known as the drummer of the alternative metal band Deftones. Life and career Abe Cunningham was born in Long Beach, California. When he was young, his family moved ...

, and

Stewart Copeland Stewart Armstrong Copeland (born July 16, 1952) is a Scottish-American musician and composer. He is best known for his work as the drummer of the English rock band the Police from 1977 to 1986, and again from 2007 to 2008. Before playing with th ...

as his influences to his drumming. One of Hunt's earliest bands was Axe Attack, formed during 1988 in

Tallahassee, Florida Tallahassee ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat and only incorporated municipality in Leon County, Florida, Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In ...

. He was also the second drummer in Tallahassee band Witt's End, a cover band that played several club gigs. This was the first band for all the members of Witt's End that earned them a living, making it the first professional band for all of them. Amongst sitting in with other local North Florida bands, he was also in the band Eli and recorded ''Push It Hard'' in 1990. Hunt while recording the debut album Indestructible loved the direction the album was going and Phillip Calfy vocalist for Scars of Amber had asked Hunt about taking up permanent member status in the project and Hunt Agreed. Hunt would bring in fellow Device bandmate Virus on guitar who has played for Dope and

Lords of Acid Lords of Acid is a Belgian/American electronic dance music (EDM) group led by musician Praga Khan. They are best known for making songs with sexual lyrics and sexually explicit tracks, such as their hit " Pussy". History Lords of Acid debu ...

and on bass Dave Benedict from the Canadian band Default also mention of Baxter Teal

deepfield Deepfield (often stylized as deepfield) are an American rock band from Charleston, South Carolina, consisting of members Baxter Teal III, Jake Portenkirchner, Ken Becker and PJ Farley. They have released three albums and one EP. The band is cu ...

on guitars and Phillips brother Steven Calfy Ronin Starr on bass and Guitar back ups. The Debut album was released on November 24, 2015, Hunt's first prominent band was

. The group was formed during 1997 by members of the

Orlando Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures rele ...

heavy music scene. They released two major label albums in the early 2000s, ''

New Killer America ''New Killer America'' is the debut album by the five-piece nu metal/alternative metal music group Skrape. The album was released on March 20, 2001 via RCA Records. Background, recording and promotion Skrape were signed to RCA Records in October ...

'' and '' Up the Dose''. In 2004, Skrape was dropped from

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also A ...

, and disbanded shortly afterward. Hunt helped form Dark New Day in 2004. Their debut album

Twelve Year Silence ''Twelve Year Silence'' is the first album by American rock band Dark New Day. It was released on June 14, 2005 by Warner Bros. Records. The first single, "Brother", received moderate airplay on radio, and has proven to be a surprise hit. The ...

, was released in 2005. They recorded their second album,

Hail Mary The Hail Mary ( la, Ave Maria) is a traditional Christian prayer addressing Mary, the mother of Jesus. The prayer is based on two biblical passages featured in the Gospel of Luke: the Angel Gabriel's visit to Mary (the Annunciation) and Mary's ...

in 2008, although due to band members' involvement with other projects, the album was not released until 2013. The group is currently inactive, with no known plans of returning. Hunt has been involved with several bands on a temporary basis as a recording or live member. During 2007, Hunt recorded with

Bloodsimple Bloodsimple was an American heavy metal band from New York City that formed in 2002. They were signed to Warner Bros. Records. The band's name comes from a term coined by detective novelist Dashiell Hammett. The term apparently describes t ...

and

. In 2008, Hunt filled in for

Mötley Crüe Mötley Crüe is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1981. The group was founded by bassist Nikki Sixx, drummer Tommy Lee, lead guitarist Mick Mars and lead singer Vince Neil. Mötley Crüe has sold over 100 million albums ...

for several dates when Lee suffered from tendinitis. Hunt joined Tommy Lee's

rap metal Rap metal is a subgenre of rap rock and alternative metal music which combines hip hop with heavy metal. It usually consists of heavy metal guitar riffs, funk metal elements, rapped vocals and sometimes turntables. History Origins and early ...

side-project

Methods of Mayhem Methods of Mayhem is an American rap rock band formed in 1999 by Tommy Lee, who had temporarily quit his position as Mötley Crüe's drummer. History Lee formed Methods of Mayhem on the eve of his divorce from Pamela Anderson. The band's self- ...

as the drummer for their 2010 ''

A Public Disservice Announcement ''A Public Disservice Announcement'' is the second studio album by the band Methods of Mayhem, released on September 21, 2010. It is the band's only album since their self-titled debut album, which was released in 1999. Album information The alb ...

'' album. Though he was set to appear with the band on tour promoting the album, he was replaced with

Sevendust Sevendust is an American rock band from Atlanta, Georgia, formed in 1994 by bassist Vince Hornsby, drummer Morgan Rose and rhythm guitarist John Connolly. After their first demo, lead vocalist Lajon Witherspoon and lead guitarist Clint Lowery ...

drummer

Morgan Rose Morgan Jay Rose (born December 13, 1968) is an American drummer and a founding member of Atlanta-based rock band Sevendust. He is also responsible for much of the background vocals. He has also played drums for Call Me No One and Methods of Mayh ...

It was announced in 2010 that Hunt would be the new drummer for Crossfade's third album, '' We All Bleed''. It was confirmed Hunt's involvement was only temporary due to Crossfade's announcement of Mark Castillo joining on drums. In December 2010, Hunt was named as the new drummer for

Eye Empire Eye Empire was an American rock band formed in 2009, consisting of Corey Lowery and B.C. Kochmit, Donald Carpenter, Garrett Whitlock and Dixie Duncan. Will Hunt joined the band in 2010 before departing in 2011, replaced by Ryan Bennett. The ...

. He replaced original Empire drummer

Garrett Whitlock Garrett Getts Whitlock (born June 11, 1996) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB). Listed at and , he throws and bats right-handed. Amateur career Whitlock attended Providence Chris ...

, but left in 2011. In May 2011, it was announced that Hunt would be taking over drumming duties for the scheduled

tour dates, taking place of the original drummer, Jon Wysocki, who had recently left. In February 2013, he recorded with the band

SOiL Soil, also commonly referred to as earth or dirt, is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, liquids, and organisms that together support life. Some scientific definitions distinguish ''dirt'' from ''soil'' by restricting the former te ...

for their 2013 album '' Whole.'' Hunt has also played live with Slaughter and

Vince Neil Vincent Neil Wharton (born February 8, 1961), best known by the stage name Vince Neil, is an American musician. He is the lead vocalist and occasional rhythm guitarist of heavy metal band Mötley Crüe, which he fronted from their 1981 forma ...

. Hunt recorded drums on

Stryper Stryper is an American Christian metal band from Orange County, California. The group's lineup consists of Michael Sweet (lead vocals, guitar), Oz Fox (guitar), Perry Richardson (bass guitar), and Robert Sweet (drums). Formed in 1983 as Roxx ...

frontman Michael Sweet's 2016 solo album '' One Sided War''. In May 2007, Hunt was named as a replacement for the departed

Rocky Gray William Rocky Gray (born July 2, 1974) is a drummer and guitarist who has been part of the Arkansas metal scene since the early 1990s. He is best known as a former drummer of the rock band Evanescence from 2003-2007. He is the lead guitarist ...

, and remained with the group through their ''

The Open Door ''The Open Door'' is the second studio album by American rock band Evanescence, released on September 25, 2006, by Wind-up Records. The record symbolizes a new beginning for the band, with Amy Lee in full creative control, incorporating new ele ...

'' album tour, which ended in December 2007. He remained active with Dark New Day while playing with Evanescence. Hunt performed with Evanescence in their 2009 one-off show at the Maquinaria Festival in São Paulo, Brazil. In February 2010, Hunt rejoined Evanescence when the band started pre-production of their self-titled third album. After touring in 2011 and 2012, Evanescence decided to take an extended break before returning to the stage in 2016 and beginning work on a new remix album. ''

Synthesis Synthesis or synthesize may refer to: Science Chemistry and biochemistry *Chemical synthesis, the execution of chemical reactions to form a more complex molecule from chemical precursors ** Organic synthesis, the chemical synthesis of organ ...

'' was released in 2017 and Hunt embarked on tour with the band throughout 2018, including a joint tour with violinist

Lindsey Stirling Lindsey Stirling (born September 21, 1986) is an American violinist, songwriter, and dancer. She presents choreographed violin performances, in live and music videos found on her official YouTube channel, which she created in 2007. Stirling pe ...

. In 2020, Will worked on the band's upcoming fourth album, ''

The Bitter Truth ''The Bitter Truth'' is the fifth studio album by American rock band Evanescence. It was released on March 26, 2021, through BMG Rights Management and was produced by Nick Raskulinecz. It is the band's first album of all-new material since the ...

''. Hunt was a member of

from 2010 to 2011, recording ''

Order of the Black ''Order of the Black'' is the eighth studio album by American heavy metal band Black Label Society. It was released in North America on August 10, 2010, through E1 Music. In New Zealand and Australia, it was released by Riot Entertainment (with ...

'' with the band. In 2011, he left due to his commitment to Evanescence. It was announced in January 2013 that Hunt would be a band member for

David Draiman David Michael Draiman ( he, דוד מיכאל דריימן; born March 13, 1973) is an American singer and songwriter. Noted for his distorted, operatic, baritone voice and percussive singing style, he is best known as the lead vocalist of the h ...

's new project, Device. The band is no longer active as of January 2015. In 2013, Hunt contributed drums to

White Noise Owl White Noise Owl is a rock supergroup composed of lead vocalist Pete Murray of Lo-Pro and Ultraspank, bassist John Fahnestock of Lo-Pro, Snot, and Amen, drummer Will Hunt of Evanescence and Dark New Day, and guitarist Chris Shy of Aurora Sky. Th ...

's EP '' Until We Meet Again'' which was produced by

Ben Grosse Ben Grosse is an American record producer and mixer, known for his signature sound involving metal and hard rock music. Grosse has mixed and produced numerous albums for popular artists such as Dream Theater, Marilyn Manson, Sevendust, Disturbe ...

and features musicians Pete Murray of

Lo-Pro Lo-Pro is an American rock band formed in 2002 by Pete Murray and Neil Godfrey after the disbandment of their previous band, Ultraspank, in 2001. After attracting the attention of Aaron Lewis of Staind, the band signed to a major record label, ...

on vocals,

John Fahnestock Lo-Pro is an American rock band formed in 2002 by Pete Murray and Neil Godfrey after the disbandment of their previous band, Ultraspank, in 2001. After attracting the attention of Aaron Lewis of Staind, the band signed to a major record lab ...

on bass, and Chris Shy on guitar. The EP was released on March 11, 2014. On March 1, 2014, Hunt joined the

Vasco Rossi Vasco Rossi (born 7 February 1952), also known mononymously as Vasco or with the nickname Il Blasco, is an Italian singer-songwriter and poet. During his career, he has published 30 albums (not including unofficial releases) and has written over ...

band for the live tour ''Live Kom014 - Cambia-menti''. On February 14, 2016, he joined

Jeff Gutt Jeffrey Adam Gutt (born May 2, 1976) is an American singer and songwriter who has been the lead vocalist for Stone Temple Pilots since November 2017. He is also the former lead vocalist for the nu metal band Dry Cell. Gutt has appeared in two s ...

's band Rival City Heights for the tour with

Trapt Trapt is an American rock band formed in Los Gatos, California. Eight studio albums have been recorded to date: ''Amalgamation'' (1999), ''Trapt'' (2002), '' Someone in Control'' (2005), '' Only Through the Pain'' (2008), '' No Apologies'' (20 ...

.Facebook - A message from RCH's new drummer Will Hunt
/ref>

Equipment

Hunt uses

Pearl Drums , simply known as Pearl, is a multinational corporation based in Japan with a wide range of products, predominantly percussion instruments. History Pearl was founded by Katsumi Yanagisawa -who began manufacturing music stands in Sumida, Tokyo- o ...

, Vater drum sticks,

Zildjian :''Zildjian leads here. For people with the surname, see Zildjian (disambiguation)'' The Avedis Zildjian Company, simply known as Zildjian (), is a musical instrument manufacturer specializing in cymbals and other percussion instruments. Founded ...

cymbals and Remo drumheads.

Discography

Eli

*''Push It Hard'' (1990)

Skrape

*''

'' (March 20, 2001) *'' Up the Dose'' (January 13, 2004)

Tommy Lee

*'' Never a Dull Moment'' (May 21, 2002)

Dark New Day

*''

'' (June 14, 2005) *''

Black Porch (Acoustic Sessions) Dark New Day was an American hard rock supergroup formed in 2004 featuring Brett Hestla of Virgos Merlot, Clint Lowery of Sevendust, Troy McLawhorn of DoubleDrive, Corey Lowery of Stereomud and Stuck Mojo, and Will Hunt of Skrape. Their debu ...

'' (September 5, 2006) *''B-Sides'' (August 24, 2011) *''

New Tradition ''New Tradition'' is the second album by American hard rock supergroup Dark New Day, released on February 28, 2012. It is their third release in six years after ''Black Porch (Acoustic Sessions)'' and their second album since ''Twelve Year Silen ...

'' (February 28, 2012) *''

'' (February 19, 2013)

Bloodsimple

*''

Red Harvest ''Red Harvest'' (1929) is a novel by Dashiell Hammett. The story is narrated by the Continental Op, a frequent character in Hammett's fiction, much of which is drawn from his own experiences as an operative of the Pinkerton Detective Agency (fic ...

'' (October 30, 2007)

Black Label Society

*''

'' (August 10, 2010)

Methods of Mayhem

*''

'' (September 21, 2010)

Crossfade

*'' We All Bleed'' (June 21, 2011)

Evanescence

*''

'' (2011) *''

'' (2017) *''

'' (2021)

SOiL

*'' Whole'' (August 16, 2013)

White Noise Owl

*''Until We Meet Again'' (March 11, 2014)

Michael Sweet

*'' One Sided War'' (August 26, 2016)

Gus G

*''Fearless'' (April 20, 2018)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hunt, Will American heavy metal drummers Evanescence members Living people Musicians from Florida Place of birth missing (living people) 1971 births Alternative metal musicians Nu metal drummers 20th-century American drummers American male drummers Black Label Society members Eye Empire members Methods of Mayhem members Dark New Day members Crossfade (band) members Device (metal band) members Staind members Static-X members 21st-century American drummers