Jill Janus

On August 14, 2018, Janus died by suicide near Portland, Oregon. Some sources claim she died at the age of 43, though she said she was born in September 1975 making her 42 at the time.

With Huntress, she was the lead singer during the band's three studio albums, the last of which was Static in 2015. In the fall of 2015, Janus announced to social media that Huntress was breaking up. She was later refuted by the band's guitarist Blake Meahl citing her mental health issues.

Apart from her albums with Huntress, Janus filled in for Amon Amarth's lead singer Johan Hegg during a 2015 co-tour with Huntress. Janus's other projects outside of Huntress included membership of cover bands Chelsea Girls and The Starbreakers as their lead singer. She also co-wrote Victory: The Rock Opera with guitarist Angus Clark. Janus also recorded vocals for Brian Posehn's album Grandpa Metal, which was released in 2020, featuring her performances on the song "Goblin Love" as well as a cover of "Take On Me".

In 2015, Janus disclosed to Revolver that she was living with bipolar disorder since her early teens. She was diagnosed with manic depression at age 20, then later diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder. Later in her life, she was experiencing dissociative identity disorder and schizophrenia.

Janus started her music career working as a topless disc jockey under the name Penelope Tuesdae. She also worked in cabaret at the Windows on the World until the night before the September 11 attacks in New York. In 2003, Janus began her career in metal as a member of Vexy Strut and remained with the band until 2006. In 2009, she recruited members of the metal band Professor to join her newly formed band Huntress.

Jill Janiszewski (September 2, 1975 – August 14, 2018) was the lead singer of American heavy metal bands Huntress, The Starbreakers and Chelsea Girls.