The X-Hunters are a kick-ass metal band hailing from Southern New Jersey, who specialize in recreating the utterly amazing musical tracks from the Mega Man X series into epic heavy metal tracks. These guys have been around for a few years now, and have really begun to make a name for themselves as they play at venues and conventions all over the East Coast, and then some!
From local video game stores to the bright lights and big stage of MAGFest, the X-Hunters have been rocking out to the delight of not just Mega Man fans, but gamers and non-gamers alike! I recently caught up with bassist Andy DeMarco (pictured above with the Vile helmet), whom I personally go?way back with, and I was fortunate enough to be able chat with him and the other band members about the band, their experiences, and the classic gaming community.
The X-Hunters rock the socks off of MAGFest attendees
RGN: ?In your own words, tell us about the X-Hunters?
?The X-Hunters are a 4 piece metal band who turn SNES Mega Man X Songs into live instrumental music.?
RGN: ?What made you decide to play music from Mega Man X??
?Our mutual love for the Mega Man X series and its aggressive music.?
RGN: ?Tell us about one of your defining moments as a band?
?Playing our first BitGen GamerFest about 4 years ago was the first. We had no idea such an awesome scene really existed and how huge it was. That?s what really started it all for us, and ultimately has led us to be lucky enough to have played two MAGFests and made so many friends across the country.? 
RGN: ?Any ridiculous or funny stories to share from your shows/touring??
Avery (Drums): ?Haha, in my year+ as a member of the band there have been plenty of ridiculous occurrences. There was the show where we got told we were too loud at National Mechanics in Olde City, Philadelphia and we had to play a clean, jazzy sounding set. That same night, we also got yelled at for not drinking enough on a free tab. That was funny. However, my first MAGFest was crazy. I?ve always been someone to yell and move pretty spontaneously once I?ve been drinking for several hours. Needless to say my antics gained popularity at MAGFest, particularly me yelling, ?EY!? whenever I liked something and doing Andy?s stupid dance. I?m even on Youtube, ?trolling? the legendary Nobou Uematsu (composer from the Final Fantasy series). Oh, and then there was the taping?I won?t go into detail. I?ll sum that up by saying I was nearly the first person to ever die at MAGFest.
Andy (Bass): ?We?ve definitely had some good times. We?ve had plenty of ridiculous stories, some of which I shouldn?t repeat, haha, but Avery said it best. There was the taping? and I also won?t go into detail.?
RGN: ?As of right now you don?t use lyrics in your music. Have you considered adding lyrics, or do you plan to add lyrics in the future??
?Nah, definitely not. We think the instrumental element is key to our sound. The guitar melodies of the songs act as the focal point of the music.?
RGN: ?Who are you guys? favorite Mavericks??
Avery (Drums): ?As a kid, I always liked Crush Crawfish for some reason. That was awhile ago and I since have changed my mind to Spark Mandrill. We talk about it from time to time and that?s usually the one I?m compared to due to me being somewhat fit. Spark Mandrill?s music is also some of my favorite in the series and arguably one of my favorite songs to play.?
Adam (Guitar): ?Everyone from X2 that isn?t Wire Sponge?
Andy (Bass): ?Armored Armadillo?s stage is pretty sick. Plus, not only is the music a nice jam, but you can get the secret Hadouken in his level and one hit each form of Sigma.?
J-wan (Guitar): ?Boomer Kuwanger cause he?s mad quick and stealthy and his armor is bad ass.?
RGN: ?In your shows you wear the helmets of X, Zero, and Vile. Any plans to add Axl to the mix, or come out in full costume??
Avery (Drums): ?Possibly. I still think that a helmet might be pretty hot onstage, given the physical demands of playing some songs up to 180bpm, with certain parts exceeding 200, under the lights. I wouldn?t rule out the possibility of some Sigma makeup, including the red gem. We?ll see??
RGN: ?Tell us about the fan community and how fans of retro gaming have impacted your success so far?
Avery (Drums): ?The fan community of our particular genre of music is like nothing I ever knew before. I first got a really good glimpse of this at Bit Gen 6 when I saw what kind of show the video game music scene is capable of. The fans are a lot of fun and anyone knowledgeable about retro gaming is cool to me. Not to mention, everyone gets along amongst the fans and we all have at least one thing in common ? a mutual interest in gaming. Overall, fans of retro gaming have opened me up to a whole other world that I had though ceased to exist when newer systems such as, PS3 and XBox360 were released and we can?t thank them enough for welcoming us to the family.?
P.S. ? I never knew nerds partied so hard.
RGN: ?Most of your music comes from the first 3 games in the Mega Man X series. Tell us about your plans, if any, to venture into the 32-bit era of Mega Man X music.?
?We have explored doing some of the later X music, but when it comes down to it, the most iconic and memorable songs for us are from the SNES era. We?re definitely open to branching into those later, and possibly even other games music as well, like we already have done with a taste of Donkey Kong.?
RGN: ?Besides Mega Man X, what are some of you guys? other favorite games??
Andy (Bass): ?Chrono Trigger and Earthbound are definitely up there, which their music alone could sell the game. I?ve always had a special place in my heart for Mega Man 2 and The Legend of Zelda because they were the first two games I ever owned and beat. Ironically enough, the reason I decided I wanted to start playing music at a young age was because I wanted to be able to play songs from Mega Man 2, especially Wood Man?s stage. Since then, I got into the X series, which you actually got me into (Papa), X being my favorite of the three.?
Adam (Guitar): ?Earthbound, Mario RPG, and Zombies Ate my Neighbors.?
Avery (Drums): ?This list could go on FOREVER, as I?m sure most people in the VGM scene could say the same. Some of the games high on the list would have to include any of the Sonic games for Genesis, along with Sonic Adventure 1 and 2 later on. Grandia II for SEGA Dreamcast is one of the greatest RPG?s I?ve ever played. Also included are Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy VI and VII, the original Pokemon Gold/Silver series, Kirby?s Dreamland, and Donkey Kong Country for SNES. I could answer this one for hours.?
J-wan (Guitar): ?Earthbound, Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, and Diablo II?
RGN: ?Last but certainly, not least, what are some of your upcoming shows/events??
?Check us out at TooManyGames this Saturday and make sure you check out BitGen GamerFest 7, June 30 in Baltimore!?
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I really want to thank everyone from the X-Hunters for taking the time to sit down with us! We will be looking forward to catching up with you guys at both Too Many Games and BitGen!
In the meantime, have a sample of all this awesome music we have been talking about! You can also visit the X-Hunters on their Facebook and Bandcamp.
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