Hydrogyn at the Wigan Tavern. 26th February 2007 

Hydrogyn are a 5 piece band hailing from Kentucky (US of A). Originally formed in 2003, they have grown from strength to strength. From filling out NASCAR arenas, Pepsi sponsorship, to having the legendary producer – Michael Wagener (Ozzy, Alice Cooper, Skid Row to name just a few) – mixing and producing their debut album ‘Bombshell’, Hydrogyn landed in the UK to conquer the European audiences on their Sex and Sins tour.

I first met Hydrogyn on the first day of their tour in Wigan, and I must say they did a cracking set! So much so, I decided to catch up with them again in York at Cert 18.

Hydrogyn’s first song was ‘Blind’. This song has a music intro which deffo defines their rock/metal sound with guitars from the masterminds behind Hydrogyn – Jeff Boggs and Jeff Westlake, beastie bass playing from Chris Sammons, great drumming provided by Josh Kitchin, and last yet certainly not least, ex-country singer and now iconic rock chick Julie with her aggressive hard rock vocals. On a follow on from that was the melodic side to Julie’s vox on ‘Vespers Song’, then rocking it out with ‘Breaking Me Down’. Hopefully, Jeff W won’t kick my arse for this, but you can hear an Evanescence flavour in ‘Breaking Me Down’, but I would pay money to see a Julie vs. Amy Lee belting contest…Who do I think would win? JULIE!!! No not being biased, but any girl who can belt out a credible Dio cover is amazing. One golden rule in “things not to do in metal” is covering Dio, but she nails it. Throughout the set Hydrogyn continued to amaze the audience with their versatility, with a haunting, melancholy rendition of ‘Come Back To Me’, rocking out with ‘Big Star’, ‘Confession’, ‘Look Away’ and with an all instrumental track done by the guys of the band, showing off their techniques and each having their solo which was great to see. They finished their set with ‘Book Of Names’, which was a fantastic finish, incorporating their heavier sound. They returned for an encore playing a legend of a song, originally recorded by a legend of a man – Dio – ‘Rainbow In The Dark’. Dio used his operatic vocals to fit the song, Julie did it justice with the amazing range in her voice.

At the end of the night, I was privileged to get an exclusive interview with Hydrogyn, check out what we got up to! 

They have exciting plans for 2007. To find out what is next for the band and to keep up with regular updates on Hydrogyn, go to their official website www.hydrogyn.com or check them out on myspace on www.myspace.com/hydrogyn 

Till next time… Keep It Loud!

ANGEL OF METAL