Fronted by the stunning Julie Westlake, the band Hydogyn offer up some tasty Hard Rock with a Metal twist on the CD Deadly Passions. Though their history has found them to be busy as hell after already being at the game for a few years, they are still pretty much a best kept secret in the larger scheme of things. The songs on Deadly Passion are sure to break some new ground for the band because while rocking throughout there is an easy accessibility to be found across the release. It opens up with "Rejection", a tune that finds powerful drumming, solid guitar riffs from Jeff Westlake, and the soaring vocals of Julie. It's a real head banger when it comes down to it. "On And On" teases with some slower sections before a nice heavy chorus kicks in and I thought the use of a darker male vocal on points of emphasis in said chorus was a nice touch. The rhythm section for Hydogyn keeps it all in check and while at times shows some flair, they mostly choose to keep everything consistent in terms of the time signature used – there is a lot of 4/4 stuff happening across the board. If you are looking for over the top technical displays on drums and bass remember that this is your conventional Hard Rock outfit and nothing along the lines of Dream Theater. These tasks are ably accomplished by Chris Sammons (bass) and Josh Kitchen (drums) who appear to be a very tight unit. I enjoyed most of the album and felt that while an interesting highlight, that they let me down just a little with their cover of Alanis Morissette's "You Oughta Know". The track is originally a heavy number, so I would have loved to see the band kick up the pace and intensity just a little bit more for good measure. Julie also cleans it up a tad for the signature biting line of "are you thinking of me when you TOUCH here". Come on now Julie, its bad enough that this song was originally written for the Full House dude, but you struck me as being a really rocking chick and that alone should have made you spit the original lyric out with the necessary venom. No need for this tune to be "PG" rated. Those who listen to the Hard Rock and Metal stuff expect an expletive to be flung every once in awhile.
The band approaches the release with a lot of energy that gives one the impression that they would entertain you in the live sense. I would recommend this album and band to the fans that lean toward the likes of Doro and Lita Ford based on the quality Hard Rock that is led by a commanding and talented female vocalist. There is potential greatness here so let's see how it works out for them. Good luck gang.
Track Listing:
- Rejection
- On and On
- Your Life
- Deadly Passions
- You Oughta Know
- Over U
- Candles Light Your Face
- Seroquil
- Silent Animation
- Shadow
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