Artist description Legendary! Influential! Excellent! Highly Impressive! These adjectives and many more have been used to describe the music of Texas Metal band HYD. Furious rhythms, pounding double-bass, driving in-your-face bass lines, melodic/majestic guitar solos in the vein of Malmsteen and Rhoads, and clean, powerful, bardish vocals born of desperation and doom are the elements that make up the music of HYD!

Music Style Progressive techno-power-thrash-doom metal

Musical Influences Iron Maiden, Metallica (I consider Harris and Hetfield to be two of the greatest composers in modern music), Mercyful Fate/King Diamond, RUSH, Megadeth, Fates Warning, Candlemass, Slayer, Cirith Ungol, Manowar; TEXAS legends, WatchTower, and local (D/FW) bands ARCANE and SOLITUDE (Aeturnus)

Similar Artists a curious blend of Iron Maiden, Metallica, Mercyful Fate, and RUSH; Coroner, Yngwie Malmsteen, Testament, WatchTower, Cirith Ungol, Solitude Aeturnus

Artist History HYD began in mid 1987 as Drop Forge Incorporated (DFI), but after a personnel change in late 1987, DFI became HYDE. HYDE played around the D/FW area with ARCANE, SOLITUDE, and other local acts. Between September and October 1988, HYD (note the shorten'd spelling...) recorded its legendary "Sanctuary Lost" demo. Although they were steadily gaining fans worldwide thru the distribution of the demo, at home there was trouble afoot! HYD broke up in early 1989 due to personal differences, got back together for a few brief months (June thru August 1989) then broke up permanently. John 'Mungo' Covington on drums went to play with the quintessential Doom metal band, SOLITUDE AETURNUS (Where they changed his nick from 'Mungo' to 'Wolf') and has had success with SA. Great going John! Mike Smith has played in a number of bands since, and is currently (to my knowledge) playing with a local band called BUMMER. I (Steve J.) am finishing my BA in Theology, and will be working as a full time Pastor soon! My music projects are varied. My prog music project InformedFaith combines the feel of RUSH, Jethro Tull, early Genesis, with elements of Doom Metal, Celtic music, Folk and Classical. My Inspirational project, Stefanos, is similar to John Michael Talbot, featuring classical guitar and solo vocals. I also am working on a "fun" instrumental project doing various well known classical, Celtic, cartoon & TV themes under the name Splitpea. These projects will all have representation on mp3.com very soon.

Group Members John Covington:Drums...Steve Johnson:Bass/Vocals...Mike Smith:Guitars...Brad White:Guitar

Instruments Electric Guitars, Bass, and Drums. Also some acoustic guitar on two songs.

Albums Sanctuary Lost EP

Press Reviews KERRANG said: "HYD's demo contains fresh musical ideas--very complex with lots of melody and unseen curves, squarely in the mould of RUSH, MERCYFUL FATE, and MAIDEN. What helps are the refined, darting guitars. What hurts are bassist Steve Johnson's terrible vocals, which severely lack range and power. As bandleader, he should seriously consider hiring a lead singer." KERRANG, Death Vine, sometime in 1989. I believe the reviewer was Malcolm Dome, but do not remember. ELDRITCH ASSEMBLAGE said: "Excellent...progressive techno-power metal...played by a band called HYD. This is another legendary demo, along the lines of Arcane and The Answer, with excellent musicianship and dominant bass work a la WATCHTOWER and intelligent lyrics as well. Possible gods for the future...highly impressive. Highly recommendable band." ELDRITCH ASSEMBLAGE #1, reviewed by Christian Rademaker.

Additional Info Songs that were not recorded: To Demons Bound, Champion Eternal, Upon a Distant Shore, King of Lies, Descension. We were perfectionists, so we spent too much time perfecting our material, and not enough time writing new stuff!

Location Dallas, TEXAS - USA

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