Hydrograd

Album: Hydrograd (2017)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This is the title track of Stone Sour's sixth studio album. Asked by Michigan radio station WRIF where the record's name came from, frontman Corey Taylor replied:

    "I'm running through this airport in Eastern Europe. This was only a few years ago. No offense to the airport - it was kind of antiquated; they hadn't really upgraded anything. So the gate info was all on those old-school '80s block-letter, number, digital horrible Timex watch kind of readers. This would have been top of the line in Times Square in, like, 1968, let's put it that way. So not only is it impossible to read, it's also scrolling back and forth between Cyrillic and regular English letters. It's also scrolling back and forth between different languages. So my brain is trying to do geometry while also at a sprint, 'cause I don't wanna miss my plane.

    I pass one, and I look up and I could have swore it said 'Hydrograd.' And I kept running for a second, and I was, like, 'Hydrograd? Where the hell is Hydrograd? What?' So I stopped and I turned around and I went back to the gate, and I'm standing there and I'm watching it cycle through and cycle through and cycle through… Nothing. It didn't say 'Hydrograd.' It didn't even start with an 'H.' It wasn't even close. And I'm just sitting there wondering when my sanity split on me, trying to figure it out. And I walked away and I was just, like, 'Well, it's a cool name.' And I just kind of stuck it in my pocket.

    And then years later we were doing demos for [the album], and I actually named one of the songs I wrote 'Hydrograd'. And I was, like, 'You know what? That would be a good name for the album overall and just kind of run with it.' So that's it, really - it was what I saw but didn't really see."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Dino Cazares of Fear Factory

Dino Cazares of Fear FactorySongwriter Interviews

The guitarist/songwriter explains how he came up with his signature sound, and deconstructs some classic Fear Factory songs.

Michael W. Smith

Michael W. SmithSongwriter Interviews

Smith breaks down some of his worship tracks as well as his mainstream hits, including "I Will Be Here For You" and "A Place In This World."

Allen Toussaint - "Southern Nights"

Allen Toussaint - "Southern Nights"They're Playing My Song

A song he wrote and recorded from "sheer spiritual inspiration," Allen's didn't think "Southern Nights" had hit potential until Glen Campbell took it to #1 two years later.

Best Band Logos

Best Band LogosSong Writing

Queen, Phish and The Stones are among our picks for the best band logos. Here are their histories and a design analysis from an expert.

TV Theme Songs

TV Theme SongsFact or Fiction

Was a Beatles song a TV theme? And who came up with those Fresh Prince and Sopranos songs?

Elton John

Elton JohnFact or Fiction

Does he have beef with Gaga? Is he Sean Lennon's godfather? See if you can tell fact from fiction in the Elton John edition.