Shadow Reichenstein Werewolf Order Review

*Originally written in 2005*

My dearest creeps, it is with the greatest of pleasures that I announce the Texas band known as Shadow Reichenstein has released a new slab of tunes entitled Werewolf Order. Those of you who were around for the band’s first disc, It’s Monster Rock, will be very pleased to find the band hasn’t lost their way, nor have they changed the antidote that brought them to the game. Yes, you’ll still get creeped out from all the eerie pipe organs that run rampant throughout the “Order”. However, don’t expect it on every track, no! Shadow and the boys serve up one of the biggest two-fisted punches of Horror Rock I’ve heard in a while. To this, I say, FUCK YEAH! The band has also signed a deal with Fiendforce Records, so now their brand of Horror Rock is being spread all over Europe.

The band draws blood on first impact with a terrorizing tune entitled, “Dracula”. This tune comes a clawing and scratching its way out with breakneck Punk guitar riffs and in-the-beat-of-a-heart drumbeats that’ll scare the piss outta ya! Shadow’s vocals are top-notch, they’re still reminiscent of Dave Vanian, but that’s what so damned good about it. Lyrically, the tune is a perfect example of what the band is all about, Horror! Title track, “Werewolf Order” is the next tune to take a stab at me, this time around the rhythm section is ferocious, it’s filled with slightly off-timed, mid-paced double kicks and thunderous bass lines. Again, Shadow’s vocals are dead on. Honestly, the man could meow into a mic, and I’d dig it, he’s just got that magic touch. Moving along, we come upon “It’s Halloween” and by far this is one of the greatest tunes in the band’s repertoire. It’s flooded with those beautiful carnival pipe-organs the band is known for. The song structure is mid-paced and is based around the organs and Shadow’s vocals. I don’t care who or what you are, you could never deny the joy and campiness of this track. If this tune was written a few years back, it could have easily found its way into Tim Burton’s classic, The Nightmare Before Christmas. There are quite a few more tunes that are similar in sound, more specifically, “Tombstone…Call from The Grave”, “It’s Too Late” and “In Search of Loose Dirt”. The latter is the creepiest of them all, you’ll hear shoveled earth, the wind howling at your back and Shadow crooning his guts out. There are times in the song where I find myself questioning my sanity, it engulfs your entire being and smothers you in a euphoric haze. Getting back to the death-dealing and teeth-gnashing, we have a rendition of “Be My Victim” which originally appeared on It’s Monster Rock. Indeed, the tune rocked the first time around and this time it’s primed and ready to rip your head off. There ain’t but one way to play this track and it ain’t low, lemme tell ya.

I knew there was something very special and unique about Shadow Reichenstein the first time I heard them, and the release of Werewolf Order only furthers those thoughts. No matter where you go, you will NEVER find another Horror Rock band with this much originality and presence. This cd is a must own, I can’t stop listening to it. Strangely, I feel that if I could score the soundtrack to the lives of Vincent Price, Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff, I’d fill it with the hymns of Shadow Reichenstein. After all, legends begets legends.

~Black Angel