What a fun album. I have had rare occasion to enjoy an album in its entirety and I am happy to say it comes from an indie band out of Philadelphia PA called The Young Werewolves (Nick Falcon (guitar), Shewolf Dana Kain (bass) and Jonny Wolf (drums).

This indie band managed to get Sid Haig, who boasts working with Rob Zombie to his credit, to executive produce their album and to narrate one of the best story tracks on the CD and appear on the cover art; pretty impressive feats.

The Young Werewolves songs and lyrics are goofy with silly monster-rock references that I thoroughly enjoyed. A quick review of the bands Myspace and other social networking sites makes it evident that they cater to a particular devout underground following and I can respect the band's integrity in staying true their genre.

A quick breakdown of their sophomore full-length album, Cheat the Devil: Track one set the tone for the album. On "Hollywood", every note was purposeful. It's a cross between rockabilly meets horror rock, meets punk. The clean, tight, timing is impeccable. "Devil Dancer Girl" rocked. It is gritty, dirty, and well worth the repeat button.

The title track, "Cheatin' the Devil", is a fast paced and energetic roller-coaster ride with snarling guitars and clawing vocals. Frenetic guitar slides and percussion slams as punchy vocals drag me around the room. I was breathless after listening.

"Run Away" begins like it could be Quentin Tarantino soundtrack. If I had to guess, I would say a Fender telecaster was responsible for the sounds coaxed out of the strumming and ginger finger-picking. There was more surf-punk present in this song, showing The Young Werewolves' versatility.

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde narrated by the legendary horror pop-icon, Sid Haig was quite a treat. What a delightful intro and evil laugh that man has. The track begins slow, dark, brooding, and melodic. With Haig's laugh peppered throughout the track, it dripped evil. This is on scale with Bauhaus', ""Bela Lugosi's Dead".

"Tattooed Aliens" is the most noticeable departure form the rest of the rest of the album more pop-divo mashed-up with futuristic alien-evoking tones.

A couple of downers to balance out the party: "Fire" houses simple leads, and is a little boring, if not trite. It is not my favorite song on the album. The dual vocals seemed a bit unbalanced. While we are at it, I wasn't a fan of "Satan's Daughter" or "Shapeshifter" for the same reasons.

When the world becomes too serious, take a time-out and pop in Cheat the Devil from The Young Werewolves. While it isn't masterful lyricism and songwriting, the tracks are colorful and fun, and reminds the listener not to take themselves so seriously.

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