REIGNWOLF – HEAR ME OUT – ALBUM REVIEW
It only takes one listen to realize that Reignwolf”s 2019 Hear Me Out is a killer album that solidifies their preeminent presence in the hard rock and blues genre. The band hailing from the Pacific Northwest consists of Jordan Cook (Guitar/Vocals), Stacey James Kardash (Bass) and Joseph (Texas Jo) Braley.
Reignwolf was formed late 2011 in Seattle. They dropped their first single, “Are You Satisfied” in 2013 to massive critical acclaim after a year of nonstop touring. The band released a number of singles over the next five years including standouts “Hardcore” (2016) and “Wanna Don’t Wanna” (2018). On the backs of their singles and scorching live shows, Reignwolf played numerous music festivals including Lollapalooza and Bunbury. Throughout the years they were direct support to such acts as Black Sabbath and The Who. They even opened up for the Wu Tang Clan in Chicago.
On Hear Me Out every song is a sonic tour de force. Reignwolf pounds out one absolutely explosive tune after another. Cook’s guitar crunches and the menacing back beat of Kardash and Braley kicks ass. Cook’s powerful vocals are full of defiant swagger.
Hear Me Out opens with the first single off the record, “Black and Red”. Cook’s gritty guitar transports you back to the grunge fest of Nirvana and Soundgarden. His vocals are down and dirty. Kardash’s bass sounds just plain evil and Braley’s boisterous drumming sublime. A definitive rival to their amazing first single “Are You Satisfied”. Next up is “Alligator” with its nasty bass line and spacey freewheeling vibe. The adventurous “Over & Over” follows with its rowdy chorus.
Reignwolf then throws in their 2018 single, “Wanna Don’t Wanna”. The song is just a frenzied aural assault on the ears. Everything cranks. Cook’s raspy voice flows through the veins like a shot of heroin. The austere guitar pierces the heart. It’s followed by the bottom heavy “Ritual” with its dreamy drug influenced aura. The bluesy “Keeper” changes the tempo but not the aggressiveness of Reignwolf. “Son of A Gun” is a psychedelic mind fuck that’s a cross between Coldplay and Zeppelin.
The primal “I Want You” comes next. Again, Reignwolf hurls down a nasty barrage of blues infused sludge. “Fools Gold” and “Wolf River” close out Hear Me Out. The melancholy and earthy “Wolf River” a fitting end to a most illustrious debut album.
There are universal common themes that are ever present in Reignwolf‘s lyrics. The psychosis and insecurity of “Black and Red” is a good example. Cook sings:
Verse1
Black and red in my head
there’s something wrong with you
OOh yeah hmmm
Twist of fate, born to wait
So waiting’s all we do
Heyy yeah ooh
Verse2
Welcome back, red and black
There’s something wrong with me
Ahh ohh
I let you in, you broke the skin
Something came alive
Yeah ooh
Again, in “Wanna Don’t Wanna” the crazed singer wails of his constant uncertainty with his lover:
I wanna die when I look in your face
Don’t even try getting out of my way
It’s like you don’t realize what you’re doing to me
I wanna, don’t wanna, I wanna, don’t wanna, I wanna
Throughout the record the band’s lyrics are brutally honest and subjective.
The long long wait for Reignwolf‘s fist album is over. Hear Me Out is by far one of the strongest records of last or any year. Hopefully when the craziness of the world’s current situation changes Reignwolf will rise once again and howl for the masses.
REIGNWOLF
- Jordan Cook—————————–Vocals/Guitar
- Stacey James Kardash——————Bass
- Joseph Braley—————————Drums
Hear Me Out is Reignwolf‘s first album
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