To be brutally honest, at the time when I accepted this CD for review, I didn’t have much faith in it. I predicted it would be a fun listening experience, although nothing exceptional. After all, I’d heard albums bearing a theme for the Halloween season before. For the most part, they tend to be a clutter of over-used sound effects piled over talent less musical attempts with little or no creative effort applied. After beginning the audio journey known as ‘Oculus Infernum’, however, I found myself blown away by the time the first song had ended. To say that my expectations had been proven to be false, or even exceeded, would be an understatement. It’s a CD unlike any other I’ve ever experienced.

So, what exactly is this unique piece of work all about? It is an audio concept brought into being much thanks to the mind of Dee Snider, who you may know as the man behind Twisted Sister’s lead vocals, as well as the delightfully disturbing horror film ‘StrangeLand’. Van Helsing’s Curse includes a group of impressively gifted rock musicians, a string orchestra, and a very sinister sounding choir, proving it to be so much more than simply a band. ‘Oculus Infernum’ (which translates from Latin to mean “eye of hell”) is the name of the album. Created with the upcoming holiday in mind, the music featured on this disc is accompanied by several short narrations which piece together a chilling story about a dark force that spreads over a town, slaughtering all of the adults who reside there as their children watch in terror, and an orphaned boy who challenges it.

Whether or not you happen to be a fan of Snider’s previous musical contribution as Twisted Sister’s head vocalist is an irrelevant factor when determining how much enjoyment you’ll gain from this album. The songs featured on ‘Oculus Infernum’ contain bits from famous compositions such as “Tubular Bells” (the main theme from ‘The Exorcist’), “Ave Satani” (a tune from yet another horror classic, ‘The Omen’), Mussorgsky’s “Night On Bald Mountain”, Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata”, in addition to Black Sabbath's classic "Black Sabbath" and many others. Each of these are perfectly blended together, enhanced by the viciousness of additional guitars and drums as well as several original musical creations, and made even more chilling with the help of the choir which delivers nothing but hauntingly beautiful chants in Latin. This brilliant combination results in a powerful and atmospheric masterpiece that no fan of horror, metal, rock, classical or music in general should deprive themselves of.

The musicians and vocalists that make up Van Helsing’s Curse are nothing less than top notch. Also, the narrations serve as an imaginative addition to the CD, but refrain from being prominent enough to distract from or          interfere with the music itself. Did Snider accomplish his goal in creating, in his words, “the soundtrack for Halloween”? The answer, simply put, is yes. In fact, Van Helsing’s Curse will remain an enjoyable audio encounter long after the season has concluded...