Who ever thought hard rock and heavy metal musicians would join forces to make a Christmas music recording?
A diverse group of rockers came together in 2008 to record some traditional and modern Christmas classics, with a very heavy sound, of course. We Wish You a Metal Xmas and a Headbanging New Year is available in two versions, a single CD and a double CD package. This is a review of the single-CD release.
The Musicians
The musicians are listed from the song credits on the back cover as follows:
- Jeff Scott Soto
- Bruce Kulick
- Chris Wyse
- Ray Luzier
- Lemmy Kilminster
- Billy F. Gibbons
- Dave Grohl
- Alice Cooper
- John 5
- Billy Sheehan
- Vinny Appice
- Ronnie James Dio
- Tony Iommi
- Rudy Sarzo
- Simon Wright
- Geoff Tate
- Carlos Cavazo
- James Lomenzo
- dUg Pinnick
- George Lynch
- Simon Phillips
- Tim "Ripper" Owens
- Steve Morse
- Juan Garcia
- Marco Mendoza
- Chuck Billy
- Scott Ian
- Jon Donais
- John Tempesta
- Stephen Percy
- Tracii Guns
- Bob Kulick
- Greg Bissonette
- Joe Lynn Turner
- Tommy Shaw
- Steve Lukather
- Kenny Arnoff
Hard rock fans, Headbangers, Earth Dogs, Hell Rats, and Rivet Heads will recognize all the performers on the Christmas music compilation CD.
Traditional and Modern Classic Christmas Songs
The hard rock and heavy metal legends formed twelve separate nameless bands to record each of the twelve songs on the disc.
We Wish You a Merry Christmas is performed in a part-traditional and part-metal style. In a weird way, it works great!
Run Rudolph Run - The vocal stylings of Lemmy bring a certain amount of unexpected cheer to the Chuck Berry classic
Santa Claws is Coming to Town - Don't confuse this Alice Cooper ditty with the Bruce Springsteen version....Alice makes Santa Claus and Christmas scary!!!
God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen is recreated by Ronnie James Dio, the eminent master of heavy metal vocals. With Dio singing the traditional classic, it almost makes it seem that this tune was meant to be a heavy metal song.
Silver Bells is tranformed from a happy song about an urban downtown stroll into a frantic paced Christmas shopping music heavy metal frenzy.
Little Drummer Boy is interpreted as kind of a bluesy hard rock jam session and bar band performance, with lots of flashing twinkle lights!
Santa Claus is Back in Town is a rockin' version of the Elvis Presely classic. The King would be proud!
Silent Night is not so quiet tonight. The traditional Christmas hymn is converted to an angry work. Good guitar work, but the meaning of the lyrics is lost in the anger.
Deck the Halls has a great guitar line throughout the song, which holds it all together. This traditional happy and festive song is made into a song that would be great for a heavy metal show closer during the Christmas season.
Grandma Got Ran Over By a Reindeer is always a great novelty Christmas classic. Elmo and Patsy should have been on this version.
Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree was made popular by Brenda Lee. Her version is a happy and upbeat pop song that everyone loves. Well, the metal version is a bit different, to say the least. It ROCKS!!!
Happy Xmas (War Is Over), the John Lennon and Yoko Ono classic is always a good choice for Christmas rock music. Tommy Shaw's vocals capture the spirit of the original version.
Rating: 4.5 / 5.0 reindeer skulls over the mantle.
My Favorite Tracks:
- Run Rudolph Run
- God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
- Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree
- Happy Xmas (War Is Over)
Mike Brandolino - Mike is a Research Biologist and Environmental Professional. His writing topic interests are wide and varied.
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