VARIOUS ARTISTS: We Wish You a Metal Xmas and a Headbanging New Year

Produced by Bob Kulick and Brett Chassen
Released: 2008

So if you'd ever wondered what it would be like if a bunch of metal guys got together and recorded an album of Christmas songs, here's your answer. We Wish You a Metal Xmas and a Headbanging New Year is a compilation of seasonal classics given the once over by a group of rockers and metalheads including Lemmy, Dave Grohl, Alice Cooper and Ronnie James Dio, and members of Shadows Fall, Testament, Ratt and ZZ Top among others, and the results are a lot of fun.

Fun is the key here, so anyone wishing to venture further needs to leave their serious side at the door. These kinds of albums are only to be taken with a grain of salt, but let's face it, it is hard to go past a version of "Run Rudolph Run" done by Lemmy, Billy Gibbons and Dave Grohl. It's just really, really cool. Alice Cooper gets into the spirit of the project with his "Santa Claws is Coming to Town", whereupon the title character is then going to break everything and burn the place to the ground. And what could be more metal than a thrash version of "Silent Night" with Chuck Billy singing? Possibly only Dio and Iommi getting overly dramatic on "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen". Doro Pesch and Michael Schenker team up for the traditional German carol "O Christmas Tree" and Stephen Pearcy, Tracii Guns, Bob Kulick, Billy Sheehan and Greg Bissonette offer a riotous "Grandma Got Ran Over by a Reindeer".

Yep, the cheese is thicker here than on the average Domino's pizza, but this beats the hell out of having to listen to Mariah Carey on Christmas Day. And it's almost worth it just to hear Lemmy shout "Merry Christmas, motherfuckers!"

NOTE: There is a different version of this album that features only the first 11 tracks, with Mark Slaughter and Doug Aldrich on "We Wish You a Merry Xmas" instead of Soto and the Kulicks. Apparently the version I have has been pulled, but I can't find anything that tells me why. Most likely licensing issues are to blame, but I can't say for sure. Oh well. This is the one I have, so this is the one I'll review.

1. We Wish You a Merry Xmas: Jeff Scot Soto, Bruce & Bob Kulick, Chris Wyse, Ray Luzier
2. Run Rudolph Run: Lemmy, Billy Gibbons, Dave Grohl
3. Santa Claws is Coming to Town: Alice Cooper, John 5, Billy Sheehan, Vinny Appice
4. God Rest ye Merry Gentlemen: Ronnie James Dio, Tony Iommi, Rudy Sarzo, Simon Wright
5. Silver Bells: Geoff Tate, Carlos Cavazo, James Lomenzo, Ray Luzier
6. Little Drummer Boy: Dug Pinnick, George Lynch, Billy Sheehan, Simon Phillips
7. Santa Claus is Back in Town: Ripper Owens, Steve Morse, Juan Garcia, Marco Mendoza, Vinny Appice
8. Silent Night: Chuck Billy, Scott Ian, Jon Donais, Chris Wyse, John Tempesta
9. Deck the Halls: Oni Logan, Craig Goldy, Tony Franklin, John Tempesta
10. Grandma Got Ran Over by a Reindeer: Stephen Pearcy, Tracii Guns, Bob Kulick, Billy Sheehan, Greg Bissonette
11. Rockin' Around the Xmas Tree: Joe Lynn Turner, Bruce & Bob Kulick, Rudy Sarzo, Simon Wright
12. Happy Xmas (War is Over): Tommy Shaw, Steve Lukather, Marco Mendoza, Kenny Aronoff
13. O Christmas Tree: Doro Pesch, Michael Schenker, Tony Franklin, Frankie Banali
14. Auld Lang Syne: Girlschool

Rating: 76%