Category Archives: Compilations
Monster Madness
Various Artists – Monster Madness (2000, Razor & Tie Music)
1. “Dr. Feelgood” – Motley Crue – 4:51
2. “Unskinny Bop” – Poison – 3:48
3. “I Remember You” – Skid Row – 5:15
4. “Kiss Me Deadly” – Lita Ford – 4:01
5. “I Wanna Rock” – Twisted Sister – 3:04
6. “Silent Lucidity” – Queensryche – 5:49
7. “Epic” – Faith No More – 4:54
8. “Up All Night” – Slaughter – 3:47
10. “Don’t Treat Me Bad” – FireHouse – 3:58
11. “Hole Hearted” – Extreme – 3:40
12. “Bang Your Head (Metal Health)” – Quiet Riot – 5:20
13. “In My Dreams” – Dokken – 4:21
14. “Wait” – White Lion – 4:03
15. “Easy Come, Easy Go” – Winger – 4:03
16. “I Saw Red” – Warrant – 3:50
17. “I’ll See You in My Dreams” – Giant – 4:45
Following Razor & Tie’s success with Monsters of Rock and Monster Ballads, here comes Monster Madness! Monster Madness is essentially Monsters of Rock 3 (Monsters of Rock 2 was released a few months before this album) and is certainly superior to MOR 2 (which was already scraping the bottom of the barrel) and is just as good as the original MOR album in my opinion.
I mean, just look at the songs here. “Dr. Feelgood”, “Unskinny Bop”, “I Remember You”, “I Wanna Rock”, “Wait”, “Bang Your Head”, “Hole Hearted”, “Don’t Treat Me Bad”… It’s a hair metal dream! Even the odd inclusion of Queensryche and Faith No More is welcomed because those are killer songs.
The album takes me back to my youth. No, not the ’80s but the year 2000 when I bought this album and my girlfriend at the time loved it because it had Lita Ford’s “Kiss Me Deadly” on it. I still remember her getting all excited when she heard it for the first time in years.
Just a great “feelgood” album filled with major acts and songs.
SPACEWALK: A Salute to Ace Frehley
Various Artists – Spacewalk: A Salute to Ace Frehley (1996, Shrapnel Records/Triage Records)
1. “Deuce” – Marty Friedman … 3:47
2. “Shock Me” – Gilby Clarke … 3:23
3. “Rip It Out” – Scott Ian … 3:47
4. “Hard Luck Woman” – Ron Young & Jeff Watson … 3:11
5. “Snowblind” – Snake Sabo … 4:01
6. “Rock Bottom” – Sebastian Bach … 3:07
7. “Parasite” – Tracii Guns … 3:16
8. “Cold Gin” – John Norum … 4:10
9. “New York Groove” – Bruce Bouillet … 4:52
10. “Fractured Mirror” – Dimebag Darrell … 6:35
Pretty good tribute to Ace although some of these songs choices make me scratch my head. “Deuce”? “Hard Luck Woman”? Ace didn’t sing lead on these songs and he didn’t write them either so what’s the connection? “Deuce” is a Gene signature song and “Hard Luck Woman” belongs to Peter. They could’ve easily left those songs out and included “Strange Ways”, “Rocket Ride”, “Hard Times”, “Talk To Me” or even something from his solo days.
The songs are pretty faithful to the originals but it’s fun to hear other artists’ slight interpretations especially when you’ve got artists like Mary Friedman, Tracii Guns, Scott Ian, Sebastian Bash, etc. The artists listed aren’t necessarily the vocalists but I guess they were considered the “biggest” names to be playing on the tracks so they get their names front and center. In fact, Scott Ian (who is on vocals) has Anthrax bandmates Frankie Bello and Charlie Benante backing him up on “Rip It Out” while Dimebag Darrell and his brother/Pantera bandmate Vinnie Paul performed all of “Fractured Mirror”. Judas Priest drummer Scott Travis plays on a number of these songs.
I don’t know who Bruce Bouillet is but his version of “New York Groove” sucks. I guess he took it back to the original version that was done by Hello. Ace’s take have never been a favorite of mine and I like the original version even less.
For the few bucks I was able to snag this online for, it was well worth the purchase. It’s a good novelty disc for hardcore KISS fans and Dimebag Darrell’s “Fractured Mirror” needs to be heard.
Highlights: “Hard Luck Woman”, “Snowblind”, “Rock Bottom”, “Parasite”, “Fractured Mirror”
CLASSIC ROCK – Back in the Saddle
Classic Rock – Back in the Saddle (September 2009, Future Publishing)
1. Alice In Chains – “A Looking in View” … 7:05
2. The Wildhearts – “John of Violence” … 3:51
3. Mott the Hoople – “One of the Boys” … 4:10
4. The Jokers – “The Big Rock and Roll Show” … 4:17
5. The Union – “Watch the River Flow” … 4:24
6. Cowboy Prostitutes – “Outrageous” … 3:36
7. The Black Crowes – “I Ain’t Hiding” … 5:58
8. Saigon Hookers – “Devil to Win” … 2:10
9. Cheap Trick – “Sick Man of Europe” … 2:10
10. Lynyrd Skynyrd – “Simple Life” … 3:17
11. Porcupine Tree – “Time Flies (Edit)” … 5:23
12. We Will Have Victory – “Heretics in Vietnam” … 3:37
13. Black Spiders – “Meadow” … 6:21
14. Federal Black 40 – “The One” … 3:16
15. Emerald – “Live Forever” … 5:16
Another month, another CD insert from the UK Classic Rock magazine (the best rock magazine ever, IMO). This time the focus is on “returning heroes” (Alice In Chains, Cheap Trick, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Mott the Hoople, etc.) and “young gods” (Black Spiders, We Will Have Victory, The Union, etc.). I was surprised they didn’t include KISS’ “Modern Day Delilah”, but come to find out, that’s included on the October CD from Classic Rock‘s sister publication Metal Hammer.
Typically for a collection like this, the style of rock and quality of it is all over the place. A few notes:
-Alice In Chains, despite the absence of the late Layne Staley, still sound like Alice In Chains. “A Looking in View” is plodding and dark. Good stuff, doesn’t compare to some of AIC’s better known songs though.
-The Wildhearts turn in a pretty good number that is probably one of the better songs I’ve ever heard from them.
-That Black Crowes song is just weird coming from them. It’s like some funky Fall Out Boy kind of song.
-Cheap Trick delivers with the crunch of “Sick Man of Europe”. They played this live on the Def Leppard/Poison tour this summer, I liked it then and I like it now.
-As I figured would be the case, after finally hearing them, Porcupine Tree is really boring.
-We Will Have Victory is a pretty good mix and old and new hard rock. The singer reminds me of Josh Todd.
-Emerald sounds like a band that would not have been out of place on The New Wave of Traditional Metal compilation Classic Rock issued a few months ago.
Highlights: “A Looking in View”, “John of Violence”, “Sick Man of Europe”, “Heretics in Vietnam”, “Live Forever”
www.classicrockmagazine.com
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CLASSIC ROCK – Guitarmageddon Vol. 2
Classic Rock – Guitarmageddon Vol. 2 (September 2009, Future Publishing)
1. “Fight! Smash! Win!” – Street Sweeper Social Club
2. “White Room” – Jeff Healey
3. “A Rite of Passage” – Dream Theater
4. ” Missing You” – Oli Brown Band
5. ” Baby Better Lady” – Swanee River
6. ” Still Unbroken” – Lynyrd Skynyrd
7. “Striding the Valleys of Skullumus” – Sons of Merrick
8. “Going Home” – Joanne Shaw Taylor
9. “Head Crusher” – Megadeth
10. “Powerful Thing” – Philip Sayce
11. “The Last Door” – Jack Bruce & Robin Trower
12. “We’re All Insane (By the End of Tonight)” – Hippys on the Hill
13. “The Last Journey Home” – DragonForce
14. “Unspoken” – Symphony Cult
15. “Mr. Toomey” – Bitches Sin
Another solid freebie compilation from Classic Rock magazine with quite a range of genres from rap-rock to ’60s rock to blues to bar bands to southern rock to thrash metal. So we’re definitely not dealing with “15 tracks of fret melting ferocity”, but there are still a few winners here. Obviously, people are familiar with Dream Theater, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Megadeth, but a few of these other bands sound like they’re worth checking out like Street Sweeper Social Club and Sons of Merrick.
Highlights: “Fight! Smash! Win!”, “A Rite of Passage”, “Baby Better Lady”, “Still Unbroken”, “”Striding the Valleys of Skullmus”, “Head Crusher”, “The Last Journey Home”, “Mr. Toomey”
www.classicrockmagazine.com
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MONSTER BALLADS
Various Artists – Monster Ballads (1999, Razor & Tie)
1. “Heaven” - Warrant … 3:58
2. “Something to Believe In” – Poison … 5:30
3. “High Enough” – Damn Yankees … 4:18
4. “Almost Paradise” – Mike Reno & Ann Wilson … 3:50
5. “Is This Love” – Whitesnake … 4:44
6. “To Be With You” - Mr. Big … 3:20
7. “Carrie” – Europe … 4:31
8. “Don’t Know What You Got (Till It’s Gone)” – Cinderella … 5:55
9. “More Than Words” – Extreme … 4:11
10. “Headed for a Heartbreak” – Winger … 5:14
11. “When I Look into Your Eyes” – Firehouse … 4:01
12. “Wind of Change” – Scorpions … 5:12
13. “I’ll Never Let You Go” – Steelheart … 5:06
14. “When I See You Smile” – Bad English … 4:18
15. “Don’t Close Your Eyes” – Kix … 4:18
16. “When I’m With You” – Sheriff … 3:54
I doubt this was the very first hair ballad compilation, but it was definitely the one that inspired tons of other compilations to come around in ’99 and ’00 (and it was the first one that I owned). I’ve never made it a secret that I’m a huge fan of ballads and this is a pretty excellent crop of songs. When coupled with VH1′s The Big ’80s Power Ballads disc, you’ve got an incredible selection of songs (with very little repeats) and either disc is a great introduction to the softer side of hair metal.
Yeah, there are tons of great deep tracks that aren’t present, but the idea of Monster Ballads is to showcase hit ballads and Razor & Tie really couldn’t have done much of a better job, even if there are a few headstratchers like “Almost Paradise” and “When I’m With You”. Nice ballads, but they don’t fit in with the rest of the bands.
This album was originally offered during thru Razor & Tie by calling their 1-800 number and ordering. It was a two disc set, but was quickly trimmed down to one disc and made available in retail stores.
CLASSIC ROCK – The New Wave of Traditional Metal
Classic Rock – The New Wave of Traditional Metal (June 2009, Future Publishing)
1. “Girls Made of Heavy Metal” by Hysterica … 3:09
2. “Chained Up In Chains” by Cauldron … 5:09
3. “Stuka Squadron” by Stuka Squadron … 7:24
4. “High Speed GTO” by White Wizzard … 3:57
5. “Dig Your Grave” by The Green River Project … 4:33
6. “Like the Oar Strikes the Water” by Grand Magus … 3:14
7. “Celtica” by Celtic Legacy … 4:29
8. “Silver Bullet” by Powerdrive … 5:57
9. “Raise Your Fist Evangelist” by Powerwolf … 4:00
10. “The Heavens Cry Out” by The Devil’s Blood … 5:22
11. “Born of Thunder” by Destroy Destroy Destroy … 3:53
12. “If Crimson Was Your Colour” by Witchcraft … 3:49
13. “We Are The Hammer” by Savage Blade … 4:36
14. “Fake” by Crowning Glory … 4:49
With bands hand picked by legendary rock journalist Geoff Barton, this is a free compilation CD that came along with June 2009 issue of the UK magazine Classic Rock and it absolutely is well worth the $9.99 cover price. If you have trouble trying to force yourself to spend $10 on a magazine, just imagine you’re spending that ten bucks on a GREAT compilation and you get a complimentary magazine to go along with it.
I’ve been aware of Classic Rock for some time, but never read it. Magazines just cost too much these days and the internet always has the quick fix for info and articles, but I took a chance on the magazine this month (I guess B&N is a bit behind on issues?). Luckily, Barnes & Noble had ONE COPY left where the CD hadn’t been peeled off the cover yet.
I’m enjoying just about all of these songs. As you might have guessed from the title, these bands have a more old school heavy metal sound that’s rooted in NWOBHM and ’80s metal in general. Perhaps “NWOTM” will become the new buzzword in the metal world (it was coined by Classic Rock’s sister publication Metal Hammer). If these bands are indeed a part of this “new wave”, then I’m ready to hang ten! Yes. That was very cheesy of me.
Seriously, I know this was a free sampler CD, but I’m loving it and I intend to track down more info and songs from each and every one of these bands (though I was already familiar with Cauldron and White Wizzard).
Highlights: “Girls Made of Heavy Metal” (The beginnings of a GMOHM movement?), “Chained Up In Chains”, “High Speed GTO”, “Dig Your Grave”, “Like The Oar Strikes The Water”, “Silver Bullet”, “Raise Your First Evangelist”, “Fake”
www.classicrockmagazine.com
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THIS IS ’80s HAIR METAL
This Is ’80s Hair Metal (2003, Deadline Records/Cleopatra Records)
Disc One: STUDIO FUELED
1. “Cherry Pie” by Warrant … 3:05
2. “Someone Like You” by Bang Tango … 4:24
3. “Cum on Feel the Noize” by Quiet Riot … 4:38
4. “Smooth Up” by Bulletboys … 5:03
5. “Pissed” by Dangerous Toys … 4:10
6. “Sex Action” by L.A. Guns … 3:53
7. “Leather Boyz With Electric Toyz” by Pretty Boy Floyd … 4:07
8. “Bathroom Wall” by Faster Pussycat … 4:58
9. “Little Teaser” by Jetboy … 3:14
10. “Love Removal Machine” by Great White … 4:29
11. “Make It Go Away” by Michael Monroe … 3:01
12. “Tooth & Nail” Lynch Mob … 3:24
13. “Mean Street Machine” by King Kobra … 4:24
14. “River Gold” by Hurricane … 4:04
15. “Black Out” by Love/Hate … 2:56
Disc Two: LIVE & DANGEROUS
1. “Gypsy Road” by Cinderella … 3:39
2. “Kiss Me Deadly” by Lita Ford … 4:21
3. “Living Loving Maid (She’s Just a Woman)” by Great White … 2:38
4. “One More Reason” by L.A. Guns … 3:49
5. “(You Can Still) Rock in America” by Night Ranger … 5:37
6. “Hollywood” by Junkyard … 2:50
7. “Dressed Up Vamp” by Bang Tango … 4:30
8. “Around Again” by Union … 5:53
9. “Teas’n, Pleas’n” by Dangerous Toys … 4:41
10. “Ain’t Talkin’ Bout Love” by L.A. Guns … 2:18
11. “Wrathchild” by Paul DiAnno … 2:48
12. “Somebody Save Me” by Cinderella … 2:57
13. “Ramble On” by Great White … 4:36
14. “What You Say” by Saigon Kick … 3:49
Disc Three: POWER BALLADS
1. “Every Rose Has Its Thorn” by Bret Michaels … 4:49
2. “When the Children Cry” by White Lion … 6:17
3. “Headed for a Heartbreak” by Kip Winger … 2:56
4. “Ballad of Jayne” by L.A. Guns … 5:15
5. “House of Pain” by Faster Pussycat … 7:50
6. “Ready for Love” by Great White … 4:40
7. “Sometimes She Cries” by Warrant … 4:38
8. “Don’t Know What You’ve Got (‘Til It’s Gone)” by Cinderella … 5:39
9. “Dream On” by Ronnie James Dio & Yngwie Malmsteen … 4:28
10. “Sister Christian” by Night Ranger … 5:15
11. “Close My Eyes Forever” by Lita Ford … 5:02
12. “Lights” by Tuff … 3:11
13. “Still Lovin’ You” Steve Whiteman & George Lynch … 4:52
14. “Here I Go Again” by Bernie Shaw & Bernie Madsen … 4:01
15. ??? … 3:59
Oddball hair metal compilation that I picked up from FYE shortly after it’s release. I can’t remember how much I paid for it, but I don’t think it was too much. Maybe around $15 or so, which is a good thing because as you can expect from an indie hair metal compilation — these are not the original recordings. In some cases, not even the original artists are used! Ex-Dokken guitarist George Lynch and his band Lynch Mob sub for Dokken on “Tooth & Nail”, Bret Michaels stands in for his own band Poison and then there’s the odd inclusion of Great White’s cover of The Cult’s “Love Removal Machine” (this cover has apparently made its way around many a compilations). Another odd bit is that for some reason, Love/Hate’s “Black Out in the Red Room” is now simply called “Black Out”.
Back to the re-recordings, I actually like some of these versions better than the originals (though I think it’s also possible some of these songs were demos). Working on a small budget and stripped of the overproduction that was common in the ’80s, many of these songs sound fresh, raw and energetic compared to the originals. Disc One is nothing but studio recordings and Warrant’s re-recording of “Cherry Pie” is my favorite track and I think I actually like it better than the original version. Not all of Disc One is as enjoyable though– Joe Leste and Marq Torien struggle to hit their notes on “Someone Like You” and “Smooth Up”, respectively. Then there’s the awful industrialized version of “Bathroom Wall”. Look, why does this industrial garbage version of Faster Pussycat keep getting work on these hair compilations? If Taime Downe doesn’t want to represent the music in an accurate manner, I’m sure most hair metal fans would rather Faster Pussycat is not included at all.
Disc Two is nothing but live songs. The quality (and performances) vary greatly. Disc Three is power ballads, re-recordings again, but there’s some live versions as well. On Disc Three, there is a 15th track that I cannot find any info on (my slipcase/jewel case are in storage), but the song definitely does not belong here. I’ve never heard it before and it sounds like some mellow acoustic rock/pop you’d hear on the pop stations. I’m sure there’s some hair metal connection, but sonically, it’s not there. Anyone know the song title and artist?
Personally, I wouldn’t really say “this is ’80s metal”. Not when there’s so many cover songs (by Great White alone!), re-recordings and original artists are missing. The inclusion of Union alone is enough to strike down that this is a tribute to the ’80s (they didn’t formed until 1997)! Basically, the album is hit-or-miss. It’s an inconsistent three disc set, but despite the shady marketing, I still think this is a decent collection for anyone who is heavily into the hair metal scene. There’s enough gems here to make up for having to dig through the garbage to get to them.
Highlights:
Disc One: “Cherry Pie”, “Pissed”, “Sex Action”, “Love Removal Machine”, “Tooth & Nail”, “Mean Street Machine”
Disc Two: “Gypsy Road”, “(You Can Still) Rock In America”, “Hollywood”, “Ramble On”
Disc Three: “When the Children Cry”, “Ready for Love”, “Dream On”, “Still Lovin’ You”
Buy THIS IS ’80s HAIR METAL at Amazon.com
MONSTERS OF ROCK
Various Artists – Monsters of Rock (1998, Razor & Tie)
Track Listing:
1. “Cum on Feel the Noize” – Quiet Riot … 4:51
2. “Once Bitten Twice Shy” – Great White … 5:22
3. “Poison” – Alice Cooper … 4:30
4. “The Final Countdown” – Europe … 5:11
5. “Round and Round” – Ratt … 4:24
6. “Cherry Pie” – Warrant … 3:20
7. “Here I Go Again” – Whitesnake … 4:35
8. “Every Rose Has Its Thorn” – Poison … 4:20
9. “Seventeen” – Winger … 4:05
10. “Cult of Personality” – Living Colour … 4:54
11. “We’re Not Gonna Take It” – Twisted Sister … 3:39
12. “You’ve Got Another Thing Comin’” – Judas Priest … 5:08
13. “Nobody’s Fool” – Cinderella … 4:48
14. “Hold on Loosely” – .38 Special … 4:37
15. “Turn up the Radio” – Autograph … 4:34
16. “Sister Christian” – Night Ranger … 4:56
Ahh… The hair metal compilation that gave rise to all the rest of the imitators and countless sequels from Razor & Tie.
Razor & Tie initially pushed many of their compilations (love songs, country, 80s, etc.) through their 800 number. I remember many of these ads over on cable stations like TBS and WGN. I *think* there was even a 2-disc version of Monsters of Rock that was only available by ordering over the phone.
Anyway, tons of classics here, though I would argue the inclusion of .38 Special, Autograph, Night Ranger and Living Colour (I really hate “Cult of Personality” anyway). You can’t go wrong with these songs. Though I would eventually own all the albums that these songs were taken from, this was a great introduction for me to the genre when, up to that point, I had really only gotten heavy in GNR, Poison and Bon Jovi.
My fondest memory is playing this one constantly when my family moved from Virginia to Florida in June 1998. I had no friends and nowhere to go and this album received CONSTANT play in my room that summer. Also, Monsters of Rock gave me a great “I REMEMBER THAT SONG!” moment with Alice Cooper’s “Poison”. I had totally forgotten about that massive comeback hit for The Coop.
This album pretty much set the standard for pop metal comps and usually knockoff CDs basically just took this tracklisting and hit ‘shuffle’.
MONSTER BALLADS XMAS
Various Artists – Monster Ballads Xmas (2007, Razor & Tie Direct)
Track Listing:
1. “Jingle Bells” – Skid Row … 3:02
2. “Happy Christmas (War Is Over)” – Winger … 4:06
3. “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas” – Jani Lane … 3:35
4. “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” – Twisted Sister (w/ Lita Ford) … 4:09
5. “White Christmas” – Queensryche … 2:28
6. “Run Rudolph Run” – L.A. Guns … 3:10
7. “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” – FireHouse … 3:07
8. “Naughty Naughty Christmas” – Danger Danger … 4:56
9. “Blue Christmas” – Tom Keifer … 4:15
10. “Jingle Bell Rock” – Nelson … 2:52
11. “Silent Night” – Faster Pussycat … 4:13
12. “Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town” – Dokken … 4:01
13. “Happy Holidays” – Enuff Z’Nuff … 4:23
14. “Winter Wonderland” – Stryper … 3:34
15. “Christmas Love” – Billy Idol … 3:57
Produced by: Michael Anderson & Beka Callaway
Another album in the long-running Monster series from Razor & Tie, this time with a Christmas theme, although calling it “Monster Ballads Xmas” doesn’t make much since because most of these songs are not ballads. Why not just “Monster Xmas“? Or get really old school with “Monsters of Rock Xmas“?
Anyway, I picked the year of it’s release at Target, of all places. It’s a decent release, though it pales in comparison to 2008′s excellent We Wish You a Metal Xmas and a Headbanging New Year from Armoury Records.
I don’t have to tell you that Faster Pussycat, as always with compilations and cover albums, sticks out like a sore thumb here with their more recent and improved industrial sound. Just an awful rendition of “Silent Night”. What is it with “Silent Night” getting so screwed up on these metal Xmas compilations? Queensryche does a pretty bad version of “White Christmas” as well. Geoff Tate’s voice sounds horrible here. Like someone trying to sound like Edguy’s Tobias Sammett but totally failing.
Dokken’s version of “Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town” is actually pretty funny to me because of the fact that it sounds EXACTLY like a Dokken song. They totally made it their own and you’d swear Don wrote the song himself.
Twisted Sister’s Jay Jay French, certainly inspired by the Christmas spirit after the success of A Twisted Christmas, executive produced.
Highlights: “Happy Christmas (War is Over)”, “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas”, “I’ll Be Home for Christmas”, “Naught Naughty Christmas”, “Blue Christmas”, “Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town”, “Happy Holiday”
WE WISH YOU A METAL XMAS AND A HEADBANGING NEW YEAR
Various Artists – We Wish You a Metal Xmas and a Headbanging New Year (2008, Armoury Records)
Track Listing:
1. “We Wish You a Merry Xmas” … 4:39
[Performed by: Jeff Scott Soto/Bruce Kulick/Bob Kulick/Chris Wyse/Ray Luzier]
2. “Run Rudolph Run” … 3:30
[Performed by: Lemmy Kilmister/Billy Gibbons/Dave Grohl]
3. “Santa Claws Is Coming to Town” … 4:19
[Performed by: Alice Cooper/John 5/Billy Sheehan/Vinny Appice]
4. “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” … 4:06
[Performed by: Ronnie James Dio/Tony Iommi/Rudy Sarzo/Simon Wright]
5. “Silver Bells” … 5:05
[Performed by: Geoff Tate/Carlos Cavazo/James Lomenzo/Ray Luzier]
6. “Little Drummer Boy” … 4:37
[Performed by: George Lynch/Simon Phillips/Billy Sheehan/Dug Pinnick]
7. “Santa Claus Is Back in Town” … 4:01
[Performed by: Tim "Ripper" Owens/Steve Morse/Juan Garcia/Marco Mendoza/Vinny Appice]
8. “Silent Night” … 4:11
[Performed by: Chuck Billy/Jon Donais/Scott Ian/John Tempesta/Chris Wyse]
9. “Deck the Halls” … 4:10
[Performed by: Craig Goldy/Oni Logan/Tony Franklin/John Tempesta]
10. “Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer” … 4:41
[Performed by: Stephen Pearcy/Tracii Guns/Bob Kulick/Billy Sheehan/Greg Bissonette]
11. “Rockin’ Around the Xmas Tree” … 3:21
[Performed by: Joe Lynn Turner/Bob Kulick/Bruce Kulick/Rudy Sarzo/Simon Wright]
12. “Happy Xmas (War Is Over)” … 4:27
[Performed by: Tommy Shaw/Steve Lukather/Marco Mendoza/Kenny Aronoff]
Produced by: Bob Kulick & Brett Chassen
Every other metal site is reviewing it this year, might as well throw my two cents in as well…
Holy night! This CD ROCKS!!! A lot of rocked-out versions of Christmas songs have been released over the years (most successfully, Twisted Sister’s A Twisted Christmas) and metal compilations of yuletide classics are nothing new, but this album is hands down the best I have ever listened to!
The talent assembled on this album are nothing short of rock legends and incredibly gifted musicians: Ronnie James Dio, Tony Iommi, George Lynch, Stephen Pearcy, Tommy Shaw, Joe Lynn Turner, Lemmy, Dave Grohl, Billy Gibbons, Scott Ian, Bruce Kulick, Ripper Owens, Geoff Tate, Rudy Sarzo… I could go on and on.
A lot of times, when you assemble so much talent from different bands, these tribute/compilations come off as cash ‘n’ grabs, quick paychecks for artists who really aren’t putting themselves into the project. Well, I can safely say that’s not the case here. Outside of “Rockin’ Around the Xmas Tree” and “Happy Xmas (War Is Over)”, all the songs have been given their own legit hard rock/metal feel, just check out the Dio-sung “God Rest Ye Merryman Gentlemen”, which has been re-worked into a great plodding heavy metal song worthy of Black Sabbath Heaven And Hell!
Alice Cooper even turns “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town” into “Santa Claws Is Coming to Town” and delivers an inspired Alice performance that’ll make you wish Christmas and the big guy in the red suit never comes! I also have point out that Tim “Ripper” Owens probably gives the best vocal performance of the whole album on “Santa Claus Is Back in Town”, again, making you forget it’s even a Christmas song and just making you want to rock out.
Seriously, folks, this is one of my favorite albums of 2008. I am obsessed with Christmas and I know this album is going to get many plays from me for years to come. The ONLY complaint I have is “Silent Night”, which was totally butchered by Chuck Billy with some horrid cookie monster vocals (which sounds really out of place with the fun hard rock/metal vibe of the rest of the album). I don’t have a problem with taking classic holiday songs and giving them a metal twist, but that’s just wrong to me.
Lowlights: “Silent Night”
