Various Artists - "Sweet Family Music: A Tribute to Stryper"

Various Artists - Sweet Family Music: A Tribute to Stryper
1996, Flying Tart

1. The Abyss
2. "To Hell With the Devil" - Steve Hindalong
3. "Calling On You" - Morella's Forest
4. "The Way" - Klank
5. "Makes Me Wanna Sing" - Cricket
6. "Always There For You" - Havalina Rail Co.
7. "All For One" - Dinner Mint feat. Jesse Sprinkle
8. "Lonely (Two-Timing Mix)" - Argyle Park
9. "More Than a Man" - Grammatrain
10. "You Know What To Do" - Combat Chuck
11. "First Love" - Ghoti Hook
12. "You Won't Be Lonely" - The Echoing Green
13. "Soldiers Under Command" - The Blamed
14. "Makes Me Wanna Sing" - Alexia
15. "(Waiting For) A Love That's Real" - Joe Christmas
16. "Honestly" - Fluffy feat. Ralph Melish
17. "Free" - Marriage Is Madness

Hmmm...not sure what's going on here. Flying Tart wasn't exactly known as a metalhead's record label. Just the opposite, in fact. It was home to Fluffy (later Duraluxe), the final Circle of Dust album, and a few other very obscure, off-the-beaten-path artists who may or may not have been Christian. So... I'm not sure what the concept of this was because I would be hard pressed to call it a "tribute." A "spoof" perhaps? A big joke? I'm not sure. I would love to hear from someone who worked on this because I am puzzled. The bands are not metal bands or even really bands who were influenced by Stryper. The covers range from great (Argyle Park alone holds that honor) to interesting (Steve Hindalong and Morella's Forest) all the way down to awful (pretty much everything else). I'm not opposed to taking a metal song and giving it a new twist but the "twists" aren't very good. Also, the recording quality on most of these tracks is demo and worse. I can definitely see where an avid fan of Stryper might take this collection as an insult. However, I do find it to be an interesting and amusing piece of Christian music history, so I got a copy for the vault.

Useless Fact: If you want to hear "Lonely" without tracking down this disc, get the official Klayton sanctioned reissue of Argyle Park's Misguided. Which, honestly, you really should have done already. Geez, what's wrong with you?

Various Artists - "Ghostbusters II Soundtrack"

Various Artists - Ghostbusters II Soundtrack
1989, MCA

1. Bobby Brown - "On Our Own"
2. New Edition - "Supernatural"
3. James "J.T." Taylor - "The Promised Land"
4. Bobby Brown - "We're Back"
5. Doug E. Fresh & the Get Fresh Crew - "Spirit"
6. RUN - D.M.C. - "Ghostbusters"
7. Oingo Boingo - "Flesh 'N Blood"
8. Elton John - "Love is a Cannibal"
9. Glenn Fry - "Flip City"
10. Howard Huntsberry - "Higher and Higher"

Back in the day I was a HUGE Ghostbusters fan. Eh... who am I kidding? I'm STILL a huge Ghostbusters fan. If Ghostbusting was an actual option for a profession I would be doing it instead of writing this. I love both movies. I'm one of those people who still don't understand why everyone thinks the second one was so terrible. My love for the franchise extended so far that I bought this soundtrack on tape as a lad. I listened to it repeatedly during the summer Ghostbusters II came out. It hasn't quite held up as well as I expected. The Bobby Brown songs are good early 90's R&B/Hip-Hop but the New Edition and James "J.T." Taylor songs are kind of boring. I don't even remember them being in the movie. I also don't care for the Oingo Boingo or Elton John tracks either. "Spirit" has an appropriately creepy vibe and is one of my favorite tracks as is RUN-D.M.C.'s "Ghostbusters" which features some lines and hooks from Ray Parker, Jr.'s original. It's nice when I need a quick nostalgia fix, but overall not as great as it was when I was young.

Useless Fact: Not a fact - a challenge: which scene does each song play in? If you're correct you get nothing but my admiration.

Various Artists - "Fleas Naughty Dog, Vol. 1"

Various Artists - Fleas Naughty Dog, Vol. 1
2010, Rottweiler

1. "O Holy Night" - Tim Bushong
2. "Silent Night" - Bridgeshadows
3. "Little Drummer Boy" - Blissed
4. "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" - True Liberty
5. "Anti-Santa's Coming to Town" - Eistein Savage
6. "What Child is This?" - Coriolis
7. "Angels We Have Heard On High" - Marty Warren
8. "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch" - Grave Robber
9. "Christmas For Real" - Harry Gore
10. "Jingle Bells" - Confessions of a Sinner
11. "O Come, O Come Emmanuel" - Leper
12. "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" - False Idle
13. "All I Want For Christmas is My Two Front Teeth" - Fire Born
14. "Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silent" - Frost Like Ashes
15. "O Come All Ye Faithful" - Cryo-Mancer
16. "Holidays Suck" Desiring Dead Flesh

Fleas Naughty Dog, Vol 1 was a sampler put out by the fledgling Rottweiler Records last year. They were offering it for free, so of course I had to check it out given my love of both metal and Christmas music. The results are somewhat mixed but it's hard to complain about something that was free - so I'll just hit the highlights. Grave Robber's "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch" is naturally stellar. Sometimes I think these guys can do no wrong. Einstein Savage, a rock-a-billy type band, lends an original song, "Anti-Santa is Coming to Town." It's catchy and quite amusing - one of my favorites on the comp. Marty Warren's thrash take on "Angels We Have Heard on High" impresses as well. Coriolis turn in a techno version of "What Child is This?" that has successfully creeped out my wife. Speaking of which, remember on the Deliverance tribute CD where I said Leper sounded like Devo? Well, they don't sound like that here. They've provided one of the most tortured, angsty versions of a Christmas song I have ever heard. I'm not sure I like it, per se - but it is different. Confessions of a Sinner's thrashy "Jingle Bells" is a lot of fun. While there were some low points for me, there's enough cool material to make it worth the download.

Useless Fact: As I understand it, Rottweiler Records is prepping Fleas Naughty Dog, Vol. 2 for release soon. It will have some new artists on it as well as the tracks from Vol. 1. Head over to their homepage and check it out!

Various Artists - "Never Say Dinosaur (A Tribute to Petra)"

Various Artists - Never Say Dinosaur (A Tribute to Petra)

1996, Starsong

1. "Taste and See" - Audio Adrenaline

2. "Judas' Kiss" - Walter Eugenes

3. "Not of this World" - Galactic Cowboys

4. "Yahweh Love" - Sarah Jahn

5. "I Can Be Friends With You" - MxPx

6. "Rose Colored Stained Glass Windows" - Jars of Clay

7. "Louie's Solo" - Passafist feat. Kevin Smith

8. "Road to Zion" - Sixpence None the Richer

9. "Pied Piper" - The Stand

10. "Wake Up" - Grammatrain

11. "The Coloring Song" - Capril and My Sister's Garden

12. "All the King's Horses" - Plank Eye

Not sure how I missed this tribute the first time around. I got it years ago when a friend gave me an enormous cache of CDs and this was one of them. I don't think it's quite the total package that I Predict a Clone is. There are some standout cuts though. Galactic Cowboys' rendition of "Not of this World" is stellar - probably the best track on here. Its also good to hear another Passafist song (even though it's not really a cover). It makes me wish Kevin Smith and Passafist would have teamed up for a full album! "The Coloring Song" is another one of my favorites because of the lead singer's pixie vocals. The rest of the songs are okay. Sadly this disc hosts my least favorite Sixpence None the Richer song. Their cover is pretty underwhelming... whodathunkit? Oh, and One Bad Pig's version of "Judas' Kiss" is the ONLY version of that song as far as I'm concerned.

Useless Fact: Not a fact, a question. Why is it called "Never Say Dinosaur?" I know "Never Say Never" was either a song or an album but why dinosaur?

Various Artists - "The Broken Christmas"

Various Artists - The Broken Christmas

1988, Broken

1. "The First Noel" - Riki Michelle

2. "O Come All Ye Faithful" - Undercover

3. "Born in a Stable" - Level Heads

4. "Rudy Red" - J.C. & the Boyz
5. "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" - Ojo

6. "What Child is This?" - 4*1*1*

7. "Angels We Have Heard On High" - Adam Again

8. "O Holy Night" - The Reign

9. "Silent Night" - The Holidays

10. "Follow the Star" - House Party

11. "O Come, O Come Emmanuel" - Gene Eugene, Riki Michelle, Ojo

Uvulapie's comment about The Broken Christmas reminded me that I do actually have this! Granted, I don't have the actual CD, sadly, because they're about $100 on amazon and I'm just not going to pay that much for a CD (someone reissue this will ya?!). Anyway, I heard that this had some Adam Again Christmas songs on it so that's why I checked it out. Both the tunes featuring Gene are really cool. Definitely a different spin on those holiday classics. I'm kind of ambivalent about the rest of the songs though. I'm sure if I had heard 4*1*1*, Level Heads, The Reign, etc. I might be more excited but when this CD came out I had just gotten into Christian metal and my fondness for alt rock wouldn't develop for another five years or so. Still, I do like the album and it's definitely different from anything you would hear anywhere else. Ojo's take on "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" almost reminds me of Mannheim Steamroller. "Rudy Red" is no "Christmas in Hollis" but it's fairly amusing - kind of bizarre in the fact that it makes Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer a strung out junkie that finds Jesus. I think one of the sites on my link list has this available for download. Don't feel too bad... it's long out of print and I don't think anyone plans to rerelease it anytime soon.

Useless Fact: Not a fact, a request. The cover art looks like a Mike Knott creation. Can anyone confirm?

Various Artists - "Happy Christmas Vol. 2"

Various Artists - Happy Christmas, Vol. 2

1999, BEC

1. MxPx - "Christmas Day"

2. Sixpence None the Richer - "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch"

3. All Star United - "I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday"

4. Plankeye - "Jesu Bambino (The Infant Child)"

5. Hangnail - "O Little Town of Bethlehem"

6. Joy Electric - "Lollipop Parade (On Christmas Morn)"

7. Flight 180 - "O Come All Ye Faithful"

8. Starflyer 59 - "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas"

9. Viva Voce - "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen"

10. The Normals - "Peace Child (O Come Emmanuel)"

11. Fanmail - "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus"

12. Norway - "White Christmas"

13. Element - "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree"

14. The Deluxtone Rockets - "Santa Claus is Back in Town"

15. House of Wires - "Caroling, Caroling"

16. Lost Dogs - "The Chipmunk Song"

I got this CD for two reasons and two reasons only. First, I wanted a legal copy of Sixpence's "Mr. Grinch" on CD, second I wanted to hear the Lost Dogs version of "The Chipmunk Song" without shelling out $15 for their Christmas disc (which I've heard isn't very good). As a bonus I get a bunch of songs by a bunch of bands I've never really heard of (except MxPx and Starflyer 59) because by the time 1999 rolled around I wasn't really into the music scene much. The disc was only 75 cents so it's not like I was going to be disappointed if all the other songs stunk. Imagine my genuine surprise when I found that the rest of the songs didn't suck. Not only do they not suck, the CD as a whole is pretty enjoyable. Of course, pop-punk can be a pretty fun genre anyway so marrying that with Christmas tunes seems like a no-brainer. I like MxPx's offering as well as Flight 180's ska version of "O Come All Ye Faithful." Awww... remember ska? Viva Voce's shoegazery take on "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" is a highlight as well. I've got a Viva Voce disc laying around the house somewhere, I guess I'll have to go check it out because their version has become one of my top favorites of that song. Joy Electric, Norway, and House of Wires provide some electronica, though I think Joy Electric's tune is the best out of the three. Their music has always sounded to me like it came from a video game. I was slightly disappointed by Starflyer's version of "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" but I'm betting it will grow on me. I also don't like the Deluxtone Rockets though I think that's because I've never really liked the song they cover.

Naturally I would do a disservice to the Dogs if I didn't mention their entertaining cover of "The Chipmunk Song" with Gene Eugene (gosh, it's good to hear him again) playing the adult and the other three dogs playing the Chipmunks (Mike Roe is Alvin). It's funny and they sound great. I especially appreciate the use of "Virtual Derri." What's that you ask? You'll just have to get the CD and listen. I'm sure this CD will become essential in the coming years and I'm really glad I picked it up!

Useless Fact: "The Chipmunk Song" also appears on the Lost Dogs Christmas album, We Like to Have Christmas. As I've said, I've heard that it's kind of mediocre. Maybe someone out there with the CD can chime in and change my mind.

Various Artists - "Temporary Insanity: A Salute to Deliverance"

Various Artists - Temporary Insanity: A Salute to Deliverance

2010, Roxx Productions

Disc One:

1. Deliverance - "Flesh and Blood (25th Anniversary Recording)"

2. Deliverance - "In-U (25th Anniversary Recording)"

3. Oil - "Attack"

4. Applehead/Fasedown - "Belltown"

5. Lambs Among Wolves - "Greetings of Death"

6. Stricken - "No Time"

7. FaseUltified - "What a Joke"

8. Grave Robber - "Awake"

9. Ghostemple - "If We Faint Not"

10. Faith Factor - "Weapons of Our Warfare"

11. Whisper From Heaven - "Anymore"

12. Venia - "Desperate Cries"

13. Days of Affliction - "River Disturbance"

14. Grave Forsaken - "Bought By Blood"

15. Eternal Decision - "Belltown"

Disc Two:

1. Deliverance - "The Hunger and the Thirst"

2. Oil - "Screaming"

3. The Sacrificed - "Slay the Wicked"

4. Coriolis - "What a Joke"

5. Krig - "Weapons of Our Warfare"

6. Leper - "The Call"

7. Unforsaken - "Stay of Execution"

8. Crucible Divine - "Ramming Speed"

9. Walk on Water - "Learn"

10. Visions of Reality - "Blood of the Covenant"

11. Saint Spirit - "Prophets of Idiocy"

12. Bloodpaid - "Words to the..."

13. Bi-Polar Echo - "The Call"

14. Incarnate - "Victory"

15. Pastor Brad - "A Space Called You"

This year marks the twenty-five year anniversary of the formation of Deliverance. I can't believe it's been that long. I'm only 31 as of this writing. That means the band formed when I was six... SIX! Deliverance is one of my favorite bands of all time. I get in moods where I'm in the mood for this band or that band but Deliverance is one of the handful of bands that has always stood at the top of the heap. For whatever reason Jimmy P. Brown's songwriting just resonates with me in a way that few artists do. I have every D disc and love pretty much all of them to varying degrees.

About a year ago or so the posters from the Christian Metal Realm decided to contribute songs for a Deliverance tribute. I think it was originally supposed to be an EP. So many people responded that it became a 2-disc mega project and now we can finally reap the benefits of everyone's labor. I wasn't initially going to get this but when I looked at the track list and saw the artists involved my opinion changed. Deliverance themselves contribute three tracks along with Greg Minier (Applehead/The Crucified), Grave Robber, Josh Kramer (Saint) and Scott Waters (Ultimatum) to name just a few. Seeing some of those names... dang... the decision pretty much made itself. I love when that happens.

The question is... how is it? Honestly... pretty dang good. Well worth the fifteen bucks. No matter the recording quality of the track you can tell that everyone on here has put their heart and soul into these songs. It's truly a labor of love and that passion oozes through the speakers and is almost contagious. Instead of doing a track by track thing I'll just give you some highlights...

Disc one is the best of the two and contains the most well known talent. The D rerecordings of "Flesh and Blood" and "In-U" are awesome... especially "In-U." That's been a favorite of mine for a long time and it's great to hear it get an upgrade. It's great to see Greg Minier back in action with a great rendition of "Belltown" (which includes members of Fasedown). Hey Greg... when are we gonna see a new Applehead? Please, pretty please! Also... thank you Grave Robber for "Awake." I love you guys. Finally, I don't know who Whisper From Heaven is but their rendition of "Anymore" is stunning. They took the somber and minimalistic Camelot track (which I already liked in the first place) and turned it into something epic. Now just because I didn't mention the other tracks that doesn't mean they're bad, far from it. Probably the only track I didn't like on disc one was "River Disturbance." Mainly because the vocal performance is not really that great. It sounds like the singer is flat a lot of the time.

I don't think disc two is quite as strong but it does have some really cool moments. I've always liked "Hunger and the Thirst." Jimmy posted it on the old D website a long time and I never downloaded it so it's great to finally have it on CD. It's a little bit different in that it's along the lines of the Assimilation material or This Sad Veil of Tears. I dig the industrial covers of "What a Joke" (by Coriolis) and "The Call" (by Leper). "The Call" almost sounds like Deliverance as filtered through Devo! There are a few tracks on disc two that aren't that good - like it's Amatuer Hour at Deliverance Tavern, but the fact that I still listen to most of them is a testimony to the songwriting prowess of Jimmy and the guys. In fact throughout the course of this two-disc extravaganza you'll hear two "Belltowns," two "What a Jokes," two "The Calls," and two "Weapons of Our Warfares." I was surprised that even with the repeats I was still groovin.

If you're a long-time fan of the D - get this. Just get it. You won't be sorry. Out of the 30 tracks on here I'd say 24 of them are really good. Still well worth the money in my book.

Useless Fact: I find it odd that on a tribute called Temporary Insanity no one felt the need to cover "Temporary Insanity."

Various Artists - "Hard & Heavy From Down Under"

Various Artists - Hard & Heavy From Down Under
1996, Rugged

1. Mortification - "Peace in the Galaxy"
2. Cry Mercy - "Time To Go"
3. Cry Mercy - "D.A.M."
4. Metanoia - "Accute Obliteration"
5. Metanoia - "Dimensions of Life"
6. Screams of Chaos - "Fighting For Breath"
7. Screams of Chaos - "The New World"
8. Screams of Chaos - "Destroy the Plague"
9. Embodiment - "Loophole"
10. Embodiment - "Incorporate Body"
11. Callous - "Hate"
12. Callous - "The Mind That Rots"
13. Ethereal Scourge - "Death of Hades"
14. Ethereal Scourge - "Tombthroat"

This is a pretty decent compilation of Austrialian Christian Metal bands. I really liked it when it first came out. In fact this disc is the reason why I bought Metanoia's debut, even though I didn't end up liking it as much as I thought I would. Cry Mercy is a straight forward hard rock band with good riffs but the singer is really, really nasally. Like... almost sounds like Cartman from South Park nasally. They also rap in "D.A.M." and it's the whitest rap I've ever heard. The two Metanoia tracks are amazing, sizzling slices of thrash/death metal. Screams of Chaos are an interesting hybrid of industrial, death metal, and thrash. Their songs aren't really catchy and the music just serves as a vehicle for the story told in the lyrics - but it's interesting nonetheless. Embodiment are a plain ol' death metal band that I never cared for. They're technical and stuff but they don't really hold my interest. Callous is a hardcore/thrash outfit headed by ex-Mortification drummer Phil Gibson. I dig them... they're probably one of my favorite bands on here. Ethereal Scourge ends the disc in style with death metal that is quite breath-taking and amazing. Definitely a highlight. They eventually recorded an album that I was disappointed with originally but now I kind of want to hear it again to see if my opinion would change.

Useless Fact: According to Scott Waters (Ultimatum) the comp was a collaboration between Rowe Productions (who didn't have any distribution in the states) and Rugged Records.

Various Artists - "Rock Power Praise Vol. 2, Christmas Hymns"

Various Artists - Rock Power Praise Vol. 2, Christmas Hymns

1991, Pakaderm

1. Joy to the World

2. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing

3. What Child is This?

4. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen

5. Little Drummer Boy

6. O Come All Ye Faithful

7. Silent Night

8. For Unto Us a Child is Born

9. O Holy Night

10. O Come, O Come Emmanuel

Hey, it's dang near the end of June! Why not update with a Christmas album? As the title implies this disc is the second in the Rock Power Praise series which took old church hymns and glammed 'em up a bit for us young whipper-snappers. This disc isn't quite as heavy as the We Wish You a Metal X-Mass... album but it's still a great holiday listen. Jamie Rowe (Guardian) and Robin Kyle (Die Happy, Red Sea) put in some stellar vocal performances on their respective songs. Sara Tennison provides some powerhouse female vocals but I'm not sure if she was from a band or not. Since this record was released on Pakaderm it's got that super clean Elephante sheen, production wise. I confess that I totally downloaded this one and probably will never buy a CD copy of it (I owned the tape for the longest time). Why? Because last time I checked Amazon it was $90!

Useless Fact: In all there were three Rock Power Praise discs. The last one featured gospel songs.

Various Artists - "I Predict a Clone"

Various Artists - I Predict a Clone

1994, REX

1. Circle of Dust - "Am I In Sync?"

2. Hot Pink Turtle - "A Principled Man"

3. Starflyer 59 - "Sin For a Season"

4. Sixpence None the Richer - "Bouquet"

5. DigHayZoose - "Steeplechase/I Want to Be a Clone" (Instant Cake Mix)

6. Fleming and John - "Harder to Believe Than Not To"

7. Argyle Park - "Drive, He Said" (D-Wee Dub)

8. Deliverance - "On the Fritz"

9. The Wayside - "To Forgive"

10. Bride - "We Don't Need No Color Code"

11. Sanctified Glory Mountain Revival Family - "Guilty By Association"

Steve Taylor has said that these cover songs are mostly better than his originals. Yeah... they are. As much as I love Steve's work... and I do love it... it sounds a bit dated when you listen to it today. Almost every single band takes Steve's original song and bumps it up to the next level. Sixpence injects the appropriate amount of melancholy that a song like "Bouquet" requires. Fleming and John take the originally minimalistic "Harder to Believe Than Not To" and totally rock it out. Circle of Dust mastermind Klay Scott works his industrial magic on two tracks. Though I think I actually like the original version of "Drive, He Said" better. The remix cuts out a lot of the lyrics which ruins the story of the song. Deliverance does an amazing job of "On the Fritz" though giving it the River Disturbance treatment. The only song I don't like as much is Bride's cover. Why they thought it was a good idea to change the lyrics I don't know, but they did and it's lame. Otherwise, a stellar tribute.

Useless Fact: The cover is a parody of the original cover to Steve Taylor's I Predict 1990.

Various Artists - "Now That's What I Call Christmas!"

Various Artists - Now That's What I Call Christmas!

2001, UMG

Disc One:

1. Nat King Cole - "The Christmas Song"

2. Bing Crosby - "White Christmas"

3. Elvis Presley - "Blue Christmas"

4. Frank Sinatra - "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas"

5. Tony Bennett - "Winter Wonderland"

6. Ella Fitzgerald - "Sleigh Ride"

7. Dean Martin - "Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!"

8. Perry Como - "(There's No Place Like) Home for the Holidays"

9. Johnny Mathis - "The Most Wonderful Time of the Year"

10. Burl Ives - "Holly Jolly Christmas"

11. Gene Autry - "Rudolph, The Red-Nosed Reindeer"

12. Elmo & Patsy - "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer"

13. Brenda Lee - "Rockin Around the Christmas Tree"

14. Bobby Helms - "Jingle Bell Rock"

15. The Beach Boys - "Little Saint Nick"

16. Carpenters - "Merry Christmas Darling"

17. Kathy Mattea - "Christmas Collage"

18. Bing Crosby & David Bowie - "Little Drummer Boy/Peace on Earth"

Disc Two:

1. John & Ono - "Happy Xmas (War is Over)"

2. Bruce Springsteen - "Santa Claus is Comin' to Town"

3. Band Aid - "Do They Know It's Christmas?"

4. Paul McCartney - "Wonderful Christmastime"

5. Michael Bolton - "Our Love is Like a Holiday"

6. Harry Connick, Jr. - "(It Must Have Been Ol') Santa Claus"

7. Diana Krall - "Jingle Bells"

8. Manheim Steamroller - "Away in a Manger"

9. Ottmar Liebert - "Deck the Halls"

10. Gloria Estefan - "Love on Layaway"

11. Celine Dion - "Don't Save It All for Christmas Day"

12. Joe - "This Christmas"

13. The Isley Brothers - "Special Gift"

14. The Big Yard Family - "All We Need is Love (Christmas in the Yard)

15. Britney Spears - "My Only Wish (This Year)"

16. *NSync - "You Don't Have to be Alone (On Christmas)

17. Luther Vandross - "O Come All Ye Faithful"

18. Boyz II Men - "Silent Night"

This collection has as much Christmas music as one can possibly cram onto two CDs. I'd say 3/4ths of it is pretty dang good. The first disc is solid with classics from Nat King Cole, Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, and Tony Bennett. It also has some of the sillier songs like "Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer" and "Grandma Got Runover By a Reindeer" - all by the original artists - all good. It even has Bing Crosby and David Bowie and their version of "Little Drummer Boy" which is probably my all time favorite version of that song. The second disc starts out good but ends up a fetid pile of suck by the end. I like John & Yoko, Band Aid, and I love the synth-tastic "Wonderful Christmastime." But Britney Spears? *NSync? Who the heck is the Big Yard Family?! Not to mention Gloria Estefan and Celine Dion chime in to schlock up the disc with some crappy ballads. Still, this is a a good buy for the first disc alone.

Useless Fact: There's a series of "Now" discs... but don't bother, they all suck.

Various Artists - "A Very Special Christmas"

Various Artists - A Very Special Christmas

1987, A&M

1. The Pointer Sisters - "Santa Claus is Coming To Town"

2. Eurythmics - "Winter Wonderland"

3. Whitney Houston - "Do You Hear What I Hear?"

4. Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band - "Merry Christmas Baby"

5. The Pretenders - "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas"

6. John Cougar Mellencamp - "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus"

7. Sting - "Gabriel's Message"

8. Run D.M.C. - "Christmas in Hollis"

9. U2 - "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)

10. Madonna - "Santa Baby"

11. Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band - "The Little Drummer Boy"

12. Bryan Adams - "Run Rudolph Run"

13. Bon Jovi - "I Wish Everyday Could Be Like Christmas"

14. Alison Moyet - "Coventry Carol"

15. Stevie Nicks - "Silent Night"

Oh, man... so many good memories. I was pretty young in '87 so it's a wonder I actually remember some of this stuff. So many good songs on here though! Some of my favorites: Eurythmics' "Winter Wonderland" is probably my favorite version of that song. I've always loved the dark "Gabriel's Message." "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" is pretty dang good too. Oh, and if Chuck Berry isn't singing "Run Rudolph Run" it might as well be Bryan Adams because I think he does a pretty good job. "Christmas in Hollis" is the coolest Christmas rap song ever, the video was pretty cool too if I remember. I don't care for anything Bob Seger does so his version of "Little Drummer Boy" is probably the worst of all the versions I've heard. I also can't stand Stevie Nicks doing "Silent Night" - NOBODY does that song better than Deliverance!

Useless Fact: This disc was a fund raiser for the Special Olympics. I think the proceeds still go to them if I'm not mistaken. So go out and buy one to support a good cause!

Various Artists - "We Wish You a Metal Xmas..."

Various Artists - We Wish You A Metal Xmas...

2008, Armoury

1. We Wish You a Merry Xmas

2. Run Rudolph Run

3. Santa Claws is Coming to Town

4. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen

5. Silver Bells

6. Little Drummer Boy

7. Santa Claus is Back in Town

8. Silent Night

9. Deck the Halls

10. Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer

11. Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree

12. Happy Xmas (War is Over)

I've been waiting for a real metal Christmas CD forever! You'd think with my affinity for metal that I would fall all over myself in praise of this disc. Sadly, that's not the case. It's pretty hit and miss for me - it's got some great tunes, some okay tunes, and some crap tunes. The great: "Little Drummer Boy" with Doug Pinnick (King's X) on vocals, "Deck the Halls," "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree," and "Silver Bells" featuring Geoff Tate (Queensryche). These are good rockin' songs and the vocals are spot on. "Santa Claws is Coming to Town" with Alice Cooper is merely okay as is "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" (with Ronnie James Dio). Then there's "Run, Run Rudolph" with Lemmy Kilmister (Motorhead) and his voice is garbage. I know it's normally not that great but on this song it just sounds like he's mumbling through the words. I also don't care for Chuck Billy (Testament) growling through "Silent Night." We've already got the definitive metal version of that song with Deliverance. So if you're a fan of metal you can take some songs off this and make a cool Christmas playlist, but as a whole I think it's a little lacking.

Useless Fact: I think this album was born out of the Twisted Sister's Christmas album that came out the year before.

Various Artists - "Demolition"

Various Artists - Demolition
1992, REX

1. Thresher - "My Reality"
2. Mortal Enemy - "Exodus of Life"
3. Dodavahu - "Attitude"
4. Consecrator - "Free From Death"
5. The Unknown - "Graphic Nature"
6. Abhor Evil - "Zone Zong"
7. Hot Pink Turtle - "Glide"
8. Sardonyx - "Puppet of Beauty"
9. Immortal - "Senseless Abandon"

I've said before that I usually don't like demos, so it's a bit surprising that I absolutely LOVE this collection. That's probably because there's some great music on here. Thresher was a great metal band that never saw a proper label release and Consecrator is a searing slice of Believer-esque technical thrash. This disc also has "Glide" - the first Hot Pink Turtle song I ever heard and what initially turned me on to the band. Also, Immortal appears with "Senseless Abandon" which, if you remember, was on Circle of Dust's first album (the very first one, not the do-over). The only problem is the mastering in "Puppet of Beauty" by Sardonyx. The audio drops out during the track and it's very distracting.

Useless Fact: Out of the nine bands on here, only one (Hot Pink Turtle) went on to record a full length album with REX. Why those dang fools over at REX didn't snap up Thresher and Consecrator is beyond me. Immortal became Circle of Dust and recorded with REX though I'm not counting that because Circle wasn't thrash like Immortal was.

Various Artists - "Brow Beat: Unplugged Alternative"

Various Artists - Brow Beat: Unplugged Alternative

1993, Alarma

1. The Choir - "Wilderness"

2. Poor Old Lu - "Drenched Descent"

3. Michael Knott - "Deaf and Dumb"

4. Terry Taylor - "Will Have to Do For Now"

5. Dig Hay Zoose - "Keep Me In Mind"

6. The Throes - "Monday World"

7. Lost Dogs - "No Ship Coming In"

8. Mortal - "Bleeder"

9. LSU - "Crack"

10. Undercover - "Symbol"

11. Adam Again - "Don't Cry"

This is a nice little compilation. Some of these songs have appeared on official albums in more electric forms. All of them except "No Ship Coming In" are different enough that you won't just skip over them. Moreover there's a nice amount of songs that you can't find on any album that I know of. I think a few of them were recorded just for this comp. "Drenched Descent" is probably one of the best songs that Poor Old Lu ever did! I also like the loungey/jazz sound of "Keep Me In Mind," another exclusive. If you like any of the bands here, you'll like this disc no question.

Useless Fact: Mike Knott from LSU painted the cover. He paints a lot of covers.