Rob Halford offers the most highly anticipated Christmas album of the season Winter Songs, another fantastic contribution from the world of heavy metal to the most wonderful time of the year.
To be honest, I did not feel the holiday vibe in the beginning as I did on A Twisted Christmas and We Wish You A Metal Xmas. However by the fourth car ride to work with Winter Songs, the metallic yuletide spirit orchestrated by Halford III forced itself upon me in a somewhat uncomfortable manner, that wasn’t as far as a violation of my soul, but not far from it.
While there are a couple of gems on the first half of the disc such as the blistering opener “Get Into The Spirit,” ironically it is the second half that was responsible for this hostile spiritual abduction. The last five tracks consist of brilliant interpretations of the Christmas ballads “Come All Ye Faithful” and “Oh Holy Night.” It is on these slower tracks that Halford allows his voice to shine bright, resulting in a very moving listening experience.
I am sure there are many metal heads that would disagree and argue that Winter Songs is not a true Halford record because of the ballads, but you simply cannot discount great music because it is not as heavy as “Painkiller.”
In addition to the devastating tunes in the beginning and the aforementioned ballads, “Christmas For Everyone” features an upbeat and quirky boogie that will even please your girl, hence the title.
Winter Songs is the must own holiday album of the year. If you have difficulty embracing it in the beginning, do not give up. Within several listens, the Metal God will once again own your soul. It is your responsibility to give it that chance –Meds
Halford III is Rob Halford (Vocals), Roy Z (Guitars), Metal Mike Chlasiack (Guitars), Mike Davis (Bass), & Bobby Jarzombek.
Track Listing:
- “Get Into The Spirit”
- “We Three Kings”
- “Oh Come O Come Emmanuel”
- “Winter Song”
- “What Child Is This”
- “Christmas For Everyone”
- “I Don’t Care”
- “Light Of The World”
- “O Holy Night”
- “Come All Ye Faithful”