Merry Christmas!

I know I promised not to share any more holiday songs, but today is Christmas, and there is a new Von Smith video that I had to share.

In commemoration of the holiday, Von gives us his take on Mariah Carey's “Miss You Most at Christmastime”. I personally think Von's version, but I am biased, and for another, I am not what would be considered the world's biggest Mariah Carey fan. But Von has an excellent knack for taking a song and making it his own, which he does here. The video itself is simple, with no frills: Von stands in an empty theater, and sings next to Logan Evan Thomas, playing piano. There is not much else you need when Von sings, because his voice commands attention and needs no ornamentation. Hopefully a Christmas album will come from this?

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Femme-Metal Friday: Tarja “Feliz Navidad”

Photo credit: Tim Tronckoe

I am back one more time with another Christmas video...I will share one more on Christmas Day, and then I promise to be done with the holiday music for the rest of the year!

The third and final Tarja video from her Christmas album From Spirits and Ghosts is her rendition of “Feliz Navidad”, known best by singer José Feliciano. Tarja also recorded a version featuring several other rock and metal singers to raise money for hurricane relief in Antigua, but I am going to write about the solo version featured on the album, because a lyric video was released for that song.

Unlike the other two videos, which showed the contrasting Light/Dark Tarja costumes, Tarja is dressed in a simple black dress in a room with a gold or beige background, with some lit candles and a comfortable-looking chair. The lyrics are in a lovely handwritten script, so that listeners can learn both the English and Spanish phrases. This is a stark contrast from the José Feliciano version: this song is known for being upbeat, cheery, and catchy. Tarja's version is subdued and dignified, as if to emphasize the solemnity of what Christmas means, and to convey that her wish to everyone for a Merry Christmas is not made lightly. It sounds almost like an entirely different song; any up-tempo elements have been completely stripped away and made into a somber, serious ballad that holds its own elegant charm and loveliness.

For more information on Tarja's Christmas album, visit the From Spirits and Ghosts website.

Season's greetings!

Hump Day Hot Ticket: Orion's Reign “Santa Claus is Coming to Town”

Band photo

Another Wednesday in December, another Christmas video from Orion's Reign...only this time, I have a new video for you!

Minniva is back on the vocals for this rendition of “Santa Claus is Coming to Town”, with plenty of high-octane power metal vocals to spare. Everyone is rocking out to a festive backdrop, and just looks like they are having so much fun! There is imagery of Santa flying in his sleigh on a snowy night...honestly, I don't know how one can listen to Orion's Reign and not get into the holiday spirit; I suppose it is possible, but they probably don't like Christmas music anyway. As for those of us who love metal and love Christmas music, Orion's Reign has got you covered.

Season's greetings!

Femme-Metal Friday: Tarja “O Tannenbaum”

Photo credit: Tim Tronckoe

I'm back with another Christmas video from Tarja! Let's get started, shall we?

This video starts off with drawings of a busy city at Christmastime: people tramping through the streets in Santa hats, holiday lights illuminating shop windows, and a likeness of Tarja as she was dressed in the previous video  (“O Come, O Come, Emmanuel”, which I reviewed last week). The camera pans out to show it is all inside the pages of a book that Tarja is reading.

This time, Tarja is wearing all black: her hair is raven-black, and the room is dark with black furniture. Tarja's face is painted white, and the small lights on the black Christmas tree give some brightness to the dark scenery. Again, the only spot of color can be found in the dark red on Tarja's lips.

As she sings the beloved Christmas carol in its native German, the drawings appear again, showing happy Nutcracker soldiers in the streets, while a lone shadowy figure approaches a cold and empty graveyard. Then the drawings dissolve to real images, returning to Tarja dressed in white. The camera alternates between her light and dark looks until the two are seen together, sitting across from one another. Now Tarja's dark side is seen in animation, approaching the graveyard as the holiday parade marches down the street. Dark Tarja looks as if she's about to start some trouble as a parade float drives by, and Light Tarja looks worried that something will happen. As the two sides draw nearer, the images flash between real and animated. Then we are left with the book closing on a drawing of the two Tarjas sitting across from each other.

For more information on Tarja or on her Christmas music, visit the official From Spirits and Ghosts website.

Hump Day Hot Ticket: Orion's Reign “Deck the Halls”

Band photo

I hope everyone has enjoyed my forays into Christmas music so far, because there's more to be had! It is the season for sharing, right?

Once again, Wednesdays focus on Orion's Reign, whose power metal-infused renditions of classic Christmas carols have become a favorite of mine at this time of year. Their videos are also of a fun and light-hearted nature, making these festive tunes even merrier.

Like last week's video, this one is a couple of years old, but Christmas music is timeless, so the shelf life of a music video shouldn't matter too much.

The video for “Deck the Halls”  begins with the band setting up their gear in the middle of a forest. Ladies in lovely dresses sit on the grass, trying on flower crowns. After working so hard, one of the bandmembers stops to relax at a nearby tree. As he appears to drift into dreams, the music starts. The ladies stop to look at the band, headbanging in the middle of the forest. At first they seem stunned, then curious, and before long, they are smiling. They follow the sound of the music, hiding behind trees as they watch in awe. As they tiptoe around the wooded areas, it is clear to see that they are fairies, and with one wave of their magic wands, the guitars turn into giant candy canes! The magic wand is brandished a few more times, and before long, the band is “decked” out in red and green, dressed as merry elves as the fairies dance around them and join in the fun.

Was it a bit of Christmas magic, or simply the dreams of a tired musician? You'll just have to watch for yourself.

For more information on Orion's Reign, visit their official website.

Femme-Metal Friday: Tarja “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel”

Photo credit: Tim Tronckoe

As I promised on Wednesday, I was going to feature artists known for being particularly fond of Christmas. If you are a fan of symphonic metal, then the name Tarja already comes to mind; but she has also become known for her beautiful holiday musical renditions.

Ever since going solo, Tarja has consistently released Christmas albums and singles, and performs Christmas concerts in her home country of Finland each year. Her first solo project was a Christmas abum; counting her side project Harus, she has released 3 Christmas albums within the last decade (along with occasional holiday singles here and there). Needless to say, Tarja really knows how to get into the spirit of the season!

Her latest Christmas album, From Spirits and Ghosts, combines Tarja's love of Christmas music with her trademark dark gothic sound. The first video from the album is the one I'm reviewing today: “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel”.

The video itself is of Tarja performing the song amidst white, withered tree branches. She is also dressed completely in white—a white dress, a long white wig, and her face painted white—with a black backdrop, and dark circles painted around her eyes, the only touch of color being the crimson-painted lips, dramatically set against the stark white of her face. The imagery only seems dark and cheerless, but as Tarja sings and the light casts little orbs, the wintry color scheme is of little importance. At the end, the imagery switches to Tarja dressed all in black, but those dark red lips remain.

For more information on Tarja, visit her official website.

Hump Day Hot Ticket: Orion's Reign “We Wish You a Merry Christmas”

Band photo

As I mentioned last Friday, the review writing has been put on “cruise control”, and I am turning it over to holiday music.

With the holiday season under way, the time for playing festive songs for the occasion has arrived. We all have our favorite seasonal tunes, and each year it is guaranteed that at least one of our favorite musicians will release a Christmas album.

That being said, until Christmas, both on Wednesdays and Fridays, I am going to feature two artists within the symphonic metal genre that have come to make Christmas music their specialty.

One of these is the Greek band Orion's Reign, whom I have reviewed here before. Known for their symphonic metal renditions of Christmas classics, Orion's Reign creates a holiday soundtrack for those who like a little more heaviness in their Jingle Bell Rock.

The video for “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” is over 5 years old, but the song itself is far see than that, so who cares? I only have a short window of time to review cool metal Christmas videos, so I am gonna review this one.

Featuring vocalist Marit Børreson and symphonic metal mastermind PelleK, Orion's Reign wishes us a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year in the grandiose, dramatic way that only a symphonic metal band can do. Marit and PelleK are dressed up in Santa hats, the band performs among a Christmasy backdrop, and stockings adorn the drums and guitars.

For more information on Orion's Reign, visit their official website.

Femme-Metal Friday: Leah “Winter Sun”

Leah & Eric Peterson

For the next few weeks, I think I am going to do something a little different and put the reviewing on cruise control, so to speak. The holidays are fast approaching, so why not look for some seasonally appropriate music?

Granted, I am really putting it on cruise control this week: it's a lyric video, and it's also from two years ago. But good music is timeless, right?

This week, I am reviewing the “Celtic folk metal” vocalist Leah, whose musical description sounds pretty bad-ass. Further solidifying her bad-assery, she has joined forces with Testament guitarist Eric Peterson. Then, they proceeded to write this song in 3 days, in different countries altogether, using nothing but smartphone apps to compose the song! That's bad-ass, in my book!

Using background images of Leah (who sings beautifully), Eric (who sheds masterfully), and a frozen stream in the snow-capped wilderness, it's the perfect song for ushering in the winter season without being a holiday song. It's perfect for those who want to celebrate the season, but either hate Christmas music or are sick to death of hearing it. Christmas is not the only winter holiday, and this is perfect for Solstice, or just for welcoming in winter.

For more information on Leah, visit her official website.