Weihnachten, die Dritte: Wer sich mal richtig hart amüsieren will, der sollte mal bei "Twisted Sister - A Twisted Christmas (2006)" reinhören. Dreckiger Heavyrock und Weihnachtslieder - die müssen im Studio richtig Spaß gehabt haben.
Ich zitiere: "Holiday-themed albums need to either be pretty good, horrifically terrible, or completely original to cause even the jolliest head to turn. Twisted Christmas, a ten-track collection of yuletide classics from the band that once writhed atop a convertible singing the song "Burn in Hell" near the end of Pee Wee's Big Adventure, manages to achieve all three. Twisted Sister was always a group that would occasionally transcend their hair metal image with some truly majestic and powerful rock & roll, so it comes as no surprise that they filter the beloved Christmas carol through the same makeup-smeared sieve that brought the world "I Wanna Rock," "Wake Up the Sleeping Giant," and "The Prize." In fact, "Oh Come All Ye Faithful" sounds so much like a reimagining of "We're Not Gonna Take It," the listener can't help but become outraged at all of the injustice in the world. "Deck the Halls" sounds like a Ramones tune, "I'll Be Home for Christmas," featuring guest vocalist Lita Ford, could have launched a thousand lighters at any stadium in the late '80s, and the absolutely embarrassing "Heavy Metal Christmas" ("12 silver crosses, 11 black mascaras, ten pairs of platforms, nine tattered T-shirts, eight pentagrams, seven leather jackets, six cans of hair spray, five skullhead rings, four quarts of Jack, three studded belts, two pairs of spandex pants, and a tattoo of Ozzy") is almost impossible to turn off without seeing it through to its loathsome but charming end.,,J.C. Monger
The second, and supposedly final, recording by Twisted Sister after they reunited in the early 2000's. This is quite an odd beast, it is an album of traditional Christmas songs recorded by Twisted Sister. On the surface it seems like quite a bizarre concept; something that wouldn't work. But wow - does it work. I've been a TS fan since the early 80's right before they broke big with "We're Not Gonna Take It". I've followed them since then pretty well, I'd like to say I like something from all their eras, but when I heard about this, I thought "Ugh". But I gave it a shot, and it hooked me.
What makes this work for me I think is that I've always been someone who has disliked Christmas music. It's not because of the meaning behind the songs, it's generally been the music itself. Not so much the songs, but the way they're played. To me, most Christmas music is unlistenable. But this completely works. So much so I've been hooked since the day it came out. In the week and a half since it's been released (I'm writing this on the 27th, 10 days after release) I've probably listened to it 20 or 30 times. It has crystallized my feelings on Christmas music that it's the presentation of the songs. Since I'm a metal guy, I loved this presentation.
Two things to point out here. The actual songs themselves are unchanged (other than the instruments they're played on obviously) except for two songs. The first is "Oh Come All Ye Faithful". The lyrics are the same, but the music is the music from "We're Not Gonna Take It". It's quite interesting to see how well those lyrics fit that song. The other modified one is the 12 Days of Christmas. Instead of the traditional 12 gifts, TS has things like "Tattoo of Ozzy", "Spandex Pants", "Cans of Hairspray", etc. That's quite funny.
The problem with this album is that most metal heads will dismiss it out of hand because it doesn't fit their generally narrow view of what a hard rock/heavy metal album should be. Shame, as this album works very well for this old school Twisted Sister fan..."
Tracklist:
01. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas 04:50
02. Oh Come All Ye Faithful 04:41
03. White Christmas 03:58
04. I'll Be Home for Christmas 04:10
05. Silver Bells 05:07
06. I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus 03:38
07. Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow 03:11
08. Deck the Halls 02:54
09. The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire) 03:42
10. Heavy Metal Christmas (The Twelve Days of Christmas) 05:14
