Various Artists - A Metal Christmas

This delightfully low-budget bootleg LP bears no information about when or where it was released or by who. The sleeve is printed on a simple, folded piece of cardboard and the center labels on the vinyl are completely blank. Aside from the track listings on the back there is nothing printed on here but funny painting of a satanic Santa Clause.

Side one combines some heavy metal Christmas songs from various sources: Venom's "Black Xmas" is taken from their Calm Before The Storm LP (1987), King Diamond's "No Presents For Christmas", Twisted Sister's 2006 rendition of "Oh Come All Ye Faithful" as well as holiday tracks from 220 Volt and Monster Magnet.

Side two is just a collection of tracks from the We Wish You A Metal Xmas (And A Headbanging New Year) compilation CD. These songs are a mash-up of heavy metal notables, the best of which is a cover of "Run, Rudolph, Run" by Lemmy Kilmister, Billy Gibbons (of ZZ TOP) and Dave Grohl. There's also some less-listenable offerings from Alice Cooper and Ronnie James Dio, as well as some  not-so-super groups featuring members of Anthrax, Testament, Iced Earth, and Thin Lizzy. Overall, it's a sloppy bootleg that's half great and covered in typos but does well at gathering some of these scattered tracks onto one LP.

TWISTED SISTER - OH COME ALL YE FAITHFUL


LEMMY KILMISTER, BILLY GIBBONS & DAVE GROHL - RUN, RUDOLPH, RUN

Slow Motion - Christmas Charade

Here is Slow Motion with their 1979 single "Christmas Charade",  a three minute medley of frantic power-pop versions of White Christmas, Good King Wenceslas, Jingle Bells, and God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen. This was the only material they ever officially released.

SLOW MOTION - CHRISTMAS CHARADE

The Slackers - Dreidel

Well, Hanukkah 2012 has come and gone and I was meaning to get this one posted in time but I'm a bit of a...um...damn, whats the word? It's on the tip of my tongue.  Starts with a SLA.... Anyhoo, here are The Slackers with their 2009 holiday 45 "Dreidel". If you can still find this one out there it's available on a few different colors of vinyl (500 in solid blue and some limited pressings on blue and white splattered vinyl). Happy Hanukkah!

THE SLACKERS - DREIDEL


THE SLACKERS - DREIDEL (DUB MIX)

EA80 - Dezember

Here's a 4 track Christmas EP from depressing German punk band EA80. Not much info out there on this band (as you can see from the band's official website). According to the Wikipedia page they are considered one of the oldest still-active punk bands and have been self-releasing similarly dreary and monotonous records since 1982. This record was released in 1989 and again in 1990 right before the holidays because apparently even depressed German post-punk weirdos need a little Christmas..um..cheer?

EA80 - I KNOW THAT YOU KNOW


EA80 - HALLELUJA


EA80 - IT'S CHRISTMAS


EA80 - XMAS IS OVER

US Bombs - 12/25

By 1997 most kids skipping class to go skateboarding weren't listening to punk rock anymore, but if they had been then War Birth would have been their soundtrack. At that point frontman Duane Peters had been "working on breaking his own bones with some style" for thirty something years, but still managed to identify with teenage punks who just needed loud music and some of their parents booze to have a good time. It's odd that there actually is a Christmas song on this record, but if you only listened to War Birth when you were 16 years old and high on Ritalin then "1225" might not have registered as the date of the infant Jesus' birth. It's your typical touching yet cynical punk tune about empty pockets and empty bottles, with some great holiday lines in the mix ("Christmas Carol is whore on the corner" comes to mind). Released in 1997 by Epitaph Records. Enjoy!

US BOMBS - 12/25

Luis & the Wildfires - Who Likes Xmas Anyway

Here's another great 2011 release from Norton Records. Luis and the Wildfires go psycho on this Cramps-style holiday track and Luis throws in some bonus holiday wishes at the end. The Wildfires, from Los Angeles, blend together 50's rock n roll with 60's garage punk and put on one hell of a wild performance in the process. To take a listen to this track head here and don't forget to pick up some vinyl stocking stuffers at Norton Records.

Knights of the New Crusade - Christmas at Montsegur

In light of the disaster that has struck Norton Records, I thought I'd post some comments about a few of last year's awesome additions to Norton's Christmas catalog. For those unaware, earlier this year Hurricane Sandy destroyed the label's warehouse facility and a huge effort is underway to save thousands of great records. The label is seeking volunteers and donations and more information can be found at the label's website, www.nortonrecords.com or by emailing nortonrec@aol.com.

This is a great holiday single from The Knights of the New Crusade, a band who proclaim (in what seems to be absolute seriousness) that their  mission is to make "Christian rock that actually rocks". The religious gimmick is laid on so thick with these guys that it's hard to tell if it's a joke or not. However, there are a few clues that these guys might be having a good long laugh at anyone who takes them too seriously. The band, who singed to Jello Biafra's punk label Alternative Tenticles, perform dressed entirely like crusaders, complete with chainmail coifs, medieval weaponry and crested tunics. Song titles like "Ain't No Monkeys In My Family Tree" and "Temptation of a Hipster" are as much satire as they are hilarious.  If that's not suspect enough, the Knights hail from San Francisco, a city where the best and most notorious garage rockers dress like mummies and rabbits among other things. Although it's pretty safe to call them satirical, there are some who take this routine much to seriously, as seen in this article that appears in HM magazine.

As for the Christmas tunes, both "Christmas at Montsegur" and "Three Magi of Damascus" (which tells the true story of the three "kings" who visited the infant Jesus) are great surf-rock flavored garage punk. As typical with Norton's holiday singles, this 45 comes on green-colored vinyl.

Pointed Sticks - Power Pop Santa

According to ancient Mayan tweets, this holiday season just might be the last one you ever celebrate.  In fact, with the apocalypse predicted to occur on December 21st 2012, we're apparently not even gonna make it to Christmas day! Total bummer, right? And to make matters worse, 2012 not only marks the end of the world but the end of the Pointed Sticks as well. Released by La Ti Da Records, this 7inch commemorates their final performance at this year's Fall Down/Get Down festival in Vancouver, BC. The two songs on this single were actually released a few years back as a digital download from the band's website, but it's great to see these tracks get an official vinyl release.

Reunions can be an excellent way to show the world how irrelevant and outdated you've become.  However, the Pointed Sticks were truly an amazing band to witness, and since they reunited in 2006 they've released new material that rivals all the old classics. The enthusiasm over "power-pop" has died down a little since these tracks were first released in 2008 but (and concert goers at the Fall Down/Get Down will attest) these guys stayed cool to the end.

"Power Pop Santa" is an ode to the genre; the lyrics are a run-down of Santa's list to power-pop favorites like Nikki Corvette and the Shangri-Las but also include some of the younger bands who took influence from the Sticks (the Shy Ones, the Tranzmitors, Babyshakes). And it's no surprise that these kids are opening gifts that include tambourines and Beatle wigs. This stuff is by no means wimpy bubblegum. If there was ever a band that could make "oooh wee oooh"s sound punk it was the Pointed Sticks.

There are only limited quantities of this catchy-as-hell single left so check out La Ti Da Records before the world ends.

Impact - Punk Christmas

About freakin' time! A punk rock Christmas blog can't hardly call themselves the experts without mentioning this gem.  Aside from a single track on the Country Fit For Heroes II compilation, this is the only release by the Welsh band Impact.  Odd for a band to want their first and only single to be a Christmas one but hey, it's a fun one.  There's two non-Christmas tracks on here as well, "Law of the Land" and "Your Decisions", all three are excellent UK82 punk rippers with a working-class, no-future attitude that was always synonymous with this genre.  There are two different covers to this 7 inch, the one pictured above and a more rudimentary drawn one that shows a laughing Santa skull.  Released by Cyanide Records in 1983 and always fetches a fair price on ebay around the holidays.

IMPACT - PUNK CHRISTMAS

Various Artists - A Midnight Xmess Part III

The last in this series from the defunct Midnight Records offers a third helping of even more obscure holiday duds for your listening discomfort.  Lots of these same bands can be found on Part 2 such as Dementia 13, The Love Pushers, and the Iguanas but unless you're a record collector with bad taste browsing through record bins in upstate New York it's probably a safe bet that you've never heard of any of these guys.  There's some painfully dull 12-bar blues from a band who's slogan is "You Can't O.D. on R'n'B" (The Senders) and some tongue-in-cheek PMS rock from The Sterilles ("Mrs. Claus Has Menopause"). Amazingly, there is a standout track: "Yuh, Xmess" by The Gorehounds.  As the name suggests these garage rockers from Portland, Maine play "graverock" a la The Gruesomes, Gravedigger V (or one of the dozens of other bands that sang Jack The Ripper).  Here's an upload you can enjoy.

THE GOREHOUNDS - "YUH, XMESS"