A Twisted Christmas
A Twisted Christmas | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | October 17, 2006[1] | |||
Recorded | June–August 2006[1] | |||
Studio | Audio Magick, West Babylon, New York | |||
Genre | Christmas, hard rock, heavy metal[1] | |||
Length | 41:50 | |||
Label | Razor & Tie | |||
Producer | Mark Mendoza, Jay Jay French | |||
Twisted Sister chronology | ||||
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A Twisted Christmas is the sixth and final studio album by American heavy metal group Twisted Sister, with the band releasing it on October 17, 2006. The album features classic Christmas songs performed in metal versions, often featuring lyrical changes.[1]
The holiday carol "
Premise and inspiration
Although not properly a
"
Parts of the guitar
Metal star Ozzy Osbourne's influence on the group and its music is name-checked in closing number "Heavy Metal Christmas (The Twelve Days of Christmas)": with the promised gifts being "twelve silver crosses, eleven black mascaras, ten pairs of platforms, nine tattered t-shirts, eight pentagrams, seven leather jackets, six cans of hairspray, five skull-head rings, four quarts of Jack, three studded belts, two pairs of spandex pants, and a tattoo of Ozzy".[1]
Recording and release
The album was recorded from June to August 2006. The band produced the release themselves.[1]
Two music videos were made for "Oh Come All Ye Faithful". The first one follows the same style of the band's landmark videos "We're Not Gonna Take It" and "I Wanna Rock", as a married couple celebrate Christmas when the wife discovers that her husband's gift to her is a CD copy of A Twisted Christmas. She then starts to rant about the present until Snider and the band appear behind her. Her lines then are a nod to the video of "We're Not Gonna Take It" where a father scolds his son with the exact same words.[4]
The second video version used the radio edit of the track. It is a short, animated feature with the band taking over Santa's workshop and using his sleigh to drop off Twisted Sister merchandise and cans of hairspray to children.[5]
The music video for "Silver Bells" is the sequel to the first "Oh Come All Ye Faithful" video, as the couple are paid a visit by numerous guests while the band performs live on television. The couple's new baby's head is replaced by the faces of various band members singing.[6]
Twisted Sister also filmed a studio performance of "Heavy Metal Christmas" for GameTap. Unusually, this video featured frontman Snider without his makeup.[7]
Reception
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [1] |
Entertainment Weekly | D+[8] |
Metal Hammer (GER) | 2/7[9] |
Track listing
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | " Oh Come All Ye Faithful" | Traditional | 4:40 |
3. | "White Christmas" | Irving Berlin | 3:56 |
4. | "I'll Be Home for Christmas" | Walter Kent, Buck Ram, Kim Gannon | 4:08 |
5. | "Silver Bells" | Jay Livingston, Ray Evans | 5:05 |
6. | "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" | Tommie Connor | 3:39 |
7. | "Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow" | Jule Styne, Sammy Cahn | 3:09 |
8. | "Deck the Halls" | Traditional | 2:52 |
9. | "The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)" | Robert Wells, Mel Tormé | 3:40 |
10. | "Heavy Metal Christmas (The Twelve Days of Christmas)" | Traditional, lyrics by Twisted Sister | 5:14 |
11. | "We Wish You a Twisted Christmas" (hidden track) | Traditional | 0:36 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "White Christmas (Eddie Ojeda vocals version)" | Irving Berlin | 4:02 |
Personnel
Twisted Sister
- Dee Snider – lead vocals
- Jay Jay French – guitars, backing vocals
- Eddie "Fingers" Ojeda – guitars, backing vocals
- Mark "The Animal" Mendoza – bass, backing vocals
- A. J. Pero – drums, backing vocals
Additional musicians
- Lita Ford – co-lead vocals on "I'll Be Home for Christmas"
- Doro Pesch – backing vocals on "White Christmas"
Production
- Jay Jay French – executive producer
- Mark "The Animal" Mendoza – producer, mixing, mastering
- Denny McNerney – engineer, mixing, mastering
- George Marshall – assistant engineer
- David Wong;– assistant engineer
Charts
Chart (2006) | Peak position |
---|---|
US Billboard 200[10] | 147 |
US | 27 |
See also
- 2006 in music
- Christmas music
- Twisted Sister discography
References
- ^ AllMusic. Retrieved December 27, 2016.
- ^ a b Vire, Kris (November 2, 2014). "Dee Snider on his Rock & Roll Christmas Tale". Time Out Chicago. Retrieved December 27, 2016.
- ^ "The Best Metal Christmas Songs". Chaospin. December 20, 2020. Retrieved December 26, 2020.
- ^ YouTube – Twisted Sister – Oh Come All Ye Faithful
- ^ YouTube – Twisted Sister Animated Video
- ^ YouTube – Twisted Sister – Silver Bells – Episode 2
- ^ YouTube – Twisted Sister – Heavy Metal Christmas
- ^ Willman, Chris (November 30, 2006). "Chris Willman rates new holiday music". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved July 9, 2017.
- ^ Mineur, Matthias (January 2007). "Twisted Sister - A Twisted Christmas". Metal Hammer. Retrieved July 9, 2017.
- ^ "Twisted Sister Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 11 June 2023.
- ^ "Twisted Sister Chart History (Holiday Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 11 June 2023.