Twisted Sister - A Twisted X-Mas - Live in Las Vegas

Originally only available in the Bars to the Stars box set; now A Twisted Christmas - Live in Las Vegas can be yours, by itself, in the CD and DVD format.  Twisted Sister released their metal'd up versions of Christmas classics 6 years ago, and have been heavy-ing up the holidays ever since.  Since the inception of this idea, the band has been making it a tradition to perform around the NY area to spread their form of holiday cheer.  After the success of those shows, the band took their Merriment to Las Vegas for metal Christmas, that fans will not soon forget.  

The band was firing on all cylinders that night, and sound as good as they did back in the day.  The show is Christmas themed, as one would guess, with Dee Snider in full Santa gear.  The set list is a mix of Christmas tunes as well as some classic TS.  The show was filmed well and looks great.  The only problem with the DVD, is the fans seemed pretty lame.  Can't believe people could be sitting down watching this killer show.  Maybe they should of filmed this in Houston, I'm just sayin...  The audio on the CD's is clear and gives you a sense of being at the show.  It was as entertaining watching as well as listening to the CD in the car.  This will be a new holiday tradition in the Ragman household.

Bottom Line: TS showing that they can rock the holidays better than anyone else.  A nice mix of classics and Christmas tunes.  The band sound and look so great, it makes you yearn for some new material.  Maybe, one day.

-Ragman is thinking Santa never looked so scary.

Merry Christmas and HORNS UP!

Like Santa wouldn't be a total shredder if he wanted to play guitar...On behalf of the staff here at The Right To Rock world headquarters in Houston, Texas, I want to wish all of you the happiest of holidays and hope you get to spend time with those you love.

And if you get to do that with a dose of heavy metal and/or good beer then cheers to ya!

With any luck, maybe you got Sir Christopher Lee's awesome album of metal Christmas songs...

- Genghis is considering a glass of egg nog...

Kill Ritual - The Serpentine Ritual

Now *this* is the kind of metal I'm looking for. Rags calls it meat and potatoes, I just call it METAL.Former Imagika members Steven Rice and Wayne DeVecchi were dead set on making an original straight ahead metal band, and found a similar intent in former Eldritch guitarist Roberto Proietti, and former Dark Angel bassist Danyael Williams. The result is Kill Ritual and their impressive debut album, The Serpentine Ritual.

Generally speaking, this is what Ragman would call "meat and potatoes metal", in that it's straight ahead heavy metal, not swinging too far into any particular subgenre. It's not symphonic, but it is satisfyingly dramatic. It's not progressive, but it's got more sophistication than, say, Motörhead. It's not power metal, but it does have moments of gothic bombasticity. Basically, this is the kind of thing you were headbanging to in the late 80s when metal ruled the airwaves with an iron fist.

Vocalist Josh Gibson really tops the sound of the band off with a classic metal voice, usually coming off like a cross between Bon Scott and Vince Neil. You can just picture this band rocking the shit out of clubs all over the place. BONUS: Andy La Rocque plays guest solo on Coat of Blood. Score!

The Bottom Line: This is good old-fashioned heavy metal at its finest, wreathed in smoke, smelling of beer and whiskey, and making it impossible to keep your head from banging and your leg from moving. Swagger, damn you!

Tracks To Make You Consider Getting a Pair of Leather Pants: The Serpentine Ritual, Ambush, Old School Thrasher, and Coat of Blood

- Genghis is an old school thrasher (and he wants metal tonight)...

Germ - Wish

This is wild stuff from down under. Think black metal meets 80s era alternative music (lots of synth).Germ is a one man show, the product of the fevered Aussie brain of Tim Yatras. It's billed as black metal meets electronica but to be honest, I'm not sure if that's totally accurate or not. Not because it's bad or anything, but when you come across such a different bit of artistic expression it's hard to know what to make of it.

There are times when it seems sublime and other times when you're finger hovers over the next track button. In between is a sonic landscape that's both familiar and alien. I can't tell you how many times I've read or heard musicians bemoan the industry's tendency to label everything that artists put out. Perhaps Tim, as Germ, has managed to produce something closer to being truly uncategorizable. On the black metal side, there are banshee vocals that are downright chilling in an appropriately ethereal mix, while on the electronica side, the hypnotic pulse of keyboard rhythms provides a a steady canvas for the rest of the musical onslaught.

I've heard a lot of buzz about how brilliant this music is, and I'm not saying it's without any appeal. I certainly appreciate the guitar solos (yeah, there are some) that try to pierce the sonic tapestry that Yatras weaves, but there's such a spacey feel to everything - like it was recorded live in a giant concert hall - that the mix often becomes muddy. Still, there's definitely something there that bears appreciation. I would love to hear a remix of this by one of the European melodeath master producers, like Fredrik Nordström.

The Bottom Line: Many have called Tim Yatras' music the creation of a genius. And it definitely shows talent and promise. The only thing missing at this point is a really good producer - one used to capturing music that's moody and melodic, but also brutually heavy - to capture a faithful respresentation of it, helping to bring out the essence of Yatras' musical inspiration for a sure to be eager audience.

Tracks To Make You Wonder What's In Them Vegemite Sandwiches Anyway: Asteroid Of Sorrow, Your Smile Mirrors The Sun

- Genghis has always wanted to visit the land of Oz...

D.I.S. - Becoming Wrath

Lace up your Vans and grab your board. It's time to try to ollie over the stage while D.I.S. pumps out the tunes.The young L.A. band Destroyed In Seconds (aka D.I.S.) has been around the last few years extolling their brand of heavy music apparently known as D-punk. Which goes to show you that Rock is clearly the most prolific music on the planet with seemingly endless variations. In this case, D-punk (which basically sounds like punk music played by a thrash band) has been around since the late 70s over in Europe - by way of Sweden, no less.

Admittedly, listening through this album was a bit like listening to one half hour song as it sort of all blends together. But that's not to say they're phoning it in. The energy is brutal and relentless, I'll give 'em that. And Jon Tomala's throat must be made of galvanized steel, cuz this guy screams like the Incredible Hulk caught his junk in his zipper after taking a whiz. I'd be remiss if I failed to mention that there are moments of the music where a nice chunky groove weaves into the mix as on No Guillotine Like The Truth, that sounds like a forgotten Sevendust track.

One last middling criticism: I know it's sort of accepted, but if you can't play a good solo (even simple ones can be good), just don't even try. Okay?

The Bottom Line: I've no doubt that this is a young man's band, and they've got the goods to be respected by any young punk looking to drink and take out his anger at the world on fellow moshers all in a good night's fun. So, skaters: pick this up and work on those sneers.

Tracks So Heavy They'd Scare Jeff Spicoli Out Of The Park: Becoming Wrath, No Guillotine Like The Truth, Built For The End, and The Crushing Low

- Genghis shamefully never did learn to skate in high school in the 80s...