Heavy Holidays: 10 metal Christmas songs to make the Yuletide loud
Yes, Virginia, there are heavy metal Christmas songs….
And why not? Pop, country, jazz, hip-hop and mainstream rock have all laid claim to the holiday with classic songs in their respective genres for years now, so why not metal too? After all, Christmas is nothing if not joyful and fun; and, despite the fact that it’s a genre rife with grisly song titles, album covers and subject matter, heavy metal can still be (and often is) joyful and fun as well. Don’t believe me? Just crank up these seasonally appropriate metal ditties while you’re trimming the tree or wrapping presents and see if you don’t crack a smile or, at the very least, throw the horns in appreciation. In no particular order, here are some of my favorite heavy metal Christmas songs….
Hail Santa!
1. KING DIAMOND - “No Presents For Christmas” (1985)
If you thought the King of horror-themed metal was just for Halloween, think again. Sure, King Diamond has built a lucrative career by embracing all things dark and spooky, but when he decided to quit Mercyful Fate in 1984 to pursue a solo career, the first single released by his new eponymous solo band in ‘85 was this now classic metal Christmas song. King’s patented falsetto is the star of the show here, but topflight performances from lead guitarist Andy LaRocque, future Motorhead and current Scorpions drummer Mikkey Dee, and fellow Mercyful Fate alumni Michael Denner and Timi Hansen on guitar and bass respectively elevate this one from mere novelty song to perennial holiday favorite of festive headbangers the world over. Originally released as a stand-alone 12” single, you can now find it as a bonus track on the CD version of the debut King Diamond album Fatal Portrait and on the 1988 EP The Dark Sides.
2. 220 VOLT - “Heavy Christmas” (1986)
220 Volt (pronounced “two-twenty”) are a Swedish band that formed in 1979 and are still active today. Playing a mix of hard rock and traditional metal, they achieved moderate success in their home country, Germany and Japan in the 80’s. Though they were signed to CBS Records and released several solid (if unremarkable) albums with the label between 1983 and 1987, American success proved elusive as the band tried to compete in the shadow of other hugely successful major label bands of the time like Def Leppard, Quiet Riot and Motley Crue. Today, they are best remembered for this single from 1986, which was also released as the title track to an EP and was featured on their 1987 US compilation album Young and Wild. The driving riff, galloping tempo and hooky chorus all make for a fun holiday romp, and a worthy addition to our Heavy Holiday Playlist.
3. VENOM - “Black Xmas” (1987)
The godfathers of black metal were at a crossroads in 1987, and were about to start a slow, steady decline in quality from which they’ve never fully recovered. They had begun recording demo tracks for a new album tentatively titled Deadline when original guitarist Jeffrey “Mantas” Dunn decided to quit the band. Remaining members Conrad “Cronos” Lant and Anthony “Abaddon” Bray replaced him with two guitarists, Mike Hickey and James Clare, making this the first Venom album recorded as a quartet. The resulting new record, re-titled Calm Before The Storm, was largely forgettable. Gone were the overtly Satanic lyrics and imagery that had become the band’s musical bread and butter, replaced instead by a strange lyrical mish-mash of mythology, heroic fantasy and sex. A more polished production job than previous records did them no favors either, robbing them of the scrappy, punky quality that had set them apart from their more virtuosic contemporaries. An odd choice for an opening track on an odd record, “Black Xmas” nevertheless is one of the stand-out tunes, driven by a propulsive main riff, with the two guitarists adding a little extra heft to the trademark Venom sound. It’s all downhill after that, but “Black Xmas” at least rocks hard enough to make our Heavy Holidays playlist.
4. SAVATAGE - “Christmas Eve (Sarajevo 12/24)” (1995)
This is the one song on the list that even non-metalheads are probably familiar with. Even if you’ve never heard the name Savatage, you’ve almost certainly heard this tune. It’s a track taken from the band’s 1995 album Dead Winter Dead, a concept album that tells a fictional story set in Sarajevo during the Bosnian War. The song became a surprise hit, and it gets regular holiday airings on rock radio around Christmastime every year. It’s an instrumental track that features the band plus an orchestra and a lone cello player, and it incorporates rocked up melodies from “Carol Of The Bells” and “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen.”
When Savatage released “Christmas Eve (Sarajevo 12/24)” as a single, it actually made it onto the Billoboard Top 40 charts, peaking at number 34 in 1996. When the song was re-released under the name Trans-Siberian Orchestra, it charted again, and is now a bona-fide holiday staple, having sold over 1,300,000 copies. And though Trans-Siberian Orchestra started off as a Christmas-themed Savatage side project, the’ve now released seven albums, tour annually around the holidays and have reached a level of success never dreamed of by the original band. In fact, TSO has become so successful, they’ve now been the full-time focus of Savatage founder and keyboardist Jon Oliva since the early 2000’s, much to the chagrin of hardcore Svatage fans who’ve been clamoring for a new album for years. Thankfully, those fans received some good news recently. The Dead Winter Dead-era line-up of Savatage has been re-activated and will be touring Europe in 2025 (unfortunately minus Oliva, due to ongoing health issues that prevent him from touring, though he heartily endorses the tour). Fingers crossed for some American dates and a new album!
5. TYPE O NEGATIVE - “Red Water (Christmas Mourning)” (1996)
Remember at the beginning of this list when I said that heavy metal can be joyful? Yeah, not this one…
Like King Diamond, Type O Negative’s gloomy, doomy dirges are more closely associated with Hallowen than Christmas, but “Red Water (Christmas Mourning)” is a rare exception. Released in 1996 on the band’s October Rust album, it was inspired by the death of bassist/lead vocalist Peter Steele’s father, which did in fact occur on a Christmas morning. The lyrics also mention a “…table set for but seven/ just last year I dined with eleven,” inferring that Peter lost other friends and/or family members as well.
It’s no secret that Christmas can be a melancholy affair for some. And as depressing as this song might seem, for those of us that have suffered loss, it also provides a comfort of sorts. It’s a reminder that you’re not alone in your seasonal sadness. Others are grieving too.
The “Red Water” referred to in the title is red wine, Peter’s preferred method of chasing away painful memories. Sadly, Peter’s fondness for red water (and other substances) eventually caught up with him. Though he did finally manage to get clean later in life, his years of drinking and drugging took their toll. He died in 2010 at the age of 48.
6. TWISTED SISTER - “O Come All Ye Faithful” (2006)
You may not have picked up on this before, but singer Dee Snider’s vocal melody in Twisted Sister’s biggest hit “We’re Not Gonna’ Take It” bears a striking resemblance to the melody of “O Come All Ye Faithful.” In his autobiography, Dee freely admits that he took inspiration from the traditional Christmas carol when penning Twisted Sister’s big breakthrough song for their third album Stay Hungry in 1984. 22 years later, the band decided to flip the scenario by recording a metal version of the holiday favorite using a similar arrangement, vocal delivery and guitar solo to that of “We’re Not Gonna’ Take it.” And you know what? It works! The band recorded a whole Christmas album (called A Twisted Christmas, naturally) employing the same technique with other Christmas songs (incorporating elements of the Twisted Sister songs “I Wanna’ Rock” and “S.M.F.” into their version of “White Christmas,” for example). The result is a silly, trashy good time, best enjoyed like a Hallmark Christmas movie: don’t think too hard about it, just sit back, have fun and revel in the over-the-top ridiculousness.
7. RONNIE JAMES DIO, TONY IOMMI, RUDY SARZO & SIMON WRIGHT -
“God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” (2008)
There have been a number of compilation albums released over the past few years that all have the same concept: throw a bunch of random hard rock/metal musicians together in random combinations, have them record some cover songs, and see what happens. Usually, these comps are pretty lackluster, depending on which musicians they get to participate. Often, the line-ups consist of a bunch of hair metal has-beens, or musicians who aren’t really metal players, but more like hard rock-adjacent (Steve Lukather? The dude from Toto? Really??)
Surprisingly, We Wish You A Metal Xmas & A Headbanging New Year, released in 2008, actually boasts a pretty stellar roster of real heavy metal all-stars. I mean, Ronnie James Dio, Tony Iommi, Alice Cooper, Scott Ian, and Lemmy?? Hell yeah!
Perhaps not so surprisingly, it’s the Dio/Iommi collaboration that stands out here. Every metal fan knows that when you put Dio and Iommi in the same room together (and when they could both keep their egos in check), something pretty magical (and definitely pretty heavy) was bound to happen. Such was the case with their version of the holiday staple “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen.” With a line-up rounded out by Quiet Riot/Ozzy/Whitesnake bassist Rudy Sarzo and formr AC/DC/Dio/UFO drummer Simon Wright, this version is anchored by a monster Iommi riff delivered in classic downtuned Sabbath fashion, with Ronnie sounding as majestic as ever belting out his tidings of comfort and joy. It’s a doom metal Christmas miracle! And anything involving Ronnie’s voice and Tony’s guitar is definitely Heavy Holidays playlist material.
8. CHUCK BILLY, SCOTT IAN, JOHN DONAIS, CHRIS WYSE & JOHN TEMPESTA -
“Silent Night” (2008)
The other stand-out track from the We Wish You A Metal Xmas comp is this version of “Silent Night,” featuring Testament’s Chuck Billy on lead vocals (employing his Demonic-era death metal growl), Scott Ian from Anthrax on rhythm guitar, John Donais on lead guitar (co-founder of Shadows Fall and Anthrax lead guitarist since 2013), Chris Wyse on bass (Ozzy, The Cult, Ace Frehley and others) and John Tempesta on drums (Exodus, Testament, White Zombie). Two dudes from Testament, two from Anthrax and a former Ozzy bassist? Just on paper alone this seems like it would crush right?
And crush is exactly what it does, starting off in the traditional slow tempo before taking off at breakneck speed. I mean, did we need a thrash metal version of “Silent Night?” Turns out, yes. Yes we did.
9. ROB HALFORD - “Donner And Blitzen” (2019)
Perhaps inspired by the positive reaction to and/or the respectable sales of Twisted Sister’s 2006 Christmas album, legendary Judas Priest frontman Rob Halford released his own holiday collection in 2009 with his solo band Halford called Halford III: Winter Songs. A second collection called Celestial (billed as “Rob Halford With Family & Friends”) was released in 2019. Both feature a mix of traditional Christmas songs (sometimes adapted to the metal style, sometimes not) and some winter/holiday themed originals. Neither album is super groundbreaking or anything, but they’re both kinda’ fun, and will certainly scratch the hard rock itch if you’ve got a hankering for it around the holidays. But to me, Winter Songs seemed a little too new-agey, with some songs softened with piano and keyboards (perhaps to make them a little more palatable to non-metal fans?) In terms of metal muscle, when I want a Heavy Halford Holiday, I reach for Celestial.
As far as the “family and friends” part, the album features Rob’s brother Nigel and sister Sue on drums and percussion respectively, and his nephew Alex Hill on bass, who’s dad just happens to be Judas Priest bassist Ian Hill. But as always, it’s the Metal God’s voice and personality that are the stars on the show. “Donner and Blitzen,” one of the better originals on the record, tells a tale of two badass members of Santa’s sleigh teem, not unlike classic fictional Judas Priest icons featured in songs like “Painkiller” or “Exciter.” But instead of laying waste to all that they see like the aforementioned Priest avengers, Donner and Blitzen are here to “tear through the sky/raining good fortune, love from on high/…raising the spirit/ the essence of Yule…”
Wholesome, heavy, headbaging holiday fun for all ages. Add it to the playlist!
10. SABATON - “Christmas Truce” (2021)
One of the the more moving song on this list, “Christmas Truce” was released as the first single from Sabaton’s 2022 album The War To End All Wars. If you’re not familiar with Sabaton, they’re a Swedish power metal band with most of their lyrics and albums inspired by history, specifically wars and significant battles. The term “sabaton” refers to a type of medieval foot armor.
The main focus of The War To End All Wars is World War I, with songs about important WWI events the assassination of Arch Duke Ferdinand, the heroism of the Hellfighters American infantry unit, the Treaty Of Versailles, etc. “Christmas Truce” is about the famous unofficial Christmas truce that happened in 1914. On the western front during the week leading up to Christmas that year, German and English troops temporarily ceased hostilities, with both sides singing carols to each other across trenches, and many soldiers from both sides crossing no-man’s land on Christmas Eve and day to socialize, play football and exchange food, gifts and souvenirs.
Though it’s delivered in a sort of melodramatic heavy metal-meets-Andrew Lloyd Webber style, “Christmas Truce” still manages to pack a powerful emotional punch. And the rousing chorus will no doubt se you and yours quaffing egg nog arm in arm and shouting along.
BONUS TRACK: BECAUSE THIS LIST GOES TO 11!
11. SPINAL TAP - “Christmas With The Devil” (1992)
Dude, it’s Spinal Tap. What else needs to be said?
Happy Holidays, everybody!
