Artist: Various artists
| Format: Audio CD
| Format: Audio CDLabel:
Tooth & Nail Records
Reviewed By Tyler Hess
Usually when it comes to compilation albums you’re gonna get a mixed bag of results, with some hits, some misses and some stuff from left field that you never saw coming. Somehow, though, Happy Christmas Volume 5 has done something kind of amazing in that it has put out some great Christmas songs that rock even when they’re done by bands that I’m not particularly fond of recommending (you can read past reviews to do the mathematics involved) while having a flow that works despite the variety in genre across the label’s roster.
Happy Christmas Vol. 5 starts off with the quirky Hawk Nelson rendition of “Christmas Don’t Be Late” made famous by Alvin and the Chipmunks and works merely because it is the season of joy, not the season of grumpy music snobs. Going from cartoon to metal as Demon Hunter plays one of their more accessible tunes with the tone and mood changing “The Wind”. Overachiever of the year Ivoryline follows that up with their stirring version “O, Holy Night” (the second best “night” song, behind the silent one). Thousand Foot Krutch took an interesting approach with singing “Heat Miser” based on the 1974 film “The Year Without Santa Claus”, while their side project FM Static comes in later on in the album with the antithesis “Snow Miser”.
August Burns Red’s “O Come O Come Emmanuel” serves as a decent and early instrumental interlude, but pales in comparison to their “Carol of the Bells”. Emery doesn’t fail to disappoint with their screamless, simply beautiful “Jesus Gave Us Christmas” that sets the record straight about our holiday before Family Force 5 gives us possibly their slowest song ever with the chill “It’s Christmas Day”. The husband and wife duo of Bon Voyage gives us a little something like She & Him with “The Little Christmas Tree”, trailed by Sent By Ravens presenting the once controversial protest song by John Lennon and She Who Shall Not Be Named (just kidding, Yoko Ono) “Happy Christmas (War is Over)”.
The compilation starts to go into the final turn as Queens Club tones down the chaos to put forth a song from one of my favorite Christmas cartoons with “You’re A Mean One Mr. Grinch” that may not top the original but serves as a nice reminder before Neon Horse brings their funky version of “Zat You Santa Clause and FM Static sings the aforementioned “Snow Miser” presented as a surprising piano ballad. Surrogate gives us probably the least exciting song on the album with the sleeper “Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree” that really should be more hoppin’ than this. Copeland closes us out strong with their simplistic light piano-led “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”.
Sometimes we really root for an album to be a success and are often disappointed with something that seems just thrown together, but Happy Christmas Volume 5 doesn’t sell us short with quite a hefty collection of songs for a time that is just around the corner (even if you don’t think so, it will sneak up on you, if you like it or not).
Grade: A-
Tracklisting:
- The Chimpunk Song (Christmas Don’t Be Late) – Hawk Nelson
- The Wind – Demon Hunter
- O, Holy Night – Ivoryline
- Heat Miser – Thousand Foot Krutch
- O Come O Come Emmanuel – August Burns Red
- Jesus Gave Us Christmas – Emery
- It’s Christmas Day – Family Force 5
- The Little Christmas Tree – Bon Voyage
- Happy Christmas (War Is Over) – Sent By Ravens
- You’re A Mean One Mr. Grinch – Queens Club
- Zat You Santa Clause – Neon Horse
- Snow Miser – FM Static
- Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree – Surrogate
- Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas – Copeland
