The Ultimate Guide to Heavy Metal Christmas songs
Christmas is upon us. The smell of wine being mulled fills the kitchen. The tree lights up like a torch. Presents beg to be ripped apart. Everyone tries to be on their best behaviour. It is all good. The Christmas cheer is there. Except for one thing….do we really need to listen to Bill Crosby…again? And when will those fricking Bells finally stop Jingling? If it is up to your family, probably never! Well, screw that, right? How about you take matters into your own hands? I’d say hijack that playlist and start cranking out those awful (let’s be real here) but oh-so-delicious heavy metal Christmas songs!
Need some help choosing what to bugger your family with?
I got your back! I personally went down the rabbit hole of metallized Christmas songs and compiled the ultimate list of heavy metal Christmas songs out there!
They wouldn’t know what hit them.
A small disclaimer before we start: genres in music are often arbitrary and metal is no exception to this. However, since choosing your favourite heavy metal Christmas song will most likely start with the genre you are most familiar with, I decided to categorize the songs and albums (as far as possible) based on the genre the band is most commonly associated with. Debatable? Hell yeah, but you got to start somewhere in your journey to exchanging Christmas crackers with the Devil himself, am I right?
If your favourite genre is not there it means I couldn’t find any metal band of that genre crazy enough to produce a Christmas song.
Did I miss any? Drop me a line and I’ll update this guide!
Disclaimer #2: Where possible, I will always link to the official Spotify track or, if the song is not available on Spotify, to a YouTube video.
For easy navigation
Black Metal
It sounds like an oxymoron, “Black Metal Christmas songs”, doesn’t it? A genre that has, shall we say, very strong feelings about anything Church-related would for sure not burn their fingers on a Christmas song, right? Right! I have yet to discover a modern Black Metal band that put “A new born King to see, pa rum pum pum pum” on record, in true black metal fashion. We would have to go waaaayyy back to the absolute origins of the genre to find evidence of the Christmas feels. We are talking, of course, about the one and only Venom.
Venom - Black Xmas
I would love to know what Cronos found under the Christmas tree back when they wrote Black Xmas for their “Calm Before The Storm”, released in 1987. One thing is for sure, you can rely on these legends to give Christmas a wholly different vibe. Merry Devil’s Eve, everyone!
Death Metal
You have to give it to them…Death Metal bands have a knack for turning everything into gory, bloody sceneries. That includes Christmas, of course. Although it is hard to find any Death Metal Christmas songs, below you find a few gems I could get my hands on.
Macabre - Holiday of Horror
Leave it up to Macabre to turn Christmas into a story of a mass murderer. It’s a weird one. You are warned.
Nocturnus - Destroying the Manger
What does time traveling have to do with the birth of Christ? Well, look no further than “Destroying the Manger” from the legends of progressive Death Metal, Nocturnus. Pretty impressive, by the way, how they manage to stretch a pretty straightforward song across a whopping 6 minutes of playtime.
Gothic Metal
Christmas, the dark and cold winter nights, the flickering lights, Nightmare Before Christmas. This festive season has always had an air of mystery and gloom, for all the right reasons. I was therefore surprised to see that there are barely any Gothic bands who pushed out their own rendition of the Christmas story. Luckily we can always rely on the brooding voice of Peter Steele.
Lacuna Coil - Naughty Christmas
Italy’s biggest Gothic export product of course wouldn’t miss the chance to tell their own Gothic Christmas story with “Naughty Christmas”, released as a single in 2016. Krampus has never sounded so real.
Type O Negative - Red Water (Christmas Mourning)
Despite the fact that, originally, Christmas is a story of birth, we typically spend these days reflecting and remembering those we lost. Peter Steele was no different. In typical Steele fashion, “Red Water” is a brooding reflection of his dearly departed, beautifully interlaced with melodies of Carol of the Bells and God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen.
Heavy Metal
Here comes the melting pot of all things Christmas. I admit, some of the bands listed here may or may not always be classified as Heavy Metal, but that’s the problem with genres, I guess. Regardless, together with Power Metal bands, it is the leather studded army of Heavy Metal bands that produced the majority of Christmas songs.
AC/DC - Mistress for Christmas
Oh, you naughty boys! AC/DC wouldn’t be AC/DC if they wouldn’t sassy up Christmas with their very own “Mistress for Christmas”, released on “The Razor’s Edge” in 1990. The last verse of the song pretty much says it all: “Mistress for Christmas / I can hear you coming down my smoke stack / I wanna ride on your reindeer honey / And ring the bells”. Merry Christmas everyone!
Bad News - Cashing In On Christmas
I guess if you create a parody Heavy Metal band, it is only natural you write a parody Christmas song, right? Bad News’ “Cashing In On Christmas” from 1987 is a brilliant one, though. Hitting all the right notes, if you ask me.
Blaze Bayley - Crazy Christmas
Yeah…not sure what to say about this one…judge yourself.
Corey Taylor - X-M@S
We all know at least one person who doesn’t like Christmas. If you are a fan of Slipknot, Sour Stone, or CMFT, Corey Taylor would be that person, that much is clear from his “X-M@S”. Taylor is brilliantly outspoken on many topics, so it completely makes sense that Christmas isn’t left unharmed.
Doro - Merry Metal Xmas
The Heavy Metal goddess herself, Doro, thought it would be a good idea to put her stamp on the Christmas holidays with “Merry Metal Xmas”. Released as a single in 2011 and featuring Sodom’s one and only Tom Angelripper, they somehow manage to make the Christmas season sound like a celebration of everything metal. It’s really not very good but, hey, who cares. It’s Doro.
GWAR - Stripper Christmas Summer Weekend
I got three words for you: GWAR. Christmas. Strippers. What more can I say.
Rob Halford - Halford III: Winter Songs
Rob Halford’s legendary status in the Halls of Metal sort of makes him untouchable, even when he released an entire album full of Christmas songs in 2009. He is a big fan of the season. There is absolutely no doubt about that. And to be honest, of all entries in this list, Halford’s heavy metal rendition of traditional Christmas songs is actually not so bad.
Rob Halford - Celestial
If you would ask me, I’d say any band should produce a maximum of one Christmas album. Unless, of course, you are the metal god himself, Rob Halford. Ten years after releasing “Halford III: Winter Songs”, he decided to go for a second attempt, this time including “family & friends”. No joke, he assembled his son, sister, nephew, brother, and other befriended musicians. The end result? A very Halfordian Christmas album!
Helix - A Heavy Mental Christmas
In all honestly, Helix’s “A Heavy Mental Christmas”, released in 2008, is actually a very entertaining Christmas album. No bastardizations, no parodies, no joking. Just an honest attempt at putting the Rock in Christmas. One of my favourites and a must-play in our household around the Christmas period.
King Diamond - No Presents For Christmas
It is beyond me what Tom & Jerry and Donald Duck have to do with Christmas. In King Diamond’s world, however, they are clearly synonymous with the festive season. At least Diamond’s legendary voice makes up for a lot in this song…
King Diamond - Christmas
If King Diamond’s “Christmas” is anything to go buy, Christmas would make for a very depressive feast. Maybe it had something to do with not getting presents for Christmas.
Lordi - Merry Blah Blah Blah
You can leave it to the boys from Lordi to write you a Christmas song about severed heads and man-eating pigs and turkeys. Because…well, why not.
Manowar - Silent Night
The sword-wielding giants of Manowar flexed their muscles (sorry for the pun) and produced a pretty decent rendition of “Silent Night” in true Manowar fashion.
Sabaton - Christmas Truce
One of the most recent entries on this list. Released in October 2021, it is for sure the most epic song on this list, as you might expect from the soldiers of Sabaton. It carries quite a heavyweight as it talks about one of the most unique events in the First World War.
Savatage - Christmas Eve (Sarajevo 12/24)
For sure one of the most known and one of the most epic songs on this list. Savatage’s “Sarajevo 12/24” is set during the horrifying events of the Bosnian War of Independence (1992 – 1996) and combines the tale of a Bosnian cellist with the traditional melodies of “God Rest You Merry Gentlemen” and “Carol of the Bells”. Re-released a year later on the Trans-Siberian Orchestra album “Christmas Eve and Other Stories”, this is a mainstay on any heavy metal Christmas list.
Spinal Tap - Christmas With the Devil
This is the second heavy metal parody band on this list. This USA-born band of comedians figured celebrating Christmas with the Devil is a time better spent than with your family.
Steel Panther - Sexy Santa
Steel Panther wouldn’t be Steel Panther if they wouldn’t at least try to sexy-up the holidays. It is a true Christmas miracle how they get away with making Santa sound like a pornstar.
Twisted Sister - A Twisted Christmas
With Twisted Sister you never truly know if they are serious or not. So too with their full-length Christmas album “A Twisted Christmas”. Packed with Twisted versions of classic Christmas songs like “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”, “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus” and “Oh Come All Ye Faithful”, it is a pure delight to hear Dee Snider bell out those cheesy Christmas lines.
Industrial Metal
Out of all genres on this list, Industrial Metal would be the last one I expected to include. But well, I like to be proven wrong. Suspiciously, there is only one entry I could find.
ssSHhh - Jingle Bells (Hail Santa)
I have a lot of respect for the musicianship of Ensiferum. When bassist Sami Hinkka decided to make use of the COVID-19 lockdowns to start his own industrial metal project, I was even curious to see where he would go with ssSHhh…I did not expect him to go for “Jingle Bells” though.
Melodic Death Metal
I was surprised that there are not many melodic death metal bands that took a swing at the Christmas vibes. I would love to hear Arch Enemy’s Alissa belt out “Silent Night”. On this list, however, we need to make do with only the gods of melodic death metal, Amon Amarth.
Amon Amarth - Jingle Bells
I am going to be honest here. There is something very satisfying about hearing the iconic voice of Johan Hegg blast “Jingle Bells” through your speakers in typical Amon Amarth fashion.
Amon Amarth - Viking Christmas
Amon Amarth would not be Amon Amarth if they wouldn’t put a pagan twist on Christmas. I don’t even know when or where this song was released and there is speculation this may not even be Amon Amarth. I leave it up to you to decide. Merry Viking Christmas everyone!
Metalcore
I bet you didn’t expect metalcore bands to be very much into Christmas, did you? Well, considering the majority of the bands on this list are very much influenced by their religious beliefs, it doesn’t come as a surprise to me that we find some of the metalcore mainstays on this list.
August Burns Red - Sleddin' Hill, A Holiday Album
August Burns Red never hid their Christian beliefs from the world, so it is only fitting they decided to release not just one but two Christmas albums.
Interestingly though, they are both largely instrumental, which makes them very accessible to a larger audience.
August Burns Red - Winter Wilderness EP
Released six years after “Sleddin’ Hill”, this EP contains another six well-executed, instrumental versions of classic Christmas songs, including the theme song of none other than Home Alone.
ChuggaBoom - Christmas Number Ones
Chuggaboom released three albums so far. One of them is a full-length Christmas album. Trust me…it is a weird cookie to chew.
Ice Nine Kills - Merry Axe-Mas
The masters of theatricore have released absolute masterpieces with their two-part “Silver Scream” albums. I am a fans. That being said, “Merry Axe-mas” is simply brilliant. Go and listen.
V.A. - Midnight Clear
A compilation album filled with metalcore bands that are bound together by their faith. Think August Burns Red, Fit For a King, Memphis May Fire, Wolves At The Gate and others sharing the Christmas feels metalcore-style.
Nu metal
Nu Metal would not have been on this list if it would not have been for Korn. Like with Industrial Metal, I never expected to find this subgenre here to begin with but here we are!
Korn - Jingle Balls
To me personally, Korn has always been an acquired taste. Their almost-doom version of Jingle Bells did not change my opinion.
Korn - Kidnap the Sandy Claws
As much as I am not a fan of Korn, I do get the connection between “The Nightmare Before Christmas” movie and the typical hyper-Korn-style. It surprisingly fits.
This song is part of a larger collaboration of artists who released their renditions of songs from the movie in celebration of its 15th anniversary.
Power Metal
If there is ANY genre that would do a proper Christmas song, it would hands down be power metal. Its sword-wielding, dragon-fighting, Tolkien-loving members are a 100% fit to produce some of the best Christmas songs out there.
Blind Guardian - Merry Xmas Everybody
Released as a single in 2020, Blind Guardian’s rendition of “Merry Christmas Everybody” is reminiscent of some of the ’80s heavy metal Christmas songs mentioned higher up on this list. Listen to Helix. Then turn up Blind Guardian. You’ll see.
Charlie Parra del Riego - Merry Heavy Metal Christmas
Sometimes you don’t need lyrics to make for an entertaining Christmas album. Peruvian shredder Charlie Parra Del Riego proves exactly that with his full-length “Merry Heavy Metal Christmas” album.
Sir Christopher Lee
If any artist deserves all the respect from the metal community, it is the late Sir Christopher Lee. One of the biggest talents the acting world has had, Lee was a very talented opera singer as well as…a big metal fan. He even released his own metal album, “Charlemagne: By the Sword and the Cross”!
A put his hands together to produce three Christmas EPs – “A Heavy Metal Christmas”, “A Heavy Metal Christmas Too” and “Darkest Carols, Faithful Sing.”
Kamelot - We Three Kings
When Kamelot released “The Expedition” in 2000 they added a few rare studio recordings from 1998 at the back of the album. One of them is an instrumental Christmas song. A pretty neat rendition of “We Three Kings”, I must say.
Majestica - A Christmas Carol
Ok, so this must be my personal favourite on this entire list. Released in December 2020 and re-released as an extended version a year later, the full-length “A Christmas Carol” tells a deliciously epic, symphonic, and surprisingly musical version of the classic Christmas Carol story. Any fan of symphonic power metal and the Christmas feels should have this album blast through their speakers on Christmas Eve. No excuses.
Orion's Reign
To avoid bloating up this list too much, I decided to summarize Orion's Reign's Christmas endevours into one entry. Why? Because for some reason they decided to release nine Christmas singles without collecting them all in one album. They are catchy though...
From "We Wish You A Merry Christmas" to Rudolph's song, to "Joy To the World", to "Christmas Canon Rock", they have done them all.
PelleK - Christmas with Pellek
It does not come as a surprise that popular YouTuber PelleK, known for an enormous library of power metal versions of pretty much anything, would put the peddle to the Christmas metal.
Sonata Arctica - Christmas Spirits
Sonata Arctica always seemed to be a band that could do a mean Christmas song if they put their minds to it. Lo and behold, they did! And it is 7 minutes long!
Theocracy
Christian Power Metallers Theocracy are clearly fans of Christmas. Over the course of 15 years, they released 12 Christmas singles into the ether. From “Little Drummer Boy” to “O Come, O Come Emmanuel” and various Christmas medleys.
Veonity - Christmas Time
Not much to say about this one – just a catchy Christmas song from the northlands of Sweden. Perfect for some good’ol sing-a-long.
Symphonic Metal
Metal and symphonic elements have always been a match made in heaven. Somehow it just fits like a nice woolen glove. It also happens to be the table where the absolute kings of heavy metal Christmas music are sitting down – Trans-Siberian Orchestra.
Trans-Siberian Orchestra
The brainchild of Savatage’s Paul O’Neill, Jon Oliva, and Al Pitrelli, Trans-Siberian Orchestra is the true master of Christmas music. It is epic, it is drama, it is theater, it is big, it breathes cold winter air, it is everything you need to get you through the dark winter nights.
Since 1996 they have released three Christmas albums, making up the Christmas Trilogy: “Christmas Eve and Other Stories” (1996), which contains the Savatage classic “Sarajevo 12/24”; “The Christmas Attic” (1998), best known for their “Christmas Canon”; and “The Lost Christmas Eve” (2004).
Each one of them is a masterful rock opera in its own right that needs to be listened to from beginning to the end.
Tarja - From Spirits and Ghosts
Although technically not a metal album, Tarja does deserve a mention in this list, considering her huge track record in the metal scene as the former frontwoman of Nightwish.
Thrash Metal
What do Thrash Metal and Christmas have in common? Well, absolutely nothing. And yet I managed to find one band who figured it would be fun to get their unique take on Christmas out there.
Tankard - Fuck Christmas
Does it surprise anyone that if Tankard would release a Christmas song it would be called “Fuck Christmas”? The lyrics are pretty straightforward, as you can expect judging by the title. It’s the final sentence though that does it for me…
Compilations
Not particularly picky with your genres and you just need a dose of heavy metal Christmas songs? There are a few banging compilation albums out there worth checking out!
We Wish You A Metal Xmas And a Headbanging New Year
For sure the most star-studded compilations of heavy metal Christmas songs out there, this album features the likes of Alice Cooper, Lemmy, Ronnie James Dio, George Lynch, and Geoff Tate.
All the Christmas songs you know and love/hate are served up with juicy heavy metal noise.
Monster Ballads X-Mas
This one is a bit of a cheat as it crosses genres beyond metal. The album is filled with bands like Twisted Sisters, Queensrÿche, L.A. Guns as well as Billy Idol. Still pretty entertaining though!
Ragnarok Juletide
This well-executed album is the product of an annual Christmas crossover project between band members of Nightwish and Sonata Arctica.
They have released seven Christmas albums so far, the last one having been released in 2017. The reason I only include Ragnarok Juletide in this list is that that is the only album released in English. The other six albums are all done in Finnish.