Good thing Christmas only comes once a year...

Artist: Various
Album: Taste of Christmas
Label: Warcon Enterprises
Tracks: 18
Length: 61:08
Review by: Christopher Thomas!

How many Christmas CDs come out each year? Like a million. Every year. This is another one. But here’s the catch: This one is an evil Christmas compilation. Get it? Because Christmas is happy, so this one is, like, ironic. From the dirty, blood red artwork to “Christmassacre,” the offering from Epitaph band From First to Last, it’s like The Nightmare Before Christmas but not so cute.

Generally, compilations like this are simply a collection of songs with a few references to snow, presents, and mistletoe wedged in for good measure. However, a few of this disc’s tracks stand out as above average Christmastime contributions. The disc’s opener, a collaboration between Street Drum Corps and The Used’s Bert McCracken on John Lennon’s “Happy Christmas (War Is Over),” is surprisingly good, and McCracken’s voice comes off as much less whiny than on The Used’s “Alone on This Holiday” just three tracks later. My American Heart’s take on “First Noel” is a respectful, tasteful nod to the original. “Season of a Lifetime” by the Plain White T’s is catchy and joyful and an excellent modern take on the sentiment of the season.

But despite the handful of enjoyable tracks, Taste of Christmas is overall sadly laughable thanks to tracks like those from Opiate for the Masses, Bedlight for Blue Eyes, Gatsby’s American Dream, and From First to Last.

If you’re looking for a good Christmas compilation from bands not quite at the top of the charts, you’d do better to check out Immortal Records’ A Santa Cause, released a couple of years back.