Album Review: Majestica - A Christmas Carol
Reviewed by Richard Oliver
When it comes to Christmas music there isn’t much in the way for heavy metal fans. There was the Twisted Sister album a few years back, the albums from Trans-Siberian Orchestra, a few all-star covers albums of well known Christmas songs and the odd novelty song here and there but nothing really that good or memorable and nothing beyond a gimmick. If there’s one genre that would lend itself well to a Christmas theme it is power metal which is already a genre known for being overblown, silly and cheesy (in the best possible ways) and Swedish power metallers Majestica provide us with that with their symphonic power metal take on the Dicken’s literary classic A Christmas Carol.
Majestica are a prime candidate to take on the challenge of a overblown symphonic metal Christmas spectacular. Formed in 2000 by Tommy “ReinXeed” Johanssen (guitarist of Sabaton fame), Majestica were originally called ReinXeed and released several albums under that moniker before a name change to Majestica in 2019 and the release of the fantastic Above The Sky album. Three quarters of the same line up performs on A Christmas Carol apart from the addition of new drummer Joel Kollberg to the line up. So what can you expect from a symphonic power metal Christmas album? Exactly what you would expect is the answer. As someone who is not the biggest fan of the Christmas hype it is amazing just how Christmassy this album feels. It is full of nods and borrowed melodies from traditional Christmas carols, classic Christmas songs as well as the soundtracks to many Christmas movies but whilst at the same time featuring original music written by Tommy himself. The album itself is a concept album and features plenty of overblown but extremely well crafted orchestrations plus plenty of over-the-top voice acting. The mix of the symphonic and the metal elements is done perfectly and the album is mixed fantastically meaning that all elements work together and get an equal footing in the mix. Tommy’s voice is as pitch perfect as always. I’ve always loved his vocals and here he continues to show himself to be one of the finest vocalists in contemporary power metal. The traditional power metal elements are there as well with plenty of nifty guitar work and double kick drumming.
If you are adverse to Christmas music and the cheesiness of symphonic power metal then it is advised you avoid this album at all costs but if you want to listen to something that remarkably captures the festive spirit and works well as a symphonic power metal album then you really can’t go wrong with this album. Tommy states that it has been a silly dream of his to release a Christmas album and it is clear his heart and passion has gone into this project as it truly excels for what it is. It’s not something you would listen to outside of the Christmas period but finally it seems there is a worthy Christmas metal album out there for those of us who want to bang our heads whilst stuffing mince pies and polishing off the Baileys.
