Playlist 2016 Week 4: Rob Zombie, THC, Metallica, Holy Grail, Lacuna Coil

A couple of surprises and a little strange holiday cheer as the playlist rolls on.


"Get Your Boots On! That's the End of Rock 'n' Roll!" Rob Zombie. This album was one of the surprises of the year for me. I haven't been that interested in anything Zombie has done in a while, but this album was pretty entertaining. The chorus of "Get Your Boots On" is like his love letter to rock 'n' roll.

Saturday Night Special: Trans-Siberian Orchestra, "First Snow"

To be honest, it just hasn’t felt like Christmas to me this year. I’ve been super busy with work. The weather where I live, for the most part, has been more like summer. My son’s too old for my annual pilgrimage to the toy stores, and as I write this (a week or so before you’ll read it), my tree sits in my living room undecorated. It’s been a strange year.

Part of the reason, I know, is that Santa Claus ended for my son last year, and I think that also took some wonder and excitement out of things for me. So, in hopes of finding some holiday cheer, I turned to an old favorite, Trans-Siberian Orchestra, and they delivered.

Have yourself a metal little Christmas

While hard rock and metal outfits have generally been more associated with Halloween than Christmas, the last 10 or 15 years have seen quite a few rockers getting into the Christmas spirit. In truth, the results haven’t always been that great, but the efforts have brought a few gems.

For this list, I’ve tossed out the goof songs like Spinal Tap’s “Christmas with the Devil” or Bob Rivers’ “I Am Santa Claus,” set to the tune of Black Sabbath’s “Iron Man.” I’m looking for tunes that show a little reverence and joy in the season rather than going for laughs.

I’ve also tossed out Trans-Siberian Orchestra, since the entire 10-song list could be made up of their stuff. (I am however particularly fond of their version of “A Mad Russian’s Christmas” and the jazzy “Christmas Nights in Blue,” which I highly recommend.)

So, here’s the list of 10 songs I’ve come up with. Feel free to add your own.

10. “Deck the Halls,” Ted Nugent. From the second volume in the “Merry Axemas” series, this song is delivered in typical, in-your-face Nuge style. It plays a bit like a cross between the traditional song and “Free-for-All.”

9. “Run Rudolph Run,” Lemmy Kilmister, Billy Gibbons, Dave Grohl. Chuck Berry’s version of this song is one of my favorite holiday tunes, and, from Brian Setzer to Lynyrd Skynyrd, I’ve never heard a version I didn’t like. The combination of three most unlikely musicians on this version easily puts it on my list.

8. “Blue Christmas,” Joe Perry. The Aerosmith guitarists twangy take on the Elvis classic is one of the more memorable moments of the first “Merry Axemas” collection.

7. “We Three Kings,” Halford. This song is easily the strongest moment on Rob Halford’s “Winter Songs” record. It’s an upbeat, rocking version of the song with an undeniable melody courtesy of the original.

6. “The Little Drummer Boy,” Doug Pinnick, George Lynch, Billy Sheehan, Simon Phillips. Four hard-rockers team up for a very soulful version, and King’s X frontman Pinnick’s vocals are perfect for the tune.

5. “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch,” Gary Hoey. “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” has always been one of my favorite holiday stories, and the Thurl Ravenscroft original one of my favorite songs. Hoey’s instrumental version really puts the mean into it, though.

4. “Santa Claus is Back in Town,” Tim “Ripper” Owens, Steve Morse, Marco Mendoza, Vinny Appice. Another favorite rock Christmas song given the hard rock treatment. Owens’ vocals really shine on this tune and give it its attitude.

3. “White Christmas,” Zakk Wylde. The flashy guitar hero Wylde has always been a very underrated acoustic player, and this earthy version of the song is one of his better soft moments.
2. “God Rest ye Merry Gentlemen,” Ronnie James Dio, Tony Iommi, Rudy Sarzo, Simon Wright. It took Dio until his mid-60s to be convinced to do a Christmas song by his wife, and it was worth the wait. He and Iommi deliver a dark, dirge-like version of the song suitable for any Black Sabbath record, but retain the reverence of the original.

1. “Christmas Eve (Sarajevo 12/24),” Savatage. I said I wouldn’t include Trans-Siberian Orchestra, and I didn’t … technically. The song was recorded by Savatage for their “Dead Winter Dead” record, a year before Savatage producer Paul O’Neill and frontman Jon Oliva repurposed it for TSO’s debut record “Christmas Eve and Other Stories.” In my mind, it’s the ultimate Christmas tune recorded by a metal band.

Merry Christmas.

Christmas Eve/ Sarajevo @ Yahoo! Video

Review: Halford, "Winter Songs"

A Christmas record from Rob Halford?

Yes, that Rob Halford. The leather-clad screaming frontman of Judas Priest. Let’s just say that the third record with his eponymous Halford side project, “Winter Songs,” is … well, just a little different from the first two.

It doesn’t start out that way. The first single and opening track “Get Into the Spirit” is very much in the vein of Halford. There are, perhaps, some holiday-flavored lyrics, but the song is a roaring metal tune with Halford showing off his upper ranges, as usual. It’s not a bad song, but not very Christmassy either. From there, we get a mix of classic carols and original numbers that do ring a little more of the season.

One of the better songs on the record is the cover of “We Three Kings.” It’s an upbeat and rocking take on the song with just a little bit of the mystical. It’s by far my favorite on the record and is the only one here that will make my top 10 list of the best hard-rocking Christmas songs (coming tomorrow). But there are some almost equally entertaining numbers. “Oh Come, O Come Emanuel” features a nice, galloping guitar riff, but doesn’t work quite as well as “We Three Kings.” “Christmas for Everyone” and “I Don’t Care” are interesting in their old-school 1970s hard rock feel. The first reminds me a bit of classic Alice Cooper, without the creepiness, the second is less of a Christmas song and more of a rock ‘n’ roll song that just happens to be set around Christmas. Both are a lot of fun.

Halford also shows a surprisingly soft side on this record. He gives a very traditional treatment to “What Child is This?” It’s actually quite impressive and shows there’s more to Halford than a high-pitched howl. “Light of the World” shows off some Beatles-esque atmospherics in the softer moments, and the title track is a piano ballad with some Led Zeppelin overtones. It’s a really strange place for Halford. Sometimes it works (“What Child is This?”), sometimes not so much (“Winter Song”).

Of the remaining two songs, “Oh Holy Night,” is the better. It takes the traditional melody of the song and lays some crunchy rock guitars beneath it. It reminds me of something that Trans-Siberian Orchestra might do with the song. The album ends with a rendition of “O Come All Ye Faithful” which is way over-the-top and melodramatic, but at the same time very much in line with the traditional version.

I’m a collector of off-the-wall Christmas records, and I’ve got some pretty gnarly ones, but this one might be the strangest pairing of music and musician there. (Well, there is the death metal version of “Silent Night” by members of Testament and Anthrax, but that’s in its own league of weirdness.) Still, Halford does a surprisingly good job with it. I certainly don’t think this record is destined for the Bing Crosby treatment, with families listening to it by the fireplace on Christmas eve, but beyond the squealing opening track, it’s a respectable effort.

Get "Winter Songs."

Interview: Trans-Siberian Orchestra's Paul O'Neill

One of the blessings of the season for Trans-Siberian Orchestra founder Paul O’Neill may be the fact that he doesn’t have to answer questions about when the group’s new album, "Night Castle," is coming out. The double album, which has been promised for at least five years, hit shelves on Oct. 27 and has already gone gold.

"When (Guns ‘n’ Roses’ long-awaited album) ‘Chinese Democracy’ came out, we kind of lost our cover," O’Neill joked. "Luckily our fans have been very patient, and the album’s selling better than we could have ever imagined."

"Night Castle" was originally intended to be a stand-alone 10-song record with no theme, but TSO co-founder and Savatage frontman Jon Oliva convinced O’Neill that it had to be more.

"Jon told me that TSO is not like any other band, and fans expect a story," O’Neill said. "It’s a little bit of role reversal because when we were working on Savatage, I was always the one wanting to do a concept record. The first half of the record is the ‘Night Castle’ story, and the second half pays homage to our past and looks forward to the future."

Savatage fans will find a couple of treats here as a reworking of "Prelude to Madness," the band’s take on Grieg’s "In the Hall of the Mountain King," shows up as "The Mountain," and the second disc features a cover of "Believe" from the "Streets" album. The latter is a preview of a Broadway musical called "Gutter Ballet" (also the name of the second record O’Neill did with Savatage) that O’Neill and Oliva hope to get to the stage in the next two years. It’s the culmination of a work that O’Neill began in the 1970s. Many of the songs have already had rock versions recorded by Savatage, but will return to their roots for the Broadway show.

"We want to take it back to the original blues, gospel, Motown sound," he said. "For Savatage, you’ve got to metal it up. Jon and I are kind of psyched to be doing it because Broadway is something we’ve always wanted to take on."

The second disc also includes a cover of Emerson, Lake and Palmer’s "Nutrocker" that features Greg Lake on bass. It’s a song that obviously had a profound influence on O’Neill and TSO, who are known for blending rock and classical for Christmas.

"That song brings it full circle," he said. "It’s us paying tribute to Emerson, Lake and Palmer, paying tribute to Tchaikovsky."

The new album also means a new experience for the Christmas tour that fans have come to view as a tradition over the past few years. The first half of the concert will be the expected Christmas show, while the second set will focus more heavily on material from "Night Castle." Not to worry, though, the band will still follow its motto: "Fog it, light it, blow it up."

"We spend more on pyro in two months than most of the rock world does in an entire year," O’Neill said with a laugh. "Our first duty is to the fans, to give them the best show for their dollar. We realize that entertainment is not a necessity of life, but human beings need moments of joy, or at least moments that are stress free. When you’re not worrying about what’s outside the arena, the body gets to recharge its batteries. The underlying story is about hope."

When O’Neill started TSO, he never expected it to become a Christmas staple. His idea was to do a Christmas trilogy, six rock operas and a couple of regular albums. With the release of "Christmas Eve and Other Stories" and the holiday hit "Christmas Eve Sarajevo" (also originally recorded by Savatage) in 1996, the band did what O’Neill describes as "lucking into a Tchaikovsky," a reference to the composer’s "Nutcracker" ballet which became a Christmas classic.

"‘The Nutcracker’ was just another ballet, and it never dawned on him that it would become so intertwined with the holidays," O’Neill said. "When we wrote the Christmas trilogy, we hoped it would be successful, but we never dreamed it would become as big as it did. The fans wanted to see it every year, and we didn’t want to let them down."

Now, it’s a sold-out holiday tour with two companies that keeps growing and keeps O’Neill going non-stop from October through January. There’s still plenty to keep O’Neill occupied after the holidays, too. There are currently plans for a spring tour to focus on the band’s two non-Christmas albums, "Beethoven’s Last Night" and "Night Castle." Work continues on the Broadway show. There are some Savatage projects in the offering, including a best-of compilation, a re-release of the band’s last record "Poets and Madmen" on Atlantic, and possibly a new album. And then, there are, of course, those future Trans-Siberian Orchestra records. O’Neill’s not ready to make any predictions on those yet, though.

"Whatever I say, I know it’s going to be later," he joked. "I’m just glad I’m in rock ‘n’ roll and not in charge of getting ammunition to some war front in World War I."

Read my review of "Night Castle."

Review: Trans-Siberian Orchestra, "Night Castle"

For the past five years, I've talked with either Trans-Siberian Orchestra founder Paul O'Neill or guitarist Al Pitrelli. Every year the story has been the same: "Night Castle" will be here in the spring or soon after. This year, I didn't have to ask the question. It finally arrived -- as a double album, no less -- and I can safely say that, while I don't want the next record to take quite as long, it was worth the wait.

As with all things TSO and Paul O'Neill, "Night Castle," through the first 21 songs, follows a fairly elaborate story line. I'll leave the finer details to the listener to discover, since that's part of the magic of a TSO record, but the story involves a seven-year-old girl who meets a strange man building a magical sandcastle on a beach and a U.S. Army lieutenant about to be deployed on a Special Forces mission to Cambodia who drunkenly stumbles into a magical castle of his own. The story visits a variety of times and places before it reaches its ultimate conclusion.

The music here is also as varied as you'd expect from a TSO record. There are some heavy operatic pieces, some of the band's patented blending of rock and classical pieces, and some straight up hard rockers.

The record opens big with "Night Enchanted," originally released as a single during the holidays last year. It's a magical piece that blends bits of Verdi and Delibes with some rock courtesy of O'Neill. A heavy vocal piece follows with "Childhood Dreams," which showcases the huge voice of Jay Pierce, who reminds me a bit of Guy LeMonnier, the original big voice from TSO's debut, "Christmas Eve and Other Stories." I'd love to hear him get a crack at "An Angel Came Down," but unfortunately, he's with the other troupe this year. He's not the only huge voice here, though, as fans will hear when Rob Evan gets cranked up for "There Was a Life." (Alas, he's also on the other leg of the tour.)

After two heavy classical pieces, the band throws a straight up hard rocker at us with "Sparks," which O'Neill tells me was originally from his Broadway show "Gutter Ballet," which hopefully will hit stages in the next couple of years. The show also provided some familiar Savatage tunes from the record of the same name and the "Streets" rock opera.

Savatage fans also have another treat coming with "The Mountain," which fans will recognize as a slightly altered version of "Prelude to Madness," the band's take on Grieg's "In the Hall of the Mountain King" from the "Hall of the Mountain King" record. There are some minor changes here and there, but it's pretty much note for note.

The title track brings the first appearance from another rock vocal icon, Jeff Scott Soto. It's an intense number that's very much in the vein of Savatage. Soto also turns in a stellar performance on the record's most metallic number, "Another Way You Can Die," which is a personal favorite of mine. He shows off his more operatic range on the moving "Time Floats On" on the second disc, as well. To be honest, this record gives me a new appreciation for Soto, and, luckily, he's on our leg of the tour.

"Tocatta - Carpimus Noctem" brings another top-notch blending of classical and rock, as the band takes on Bach. Mozart's in there, too, with "Mozart and Memories." Beethoven and Chopin get their turn at the TSO treatment to start the second disc with the frantic, mysterious and powerful "Moonlight and Madness." While all of the band's work is top notch, they truly shine on these instrumental blends, and the ones on "Night Castle" are no different. The story portion of the record ends on a reflective note with the acoustic instrumental piece "Embers."

The record closes with five pieces that pay tribute to some of O'Neill's influences, tip the hat to the past and look to the future. Most recognizable to TSO fans will be the band's dark take on Carl Orff's "Carmina Burana," which has been a fiery fixture in the live show for several years now. It loses a little power in the translation to record, but is still a solid performance. Another treat for Savatage fans comes in the cover of one of my favorite 'Tage tunes, "Believe" from the "Streets" record. This version is a little closer to the planned Broadway version of the song with soulful vocals from Tim Hockenberry (who also sings on "Sparks"). As much as I like this version, to be honest the Jon Oliva version will always be the version for me, though.

One of the group's more obvious influence comes to play on the cover of Emerson, Lake and Palmer's "Nutrocker." The rocked out take on Tchaikovsky's "Nutcracker" was obviously the prototype for much of what O'Neill and TSO have done, and it features a guest appearance by Greg Lake. There's another Delibes piece with "Child of the Night," which would fit well with the "Night Castle" story. The record ends with a look forward on the rocking instrumental "Tracers," written by O'Neill, Pitrelli and Pitrelli's wife, Jane Mangini. It's perhaps the most straightforward piece on the record, but that doesn't make it any less solid.

As always, O'Neill has rounded up an outstanding cast of singers and musicians for this record and worked it to as near perfection as you can get. It's often the case that double albums feature only really one good album's worth of songs, but "Night Castle" is a definite exception to that rule. I've only just gotten this record, and I can't wait to hear what the next one will sound like. (After we get a new Savatage record, of course ... hint, hint.)

Get "Night Castle."

Review: Various Artists, "We Wish You a Metal Xmas"

Christmas seems to come earlier and earlier every year. I've been seeing decorations in the stores since, it seems, the end of August, and I've had my tickets to see Trans-Siberian Orchestra in December in hand for nearly two months. Still, with Halloween not even having arrived yet and it being at least a month earlier than my TSO CD's normally find their way into my truck, it was a bit tough to get into the spirit.

Then the first Christmas record of the season, Armoury Records' "We Wish You a Metal Christmas and a Headbanging New Year" arrives on my desk, and despite my misgivings about the early timing, I can't resist the list of participants.

What we have here is a collection of metal renditions of Christmas songs both classic and campy with a lineup that features some legends of the genre. The compilation was put together by Wendy Dio, wife of legendary metal singer Ronnie James Dio, and features performances by Lemmy Kilmister, Billy Gibbons, Alice Cooper, John 5, Billy Sheehan, Tony Iommi, Rudy Sarzo, Geoff Tate, Doug Pinnick, George Lynch, Tim Owens, Steve Morse, Vinny Appice, Chuck Billy, Scott Ian and many others. Oddly, Wendy Dio says her husband was one of the toughest stars to convince because "he doesn't sing Christmas songs."

The performances here are remarkably good, beginning with the second track, a rowdy version of "Run Rudolph Run" featuring perhaps one of the strangest pairings here in Motorhead's Lemmy Kilmister, ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons and the Foo Fighters' Dave Grohl on drums. A similar turn comes on the excellent version of "Santa Claus is Back in Town," where ex-Judas Priest and Iced Earth vocalist Tim Owens teams up with Steve Morse to show a rawer hard rock vocal that we haven't heard from him before.

Some play it straight, some put their own spin on it. Alice Cooper is most notable among the latter with his Christmas horror tale "Santa Claws is Coming to Town." In his hands, it transforms from an innocent children's song into something more than a bit disturbing. Dio and Iommi essentially turn "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" into a fairly dark Sabbath number. They're not all as strong as those two, though. Geoff Tate turns "Silver Bells" into a hard rocker, which might have worked, but his normally impressive voice sounds really, really bad here.

Of the songs that stick with the script, so to speak, one of the strongest is the grooving version of "Little Drummer Boy" featuring King's X vocalist Doug Pinnick, George Lynch, Billy Sheehan and Simon Phillips. Phillips throws a little groove on the beat, and Pinnick's vocals are just perfect. It's easily one of the strongest offerings here.

There are a couple of head scratchers as well. "Silent Night" featuring Chuck Billy of Testament, Scott Ian of Anthrax and John Tempesta of Exodus, Testament and White Zombie sounds like a train wreck on paper, but the death metal take is, in truth, kind of interesting in an odd way. The strangest choice here, though, has to be "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer" featuring Stephen Pearcy of Ratt and Tracii Guns. Yeah, it's pretty much as bad as it sounds.

Of the other tunes on the album, none are bad but none stand out as much as the previously mentioned ones. Joe Lynn Turner's take on "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" is lively and energetic, and "Deck the Halls," featuring Oni Logan is enjoyable. Aside from "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer" and the off-kilter "Silver Bells," the only other miss is Tommy Shaw and Steve Lukather's take on "Happy Xmas (War is Over)," which is more or less note for note and a bit bland.

It's a bit of surprise, but this is actually a really, really good record. I'd recommend it for any classic metal fan looking for a little Christmas cheer early in the holiday season.

Get "We Wish You a Metal Xmas."

Review: Trans-Siberian Orchestra live show

Even if you hate Christmas and Christmas music worse than Ebenezer Scrooge, you should still catch Trans-Siberian Orchestra, just for the sheer spectacle of their live show. And if you have an appreciation for outstanding musicianship, there's twice as much reason to catch the band's annual holiday tour.

Though the flash is what catches your eye, the true beauty of the TSO show is in the musicianship. I've rarely heard a rock band play more note-perfect renditions of their songs in the live setting, and though the original group is split in two for the two legs of the tour, they've stocked the bands with outstanding musicians.

I caught the western version at the CenturyTel Center in Bossier City with the incredible dual guitar attack of Al Pitrelli and Angus Clark and the string work of Anna Phoebe. Phoebe's performance, was, I believe, the first time I've ever seen such a roar from a rock crowd after a violin solo. And, of course, it goes without saying that there were remarkable vocal moments from Michael Lanning, Guy LeMonnier and Jill Gioia.

The band opened the show with a run-through of the first album, "Christmas Eve and Other Stories." Though a few bits were dropped, probably due to the personnel required to perform them, the show hit all of the high points, including "First Snow," "A Mad Russian's Christmas" and of course, the song that brought the house down, "Christmas Eve Sarajevo 12/24."

The second set was a bit more of a laid-back production. The band members took some time to have a little fun with the crowd. Also impressive here was the great spontaneous crowd interaction, and the lively crowd helped. Trans-Siberian Orchestra ran through songs from "The Lost Christmas Eve," "Beethoven's Last Night" and even jammed out a cover of Led Zeppelin's "Rock and Roll."

High points of the second set were the band's version of Carl Orff's "Carmina," scheduled to appear on their forthcoming non-Christmas album "Night Castle," and an absolutely stunning version of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony, complete with sparklers, fire blasts on the big familiar notes and the same impressive laser show that accompanied most of the evening.

The show closed with a memorable keyboard battle between Jane Pitrelli and Carmine Giglio (and that's saying something considering my usual disdain for keyboard.) The battle culminated in a performance of the theme song from "Peanuts" leading into "Wish Liszt" from "The Lost Christmas Eve" and finally a reprise of "Christmas Eve Sarajevo" with Clark and Phoebe circulating through the crowd, ending up ... well, I can't give away all the surprises, can I?

Almost as interesting as the show was the crowd. There were long-haired guys in Savatage and Megadeth T-shirts rubbing elbows with perfectly groomed senior couples in suits and party dresses - that's something you don't see everyday. It's actually a little funny to see a grandmother bobbing her head to what is, essentially, Savatage with a string section and a huge production budget. But it's kind of cool, too.

This was my first TSO show, and I was so impressed that I'm making plans to see the band again before Christmas and to travel wherever I have to in order to catch the show next year. I've seen a lot of concerts, and a lot of great concerts. Simply put, Trans-Siberian Orchestra is one of the most incredible shows I've ever seen.

Interview: Al Pitrelli of Trans-Siberian Orchestra

When it comes to rock resumés, guitarist Al Pitrelli's is pretty impressive. He's played with shock rock king Alice Cooper, thrash titans Megadeth and power metal masters Savatage. So what's he doing in a tuxedo on a classical Christmas tour playing to crowds that range from young children to senior citizens? Even he's not sure.

It started back in 1995, when he was hired to play on Savatage's "Dead Winter Dead" record, a concept album about the war in Bosnia that featured the song "Christmas Eve (Sarajevo 12/24)," a blend of rock, classical and "The Carol of the Bells."

The song was a surprise hit on rock radio during the holiday season, and it wasn't long before O'Neill, Savatage founder Jon Oliva, Pitrelli and Robert Kinkel were working on a full project in the same vein, mixing rock, classical and traditional Christmas music. The result, "Christmas Eve and Other Stories," was released in 1996. Even then, Pitrelli wasn't convinced.

"I said, `Nobody will buy it but your mother and mine, but we'll have a whole lot of fun recording it,'" he said with a laugh. "Lo and behold, we're here, nine years later, and I can't believe what it's grown into. I'm so proud of it."

What it's grown into is a holiday phenomenon. The band has released two other Christmas albums - "The Christmas Attic" in 1998 and "The Lost Christmas Eve" in 2004 - and a non-Christmas album, "Beethoven's Last Night" in 2000. They also have a live DVD, "The Ghost of Christmas Eve," and are currently working on another non-Christmas album, "Night Castle."

Trans-Siberian Orchestra started touring for the holidays in 1999, and now, due to demand and the time constraints of the holiday season, it's grown into two full tours - one for the eastern half of the United States and a second for the western half.

For the first half of the concert, TSO plays "Christmas Eve and Other Stories" and for the second half, they mix things up with numbers off their other albums and even a few surprises.

"We're all just a bunch of barroom rock `n' rollers from back in the day, so we'll always pull out a cover tune or two and just have some fun," Pitrelli said. "It's a long show, and we'll cover a lot of ground over the course of two and a half hours."

And there's also a stage spectacle for audiences to enjoy, with plenty of lights, fire and smoke pulled from the band's rock roots.

"It will be bigger than last year, but not as big as next year," Pitrelli joked about the stage show. "That's the Paul O'Neill way of doing things."

Pitrelli also sees the tour as a way to break the stereotypes that surround musicians - the stiff-necked classical musician and the primadonna rocker. He admits that it gets challenging at times to get rockers and classical musicians on the same page, but in the end, they find a lot of common ground.

"What we try to do is dispel the clichés," he said. "The six or seven rockers in the TSO band are very well-educated musicians with a wide vocabulary, and the string section that we have, I think they're all closet headbangers."

But what would some of the older members of the audience think if they knew the guy directing this classical Christmas show played with Alice Cooper?

"You'd be surprised how many of those 70-year-old grandmothers are wearing Alice Cooper T-shirts under their sweaters," he joked. "I don't think music has a demographic age-wise anymore. When you look out in the audience, there are 80-year-old women who are just banging their heads, and there are 8- or 9-year-old kids listening closely to the poetry and ballads. You never know, good music is good music."

Still, he admits his resumé does occasionally raise some eyebrows.

"When some of the older folks hear about Megadeth, they say `oh, my,' but we play with them a little bit and have some fun," Pitrelli said. "We're light-hearted about it, and we poke fun at ourselves. By the end of the evening, everybody gets it, and we keep them in on the joke so to speak."

The annual holiday tour keeps growing, and Pitrelli admits that he would like to see Trans-Siberian Orchestra last beyond the musicians involved.

"As a musician, one of the things that you dream about is that your music lives a lot longer than you do," he said. "To be part of someone's Christmas tradition long after I'm gone, yeah, I'd be real proud to know that was happening."