Wizards Of Winter, The: The Christmas Dream

The Wizards Of Winter have been brightening up the Christmas season since 2009. The band formed in response to a need in the community to provide food for the less fortunate. You know, giving something back to those in need. It seems to be in short supply these days, especially if one listens to all the rhetoric floating around the internet. But alas, that’s a story for another day. The band, comprising of members of Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Ted Nugent’s band, Blue Oyster Cult, Def Leppard and others, have released three albums thus far, their latest titled The Christmas Dream.

Like their first two albums, the band continues their love of everything Christmas and generating some fine rock/metal music in the process beginning with the bombastic and super catchy “Secrets Of The Snow Globe�. This is wonderful progressive metal with a seasonal flavour. The shredding keyboards and guitar fireworks are particularly impressive. More dramatics can be heard on “Handel’s Torch� with its swirling guitar and keyboards and some pretty tasty flute. The female lead vocals in the upbeat and catchy “Gonna Snow�, a mixture of hard/symphonic rock are spot on. I love how the band seamlessly incorporate snippets of Christmas classics, in this case “Jingle Bells�. Reminds me a little of Trans-Siberian Orchestra. The lead vocals in “Polar Eve� are absolutely lovely and the staccato rhythms are loaded with drama. With “The Four Kings� the sound is more blues and jazz while “Christmas Dream (Salzburg Carol)� is a heavier instrumental. Throughout the album the melodies, musicianship and songwriting is top notch stuff.

The Christmas Dream is highly recommended for fans of bombastic metal, Christmas music and hard rock. In a word…excellent.

The players:
Scott Kelly (keyboards)
Sharon Kelly (flute, vocals)
Fred Gorhau (guitar)
Greg Smith (bass)
Jon O. Reilly (drums)
Vincent Jiovino (vocals)
Karl Scully (vocals)
Shawna Mehall (backup vocals)

Track Listing:
1. Secrets Of The Snow Globe (5:04)
2. Handel’s Torch (4:37)
3. Gonna Snow (4:19)
4. Polar Eve (5:21)
5. Midnight Noel (4:03)
6. The Four Kings (4:42)
7. The Happy Song (3:06)
8. In Plain Sight (5:12)
9. Christmas Dream (Salzburg Carol) (4:07)
10. A Toast To Time (Farewell) (3:48)

Added: February 21st 2020
Reviewer: Jon Neudorf
Score:
Related Link: Band's Official Site
Hits: 1959
Language: english

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