A Little Slice of Metal: Trans-Siberian Orchestra

The perfect blend of heavy metal music, symphonic music and Christmas music...

Season’s Greetings, loyal Rave Up Music readers. I am Barius the Musical Snowman, and it is time of a special Christmas edition of A Little Slice of Metal! Today, we are talking about the unique approach of releasing rock/metal-based Christmas albums.

Rock music has always had a connection to Christmastime. From Bobby Helms’ classic “Jingle Bell Rock” to Elvis Presley’s “Blue Christmas,” the spirit of the season gets energized through use of electric guitars and groovy drumbeats.

This one always put me into the holiday spirit…

However, for some people, it is hard to get into the yuletide spirit when guitars are blaring in your ears. Some people prefer to have their Christmas to be easier on the ears, and filled with orchestral strings and powerful choral arrangements. For me, I am one for almost any kind of Christmas music. Whether it is Garth Brooks, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir or the Chicago Symphony, I love all types of Christmas music. Well, maybe not every type of Christmas music…

Just…WHY!?!?

But, this is A Little Slice of Metal, so we need to shift our focus on a band that not only brings the rock side to Christmas, but beautifully blends it with great choruses and orchestras. Today, we are feature the phenomenal Trans-Siberian Orchestra.

BAND HISTORY:

Trans-Siberian Orchestra, or TSO for short, formed in 1993 by producer, lyricist and composer Paul O’Neill when offered by Atlantic Records to create his own band that was to be a marriage of classical and rock music. To start this project, he recruited vocalist Jon Oliva, guitarist Al Pitrelli, and keyboardist Robert Kinkel from the band Savatage. When O’Neill conceived the idea of Trans-Siberian Orchestra, whose name derives from the famous Trans-Siberian Railway in Russia, he envisioned “six rock operas, a trilogy about Christmas, and maybe one or two regular albums.”

The band first attempted album was a concept album entitled Romanov: When Kings Must Whisper, which was about the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia. However, it was eventually put on hold in favor of the band first album in the Christmas Trilogy. However, plans were delayed when Jon Oliva’s younger brother Chris was killed by a drunk driver. To prevent the record label from dropping TSO, two Savatage albums were released. Once things stabilized with Savatage, O’Neill and company began working on TSO, and their first Christmas album.

In 1996, TSO released their first album of the Christmas trilogy entitled Christmas Eve and Other Stories, which features the popular mash-up of “Carol of the Bells” and “God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen” entitled “Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24.” The album became an instant success, and led the band to release the next part of the trilogy, entitled The Christmas Attic, in 1998. It features a powerful arrangement of Johann Pachelbel’s Canon in D Major entitled “Christmas Canon.”

In 2000, TSO released their first non-Christmas rock opera, Beethoven’s Last Night, which tells the story of the final hours of composer Ludwig van Beethoven, as he faces the demon, Mephistopheles, who has come to collect his soul. The album gave the band some mainstream exposure, as well as bring additional attention to the previous two Christmas albums. After some time off from the touring Beethoven’s Last Night, Trans-Siberian Orchestra released in 2004 the final part of the Christmas Trilogy, entitled The Lost Christmas Eve. The band further grew in popularity when video of electrical engineer Carson Williams’ 2005 Christmas lights display utilized the TSO Track “Wizards in Winter” in one of the earliest known synchronizing music to Christmas lights.

Trippy, man…

After taking a break from touring, TSO returned in 2009 with their first double album rock opera Night Castle, which features several arrangements of classical pieces, including the track “The Mountain,” which is an arrangement of Edvard Grieg’s In The Hall of the Mountain King. Night Castle was intended by O’Neill to be the band s first stand alone album, but at the persistence of Jon Oliva, it became a rock opera since it was too early in the band’s career to try something different yet. The album was certified platinum. In 2012, the band released an EP of Christmas songs entitled Dreams of Fireflies (On a Christmas Night). Unlike previous Christmas album, this is a small collection of self-contained musical story.

Today, Trans-Siberian Orchestra continues to tour, including every winter, playing music from all Christmas albums, including this winter 2013-2014, in which the band will play the final tour for The Lost Christmas Eve album. The band is currently working on several different projects, including working on the intended first album Romanov: When Kings Must Whisper. However, there are no set released dates at the time of this review. The band has sold over 10 millions album and concert tickets, selling out arenas all over the world. The popularity of TSO has grown to the point that two different tours through the United States to meet the demand of fans and concert promoters.

STYLE/GENRE OF METAL:

If there is one word to describe the music of TSO, it would have to be “perfection.” Paul O’Neill has been given full creative control of the music, from composing, producing and writing lyrics. While this kind of control usually results in some bizarre, “musical statements,” that is not the case here. Every song is written with such care and love, as well a lot of attention to details.

With each song from TSO, there is a good balance of progressive rock/metal and classical/orchestral music. The music is produced in a way where the rock parts dominate over the orchestral parts, and vice versa.  A prime example of this the song “A Mad Russian’s Christmas,” which is a medley of themes from The Nutcracker Suite. The song has brilliant moments where the rock and classical elements mix well together, as well as moments for those two elements to be featured separately.

In addition to the rock and classical elements, TSO also have absolutely stunning choral arrangements. To capture the youthful excitement of Christmas music, the band often hires children’s choirs. The arrangement of “Christmas Canon” layers the children’s singing with melodies and counter-melodies that would warm any old Grinch’s heart.

RECOMMENDED SONGS/ALBUM:

Personally, I find all of Trans-Siberian Orchestra’s music to be really enjoyable and I would say to check out every album from the band. However, if you want a good starting point, I would recommend the follow songs (in addition to the songs featured above):

“Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24” from Christmas Eve and Other Stories

This is one of TSO’s biggest hits, and for good reason: this one kicks ass! It starts really slow, with a beautiful cello solo playing the melody to “God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen.” This represents a cellist playing a lost carol in the war-torn Sarajevo. Suddenly, it is a full out rock and orchestral moment as the band rocks out to “Carol of the Bells.” This is truly one of TSO’s best works.

“First Snow” from Christmas Eve and Other Stories

Ignore the anime stills and enjoy the music.

TSO is not just a band that plays arrangements of classical and Christmas music. They are also excellent composers, and “First Snow” one of their best original works. The guitar riffs are catchy, the strings create a beautiful sweeping sound, and the song as a whole feels like it belongs at Christmas time.

“Requiem (The Fifth)” from Beethoven’s Last Night

This is a superb arrangement on Beethoven Symphony No. 5 mixed with Mozart’s Requiem. What more can I say about it except it is an awesome song and you should check it out.

“The Mountain” from Night Castle

Based on a Savatage piece entitled “Prelude to Madness,” “The Mountain” borrows themes from Edvard Grieg’s In the Hall of the Mountain King, with some added musical ideas in the style of Gustav Holst. It is both mysterious and aggressive, filled with the right balance of distorted guitar and orchestral strings.

“Someday” from Dreams of Fireflies (On A Christmas Night)

This song from the TSO’s latest EP is one of the best non-Christmas songs featuring singing. The song is a man reflecting on all the things his parents has done for him while he was growing up, and now, as an adult, he cannot find the works to tell them how much he appreciate them for raising him and making him a good man. It is very soulful, and it really does bring a tear to the eye.

FINAL COMMENTS/ANALYSIS:

Trans-Siberian Orchestra is one of those bands that need to be in every rock/metal fans collection, as well as everyone’s Christmas music collection. All of their albums are produced to near perfection, seamlessly blending rock and orchestral music together in perfect harmony. The vocals are well-suited to each song, can make you feel a wide of emotions, including excitement and sorrow. This holiday season, I cannot help but highly recommend Trans-Siberian Orchestra, and thus, I give TSO the Christmas Metal Horn Seal of Approval.

Santa Claus Approved!

Please check out TSO at www.trans-siberian.com for the latest tour dates and band information.

Well, that brings us to the end of our first Christmas edition of A Little Slice of Metal. Tune in on Christmas Eve for our final Christmas review for the month, as I take a look back at my all time favorite Christmas specials. Until then, I am Barius, and please continue to deck and rock the halls this holiday season!

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