Sleddin’ Hill has fast become one of my favorite Christmas albums for a variety of reasons– for starters, the whole thing is instrumental which makes it pretty accessible for everyone in your family around the holidays. And even though it’s on the heavier side of the coin, blending the uplifting nature of Christmas music with the intensity of metalcore, it never feels too over the top. Songs like “Carol of the Bells” and “Jingle Bells” are now headbanging anthems, seamlessly weaving distorted guitars and intricate drum work with softer, atmospheric elements like reverb-soaked keyboards and acoustic interludes. And while it would be easy to end up sounding like a caricature (“let’s write some Christmas song covers by adding some half-time double bass pedal drums along with chuggy guitars and call it a day boys”) what I appreciate most about Sleddin’ Hill is that it handles traditional holiday songs with care and elevates them without sounding like a grandiose parody. The opening track “Flurries” (one of my favorite songs off this album) is a perfect example of this– there’s an unexpectedness to the song structure which transports you into another world, possessing a sort of gravitational weight that pulls you in and makes you feel every single moment.
Standout Songs: “Flurries”, “Sleigh Ride”, “Jingle Bells”, “O Come O Come Emmanuel”, “Carol of the Bells”
