Siberian

For more than 20 years, progressive metal group Trans-Siberian Orchestra has cornered the market on holiday concept albums. The second installment in a trilogy, THE CHRISTMAS ATTIC tells the story of a little girl who spends nights in an attic filled with Yuletide reveries, a concept that TSO's sweeping soundscapes play to the hilt. Solo and choral vocals soar over the septet's rock orchestral backing across 16 tracks interweaving traditional and classical material with compositions by bandleader Paul O'Neill and cohorts. “Christmas Canon” would become a signature song for TSO, and this 1998 album and subsequent tour helped turn the group into a commercial juggernaut. The new 20th Anniversary Edition of THE CHRISTMAS ATTIC includes a previously unreleased on CD and vinyl version of “Christmas Jam (Live).” Merry Christmas from Rhino and Trans-Siberian Orchestra!

What would happen if members of Savatage decided to write some Christmas songs? Easy: Trans-Siberian Orchestra. This "supergroup" is the brainchild of Jon Oliva and Paul O'Neill (respectively the leader-keyboardist and the producer of Savatage). They hired Al Pitrelli (Asia, Savatage) to play guitars, Robert Kinkel to help with keyboards, John Middleton (also a member of Savatage) on bass, and Jeff Plate on drums. Lead vocals are shared by six vocalists, while some of the backing vocals are handled by Savatage lead singer Zachary Stevens. Christmas Eve and Other Stories is a concept album: all the songs are built as chapters of a book, each telling part of a larger story. The plot here is of a young angel sent down to Earth to find and bring back to the Lord "the one thing that best represents everything good that has been done in the name of this day."