Traditionally Christmas is celebrated on December 25th. However the song "The 12 Days of Christmas" is a song about the12 days after Christmas which leads up to the Feast of Epiphany on January 6th. We at Colossal Pop thought it would be fun to celebrate the 12 days fo Christmas by posting one CD a day that you should give or receive from your "True love". Enjoy the list as this is pretty much a "BEST OF 2011" from our editor Jeff Holton. Merry Christmas and have a wonderful 2012...
On The First Day of Christmas My True Love Gave To Me...
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City Harmonic - I Have A Dream (It Feels Like Home): Last year City Harmonic released their debut EP to massive praise (It was one of my faves of 2010). In 2012 they released their first full length and this CD is as good as gold. These guys have given new life to Christian praise and worship. I can't not listen to this CD at least once a week.
On The Second Day of Christmas My True Love Gave To Me...
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Saxon – Call To Arms: One of New Wave of British Heav Metal pioneers best album in decades. Saxon has been putting out metal for over 30 years and these guys have not lost their flair for metal. A Call to Armsn is a must have for any Saxon or NWOBHM fan.
On The Third Day of Christmas My True Love Gave To Me...
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Pain of Salvation - Road Salt Two: Sweden's Pain of Salvation have been re-inventing themselves with this and their previous recordings of the Road Salt series. Having left their progressive roots and going for a more 70s style rock record and is nothing short of genius. I know Pain of of Salvation is not a regualar hard rock household name but this two part series has certainly given them new life and put them on a course that will only have them making greater albums in the years to come.
On The Fourth Day of Christmas My True Love Gave To Me...
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Arch/Matheos - Sympathetic Resonance: Jim Matheos and John Arch are two founding members of progressive metal’s pioneers Fates Warning and have teamed up once again for one of the finer progressive releases of 2011. Sympathetic Resonance is essentially the long overdue follow up to Arch’s 2003 E.P. A Twist Of Fate and it has been worth the wait. Fans of early Fates Warning will be all over this release since I think it sounds more like Fates than the current lineup. I personally hope this is not a one time thing since I think Arch/Matheos have produced a spectacular album.
On The Fifth Day of Christmas My True Love Gave To Me...
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Devin Townsend Project – Deconstruction: Devin Townsend is a genius! I have been eagerly awaiting the release of this CD (which was released simultaneous with Ghost) and I was not disappointed. The man has mastered the art of chaos and is in my opinion one of the most unique musicians of this modern time.
On The Sixth Day of Christmas My True Love Gave To Me...
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Glass Hammer - Cor Cordium: Progressive rock has never sounded so magnificent. Steve Babb and Fred Schendel continually amaze me CD after CD with each respective release getting progressively better and better. Cor Cordium is a brilliant release and is a spectacular follow-up to a CD that I thought would be impossible to follow up. Everything about this CD is ambitious and true to what progressive rock should be.
On The Seventh Day of Christmas My True Love Gave To Me...
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3 - The Ghost You Gave To Me: This is 3's sixth full-length CD. I have dubbed 3 as a “new school” progressive hard rock band. It is not progressive in the way Dream Theater or Rush are but they actually take the genre and expand on it by making it less flashy, but still remaining intricate and innovative. .The Ghost You Gave To Me is by far 3’s greatest effort to date and this is saying a lot since “Wake Pig” is a great release.
On The Eighth Day of Christmas My True Love Gave To Me...
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Opeth - Heritage: Opeth made a lot of their fans mad with their 2011 release and possibly picked up a bunch of new fans. Why? Simply because they matured and went a different direction musically. Heritage is a fantastic CD and yes I am a bit sad that the REALLY heavy parts are gone, but musically this is a beautiful CD that I think the band had to put out. It will be interesting to see where they go with their next release
On The Ninth Day of Christmas My True Love Gave To Me...
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Black Country Communion - 2: This was a last minute addition. For some reason I did not pick this CD up until late 2011. I never and I mean never buy CDs since I get all of my music for review purposes (and this keeps me busy enough) but I picked this gem up and it is SPECTACULAR! Glen Hughes and the boys have made a masterpiece and it is worth every penny. If you haven't picked this one up yet then I would HIGHLY recommend doing so.
On The Ninth Day of Christmas My True Love Gave To Me...
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Megadeth - Th1rt3en: A classic return to form for these thrash metal pioneers. With the reuinion of Ellefson and Mustaine Megadeth are at the peak of their performance. I can't honestly find a song on this classic that I do not like.
On The Eleventh Day of Christmas My True Love Gave To Me...
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Symphony X - Iconoclast: The only word I can use to describe Symphony X's new CD is WOW! I literally am left speechless after listening to it because it is by and far one of THE top metal release of 2011. This is pure and untainted excellence to the core! I truly believe “Iconoclast” should be in every (yes every) metal music lovers collection.
On The Twelfth Day of Christmas My True Love Gave To Me...
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Anthrax - Worship Music: Yes my friends I think this was the biggest surprise of 2011. I for one was anticipating this release but my hopes weren't too high. When I popped this puppy in the player I was completely blown away! Anthrax nailed it with Worship Music and is in my opinion the best metal release of 2011. Joey Bellandonna sounds great and the music is as heavy as it has ever been. Cheers to Anthrax for a job well done.
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