A Drive-By Christmas, various artists (Legion)

Not to be confused with the compilation on Drive-Thru Records, this is a 1997 disc of really hard rockers doing mostly original Christmas tunes, with a few covers thrown in for good measure. Driveway's "Heatmiser" is a fun take on that classic, The Homeless push the thrash into sixth gear with "Homeless For the Holidays," Drop Kick Jesus punks out on "Holly Jolly Christmas" and Jay Foucher Project's "6 String Medley" is a straight rock instrumental delivering a melange of popular carols. Rudimentary Paste takes us back to the 80s with "Spirit of Getting," though they seem a little too happy to get that Gary Numan box set. Hamlet Idiot has an early lead for title of the year with "It's Christmas (You Should Be Ashamed of Yourself)." Grooveworks heads for the hard-rockin' blues with "Santa, What'cha Bringin' Me Tonight," featuring strong blues-mama vocals. And Dogboy throws a little Tim Burton into the holiday with "Christmas Time Again." No Amazon listing, only available at CD Baby.