Snowbound, Warren Appleby (Madkar)

Warren's a rock 'n roll veteran going back to his early '80s stint in the heavy metal band Blacktask. He started a solo career back in 2002 and has cut several albums since then, including a few of Christmas songs along the way that formed the basis for this newly recorded 2008 CD of instrumentals, with Warren playing all the parts and recording in his home studio. The title song, "Christmas Ships," "Late December" and "Winter Valley" are his own originals, though "Ships" does harken back to "I Saw Three Ships." The remainder of the nine tunes are classic carols like "Deck the Halls," "Hark the Herald Angels Sing," "Silent Night," "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" and "O'Christmas Tree 2.0." Overall, the sound is less metal and more like Trans-Siberian Orchestra or Mannheim Steamroller, with plenty of bombastic instrumental touches in that style of playing. It's well made for a home-based production, though I have to say the original tunes don't really suggest Christmas to a listener for the most part, except where familiar carols are quoted. Nevertheless, fans of this style of music ought to check Warren out.