Tantrum – Christmas EP 2023

“Chris Rea, Cliff Richard, Wham, East 17 and Elton John have what in common with Scottish metal band Tantrum”? Is it a) they share a similar fashion sense… b) they’ve all played the dame in a pantomime… c) their music sounds similar… d) they’ve all released a Christmas song.

Fortunately, you know your metal music and you know fine well that Tantrum don’t do sequins, it’s unlikely they’ve donned a big dress, their music is hard as nails… and that they do indeed like to release a Christmas song!

Each year, it has become customary for Tantrum to release a Christmas reimagining of one of their own songs and 2023 is no different, with the release of ‘Santa Time’, a festive reworking of their song ‘Sands of Time’ (can you see what they did there?!). But what is different from other years is that the tinsel-covered single will be packaged together in an EP with other tracks, to create one big, well-wrapped present called The Christmas EP. The aforementioned single opens the EP, followed by covers chosen by each band member; Thin Lizzy’s ‘Cold Sweat’, Simon and Garfunkel’s ‘Hazy Shade of Winter’, Bruce Dickinson’s ‘Road to Hell’ and Iron Maiden’s ‘The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner’. The EP won’t be available on the usual streaming platforms but will be available to purchase digitally or in two very special limited-edition and numbered CDs. The first CD contains the 5 tracks mentioned above with the ‘Santa Time’ artwork whilst the second option is a special retro-style CD called A Very Tantrum Christmas, which comes in a special metal lunchbox with other goodies and includes a bonus track of ‘O Holy Night’. It also has one of the most humorous album covers I’ve seen in a long time, with the immortal line “as played on all major radio stations across Paisley”! So far, so good? Well, it gets even better! As Christmas is the time of year for giving, Tantrum will be donating all proceeds to Glasgow’s Spirit of Christmas charity, which aims to bring smiles to the faces of children who would otherwise experience a Christmas devoid of any gifts or celebrations. This EP literally is the gift that keeps on giving!

So… we’ve mentioned what’s on offer and the great cause that will benefit from it. But what does it actually sound like?

As mentioned, opening track ‘Santa Time’ is a Christmas-themed reworking of Tantrum’s original song ‘Sands of Time’. It starts with sleigh bells (of course it does!) and singer Mark's familiar voice bellowing “Santa Time is coming round for you”, before the most un-Christmas-like ripping metal riff tears through the speakers! There’s a warning that is surely aimed at the nosiest of children (and adults!) who like to snoop around for presents; “no point in looking through the cupboards”. Is that because presents are well hidden? No… it’s because Santa is a maniacal present thief! It appears that this Santa steals gifts and enslaves girls and boys in his sweat shop, meaning that this is most definitely a Christmas song with a difference! It’s not one that you’ll hear played at the primary school PTA Christmas coffee morning or on a cheesy festive compilation that you’ll listen to as your 5-year-old puts the angel on the top of the tree… but c’mon, this is heavy metal, done in Tantrum’s unique style! Did you really expect a cheery, fat, bearded man giving gifts out to excited children? It’s a rip-roaring slice of metal with a dark twist to the traditional view of Santa and a wonderfully played guitar solo, ending with an amusing little ditty and a hearty “ho-ho-ho”. However, it also serves as a timely reminder that waking up to no presents is a sad reality for many children on 25th December and that’s got more to do with society than an evil Santa. That is truly Bah Humbug.

The first of the covers is a recording of Thin Lizzy’s ‘Cold Sweat’ that remains faithful to the original and doesn’t play around too much with it, although there is a much heavier and more urgent vibe to it than the 1983 original. Mark doesn’t try to sing it like Phil Lynott, which allows Tantrum to put their own stamp on it, whilst the guitar solo is played with such pinpoint accuracy that it competes with John Sykes.

There’s nothing faithful about Tantrum’s version of Simon and Garfunkel’s ‘Hazy Shade of Winter’. It’s a complete reworking that would cause Art Garfunkel’s hair to return to its famous bushy, curly bouffant, with some heavy rhythm guitar, driving bass, furious drums and an almost theatrical vocal that really tells the story. The 1966 original already had a good riff for Tantrum to build on but they’ve truly taken it to another level. After all, what’s the point of simply repeating what folk have heard a million times before in the almost 60 years since it was first released?

It really shouldn’t be a surprise that Tantrum appear to be fans of Iron Maiden, arguably the UK’s greatest metal band and one which sells out arenas to this day. Therefore, covering a Bruce Dickinson solo track and an Iron Maiden deeper cut seems like a fairly sensible and safe option. The cover of Dickinson’s ‘Road to Hell’, from 1997’s Accident of Birth album literally rocks from beginning to end, with Mark’s vocals never sounding stretched or screechy, whilst ‘The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner’ perfectly replicates the light and dark atmosphere of the epic, cult favourite from 1986’s seminal Somewhere in Time album. The twin guitar work, supported by some excellent work by the rhythm section makes this a great track to end on and, in my opinion, the top pick of the covers.

But wait a minute, I hear you say. What about ‘O Holy Night’ bonus track, for those of us interested in the retro-package with extra goodies? Well… it is something quite special and completely unexpected. It’s a wonderful arrangement with a top-notch vocal performance, yet at times, still manages to provide the heaviness expected of Tantrum without overshadowing the famous melody.

Tantrum’s Christmas EP 2023 really is a lot of fun. It isn’t easy to write an original Christmas song and it’s even more difficult to do it when you’re a metal band intent on providing a dark but clever twist to what is traditionally expected from such songs. But Tantrum have successfully navigated the potential pitfalls, offering a very special Christmas present for all metalheads whilst simultaneously helping the most vulnerable in society at what can be a difficult time of year. What’s not to like???

The Christmas EP will be available digitally from the Tantrum website from 8th December with very limited-edition physical CDs also for sale… including the ultra-limited retro-package!