Review by Saxy S for Majestica - A Christmas Carol (2020)
In life, there are a few things that are for certain: death, taxes, and Christmas music. I swear to god, it seems like the benchmark as to when it is considered acceptable to start playing Christmas music gets earlier every single year. And every year my tolerance for Christmas music wears more thin. By the time we make it to the actual day, I'm so sick and tired of Christmas that I just want it to be over. Just for once, I would like to hear someone bring some substance to a genre of music that is incredibly shallow during the best of times.
Enter Majestica, a Swedish symphonic metal band doing the Avantasia gimmick of conceptual metal album with a distinctive holiday flare. And I know what you're thinking: isn't this just the Trans-Siberian Orchestra's gimmick? Well...no. Don't get me wrong: this is pure cheese, but like in a really good way. This isn't just a collection of classic Christmas carols with a hard rock/heavy metal edge. Majestica are ready to go jingle bells to the wall by giving these Christmas carols a facelift. You'll hear interpolations of "O Come All Ye Faithful", "Joy To The World", "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" among others. Some of them are transposed into the minor key, most of them are given lyrical overhauls. At the very least, the tunes are given some personality beyond just artist flare.
I would say that this hodgepodge of Christmas theme's can feel overzealous at times, but then you have to take into consideration the concept of this album. In short, it is a retelling of the classic Charles Dickens tale, so I see no real reason as to why these themes cannot be interpolated. In fact, the later half of this album from "Ghost of Christmas to Come" and "A Christmas Has Come", plus the interlude "The Joy of Christmas" have their own melodic ideas; this is thematically smart since the Ghost of Christmas Future would know the songs that we, in the present, do not.
As for the way this album sounds, I can't really think of all that much to say. It's remarkably cheesy as mentioned before as the symphonic elements are blatant and at the forefront of the mix. The bass lines are fruitful, the guitar work is melodic, and the vocals are a little hit and miss, but more hits than misses. The mixing on this record is splendid! I really enjoy how important the instrumentals are to the telling of the tale as much as the lyrics are; it's a very nice touch that you seldom hear in modern pop music, and especially in metal.
Why I hesitate on calling this great is because of my review of DragonForce's Inhuman Rampage a few months ago. I described that record as the quintessential power metal album. With no funny business or progressive fat, it could be a fun experience for those who like straight up, unfiltered metal. Majestica are much the same for symphonic metal, but have the engineering to back it up. A Christmas record might not be the first thing I go to, but for a brief period of time, it does remind me of the most wonderful time of the year.