Rottweiler Records, the great purveyor of extreme Christian metal, has a reputation of releasing Christmas samplers to get the metalhead through the busy-ness of Christmas and this year is no different. Although not as an official release, the songs are all available on the Rottweiler bandcamp page (as well as Broken Curfew Records bandcamp for the first two). This is a great way to sample the Rottweiler roster and get some Christmas tunes. So without much further ado, let’s start with the first single.
Mangled Carpenter – “I Saw Three Ships”
MC brings along the most gnarly of brutal death metal in the same vein as early genre pioneers Mortification and Napalm Death. With that understanding, the barely two minute blistering run of the traditional English carol “We Saw Three Ships” is easy to understand. It starts with heavy riffing that sets the tone for the first verse. Death-y vocals emphasize the rhythm with heavy guitars and pounding drums support with a different guitar interlude between each. This is an excellent brutal death metal track. A brutal way to celebrate Christmas!
Mangled Carpenter is:
Seth Metoyer – Guitars/Vocals
Kristeffor Olson – Bass
MAC HINE – Drums
Pulpit Vomit – “Jingle, Jingle, Jingle”
Next up is an extreme metal take on a song from the Rankin/Bass classic “Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer.” Two thirds of the line up of Mangled Carpenter are shared with Pulpit Vomit which is why they also have a similar brutal death metal sound. It is slightly slower with heavier riffing, but has the same intensity you would expect from a deathgrind outfit. Now juxtapose that rendition of the song with the benign Santa Claus from the movie and it is pure hilarity. I love it when bands don’t take things so seriously, especially in extreme metal.
Pulpit Vomit is:
Seth Metoyer – Guitars/Vocals
Tim Olson – Drums
Kristeffor Olson – Bass
Exoneration – “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen – Mary Did You Know”
Exoneration is a new signing to the Rottweiler label and slated to land their debut album in 2025. It starts with “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” that takes a blend of black and death metal with the guitar chord progressions from the carol. This then lands into “Mary Did You Know” that features manic clean vocals and metalcore riffs. I particularly enjoyed the riffs and the guitar solo, but the song feels like the band is trying to do too much at once, where you can hear a little bit of where it is not hitting exactly right. That said, the band has potential.
Exoneration is
Cory Stiles – Guitars/Bass/Programming
Arnaud Zip – Vocals
Vincent Hagen – Drums (not on this single)
The Final Witness – “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen”
Next up is The Final Witness‘ version of “God Rest Yet Merry Gentlemen.” The band shows their progressive patience in the long-developed intro with synths and guitar riffs that remind me of early metal masters. The vocals are a blackened death variety that are supported with a melodic lead that alludes to the carol’s melody, tying up their sound quite nicely. I love the lead guitar work in the development section, but the snare timbre is a little too trebly for my tastes. All in all, it is a quite solid Christmas metal tune!
The Final Witness is:
Josh Henderson – Music and Vocals
Jason Wisdom – Producer/Engineer
Ignite the Gods – “Mary Did You Know”
I like the iconography for this single’s art. Another new signing, Ignite the Gods specializes in a mix of extreme metal and metalcore with a sprinkling of clean vocals. The song opens with a slightly thin singing that morphs into yelling/screaming/growling. With lyrics directed at Mary, I wonder how she would take this prophetic song. As the vocals spin into extreme territory, the instruments up the intensity as well. I really enjoy how they build the various layers and their use of melodic guitars giving depth to their sound.
Ignite The Gods is:
Dano Medina – Guitars
Eduardo Belmont – Vocals
Diego Orozco – Drums
I Am the Pendragon – “Holy Mystery Revised”
The last song on the mix is an original song from I Am the Pendragon. The lyrics are very touching and the highlight of this one. The music has some aspects of metalcore with the blend of clean and harsh vocals, but the guitar work is rather straightforward chugging and simple riffs. Although I think there is some good musical sense on this song, there are details that make it feel a little unfinished such as the distortion/clipping in the vocals and rather spartan accompaniment.
I Am The Pendragon is:
Jerrod Cunningham – Vocals/Guitar
Kevin “Moose” Busch – Bass
Darryl Cunningham – Guitars
*Drums by David Martin*
We all could use a little extreme metal in the Christmas season and I always enjoy hearing up and coming bands. I think that the younger bands on this compilation show potential and what better way to show love for these bands than to support their Christmas efforts. I personally like making Christmas mixes and would gladly throw these tracks alongside some of my other Christmas metal favorites.
Overall Rating: 7.5/10
Written by Sean Bailey