Various Artists - Taste of Christmas

Now this is an interesting Christmas compilation featuring various punk and emo bands doing covers and original Christmas songs. I liked it for the most part as some of these guys really know how to get in the spirit of things and have fun, where as some of them just cant escape their emo style and put out some boring and rather depressing accoustic songs about being alone or breaking up on Christmas. Can't they try to do something happy like Skindred's "Jungle Bells", a hard rockin' Christmas tune with a raggae rock twist, or "Christmassacre" by From First To Last, quite possibly the angriest Christmas song I ever heard and the must hear track on the CD for me even if it's just 2 minutes long.
Other great tracks are Funeral For A Friend's "Miracle of Christmas" and "Alone This Holiday" by The Used. Funny how the songs I liked the most were the ones most people complained about on other reviews. Guest they'd rather have boring depressing Christmas songs instead of fun lively ones. Isn't that what the season is supposed to be about?

Artist & Track List:
Street Drum Corps feat Bert McCracken - Happy Christmas (War is Over)
Funeral For A Friend - Miracle of Christmas
Skindred - Jungle Bells
The Used - Alone This Holiday
Roses Are Red - Last Christmas
The Smashup - Conventry Carol
Opiate For The Masses - Christmas Evel
Amped - We Three Kings
Emery - The Last Christmas
My American Heart - First Noel
Like Yesterday - We Might Be Alone Tonight
Bleed the Dream - No Smiles on Christmas
Versus the World - Blue and Cold
Bedlight For Blue Eyes - Chrismas Song
Gatsbys American Dream - Saint Nicholas
From First To Last - Chrismassacre
Black Halos - Homeless For Christmas
Plain White - Ts Season Of A Lifetime

Overall: I thought it was a fun album overall, but would have liked it to be just a bit more cheery since it is a holiday album afterall.
CD Rating: ***