Trans-Siberian Orchestra

Christmas is a time of celebration, family and theatrical rock! The Lost Christmas Eve is Trans-Siberian's fifth production, and it has all the riff-based carols of the band's previous fare, only this year, it seems a little forced. Maybe finding new ways to sing about snow has become trying, or maybe topping the classic Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24 is simply too arduous a task. Their latest offers all the TSO standards: instrumentals, rock-pop scorchers and soothing originals that fit as comfortably at home as being played by an old church organist. Songs like "The Lost Christmas Eve," "What Child Is This?" and "Christmas Cannon Rock" aren't exactly shockers, but they will tear you away from the outstretched lighter and may force your body into a fist-pumping, head-banging emotional explosion, Meat Loaf-style. And isn't that, folks, what Christmas is all about?