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BRIAN TICHY
Merry Tichmas
2017 Tish Rock Records
Only place to order this CD: http://www.briantichy.com

Well it's the end of 2021 and the start of a brand, new year is right around the corner and like so many people around the world at this time of the year I find myself watching classic holiday movies and listening to some of my favorite Christmas holiday music, hey I know you're all right there with me. Now who doesn't love all the classic Christmas holiday music but every now and then you stumble across a Christmas music album that you just can't believe you've been lucky enough to stumble across and this year I was so lucky to discover the solo Christmas CD by drummer Brian Tichy titled Merry Tichmas!

Now the album title says it all and it leaves no doubt that what you get here is a rocking collection of Christmas classics. If you're a Hard Rock/Metal fan you no doubt know the name Brian Tichy because he's played with everyone from WHITESNAKE to OZZY OSBOURNE, BILLY IDOL and THE DEAD DAISIES. Now while Brian Tichy is very much a mighty, powerhouse drummer and it's his drumming ability that he's primarily known for it should be noted that Brian is a multi insturmentalist in that he can play guitar, bass, sing lead, and play keyboards. I bring this all up because Brian plays everything on the album with the exception of the keboards which are handled by Derek Sherinian who has played with the likes of ALICE COOPER and KISS and been a successful solo artist in his own right.

Ok so let's really get into the Merry Tichmas CD because it's a CD that is well worth your hard earned money here because this is more than just a 4 song EP, you get a full length 11 track CD and like I said being the mighty powerhouse drummer that Brian Tichy is, he could have very easily made this an album that was centered around his drumming and made the sound of the overall album so over the top that you couldn't really enjoy these songs as they were meant to be enjoyed. I recently had the chance to speak with Brian over the phone (interview on KNAC.COM HERE) in regards to his Merry Tichmas CD and I was very impressed when he told me he didn't want to make another Heavy Metal Christmas, that's been done over and over. Brian went on to explain that he felt it was very important to stay as true to the way the songs were originally written and recorded because that's the way people love to hear those songs. Brian told me when he think backs to when he was younger he remembered all those Christmas songs the way he first heard them so that's the way they should be played.

The CD gets off to a real rocking start with Brian's take on "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town" (seen BELOW) and I love the talk box effect he used on the song when he was playing the guitar, the effect is something really pleasing to my ears and one of the first things I noticed the minute the song starts to play. All through the song you hear a vocal-like effect, and it almost sounds like Brian's singing along to the track but as he told me that was a talk box effect and that he was going to originally feature the talk box effect on all the songs but opted not to for the simple fact he had a fear that would lead to overkill. A few other tracks that really stood out to me include "Winter Wonderland", "Come All Ye Faithful" and one of my personal favorites, "You're A Mean One Mr. Grinch", which of course originally came from one of Brian's all-time favorite Christmas holiday specials, How The Grinch Stole Christmas. Now for just a small taste of the Rockin sounds you'll hear on Merry Tichmas, check this out!

5.0 Out Of 5.0