Forget the turtle doves and diamond rings.

On "Heavy Metal Christmas," Twisted Sister gets eight pentagrams, seven leather jackets, four quarts of Jack (as in Daniels) and a tattoo of Ozzy (as in Osbourne).

And the glam shock-rockers wish you a Twisted Christmas and a Twisted New Year, by the by.

As you stroll the malls to the clichéd Christmas soundtrack of holiday chestnuts, you might long for a twist on tradition. It might be a kick to hear the driving drum lines and crunching three-chord guitars blasting a hole in the usually somber and sacred "Oh Come All Ye Faithful" or hear lead singer Dee Snider try to hold a note on "White Christmas."

"A Twisted Christmas" is the 30-year-old band's first holiday collection and quite possibly its final recording together. And it rates as one of the most unique holiday CDs to land on our desks in the past couple months.

Here are a few others:

● Andreas Vollenweider featuring Carly Simon, "Midnight Clear": A bit New Age in feel, but wonderfully refreshing in content — ancient music set in modern times, including a decidedly unsymphonic reading of Bach's "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring."

● Disney sister act Aly & AJ Michalka, "Acoustic Hearts of Winter": The title's a bit of a misnomer; the disc kicks off with an electrified pop tune, "Greatest Time of Year," and ends with the drum-driving rocker "Not This Year." In between, the sisters strip down standards like "Joy to the World" and "Deck the Halls" to their acoustic nakedness.

● Singer-songwriter Sarah McLachlan, "Wintersong": In her first Christmas album, the three-time Grammy winner dips into the classics and dusts off new classics, with unique covers of Joni Mitchell's "River" and John Lennon's "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)."

● Mormon Tabernacle Choir and the Orchestra at Temple Square, "The Wonder of Christmas," and "Simply Christmas: Home for the Holidays," featuring The Canadian Brass, National Philharmonic Orchestra and London Festival Orchestra: Two of the classical holiday offerings. Both dip into the well of Christmas standards — "Simply Christmas" does it instrumentally, while "The Wonder of Christmas" does it with the famed choir getting a helping voice from Renée Fleming and Bryn Terfel.

● Brad Paisley, "Brad Paisley Christmas": Skip past "Winter Wonderland," "Silent Night" and "Silver Bells" and go straight to the end — the second installment of the Kung Pao Buckaroos (George Jones, Bill Anderson and "Little" Jimmy Dickens) doing "Kung Pao Buckaroo Holiday." The disc mixes gems with gorgeous originals, including the blues/traditional, country-fused ballad "364 Days To Go," and the tender, near-gospel track "Born on Christmas Day," which Paisley wrote at 12 and first recorded when he was 13 at his official Jamboree USA debut in Wheeling, W.Va. The song opens with that old recording — Paisley's voice is uneven and cracking with puberty — then segues at the second verse to present day.

● Manhattan Transfer, "An Acapella Christmas": This gem of standards was previously only available in Japan. Don't ask; we have no clue.

● The Mighty Echoes, "Doo Wop Around the Christmas Tree": Everything from "The Christmas Song" to Lennon's "Happy Xmas (War is Over)," all done a capella. You will find yourself hitting replay on "Happy Christmas," just to hear how the quartet fleshes out the musical score with their powerful vocal harmonies.

● John Fluker, "J is for Joy": The longtime songwriter, arranger, producer, pianist and vocalist breaks out with a delicious old-school R&B, soulful collection of spiritually emphasized caroles including his self-penned uptempo gospel, "Follow the Brightest Star."

● Richard Cheese, "Silent Nightclub": This cheesy lounge singer takes on everything from the Dead Kennedys' "Holiday in Cambodia" to Band-Aid's "Do They Know It's Christmas," and a few chestnuts, including "Silent Night" and "Christmastime is Here" from "A Charlie Brown Christmas." But it's his cheeky take on Beyoncé's "Naughty Girls" and Madonna's "Like A Virgin" that you'll want to replay for a laugh.

Tucson's wacky and rising country outfit the Wyatts are getting into the holiday music spirit.

The cowboy-hat-clad quartet is serving up holiday spirit Old Pueblo-style in "Merry Christmas Darlin'," a quirky, rockabilly-flavored, country swing romp. There's piano, acoustic guitars and lap steel guitar and upright bass, played by Nashville royalty Chris Scruggs, grandson of Earl Scruggs. Scruggs was in Tucson to work on a recording project at Wavelab Studio with the producer Craig Schumacher.

You'll be two-stepping and sipping eggnog well into the new year.

The song's available online at www.wyattstheband.com or iTunes.

Expect the band's sophomore release, "The Continuing Saga of the Wyatts, Volume 1," next spring.