Uploaded December 2025 | Updated September 2026, 11 hours ago
Merry Christmas everyone! Although I will say, the character in this song definitely isn't having a very good Christmas...
*Runs hands over my face*
HOLY CRAP. I am exhausted... I have been working on this project for weeks now; it's pretty much all I've worked on for this entire month. I have heard this song a million times now, had to re-record my performance footage for the video at least once... But it's finally done. I'm so glad to finally have it out, and I hope you guys enjoy it!
(...also seriously, thanks so much to Adam and AudioDiscovery for putting up with my perfectionist nature throughout all this. More about them in a moment if you're wondering who they are.)
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STORY:
The song's story centers around an unnamed man who died in a car crash several winters ago and came back as a ghost. Since then, he's become increasingly depressed and jaded. He can't interact with most people, his grieving family couldn't see him when he tried visiting them because of his non-corporeal form, and he can't even see most colors anymore; he sees everything in a dull sepia-tone. The only things that appear normal for him are the white of snow, and the black of the night sky.
As yet another Christmas rolls around, he finds himself unable to feel any joy, Christmas spirit, or... much of any positive emotions really. To him, the holiday has become a commercialized product (all the businesses cashing in with advertisements, the increasing focus on gifts and material possessions, the displays everywhere...), and the things that gave the holiday value for HIM are gone. He has nobody to share it with.
But while taking a melancholy trip down memory lane in long-vacant areas he used to frequent when he was alive, he finds someone who seems to understand his pain and might even be feeling similarly. Whether it's another ghost, or a normal person who somehow CAN see him, isn't explained in the song... But this person isn't turned off by his mental state or ghostly form, and instead just listens and gives him a shoulder to cry on. The song concludes with the two walking together and reminiscing, having found some sort of connection through their shared experiences, and maybe, just maybe... Our poor ghost character isn't so alone anymore.
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For a while now, I've been wanting to do a metal Christmas song. I finally decided to try doing it this year, and ran the idea by my friend Adam, the bass player of the band ArediA! He showed interest in collaborating with it, so we started working.
We were originally thinking of basing it off of some existing Christmas story (it'd have to be something epic in scope though to fit my style), but I ultimately decided to just come up with a concept of my own to base the song around. It ended up turning into more of a sad, almost ballad-y song (still pretty heavy in certain moments though). It was originally gonna be a Fading Ashes track, but since I just recently put out a single for that project (and because there's one MIDI guitar part in the song), I'm releasing it here as a Nate Willis song instead!
Special thanks to Adam for providing bass parts for this song (and for going to the trouble of filming himself playing them for the video), and of course, thanks to ICanBeFree for once again providing harsh vocals! He also provided some cleans; he and I trade singing parts throughout the song, and he also did most of the backing vocals during the chorus.
Lastly, VERY big thanks to AudioDiscovery for once again mixing this for me! It wouldn't have sounded half as good without his hard work.
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Rhythm Guitar/Lead Guitar: Nate Willis
Bass Guitar: Adam of ArediA
Vocals: ICanBeFree and Nate Willis
MIDI VST Instruments (Drums, Bass, Keyboards, Choir, Bells, and the harmonized dual lead guitar part that follows the piano since I couldn't really play that): Nate Willis
Guitar Solos: Nate Willis and CesarA
Mixing: AudioDiscovery
Video Editing and Thumbnail: Nate Willis
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Adam's YouTube Channel - youtube.com/@HoubkneghteS/featured
AudioDiscovery's YouTube Channel - youtube.com/@AudioDiscoveryVids/featured
ICanBeFree's Fiverr Page - fiverr.com/icanbefree
CesarA's Fiverr Page - fiverr.com/cesarambrosini
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Did you enjoy this song? Do you happen to like Rock and Metalcore music? If so, feel free to check out my solo project, Fading Ashes, where I release other songs just like this one! - youtube.com/@FadingAshes17
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MY PREVIOUS SONG - youtube.com/watch?v=JSAvf5QBew0
MUSIC PLAYLIST - youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMW_Q0sfqB6yj0vWXWosRN4GW7EIDKz2i
MY PREVIOUS VIDEO - youtube.com/watch?v=gECeP9sAzW0&t=395s&pp=0gcJCU0KAYcqIYzv
Enjoy the song!
Merry Christmas everyone! Although I will say, the character in this song definitely isn't having a very good Christmas...
*Runs hands over my face*
HOLY CRAP. I am exhausted... I have been working on this project for weeks now; it's pretty much all I've worked on for this entire month. I have heard this song a million times now, had to re-record my performance footage for the video at least once... But it's finally done. I'm so glad to finally have it out, and I hope you guys enjoy it!
(...also seriously, thanks so much to Adam and AudioDiscovery for putting up with my perfectionist nature throughout all this. More about them in a moment if you're wondering who they are.)
-----
STORY:
The song's story centers around an unnamed man who died in a car crash several winters ago and came back as a ghost. Since then, he's become increasingly depressed and jaded. He can't interact with most people, his grieving family couldn't see him when he tried visiting them because of his non-corporeal form, and he can't even see most colors anymore; he sees everything in a dull sepia-tone. The only things that appear normal for him are the white of snow, and the black of the night sky.
As yet another Christmas rolls around, he finds himself unable to feel any joy, Christmas spirit, or... much of any positive emotions really. To him, the holiday has become a commercialized product (all the businesses cashing in with advertisements, the increasing focus on gifts and material possessions, the displays everywhere...), and the things that gave the holiday value for HIM are gone. He has nobody to share it with.
But while taking a melancholy trip down memory lane in long-vacant areas he used to frequent when he was alive, he finds someone who seems to understand his pain and might even be feeling similarly. Whether it's another ghost, or a normal person who somehow CAN see him, isn't explained in the song... But this person isn't turned off by his mental state or ghostly form, and instead just listens and gives him a shoulder to cry on. The song concludes with the two walking together and reminiscing, having found some sort of connection through their shared experiences, and maybe, just maybe... Our poor ghost character isn't so alone anymore.
-----
For a while now, I've been wanting to do a metal Christmas song. I finally decided to try doing it this year, and ran the idea by my friend Adam, the bass player of the band ArediA! He showed interest in collaborating with it, so we started working.
We were originally thinking of basing it off of some existing Christmas story (it'd have to be something epic in scope though to fit my style), but I ultimately decided to just come up with a concept of my own to base the song around. It ended up turning into more of a sad, almost ballad-y song (still pretty heavy in certain moments though). It was originally gonna be a Fading Ashes track, but since I just recently put out a single for that project (and because there's one MIDI guitar part in the song), I'm releasing it here as a Nate Willis song instead!
Special thanks to Adam for providing bass parts for this song (and for going to the trouble of filming himself playing them for the video), and of course, thanks to ICanBeFree for once again providing harsh vocals! He also provided some cleans; he and I trade singing parts throughout the song, and he also did most of the backing vocals during the chorus.
Lastly, VERY big thanks to AudioDiscovery for once again mixing this for me! It wouldn't have sounded half as good without his hard work.
-----
Rhythm Guitar/Lead Guitar: Nate Willis
Bass Guitar: Adam of ArediA
Vocals: ICanBeFree and Nate Willis
MIDI VST Instruments (Drums, Bass, Keyboards, Choir, Bells, and the harmonized dual lead guitar part that follows the piano since I couldn't really play that): Nate Willis
Guitar Solos: Nate Willis and CesarA
Mixing: AudioDiscovery
Video Editing and Thumbnail: Nate Willis
-----
Adam's YouTube Channel - youtube.com/@HoubkneghteS/featured
AudioDiscovery's YouTube Channel - youtube.com/@AudioDiscoveryVids/featured
ICanBeFree's Fiverr Page - fiverr.com/icanbefree
CesarA's Fiverr Page - fiverr.com/cesarambrosini
-----
Did you enjoy this song? Do you happen to like Rock and Metalcore music? If so, feel free to check out my solo project, Fading Ashes, where I release other songs just like this one! - youtube.com/@FadingAshes17
-----
MY PREVIOUS SONG - youtube.com/watch?v=JSAvf5QBew0
MUSIC PLAYLIST - youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMW_Q0sfqB6yj0vWXWosRN4GW7EIDKz2i
MY PREVIOUS VIDEO - youtube.com/watch?v=gECeP9sAzW0&t=395s&pp=0gcJCU0KAYcqIYzv
Enjoy the song!
