It’s officially December and you know what that means – time for Christmas music! We decided to dig up some of our all time favorite Christmas songs by bands in the punk scene to help make your holiday a little bit brighter and a lot more fun. Feel free to share with us what your favorite Christmas renditions are in the replies!

1. Copeland – Do You Hear What I Hear?

Aaron Marsh was born to sing these kinds of songs. His vocals are absolutely bananas on this rendition of a Christmas classic. The song truly sounds like Copeland to the core and Marsh manages to pour all of his emotion into this performance. Incredible.

2. Saosin – Mookie’s Last Christmas

Nothing like an extremely sad Christmas song about the loss of a loved one to lift your spirits. Regardless, this Anthony Green-era Saosin is a Christmas staple in the scene and is so good, you can listen to it any time of the year.

3. Acceptance – So This is Christmas (War is Over)

We promise, we won’t use this as another excuse to long for a band that broke up much too soon. Jason Vena’s voice is excellent and perfectly suited for this somber Christmas song. Too bad the band couldn’t have provided a full album’s worth of holiday jingles before they hung it up.

4. Relient K – Sleigh Ride

This is truly a band that loves everything about Christmas. Don’t believe us? Check out their full-to-the-brim Christmas album Let it Snow Baby, Let it Reindeer. This may be the best of the bunch – fun, lighthearted and a cool twist on the original.

5. Eisley – The Winter Song

Eisley is another band that has released a slew of Christmas songs, but this first one stands out for the haunting vocals of Sherri DuPree-Bemis. The song captures the feeling of a Christmas night, walking along the streets in the snow. It’s perfect in its melancholy delivery.

6. Cartel – Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree

A true Cartel rendition of a rockin’ Christmas original. Will Pugh kills this song and proves why he’s one of the best in the business. The peppy upbeat feel makes you want to get up and dance.

7. August Burns Red – Home Alone Theme

August Burns Red continue their tradition of serving up metalcore instrumentals of some of our favorite Christmas classics, this time in the form of a John Williams cover. It’s a brutal, guitar-filled ride conjuring up memories of that creepy dude with the snow shovel outside Kevin’s house who turned out to be a pretty decent guy.

8. Fall Out Boy – Yule Shoot Your Eye Out

It’s not quite what you’d expect from a Fall Out Boy Christmas song, which is what makes it so brilliant. It’s an original acoustic track with a painful yet catchy chorus and features the wonderful vocal work of Patrick Stump.

9. Anberlin – Baby, Please Come Home

If Anberlin where to cover a Christmas song, this is exactly what it would sound like. That’s not a bad thing – in fact, Stephen Christian has the perfect voice for this song’s belted “Christmas” refrain and the band delivers a gift of a song.

10. Mae – Carol of the Bells

In what turned out to be a beautiful decision, Mae recreated this Christmas classic with only their instruments and a few backing vocals. It’s mellow, soft and full of surprises. From start to finish, this rendition is just about as good as they come.

by Kiel Hauck

Kiel Hauck is the editor in chief at It’s All Dead. Over the past decade, he has been a contributor for multiple online and print publications and was most recently an editor at PopMatters. Kiel currently resides in Indianapolis, IN with his wife and their imaginary pet, Hand Dog. You can follow him on Twitter.