Trans-siberian Orche | DREAMS OF FIREFLIES | CD

Personnel: Dave Wittman (guitar, drums); Chris Caffery, Al Pitrelli, Paul O'Neill, Angus Clark, Joel Hoekstra (guitar); Roddy Chong (violin); Nancy Chang, Lowell Adams, Karen Dumke, Eric Nordstrom, Mary Corbett, Virginia Respess, Jason Jerald, Betsy Isaak (strings); Derek Wieland, Jane Mangini, Jon Oliva, Vitalij Kuprij, Mee Eun Kim (keyboards); John O. Reilly, Jeff Plate (drums); Chloe Lowery, Erika Jerry, Jay Pierce, Phillip Brandon, Dari Mahnic (background vocals).Recording information: Night Castle Studios, Tampa.Released to coincide with the classically inclined, Yule-loving, progressive metal powerhouse's 2012 performances of its multi-platinum Last Christmas Eve rock opera, Dreams of Fireflies (On a Christmas Night) represents the first new collection of holiday music from the Trans-Siberian Orchestra since 2004. The five-song EP begins appropriately with a pair of instrumentals, "Winter Palace" and the title track, both of which are muscular, meticulous, and steeped in the kind