It’s that time of year again – when we get the box of Christmas decorations out of the attic and see if the lights still work. It’s also a time when guitar heroes climb into the attic of rock, and rummage in the dusty box of Christmas tunes for a seasonal hit.

When it comes to festive guitar albums, Merry Axemas (released in 1997) and Merry Axemas 2 (from 2005) are the shiniest baubles on the Christmas tree of rock. Merry Axemas was conceived by Steve Vai and features eleven ninties guitar heros. Vai said at the time,