W.A.S.P.'s DOUGLAS BLAIR Teams Up With Ex-KISS Guitarist BRUCE KULICK For Power-Ballad Version Of 'The First Noel'

On December 21, Platform West released “The First Noel 1988 To 2018”, a new recording with Douglas Blair of W.A.S.P. and former KISS/current GRAND FUNK RAILROAD guitarist Bruce Kulick. The digital release is CD Baby exclusive, with free downloads of the track available between December 21 and December 25, a holiday gift to fans of ’80s rock and metal.

In 1988, Blair, then the lead guitarist for East Coast rock trio RUN 21, recorded and mixed “The First Noel” at Courtlen Studios in Hanson, Massachusetts — EXTREME‘s home base studio. The recording utilized cassette, 2″ and 1/4″ analog tape — along with early computer-automated mixing — yet was never officially released.

Thirty years later, Blair, now the longest-tenured lead guitarist for W.A.S.P., teams up with Kulick, arguably KISS‘s consummate former lead guitarist, who recently recorded an “unplugged-style” magical counter-melody to Blair‘s long-lost analog masterpiece. Kulick‘s acoustic session was done at Robby Krieger‘s (THE DOORS) studio in Glendale, California and engineered by Brian Virtue (JANE’S ADDICTION).

This new arrangement of a Christmas classic comes just in time, as the magic and nostalgia of 1980’s rock and metal meets the spirit of the holiday season.

The track is a co-production between Blair, executive producer Mike Dalager and Kulick, who have all previously collaborated on “Dreams In The Witch House: A Lovecraftian Rock Opera”.