After the joyful tones of A Great Big Sled, the reveal of a title like Don't Shoot Me Santa for The Killers' next Christmas song would certainly have raised one or two eyebrows. Upon consideration, however, it's actually a marvellous look at the extremes of Santa's personality. After all, if he judges someone to be ultimately naughty, what would he do to change that? In the song, Brandon's narrator is presented as being one such character, having struck down a few enemies for mercilessly teasing him. For the first time Ryan Pardey stepped into the role of the deranged Santa, with his maniacal interplay with Brandon demonstrating just how extreme his distaste for those helpless souls on his naughty list are. As a standalone Christmas track, Don't Shoot Me Santa is an intriguing feat and it somehow manages to capture a wonderful Christmas spirit within a song that presents such an unfamiliar view of everyone's favourite man in red. As the opener for a trilogy, it has paved the way for an unexpected yet enthralling rivalry...