Meat Loaf Holiday Album to Feature Garth Brooks & Reba

You might not think someone with album titles like 'Bat Out of Hell,' 'Bad Attitude' and '3 Bats Live' would have anything to do with country music, but Meat Loaf has indeed turned to twang for an upcoming album. The 63-year-old rock legend has enlisted the help of two of country's biggest stars for 'Hot Holidays,' a Christmas CD that will hit shelves next year. It will feature guest vocals by Garth Brooks and Reba McEntire, plus a few other famous names, including "different rock people and some actors," he tells Billboard.

Meat Loaf has spent a lot of time in the studio this year working on various projects, including finishing another new album, 'Hell in a Hand Basket,' which he describes as "the most personal record" he's ever recorded. "It's about how I feel the world's gone to hell in a handbasket," notes the multi-platinum selling singer. "It's really the first record that I've ever put out about how I feel about life and how I feel about what's going on at the moment."

'Hell in a Hand Basket' is scheduled for a February 2012 release. But it's the holiday CD that Meat Loaf's record label is particularly excited about.

"After I played Sony ('Hell in a Hand Basket') I said, 'Look, I've got two other records. I've got a Christmas record and I've got another record,'" he recalls. "They said, 'Well, get us the Christmas record and start working on the other one.' So there you go -- I'll just keep recording."

There's no word yet if Meat Loaf's 'Celebrity Apprentice' co-star, John Rich, will appear on any of his upcoming projects. The pair recorded 'Stand in the Storm' together last year, along with fellow teammates Lil Jon and Mark McGrath, with proceeds going to charity. Download the single here.