Twisted Sister formed in New York back in 1973. Jay Jay French (guitars, then named Johnny Heartbreaker (!!)) was one of the original members, forming Twisted Sister after he didn't get the gig Ace Frehley did in Kiss. But things didn't really start to happen for them, and members went in and out all the time. Eddie Ojeda (guitars) joins the band in 1975, Danny "Dee" Snider joins as the bands vocalist in 1976, Marc Mendoza (bass) joins in 1979 and finally A.J.Pero (drums) joins in 1982. That marks the 10th line-up of the band, but also the beginning of the classic, most known line-up. 1982 also marks the year they released their debut album, entitled 'Under The Blade'. The rest is rock 'n' roll history!

"YOU CAN'T STOP ROCK 'N' ROLL!"

UNDER THE BLADE (1982, 1985) SECRET/VIRGIN

"Good evening, and welcome to our show!!" Dee Snider shouts during the opening seconds of their debut album. And what a show it is! These guys showed us all from first go that they meant business. From full on rockers, like "What You Don't Know", "Tear It Loose" and "Shoot 'em Down", to the slower, yet powerful songs such as "Destroyer" and "Under The Blade", this is really a strong debut. But you gotta remember that the boys had been doin' this for 7 years prior to this release, so that might explain why they had such a vast repertoire of good songs right away. I really dig this album, and think it sounds great even to this day. Twisted Sister were, unlike some of their contemporaries, not all about the gimmick and shock-value. Unfortunately that is what they got mostly known for. But they were first and foremost a good heavy metal band, with solid songwriting talent. My particular version of this album contains the original versions of "What You Don't Know" and the bands most known cover tune, "Leader Of The Pack" (originally recorded by The Shangri-Las in 1964!). These tracks are taken from the legendary 'Ruff Cuts' demo, and are pretty different from the version that later appeared on Twisted Sister's albums. There also exists a remixed version of this album, which lacks the 2 'Ruff Cuts' tracks, but includes the song "I'll Never Grow Up, Now!" instead.

I was lucky enough to meet Dee Snider in Sweden, back when he toured with SMF. So on the front of the booklet Dee wrote: Kurt, Twisted Forever! Dee Snider '98

Killer tracks: What You Don't Know, Shoot 'em Down, Destroyer, Under The Blade, Leader Of The Pack

YOU CAN'T STOP ROCK 'N' ROLL (1983) ATLANTIC

The Bad Boys of Rock 'n' Roll returned to the limelight already 1 year after their debut. And the second album starts off with the aptly titled "The Kids Are Back". 'You Can't Stop Rock 'N' Roll' is almost on par with the debut as far as killer song list goes. It includes even more classic Twisted Sister anthems, such as the title track, the already mentioned "The Kids Are Back", "I Am (I'm Me)" and "We're Gonna Make It". The band still sounds raw and hungry, ready to take over the world.

Killer tracks: The Kids Are Back, I Am (I'm Me), We're Gonna Make It, You're Not Alone, You Can't Stop Rock 'N' Roll

STAY HUNGRY (1984) ATLANTIC

This is the album that really made me aware of Twisted Sister. "I Wanna Rock" and "We're Not Gonna Take It" have secured their place in the heavy metal hall of fame as 2 of the most known  metal anthems ever. And their heavy rotation on the music video cable shows made me a fan of the band too. But truth be told, there isn't a bad track on this album. To me they are all classics, and part of my musical background as a metalhead. I could sing all of the lyrics for this album, and probably still can 20 years later! "The Price" is my all time favorite Twisted Sister tune. I don't care that their sound might be a bit more polished, and less raw, than their previous albums. This still rocks, big time!  Twisted Sister found their pot of gold with 'Stay Hungry', selling millions of copies worldwide. And because of their, at the time, outrageous image,  they got the PMRC on their backs, claiming that these guys were some of the worst influences a young mind could subject itself too. And guess what? That sells even more albums!

Killer tracks: All of them.

COME OUT AND PLAY (1985) ATLANTIC

Twisted Sister we're huge when this album was released. And 'Come Out And Play' was yet another success for them. The re-recorded version for 'Leader Of The Pack' was on heavy rotation on MTV and it's likes. Ironically enough, the video for "Be Chrool To Your Scuel" (a song featuring a guest appearance from Alice Cooper) was banned my the same station. To me, the title-track is one of the strongest tunes they've ever made. But the album as a whole is not as good as previous efforts. The fact that a song like "Out On The Streets" have totally escaped my memory clearly demonstrates that (although the mentioned track is a good song). This is not to say that I don't like the album, because there is no denying the impact this album have had on my life too. Twisted Sister became one of my favorite bands early on, and heavy metal was never the same after these guys. Got my CD singed by Dee when I met him in Sweden.

Killer tracks: Come Out And Play, I Believe In Rock 'n' Roll, The Fire Still Burns, Be Chrool To Your Scuel, I Believe In You

LOVE IS FOR SUCKERS (1987) ATLANTIC

'Love Is For Suckers' is the only Twisted Sister album with a slightly different line-up. A.J. Pero left and in comes Joey Franco on drums. The album opens with a blast. "Wake Up (The Sleeping Giant)" is one of the bands finest movements. "Hot Love" is the second song, and another choice cut. But it's evidently already here that things are not as they were, so to speak. The sound is very polished, and the songs are softer. After the 3rd song, the title track, the album goes pretty much downhill. There are some other cool songs on the album, and I've learned to like them over time, but as a whole this is my least favorite Twisted Sister CD. And of course, it was also going to be the last album they ever recorded. The band broke up, as the members couldn't stand each other any more. There are a lot of guest appearing on this album, both as musicians, and as song arrangers. The list includes members from Dokken, Winger, Kix and TNT (amongst others).

Killer tracks: Wake Up (The Sleeping Giant), Hot Love, Love Is For Suckers, You're All That I Need 

WE'RE NOT GONNA TAKE IT (1995, 1999) CMC/BMG

The Kids Are Back You Can't Stop Rock And Roll Destroyer We're Not Gonna Take It Stay Hungry Under The Blade We're Gonna Make It Jailhouse Rock What You Don't Know I Wanna Rock

This is an odd release. It's a live-album, but it's not an official one. It was originally released through CMC International in 1995. But my version is a re-release through BMG from 1999. The songs are picked from the 'Live At Hammersmith' 2CD, but they are put in a different order. Anyhow, the songs featured sound great. It is fun hearing these guys live. They sound raw and vicious. Dee is the perfect front man roaring through a set list saturated with the bands best material. There are no ballads included, but we do get their interpretation of the Elvis classic, "Jailhouse Rock". Thanks to Scott for giving me this CD.

CLUB DAZE VOLUME 1 THE STUDIO SESSIONS (1999) SPITFIRE

Come Back Pay The Price Rock 'n' Roll Saviors High Steppin' Big Gun T.V. Wife Can't Stand Still Follow Me I'll Never Grow Up Lady's Boy Leader Of The Pack Under The Blade Shoot 'em Down

When Twisted Sister released their debut album in 1982, they had been a band for almost a decade already. This CD takes us back to the bands early years in New York. Some of the songs date as far back as 1975. Dee Snider has written his comments to every track. He quickly became the main songwriter in the band, so it is cool to read his own thought behind the lyrics, and songs. Most of these tracks never made it to any of the bands albums, and the ones who did are here presented in early versions. From boogie like rock, to hard rockin' attacks at disco, to the metal monster we all know, 'Club Daze Volume 1' show us the upbringing of one of the biggest metal bands of the 80's. I must add though that this album is for the fans. So if you are looking to start a collection, or just curious about this bands music, this is not the place to start to getting to know Twisted Sister.

A TWISTED CHRISTMAS (2006) DEMOLITION

When the news hit Blabbermouth about Twisted Sister recording a Christmas album as their swansong, I was almost loosing my marbles! Should one of my all time favorite bands, who finally got back together, despite a decade of being as near as enemies, record, as their final testimony to the fans, a Christmas album? This was a travesty, and a mocking of those who have been supporting the band for all these years. Still, as the die-hard fan I am, I at least had to hear the thing. And luckily the band are so in the now that they had the entire album streaming on their website. So anyone who wanted to could check it out before deciding on whether or not to buy the album. And I must say that listening to this seasonal songs in a Twisted Sister remake did help on "softening" my hardened disappointed heart. If there is one thing you can count on from Dee Snider and company, is that they do it their own way! So finally I broke down and bought it. And this Christmas season I rocked out to "O Come All Ye Faithful" with the music to "We're Not Gonna Take It", and "Let It Snow" with the music from "Rock 'N' Roll Saviors". Every track get a Twisted Sister facelift, and most noticeably so "Heavy Metal Christmas", which is "The Twelve Days of Christmas" with new lyrics. And check out what a metalheads Christmas should be like: On my heavy metal Christmas my true love gave to me, 12 Silver crosses, 11 Black mascaras, 10 Pairs of platforms, 9 Tattered t-shirts, 8 Pentagrams, 7 Leather jackets, 6 Cans of hairspray, 5 Skull earrings, 4 Quarts of Jack, 3 Studded belts, 2 Pairs of spandex pants, and a tattoo of Ozzy! Only Twisted Sister could have done this! This European version of the disc also contains a second version of "White Christmas", where Eddie Ojeda is singing it in Spanish. also look out for guest performances from Doro Pesch and Lita Ford! A Twisted Christmas, indeed!

Rock trivia: In what ranks as one of the most unlikely pairings to ever rock the music world, a Christmas ballad written by Dee Snider was recorded by Celine Dion for her first Christmas album, 1998's "These Are Special Times", which went on to sell 10 million copies worldwide. The song, which was re-titled "The Magic of Christmas", was originally written by Dee at the request of his wife, Suzette Snider, who asked her husband a few years ago to write her a Christmas song as a present. He did a song he titled "God Bless Us Everyone". Unfortunately, Snider couldn't sing it — it wasn't in his range — so he had some studio musicians record it for Suzette. Producer Ric Wake, who's worked with such pop divas as Mariah Carey and Jennifer Lopez, kept a copy and called Snider years ago to tell him Dion wanted to record it. Dion included it on "These Are Special Times", though she changed the title. The album credit reads D. Snider. The next year, Dion and Rosie O'Donnell redid the song as a duet on Rosie's Christmas album and opened O'Donnell's Christmas special on ABC with it.

Twisted Sister also appear on:  

V/A - 'Heavy Metal Hits Of The '80s''

Dee Snider guest appearances:

Lordi - 'The Arockalypse'

Jay Jay French guest appearances:

Lordi - 'The Arockalypse'

Eddie Ojeda guest appearances:

V/A - 'Hear 'n Aid: Stars'

Related artists:

Dee Snider, Widowmaker, Desperado, SMF, Cities