Twisted Sister – Double Live DVD Review

A culmination of many years in the making and 2 contrasting show in its core, from the remnants beginning of the end of the club scene for the guys...

Released by: Eagle Rock Ent

Release Date: Out Now!!!

Genre: Heavy Metal

Links: http://www.eagle-rock.com


Line Up:

Dee Snider – lead vocals (1976–1987, 1997–present)

Eddie Ojeda – lead guitar (1975–1987, 1997–present)

Jay Jay French – rhythm guitar, backing vocals (1972–1987, 1997–present)

Mark Mendoza – bass guitar, backing vocals (1978–1987, 1997–present)

A. J. Pero – drums, percussion (1982–1986, 1997–present)


Tracklist:


Disc 1

01. What You Don’t Know (Sure Can Hurt You)

02. Destroyer

03. Tear it Loose

04. Bad Boys (Of Rock ‘n’ Roll)

05. Lady’s Boy

06. Leader of the Pack

07. Under the Blade

08. Shoot ‘Em Down

09. Sin After Sin

10. I’ll Never Grow Up, Now

11. You Can’t Stop Rock ‘n’ Roll

12. You Know I Cry

13. It’s Only Rock ‘N’ Roll

14. Rock ‘n’ Roll Saviors


Disc 2

01. What You Don’t Know (Sure Can Hurt You)

02. The Kids Are Back

03. Stay Hungry

04. Burn in Hell

05. You Can’t Stop Rock ‘n’ Roll

06. Under the Blade

07. Shoot ‘Em Down

08. Come Back

09. You Know I Cry

10. I Wanna Rock

11. We’re Not Gonna Take It

12. The Price


The pride of Long Island, New York comes bashing through to showcase a nice career retrospect from the last club days from the local scene  extravaganza of the North East Metal times. Yes Eagle Rock has decided to re-release a full catalog of Twisted Sister’s albums and having already reviewed the early Club Daze Cd from Twisted, I decided to check out  the Double Live DVD that shows a timeline of early Sister via they’re last performance in 82 at the North Stage Theater, before heading out to England to record an album after they had signed with the British label Secret Records. This double disc release also features the band’s reunion for the NY Steel Benefit Concert which would benefit the New York Police & Fire Widows & Children Benefit Fund set up after 9/11 tragedy.

What you get here is two totally different concert from the early raging and hungry Twisted Sister who was at the verge of stardom, there’s a reason these guys became legends of the local scene all throughout bar of Long Island and local hotspots in New York and along the east coast. On this Wednesday evening all they’re friends and supporter came out strong to see the band before they parted out to UK to record they’re album. You see the thing about early Twister Sister was that they obviously went for an outrageous form of expression but the early years shows why these guys we’re so beloved locally and in that part of the country, the passion, balls to the walls guts to portray an image on stage to express themselves creatively, and the heart and fun blast of energy regurgitates through every lyric out of Dee Snider’s mouth on this highly explosive night.

Such early classics like “Destroyer” are played with a thundering groove, always reminding me of early Led Zeppelin influence Sister, a song they don’t usually play much of at all anymore. I can see why Secret Records a small punk label in the UK signed the band to a deal, in such classic cuts like “Tear It Loose” the guys scream the resemblance of Punk and Trash Metal all over the place, the quick tempo tunes reign with booming conviction. Is a damn shame that not many folks around the country other then in the North East knew how damn good these guys we’re they’re early years, it makes me really happy that Eagle has decided to re-release so many of they’re albums. More classic Sister comes roaring at you courtesy of the high flying guitars on “Leader Of The Pack” which displays some nasty chops overall on the rhythm and bass. The cover Stones of “It’s Only Rock & Roll (But I Like It) is well made as Snider gets the crowd into for the sing alone portion.

I know you’re probably thinking why I haven’t even mentioned the antics of lead singer Dee Snider huh? Well on the first half of these 2 interesting concerts, Dee peppers the crowd with a full brutal truth about the band, they’re image and lettings the fans know who much the band cares about each of them, because in the end you could say whatever you want about Sister but they always gave a damn about they’re fan base and where they came from and it shows on the connection they made with the fan base in this rare vintage live setting.

Now the second performance is a totally different set; one in the atmosphere and two is the first time the band had reunited for the first time on stage in 14 years, a nice concert to benefit the victims of 9/11. The band’s sound is surprisingly solid even after such a long time apart and this show is a nice treat for hardcore fans of the band. The band eventually went on to keep on performing together after this performance here, from Rocklahoma to Master of Rock just recently the guys keep on trucking together like so many old school bands have and the core fan base is still very much alive.

The New York Steel show is a nice throwback for younger fans of the band to see a more mature and saavy showing what they have learned all these years and on tracks like “Stay Hungry” from their third album bring out the faster punk aggression that Sister always incorporated in their music. Now of course Dee’s voice on this show shows some wear and tear but that’s expected after so many years, surprisingly he hits some high notes still and the band’s sound comes through the speakers pretty chunky as some of their older material. I have to give some credit for Snider for hitting back at VH1 for not allowing the band to perform on their benefit show stating they’re image was too explicit. Really? So much VH1 what have they done successfully in the past 15 years. Go ask MTV they know the answer to that question. Other highlights here are of course the fan favorite “Shoot Em Down” and “I Wanna Rock”. All in all a solid outing but most important they made me respect the band more for doing something very cool on a great night to unite together.

A culmination of many years in the making and 2 contrasting show in its core, from the remnants beginning of the end of the club scene for the guys from Long Island, to a reunion which sparked a comeback for long time fans of the band, here in this double live shot of Twister maniacs you will find plenty to synch your ears to as they take you from beginning to a very powerful show for a tremendous cause, something that characterized the band so well and that was connecting to the people and giving back to the fans and in the 2001 show was no different.

A very solid production holds all key points together, the real treat is the 1982 concert in North Stage is amazing performance with really good sound and audio quality from a band that was at its peak and tore up the stage with many close friends and frenetic fans. Everybody was on cue and with a crisp portrayal of the band’s alter ego image to the enticing one on one sparks with the crowd that one show is a special highlight on this package. For many metal fans around albums like “Stay Hungry” will always resonate as one of those responsible for sparking a rebellious side in all of us, but with the early catalog material portrayed so well on the first live performance, it will balance out a hungry band that was ready to take on the world and dominate. To the nation of Twister Sister fans and long time and new one’s always entering the void, you can’t stop Rock & Roll even through the waves of changes in the industry and gimmicks the genre will always be very much alive. These guys carried on that image and the word and lived by the sword from they’re early years to the modern era as we all are in now. One for passion, two for the music and three to kick every sob’s tail in the audience that’s one thing you can’t never blame the band for not doing and that is giving you a 110% stage performance, to that I say ROCK ON!!!

“I do not believe profanity has anything to do with Christianity, thank you.”

— Dee Snider

Written by Denys

Ratings Denys   9/10


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