Twisted Sister was an American heavy metal band from Ho-Ho-Kus, New Jersey. Formed in late December 1972 as cover band Silver Star, the group changed its name to Twisted Sister in February 1973 and originally included lead vocalist Michael "Valentine" O'Neill, guitarists Jay Jay French and Billy "Diamond" Steiger, bassist Kenny Neill and drummer Mel "Starr" Anderson. [1] [2] The band took a short hiatus in December 1974, after O'Neill instigated a fight with Anderson and threatened to shoot the drummer. [3] They returned early the following year with new vocalist Frank "Rick Prince" Karuba and guitarist Keith "Angel" Angelino (in place of Steiger), although both had left before the end of the year, with French and Angelino's replacement Eddie "Fingers" Ojeda taking over lead vocal duties temporarily before another short hiatus. [4]
By February 1976, Twisted Sister had returned with new frontman Dee Snider and drummer Kevin John Grace. [5] Tony Petri took over on drums a few months later. [6] Neill left two years later in December 1978, with his place taken by Mark "The Animal" Mendoza. [7] The band changed drummers three more times in the early 1980s, first when Richie Teeter replaced Petri in December 1980, followed by Joey Brighton in April 1981, and finally by Anthony "A. J." Pero in April 1982. [6] [8] The lineup of Snider, French, Ojeda, Mendoza and Pero released four studio albums between 1982 and 1985, before Pero left in 1986 to rejoin his former band Cities. [9] He was replaced by Joey "Seven" Franco, who performed on the group's last album Love Is for Suckers before breaking up in early 1988, following Snider's departure in October 1987. [1]
Twisted Sister reunited in 1998 to record "Heroes Are Hard to Find" for the film Strangeland, written and co-produced by Snider. [10] The band reformed again to perform live for the first time in 14 years at New York Steel in November 2001, a benefit concert for organisations affected by the September 11 attacks. [11] A more permanent reunion followed in 2003, spawning new studio recordings and live releases. [12] The band retained the same lineup until March 2015, when Pero died of a heart attack while touring with Adrenaline Mob. [13] Following the drummer's death, the band announced that it was to embark on a final tour before breaking up in 2016, enlisting Mike Portnoy to take over for (late) A.J. Pero. [14] The final Twisted Sister show took place on November 12, 2016, in Monterrey, Mexico at the Corona Northside Rock Park Meeting Fest. [15]
The band reunited on January 26, 2023 playing a 3 song set for their induction into the Metal Hall of Fame. The line up consisted of inductees Dee Snider, Jay Jay French and Mark Mendoza with Mike Portnoy filling in for inductee A.J. Pero and Keith Robert War filling in for inductee Eddie Ojeda. The band is scheduled to reunite again in 2024 for appearances at various Democrat political rallies in the 2024 election season. [16]
Image | Name | Years active | Instruments | Release contributions |
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Jay Jay French |
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| all Twisted Sister releases | |
Eddie "Fingers" Ojeda |
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Dee Snider |
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Mark "The Animal" Mendoza |
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Anthony "A. J." Pero |
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| all Twisted Sister releases from Under the Blade (1982) to Come Out and Play (1985), and from Live at Hammersmith (1994) to A Twisted X-Mas: Live in Las Vegas (2012) |
Image | Name | Years active | Instruments | Release contributions |
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Kenny Neill | 1973–1978 | bass | Club Daze Volume 1: The Studio Sessions (1999) | |
Mel "Starr" Anderson | 1973–1975 | drums | none | |
Michael "Valentine" O'Neill | 1973–1974 | lead vocals | ||
Billy "Diamond" Steiger | 1973–1974 (died 2015) | lead and rhythm guitars | ||
Keith "Angel" Angelino | 1975 (died 1986) | |||
Frank "Rick Prince" Karuba | 1975 | lead vocals | ||
Kevin John Grace | 1975–1976 | drums | ||
Tony Petri | 1976–1980 (died 2024) |
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Ritchie Teeter | 1980–1981 (died 2012) | none | ||
Joey Brighton | 1981–1982 (died 2010) | Ruff Cutts (1982) | ||
Walt Woodward III | 1982 (died 2010) | none | ||
Joey "Seven" Franco | 1987–1988 |
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Mike Portnoy |
| Metal Meltdown: Live from the Hard Rock Casino Las Vegas (2016) | ||
Keith Robert War | 2023 |
| none |
Period | Members | Studio releases |
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1973–1974 |
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1974–1975 |
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1975 |
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1975 |
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1975 |
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1975–1976 |
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1976 |
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1976–1978 |
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1978–1980 |
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1980–1981 |
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1981–1982 |
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1982 |
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1982–1986 |
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1986–1988 |
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1988 | Disbanded | |
1988 (Reunion shows) |
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1988–1997 | Disbanded | |
1997 (Reunion shows) |
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1997–2001 | Disbanded | |
2001 (Reunion shows) |
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2001–2002 | Disbanded | |
2002 (Reunion shows) |
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2002–2003 | Disbanded | |
2003–2015 |
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2015–2016 |
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2016–2023 | Disbanded | |
2023 (Reunion show) |
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2023–present | Disbanded | |
Daniel Snider is an American musician, best known as the lead singer and songwriter of the heavy metal band Twisted Sister. The band's song "We're Not Gonna Take It" reached No. 21 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart and was ranked No. 47 on 100 Greatest 80's Songs. Snider later formed and was the lead singer in the heavy metal bands Desperado, Widowmaker, and SMFs. He also released several solo albums. Snider was ranked #83 in the Hit Parader's Top 100 Metal Vocalists of All Time.
Twisted Sister was an American heavy metal band formed in 1972 in Ho-Ho-Kus, New Jersey, and later based on Long Island, New York. Their best-known songs include "We're Not Gonna Take It" and "I Wanna Rock", both of which were associated with music videos noted for their sense of slapstick humor.
Under the Blade is the debut studio album by American heavy metal band Twisted Sister, released on Secret Records in September 1982. It was produced by UFO/Waysted bassist Pete Way and featured an aggressive and hard-hitting sound, which was eventually ignored on a remixed re-release by Atlantic Records on June 13, 1985. The re-release also added a remixed version of the song "I'll Never Grow Up, Now!", the band's long-forgotten 1979 single. The Atlantic Records release was both an attempt to cash in on the commercial success of Stay Hungry and, by then, the only official way to get the album as Secret Records was no more. However, bootlegs with the original mix were still in circulation. On May 31, 2016, Eagle Records re-released Under the Blade in a digital remastered form with the original mix finally restored, which it would be re-released under Rhino Entertainment through streaming services. Under the Blade has sold over two million copies worldwide.
Stay Hungry is the third studio album by American heavy metal band Twisted Sister, released on May 10, 1984, by Atlantic Records. The album contains the band's two signature songs: "We're Not Gonna Take It" and "I Wanna Rock", both of which remain a staple of '80s glam metal and rock. According to RIAA certification, Stay Hungry is the band's most successful release by far and their only platinum album. Eventually, the album achieved multi-platinum status in U.S. with sales of more than 3,000,000 certified copies by 1995.
Love Is for Suckers is the fifth studio album by the American heavy metal band Twisted Sister. It was released by Atlantic Records on July 3, 1987. It was the band's last album before their breakup and subsequent reunion and release of Still Hungry in 2004. It is also their last album to be composed of entirely new, original material.
"We're Not Gonna Take It" is a song by American heavy metal band Twisted Sister from their album Stay Hungry. It was first released as a single in May 1984.
Jay Jay French is an American guitarist, manager, record producer and founding member of the heavy metal band Twisted Sister. He is a columnist, author and motivational speaker who oversees licensing and intellectual property rights for the Twisted Sister brand.
Eddie "Fingers" Ojeda is an American musician best known as a guitarist of the heavy metal band Twisted Sister. He was a member of the band's classic lineup.
Come Out and Play is the fourth studio album by American heavy metal band Twisted Sister, released by Atlantic Records on November 22, 1985. The album was significantly less successful than its predecessor Stay Hungry (1984), both critically and commercially, although it achieved Gold status by selling more than 500,000 copies.
Big Hits and Nasty Cuts: The Best of Twisted Sister is a greatest hits compilation by American heavy metal band, Twisted Sister. It was released in 1992 by Atlantic Recording Corporation for the United States and by WEA International Inc. for the rest of the world. The track list consists solely of songs from their first three albums, omitting any material from Come Out and Play and Love Is for Suckers, except outside of the United States where "Bad Boys of Rock 'n' Roll" was replaced with "Be Chrool to Your Scuel" from Come Out and Play.
Still Hungry is an album by the American heavy metal band Twisted Sister, released in 2004. The album is a re-recording of the 1984 album Stay Hungry, with seven bonus tracks. "Never Say Never" and "Blastin' Fast & Loud", were demoed during the original 1984 sessions, completed by the classic line-up in 2001 and recorded for the release of Club Daze Volume II: Live in the Bars in 2002. "Come Back", "Plastic Money", "You Know I Cry" and "Rock 'n' Roll Saviors" are brand new 2004 studio tracks. "Heroes Are Hard to Find" was originally recorded and released in 1998 by the reunited band for the soundtrack of Strangeland, a horror movie written by and starring frontman Dee Snider based on the character Captain Howdy from "Horror-Teria".
You Can't Stop Rock 'n' Roll is the second studio album by American heavy metal band Twisted Sister, released in April 1983 in the UK and on June 17, 1983 in the US.
A Twisted Christmas is the sixth and final studio album by American heavy metal group Twisted Sister, with the band releasing it on October 17, 2006. The album features classic Christmas songs performed in metal versions, often featuring lyrical changes.
Live at Hammersmith is a live album by American heavy metal band Twisted Sister, released on October 3, 1994. It was recorded on June 15, 1984, at the Hammersmith Odeon in London, England.
The Essentials is a compilation album by American heavy metal band Twisted Sister, released in 2002.
Club Daze Volume 1: The Studio Sessions is a compilation album of Twisted Sister's early studio recordings from music tracks dating back to 1978 to 1981. It was released in 1999 and re-issued in 2001.
Club Daze Volume II: Live in the Bars is a live album by the American heavy metal band Twisted Sister, released in 2002. The album contains live performances recorded for radio shows in 1979–1980 and two previously unreleased studio tracks. The studio tracks were written and demoed during the recording sessions for Stay Hungry (1984) and completed by the classic line-up in 2001.
Live at Wacken - The Reunion is a live album by American heavy metal band Twisted Sister, released on June 28, 2005.
Adrenaline Mob is an American heavy metal supergroup formed in early 2011 by singer Russell Allen, guitarist Mike Orlando and drummer Mike Portnoy. The band's current lineup consists of Allen, Orlando, and drummer Jordan Cannata.
"The Price" is a song by American heavy metal band Twisted Sister, released in 1984 as the third and final single from their third studio album, Stay Hungry. The song was written by Dee Snider and produced by Tom Werman. "The Price" failed to reach the US Billboard Hot 100, stalling at number 8 on the Bubbling Under the Hot 100 chart in January 1985.