Reviews list for Twisted Sister - Under the Blade (1982)

Most music fans who were around in the mid-1980’s would remember New Jersey five-piece heavy metal band Twisted Sister & the huge commercial success they had with the singles & associated video clips for songs like “We’re Not Gonna Take It” & “I Wanna Rock”. And it wouldn’t be surprising to hear that many metalheads might have discarded Twisted Sister as yet another commercially focused glam metal venture based purely on the band’s image & the radio-friendly pop hooks those hit songs unquestionably celebrated. But if you fall into that category then you might have missed out on some quality heavy metal because Twisted Sister had a lot more to offer than teenage singalongs. In fact, they'd already been around for more than a decade by that stage having begun life as a glam rock outfit by the name of Silverstar way back in 1972; initially having been influenced by artists such as David Bowie, Slade, Mott The Hoople, The Rolling Stones & the New York Dolls.

Now it’s very rare that you hear stories like this one in modern times, but believe it or not Twisted Sister built up a sizeable fan base purely through their live performances & were able to spend most of the decade cutting their teeth & honing their craft on stage before finally getting the opportunity to record their debut studio album in 1982; a full decade after forming the band. Having said that they’d gone through any number of lineup changes by that stage so it was a completely different outfit to the one they’d started with. When legendary front man Dee Snider joined the band in 1976, Twisted Sister made a change in musical direction with the influence of heaver artists like Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin & Alice Cooper being incorporated into the band’s already solid rock sound. Dee’s personality & natural charisma was just what the band needed to reach the next level & he was often known to have audiences totally captivated with his entertaining & incisive comments between songs. By 1978 Twisted Sister had morphed into a full-blown metal band & were selling out huge venues still without the support of a studio album. They even had a rapidly growing fan club by the name of “Sick Motherfucking Fans Of Twisted Sister” which was later shortened to “SMF” or “Sick Mother Fuckers”.

After finally releasing two singles, the band headed to the UK to search for a record contract. They were hoping that the flourishing NWOBHM scene would provide them with greater opportunity & it worked for them nicely with Secret Records picking them up shortly afterwards. Pete Way of the band UFO produced Twisted Sister’s debut album “Under The Blade” in April 1982 with Motorhead guitarist Fast Eddie Clarke dropping in to record a guest solo on one of the songs. Many people would probably be put off by the glammed up images of the band on the album cover but Twisted Sister were far from your average Motley Crue wanna-bes. Sure they went for an overthetop image with big hair & makeup but there was a lot more to them than that. They were a lot less cheesy & a fair bit heavier than their glam contemporaries. To my ears their sound is a nice mixture of the heavy metal of Judas Priest & Black Sabbath, the hard rock of KISS & AC/DC & the glam rock of Alice Cooper & Slade. And with the exception of one horrible commercial radio cash-grab it works for the most part.

The band doesn’t try to impress their audience with flashy musicianship or progressive wankery. They simply work from a basis of catchy & anthemic hooks & build around that with some quality metal riffage. The simplicity of the song-writing is a large part of the appeal & when you add in the well-timed & executed image it’s not hard to see why Twisted Sister went on to become a big player in the 80’s. Pete Way’s production job is a little rough but it only serves to make the album sound a little more metal than it might otherwise have.

Personally I’ve always loved Dee’s powerful voice & he really does make this band for me. He’s perfectly suited to powerful fist-pumping choruses that command audience participation & I don’t think Twisted Sister could have reached the level of success they did without him. “Under The Blade” is a pretty good metal album overall too. It certainly sounds pretty American but I’d be surprised if any fans of the classic heavy metal sound don’t find something of interest here.