Away Team

TWISTER SISTERLive At Wacken The Reunion
Eagle Vision
9 out of 10















In 2003 Twisted Sister headlined the Wacken Open Air Festival in Germany after reforming 5 years earlier. Eagle Eagle Vision has released the concert on DVD with a companion CD that has cuts from shows as far back as 1980. The DVD/CD combo was originally released in 2005 but was rereleased last week by Eagle Vision.

Interspersed between the songs on the DVD (The Kids Are Back, Stay Hungry, You Can’t Stop Rock N Roll, We’re Not Gonna Take It, Burn In Hell and many more), are interviews that document the initial break up of Twisted Sister in 1987, the reunion, their USO tour of South Korea, and reflections from the beginning of the band through the present.

I remember the first time MTV played the infamous Twisted Sister concert from the Stay Hungry Tour in the early 80’s. 5 guys in drag and make up playing balls out rock n roll. It was a sight and sound to behold. I of course went right out the next day and purchased You Can’t Stop Rock N Roll and Stay Hungry.

20 years later Dee Snider (lead singer) is almost wearing the same exact costume as that first MTV concert. The rest of the band is half in/half out of costume and make up. Which is somewhat of a blessing, as the last 20 years haven’t improved the looks of one of the self proclaimed ugliest bands in Rock N Roll. The important part of this DVD is that the band is back together, and still rocking the fuck out. Dee’s voice may be a bit more gravely 20 + years later, but it still holds up, still has balls, and he can still nail it note for note. He may look like a 60 year old drag queen, but his voice reminds you just how good of a front man he is without the costume and makeup. As he states in the interview, he and Twisted Sister represents real pissed off in your face fuck you music. Sure the stage attire gets your attention but it is the music that still kicks ass, still rocks, and still holds up!

The setlist from Wacken covers the highlights of Twisted Sister’s career and the interviews cover the breakup of the band through the various reunions and get togethers from political fund raising to 9/11 benefits, to the full fledged reunion.

The one reason I gave the package a 9 out of 10 is because I feel if you are going to release a concert video, release the concert video as a whole. Lately I’ve seen several concert videos where they cut away from the concert to show other interviews, back stage antics, whatever. Nothing ruins the vibe of watching a good concert than cutting away to interviews or anything OTHER than the concert itself.

I’m a music geek, I’ll watch all the bonus crap you put on the disc. And if you’re a casual fan, you STILL buy the disc for the concert, and even if you don’t watch the bonus material, you have purchased the disc. Why ruin the vibe the band created while performing by cutting away to interviews? Let the concert play!

Still certainly worth picking up if you are a Twisted Sister fan. It’s a good show that covers all their best material. Now if Twisted Sister and or MTV or ANYONE would put out that early 80’s concert on DVD. THAT would some SMF stuff there. I know Twisted Sister offered it up as a limited edition bonus disc with their new album last year, but it was for one day only, and my local stores didn’t carry it.

Go pick up Twisted Sister Live At Wacken The Reunion and remember why Twisted Sister were targeted by the PMRC, and why twenty odd years later, You Can’t Stop Rock N Roll! You’ll thank me later.

To purchase Twisted Sister Live At Wacken The Reunion click here.
For more Twisted Sister click here.

The official release and viewing party for HEAVEN & HELL: Neon Nights new CD/DVD will take place on Friday November 12th at Duff’s Brooklyn (168 Marcy Ave., Williamsburg, Brooklyn). Free CD’s and DVD’s to be distributed courtesy of Eagle Rock Entertainment.

Heaven & Hell: Neon Nights will be released on November 16th. This DVD and CD release captures the historic four-man army performing at the Wacken Open Air Festival on July 30th, 2009.

On this hot summer night, vocalist RONNIE JAMES DIO, guitarist TONY IOMMI, bassist GEEZER BUTLER, and drummer VINNY APPICE commanded the stage, transcending the mere concept of a heavy metal concert. The strength and veracity of Dio’s delivery, which has inspired three generations of metal vocalists, wrapped itself around each and every audience member. Butler’s declarative bass lines, Iommi’s legendary riffing, and Appice’s unrelenting fills provide the forceful heartbeat behind anthems ‘Mob Rules‘, ‘Die Young‘, ‘Neon Knights‘, and namesake tune ‘Heaven And Hell‘.

The DVD also boasts 30th anniversary interviews with all four band members as a bonus feature. Personal one-on-one’s are conducted with Ronnie, Tony, Geezer, and Vinny as they reflect on the making of their Heaven And Hell album. Additionally, the Neon Nights DVD has newly recorded personal tributes from Iommi, Appice, and Butler in memory of Dio.

HEAVEN & HELL: NEON NIGHTS Tracklisting:
DVD:
E5150
The Mob Rules
Children Of The Sea
I
Bible Black
Time Machine
Fear
Falling Off The Edge Of The World
Follow The Tears
Die Young
Heaven And Hell
Encore:
Country Girl
Neon Knights

CD:
The Mob Rules
Children Of The Sea
I
Bible Black
Time Machine
Fear
Falling Off The Edge Of The World
Follow The Tears
Die Young
Heaven And Hell
Neon Knights

For more HEAVEN & HELL click here.
To pre-order HEAVEN & HELL: NEON NIGHTS click here.

“Twisted Sister: Live In Wacken – The Reunion” will be unleashed as a DVD/CD set on October 26, 2010.

TWISTED SISTER established itself as a band to be heard AND seen. Their instantly recognizable image, fiery live shows, and a string of highly successful albums loaded with defiant anthems rocketed them to stardom before their split in the late Eighties. In 2003, the classic lineup of lead vocalist Dee Snider, guitarists Jay Jay French and Eddie “Fingers” Ojeda, bassist Mark “The Animal” Mendoza, and drummer A.J. Pero joined forces yet again and took the stage at the Wacken Open Air festival in Germany. 110 minutes thick with riffage and rebellion, this DVD/CD reissue of the concert, which was previously released in 2005, was the first filmed performance of the fully revitalized, post-millenial TWISTED SISTER.

“Live In Wacken” is the full experience of the band’s reunification. Fans are treated not only with live footage of Wacken on the DVD, but snippets of other performances and interviews chronicling the story of their reunion after so many years. The accompanying CD, “Live…Past & Present“, completes the package, encapsulating the band’s history with vintage live tracks from Detroit and Porchester in 1980, London in 1982, and the 2003 Wacken performance.

Track listing:
DVD:
(*interviews sections)
What You Don’t Know (Sure Can’t Hurt You)
In The Beginning*
The Final Show…1987*
The Kids Are Back
Stay Hungry
The Speaks Reunion*
A Night For Jason*
Destroyer
Like A Knife In The Back
TS on TV*
The New York Steel Benefit*
Under The Blade
Old School Returns*
You Can’t Stop Rock ‘N’ Roll
The Fire Still Burns
South Korea April 2003*
Shoot ‘Em Down
We’re Not Gonna Take It
Festivals*
The Price
Reflections*
Burn In Hell
I Wanna Rock
Band Intro
S.M.F.
Credits

CD:
Detroit & Portchester 1980
Bad Boys Of Rock ‘N’ Roll
Born To Be Wild
I’ll Never Grow Up. Now!
You Know I Cry

London 1982:
You Can’t Stop Rock ‘N’ Roll

Wacken 2003:
What You Don’t Know (Sure Can’t Hurt You)
The Kids Are Back
Stay Hungry
Like A Knife In The Back
I Am, I’m Me
The Fire Still Burns

To order Live In Wacken The Reunion click here.
For more TWISTED SISTER click here.