Great Metal Albums of 1984: Twisted Sister- Stay Hungry

 

With all the fuss about the upcoming Christmas holidays and reading about various opinions of the "Twisted Christmas" album and why Twisted Sister made such an album, I thought I'd treat everyone to their most defining album, "Stay Hungry." It was by and far the most successful Twisted Sister album of all time and it made, to quote Dee Snider, 1984 "the year of the Sister."

Let me take you back to the golden year and where it first started. The massive sales of the album were spring-boarded by the huge hit, "We're Not Gonna Take It" and the very amusing video for it, that got tons of airplay on MTV. I never minded the fact that during the summer of 1984, it seemed to be on every time I turned the station on. The video for said song featured actor Mark Metcalf, famous for playing Niedermeyer in the greatest party film of all time, "National Lampoon's Animal House." Metcalf plays an overbearing dictatorial father who shouts constantly at his rock loving son. The son gets his own back by propelling his father out windows after turning into Dee Snider. It was all very hilarious and only those without any sense of humour wouldn't enjoy it.

[caption id="attachment_1033" align="aligncenter" width="281"] A scene from the video, "We're Not Gonna Take It."[/caption]

"Stay Hungry" spawned two more singles, "I Wanna Rock" which did fairly well in the charts. The video carried on the zaniness of the Niedermeyer debacle. It too was a very funny video. The other single was the power ballad, "The Price," which didn't break the top forty, but who cares because it is definitely up in my top ten of power ballads.

Singles aside, the remaining seven songs are just as awesome. The closest track to filler is "Don't Let Me Down" but it's better than many songs on other albums which  aren't considered filler. While "The Beast" never got played the last two times I saw Twister Sister at Bloodstock, it did get played the two times I saw them on tour for this album. "Captain Howdy" is a cool song. The title track is one of the best album openers of all time and the closer "SMF" is also outstanding as a closer and build the foundations as to why this album is so great. To my knowledge, there isn't a sane soul in the metal world who doesn't like "Burn In Hell." Except for the first time because it hadn't been written yet, it got played all the other times I saw the band live. However, the one small disappointment whenever I saw them live  was that they never played the song I call the hidden gem, "Street Justice." I like everything about this song from the cool intro to the guitar solo to the serious lyrics. Maybe that's why I think I'm different to the rest of the world because I seem to be the only person who really likes it. I've read that they played the song in 2009 when they played the entire album live. I wish I could have been there.

Track Listing:

1. Stay Hungry
2. We're Not Gonna Take It
3. Burn In Hell
4. Horror Teria

a. Captain Howdy

b. Street Justice

5. I Wanna Rock

6. The Price

7. Don't Let Me Down

8. The Beast

9. SMF

Twisted Sister

Dee Snider- lead vocals

Eddie Ojeda- guitars, backing vocals

Jay Jay French- guitars, backing vocals

Mark 'The Animal' Mendoza- bass, backing growls

AJ Pero- drums, percussion

Three videos from this iconic album is my Christmas treat to all of you, enjoy. Whatever else happened in the band's history before or since, the obvious thing is that "Stay Hungry" made Twisted Sister in 1984. It was definitely the year of the Sister and I wonder sometimes if I didn't convey that point in Rock and Roll Children.

Next post: The 12 Days of Christmas, several versions

To get Rock and Roll Children, email me at: tobychainsaw@hotmail.com 

1984: The Golden Year of the Golden Decade

 The 1980s was the golden decade of heavy metal but if there was any one year that stood out above all others in that decade, it was 1984. Why did this particular year stand out? Well let me answer this by quoting Dee Snider when I saw Twisted Sister in concert in the August of this year. "They're even playing heavy metal on the radio." I'm not sure if Dee used an expletive when he said it. He was known for using them quite liberally when he was on stage but I don't recall him using it when he said that. I digress but he was right. Heavy metal did get played on the radio quite a lot in 1984 and even more so on MTV. That alone makes 1984 the golden year of heavy metal.

[caption id="attachment_3428" align="aligncenter" width="225"] Twisted Sister come out and play, taken at Bloodstock 2016[/caption]

Obviously not every metal band got airplay on radio or MTV but you might be surprised at some of the ones who did. They didn't play any Slayer. That didn't stop these bands from unleashing some kick ass albums onto our delicate ears. This is also the reason why I begin "Rock And Roll Children" in this same year. Warning, I will make even more references to the book in future posts. However, one can't avoid the fact that there was so much great metal and some cool rock as well and I hope that my journey through the golden year will do the albums justice.

Next post: Van Halen- 1984

To buy Rock And Roll Children, email me at: tobychainsaw@hotmail.com 

Great Metal Albums of 1983: Twisted Sister- You Can't Stop Rock and Roll

 

What better way to build up the excitement on the eve of Bloodstock than to post my favourite album from one of my all time favourite bands who will be headlining on the Friday night? Words can't express how pumped I am to see Twisted Sister's farewell UK gig. Yes, I'm aware that this might be a hype, after all, Ozzy has had three farewell tours but that doesn't lessen my excitement.

"You Can't Stop Rock and Roll" is the second album from Twisted Sister, though it was the first one I heard. I probably said this when I posted about "Under the Blade," but that album was only available as an import until 1985. Having seen them at Donington that summer, getting this album was a no brainer. Cliches aside, when I got it home and listened to it, I was even more blown away.

I think what I like most about Twisted Sister was many of their lyrics seemed to speak to me personally back then. Starting with the opener, "The Kids Are Back," okay, I'm only one person but I had only been out of the service a few months and I did walk the streets as a one man tattered army. I too asked myself about others who didn't appear to be having fun, how could I stop it. Most people back then couldn't understand that I was able to work hard and play hard. That made the fourth track my response to people. "I am, I'm Me!" and I didn't take seriously those who looked down on what I believed. Then comes "We're Gonna Make It." That song was my driving force come exam time when I was in college. Especially as I found in the service and out that life was mostly a case of "It's not what you know but who you knowin." To cap it off, my favourite Twisted Sister track of all time closes the album out and it's what I say to all those who have a problem with metal, "You Can't Stop Rock and Roll."

Maybe the other tracks weren't quite so personal to me but they are all great metal tunes. From the power riffs of "Knife in the Back" to the more ballad like "You're Not Alone (Suzette's Song) this album just rocks, plain and simple! I think that Jay Jay French and Eddie Ojeda play some of their finest guitar solos on this album. Now some have said that "You Can't Stop Rock And Roll" was the beginning of Twisted Sister's decent into more commercial sounding metal. Maybe be it's me but I never had that impression then nor do I have it now. This album for me is just amazing.

Track Listing:

1. The Kids Are Back
2. Knife in the Back
3. Ride to Live Live to Ride
4. I Am I'm Me
5. The Power and the Glory
6. We're Gonna Make It
7. I've Had Enough
8. I'll Take You Alive
9. You're Not Alone (Suzette's Song)
10. You Can't Stop Rock and Roll

[caption id="attachment_2918" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Twisted Sister[/caption]

Dee Snider- lead vocals

Jay Jay French- guitar, backing vocals

Eddie 'Fingers' Ojeda- guitar, backing vocals

Mark 'The Animal' Mendoza- bass ,backing growls

A. J. Pero- drums, percussion

When I saw Twisted Sister at Bloodstock, they played three songs from this album, "You Can't Stop Rock and Roll," "The Kids are Back" and "I Am, I'm Me." These are all great songs but since this is their farewell tour I would love for them to play more from it. Definitely, I would love for them to play "Knife in the Back," "Ride to Live Live to Ride" and "We're Gonna Make It." Then again, anything they play from this album will have me screaming loudly as it is my fave. Being the Twisted Sister fanatic that I am, an entire post will be dedicated to their time on stage. We'll I'll be off in the morning.

To buy Rock And Roll Children, email me at: tobychainsaw@hotmail.com 

Great Metal Albums of 1982: Twisted Sister- Under the Blade

 

From great EP's often come great albums. Three of the four songs featured on Twisted Sister's EP, "Rough Cutts" would go on to be recorded on their debut album, "Under the Blade." Many people have said that the earlier the Twisted Sister material, the better and you can't get much earlier than this album. Although for me personally, their best album was yet to come but that takes nothing away from just how great "Under the Blade" is.

Having seen Twisted Sister live five times, two of those as headliners, one thing I founnd disappointing both times was that they don't play enough songs from their first two albums. Obviously, they will play more songs from their most successful album but I would have loved to have heard them play more from this album. The songs that were played were the title cut and "Shoot'em Down." Both are fantastic songs, but I would have loved to hear "Run For Your Life" as well as my favourite track on the album "Bad Boys of Rock and Roll." That's one I like singing to myself whilst moving around the house. Furthermore, the closer "Day of the Rocker" would have been a mindblowing song to close the show. I don't know if it's Eddie or Jay Jay who play the guitar solo on this one but it's a killer. Whenever, someone casts doubts upon the guitar playing of French and Ojeda, I immediately think of "Day of the Rocker" as a counter. Any other song would have been great to hear live and at the moment, both "Run For Your Life" and "Tear It Loose" come to mind especially.

Before 1985, this album was only available in the US as an import. I did see it in a music store once but had no money on me at the time. When I went back a few days later, it was gone. I had to wait until 1985 when it was re released on Atlantic Records to get it. That version has the very amusing single "I'll Never Grow Up Now" on it. Back in the day, that was something I was feeling quite a bit  but it's another song I like to keep singing after it has long since ended.

Track Listing:

1. What You Don't Know (Sure Can't Hurt You)
2. Bad Boys of Rock and Roll
3. Run For Your Life
4. Sin After Sin
5. Shoot'em Down
6. Destroyer
7. Under the Blade
8. Tear It Loose
9.                                                                   I ll Never Grow Up Now
   10.                                                                    Day of the Rocker

[caption id="attachment_2918" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Twisted Sister[/caption]

Dee Snider- vocals

Jay Jay French- guitar, backing vocals

Eddie 'Fingers' Ojeda- guitar, backing vocals

Mark 'the Animal' Mendoza- bass, backing vocals

AJ Pero- drums

"Under the Blade" is such a great album. It's raw and shows a band that were lean, mean and hungry. Every track is an absolute winner for me and it just so happens that Twisted Sister have one more chance to show off this album. They will be playing their farewell concert at Bloodstock next summer and I have every intention of making it there to witness this important piece of history. Let's hope that they will play a few more songs from this iconic album.

On the same day at Bloodstock, two slots before the great Twisted Sister, Venom will be invading the stage. Therefore, in respect to that, their 1982 album will be my next post.

To buy Rock And Roll Children, email me at: tobychainsaw@hotmail.com

Great Metal Albums of 1982: Twisted Sister- Rough Cutts

 

This time, I have an excuse for not discovering this 1982 album until 1985. That is the fact that I never saw it in any record store in America until then. Trust me, if the debut EP but Twisted Sister, "Ruff Cutts," had been available anywhere, I would have found it. I was that much of a Twisted Sister fan. Then again, if I had heard it in 1982, I still would have bought it as, it was a sign of things to come for this band.

Three of the four songs featured on "Ruff Cutts" would later be re-recorded on their debut full length album that would come out later that year and obviously, I won't let that one go by. "What You Don't Know," "Shoot'em Down" and "Under the Blade" are three of the corner stone songs on that future album so it's no wonder they would appear on the EP. The tracks aren't as polished as they would be on the album but that's not a crime here. They are still as hard rocking and show a flash of greater things to come.

As for the fourth track, "Leader of the Pack," that would appear on an album that would come out weeks after I discovered this EP but that's another story. Trying to get into the band's mindset back then, I wonder if they thought to include it for humourous reasons or were they saving it for later on. I never hated the song, but it does pale in comparison with the other three.

Track Listing:

1. What You Don't Know
2. Shoot'em Down
3. Under the Blade
4. Leader of the Pack

[caption id="attachment_2918" align="aligncenter" width="337"] Twisted Sister[/caption]

Dee Snider- vocals

Jay Jay French- guitars, backing vocals

Eddie "Fingers" Ojeda- guitars, backing vocals

Mark "The Animal" Mendoza- bass

Joey Brighton- drums, tracks 1 and 2

Tony Petri- drums, tracks 3 and 4

The EP would arise in popularity in the 1980s and for many bands, it would be a good way to get them noticed without having to put out a full album. History shows that this might have been the case with "Ruff Cutts" for Twisted Sister as this would lead to some magnificent albums in the future.

Next post: Rainbow- Straight Between the Eyes

To buy Rock and Roll Children,

Bloodstock 2016: The Sunday

Sunday, the final day of Bloodstock and while that meant packing up to go home, (I couldn't stay the Sunday night as I had to be in work for 7:40 the Monday morning), I was determined to make the most of the final day. The two bands at the top of the bill on this day was incentive enough. Therefore, while I didn't rush things, I still went into the arena fairly early.

Let me declare to the world that I have found the perfect cure for the Sunday morning hangover! It comes in the form of the first band of the day, Ghost Bath. Their brand of what I would call stoner metal definitely soothes the soul and the melody of their music makes it very easy to sway back and forth to with little effort. The vocals basically consisted of the lead singer, he was the one dressed in black, screaming the occasional "Yeah!" down the microphone. Strangely, it went very well with the music. Furthermore, I was intrigued by Ghost Bath's appearance. Except for the singer, the rest of the band was all in white, sort of like ghosts. Like I said, a great way to get over your hangover on Sunday morning.

Ghost Bath soothing the afflicted

Going from one extreme to the other, while Ghost Bath were more soothing on the ears, loud vicious wails coming from the New Blood Stage beckoned me in that direction. Needing to investigate, I went into the tent and found the perpetrators, a band by the name of Pteroglyph. They were a well put together quartet of thrash metal mania. Again, like with Witch Tripper, I hope any scouts viewing them this day didn't pass on a great opportunity. Furthermore, I hoped the older looking appearance of the rhythm guitarist wasn't a further excuse to ignore this band. He looked close to my age but that could have been the lighting. I was impressed.

Pteroglyph releasing their carnage

Leaving the New Blood Stage, I returned to the Ronnie James Dio Stage in time for the second band of the day, Heart of a Coward. I had seen a picture of this band before and they reminded of the typical English men who go out on a Saturday night, get drunk and then engage in a good punch up. However, from the sounds they were creating on the stage, I get the impression that they put all of their aggression into their music and the sound resulting from that is fantastic. In between the power notes, there was some good intricate guitar work to be heard as well. This leaves me to conclude that the band's name is a good catchy hook because there is nothing cowardly about this band. Thinking about it, Heart of a Coward with Pteroglyph in support would make a cool concert on its own.

Heart of a Coward proving they weren't

Having fully been metalized for the Sunday morning, duty called so I had to return to tear down the tent and pack away. Fortunately, tearing down the tent wasn't nearly as difficult as putting it up. Even though, we had less to carry back the car as we did when we arrived three days earlier, it wasn't an easy task. That was probably down to my determination to get it all done in one trip. I did use a bit of ingenuity when we got to the edge of the car park. We grounded our gear and went and brought the car around to load it, thus saving a lot of effort. It allowed us to get back in plenty of time to see Dragonforce, who Teal and Joe were raving about.

At first, I was going to give Dragonforce a miss because Anthrax had arrived in the signing tent and getting their autograph would have been a dream come true. Fortunately or unfortunately, depending how you view it, I had to wait in a mile long queue to get an autograph. That line wound in view of the main stage, so when Dragonforce appeared, I got the best of both worlds. Dragonforce's brand of progressive metal, (they reminded me of Stratovarius), was quite enjoyable. It calmed my frustration brought on by standing in a line that wasn't moving. If I had known that I would never even get close to seeing my heroes Anthrax, I would have ventured closer to the stage because they seemed to have a good presence. Dragonforce eased the disappointment ten-fold.

Closest I got to Dragonforce

I should have gotten closer

I figured that I should go see one last band on the Sophie Lancaster Stage before I went home and Dragonforce's departure from the stage provided that opportunity. Ditty bopping over into the tent, I was treated to the powerful music coming from Vecktor. Here was another band that had some great guitar and progressive interludes in between lashings of pure power. They definitely had me head banging away to them along with most of those who were in the Sophie Lancaster tent at the time. I could feel the powerful climax to the night rapidly building up.

Vecktor putting on a cool performance

With the two bands most of Bloodstock I was waiting to see, I thought I would get close to the main stage in preparation. I'm glad I did. Not because I was going to be in a good position for Anthrax but also because I got to see the predecessors, Symphony X. While I only saw about twenty minutes of their time on stage, I thought it was well worth it. They were a natural progression from Dragonforce and Vecktor and would prove to be a good bridge for what was to come after. Power chords melded with some good melody backed by competent keyboards always makes a good listen and Symphony X ticked all of those boxes. By the time they had left the stage, I was a volcano waiting to erupt.

Symphony X

With Symphony X departed from the stage, I maneuvered my way down to the front of the stage, this time removing my glasses first and waited. Time flew by it seemed but watching the crew carry out the final checks only served to heighten the tension. Then it happened, Anthrax were on stage. I don't know what song they opened with but I didn't care, especially as they followed up with "Caught in a Mosh" and predictably, a huge pit opened nearby. Now, my only complaint when I saw them in 2013 was that they didn't play any songs from the "Spreading the Disease" album. This time, they rectified it with the fourth song. Predictably, it was "Madhouse" but that didn't stop me from singing along. Also, the first time I saw Anthrax was 30 years ago, but they, especially Frank Bello and Scott Ian, moved about the stage as if they hadn't aged at all. In fact, I never saw Frank quite so animated. He was all over the place. "Indians" proved to be the perfect climax to the show as all those in the pit started a war dance. They were on stage for a little more than an hour but the energy they showed, it seemed like only twenty minutes. Time does fly when you're having fun.

Anthrax assert their dominance

Ian and Bello proving that age has little effect on metal.

Rob Craggiano managed to get close enough for me to take a picture of him

With Anthrax done and dusted, the only ones left for the festival was headliners Slayer. Not wanting a repeat of Saturday, I drifted to the back but made sure I had a good viewing point. Slayer came out and wowed the crowd with great lights and music. The problem with so many lights, it hampers good photos but nonetheless, I tried. Anyway, Slayer granted my request and played not one but two songs from the "Show No Mercy" album, the title track and "Die by the Sword." While the played a good mix of material, they played the same two songs from "South of Heaven" they played three years earlier, "Mandatory Suicide" and that title track. However, I didn't care that much about trivial things like that as Slayer clobbered everyone in the crowd with what they do best. They did disappear on two occasions for a few brief minutes and I never could figure out why. When they returned, their absence was quickly forgotten. However, I wonder if that's why they never came out for an encore. At least it seemed that way. Nevertheless, when Slayer left the stage, I was completely satisfied with them, the Sunday and the whole weekend!

Slayer come out to fire and light

Slayer, a class headline act

Best shot of Slayer on the night

This photo wasn't too bad

Explosion of light

On the journey home, I discovered a conspiracy. For the third time in a row, when coming home from Bloodstock, I hit road detours on the motorways and had to go all around the houses. While it lengthened my trip time, I had the musical delights of Megadeath and "Twisted Forever," a tribute album to Twisted Sister to make the ride home enjoyable and allowed me to rejoice in the history that I had witnessed over the weekend.

Next post: A Surprise Gig

To buy Rock And Roll Children, go to www.strategicpublishinggroup.com/title/RockAndRollChildren.html

Also available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Froogle and on sale at Foyles Book Shop in London

Bloodstock 2016: The Saturday

Saturday morning and I wake up having gone to bed about 12:30 thus missing another night of bin jousting and general mayhem. It was on this morning I discovered the advantage of going to a festival for the full three days as opposed to only going for one day. When you only go for the one day, you feel pressured into seeing as much as you can as you want to get your money's worth for the day. Therefore, you go from stage to stage absorbing all the acts as possible. When you go for three days, there's not so much pressure to do so and that allows you to relax. So, I was up in the morning with my new Twisted Sister t-shirt on and taking my time over eating as the first act I really wanted to see wasn't on stage until the early afternoon.

My new t-shirt

And the back

While I didn't rush to get into the arena, when I finished the necessities, I didn't really want to sit around doing nothing. So, I made my way to the arena to see what was what. Upon entry, my attention was turned to the Sophie Lancaster Stage where a band called The Raven Age was on. After a re-jog of my memory, I remember liking their brand of melodic metal. I only caught the last couple of songs from their set, but I liked what I heard and saw. Like Friday, I found another good way to start the day.

The Raven Age

Leaving the Sophie Lancaster Stage following the departure of The Raven Age, I followed my ears to the main Ronnie James Dio Stage. There, I was treated to the thrash of Vallenfyre. I liked the anger and hunger these five guys showed while on stage. Although this wasn't the band I was planning to see, I was glad that I caught some of their show.

Vallenfyre accosting the stage

With some time to kill, I thought I'd saunter back over the to Sophie Lancaster Stage. Upon it was a band called This is Turin. Another five piece thrash band and even more angry than the band I had just finished seeing. However, while I enjoyed what This is Turin had to offer on the day, they did not make me want to stay and miss any of the band I wanted to see on this Saturday. So, I had to say goodbye to them and head back to the main stage.

This is Turin

I had high expectation of Ackercoke after reading about them on Heavy Metal Overload. The sample track I heard from the post filled me with even more expectation. When they first hit the stage, I wasn't sure about them. However, it didn't take long before any potential feelings of disappointment rapidly vanished. Their ability to combine fantasy with power metal bordering on thrash soon captivated me and those who went to see them. Being the first band of the day who I saw in their entirety, the forty minutes they were on stage flew by, thanks to some great metal. Therefore, it's left to me to say a big thank you to HMO for bringing Ackercoke to my attention.

Ackercoke on the offensive

More Ackercoke

At past Bloodstocks, when I ventured past the Jagermeister Stage, I would hear cover bands playing so I wouldn't pay much attention to them. However, following the exit of Ackercoke, for some reason, I went over to the stage and what I heard was no cover band. Playing was a West Yorkshire band known as Pulverise. Now rap metal was something I could always take or leave but Pulverise has made me think again about the genre. This rap metal sounded very good and most of it was down to the small but very attractive blonde lead singer. This little dynamite had a voice that would put many male metal rappers to shame. Rarely have I heard such power in a voice and I have to say, I was very impressed.

This was the best shot I could get of Pulverise

Another reason why I hung around the Jagermeister Stage was that it was close to the main stage and I definitely wanted to see the band following Ackerocke. I had heard many things about Greek death metallers Rotting Christ and definitely wanted to check them out. It was the best decision I would make this day. The have honed their death/grind skills into a near art form and it definitely showed on the stage. Apart from the music, they also had a cool stage show, the best I had seen up to this point on the Saturday. Loved the pentogram displays.

Rotting Christ

More death!

For some reason, all the death metal from Rotting Christ made me hungry. So, I decided to take a dinner break and be back for the main events of the night. After a gourmet dinner consisting of tinned spaghetti bolognese with a tin of meatballs, I returned to the arena for the main events. Upon arrival, I managed to catch the last twenty minutes or so of Paradise Lost. Their version of doom metal was a great prelude of things to come for the rest of the evening.

Paradise Lost

With the possible exception of Twisted Sister, Gojira might have been the band most of those in attendance at the festival were there to see. Fortunately, I managed to get close to the front before the tidal wave of people converged. Gojira came out to the delight of the thousands there to welcome them and they were determined that those who made the effort to see them were going away disappointed. Gojira hammered out their metal, both old and new, to the hungry masses who responded with a large mosh pit and crowd surfing. That's where I made a personal sacrifice in getting close to them. During the carnage, my glasses were knocked off my face. I looked on the ground for them but some kind young lady picked them up. However, she thought they belonged to a crowd surfer who had just gone by so she threw them over into the security area. I had to wait until Gojira finished playing before I could get them back. Oh the sacrifices one has to make. It didn't matter that I had to see them for the remainder of their time on stage with my limited vision. I could see them fine and best of all, I could hear them clearly and that's what I wanted. When they finished to thunderous applause, I concluded they were even better than when I had seen them in 2010. When I got my specs back, the frames were pretty mangled but I managed to fix them so I could wear them.

Gojira are welcomed by their fans

Jean Michel Baladie showing off. He did a crowd surf later on in the set.

Joe Duplantier hammering out a solo

The sun has set enough for some cool lighting.

When Gojira left the stage, I was in a bit of befuddle as to what next. Originally, I wasn't even going to check out Mastodon because I would rather have seen Acid Reign headline at the Sophie Lancaster tent. Earlier that day, I learned that Acid Reign weren't going up until after Mastodon finished so I was content on seeing both. In the mean time, I did return to the Sophie Lancaster Stage anyway and caught the black metal of Swedish band, Shining. I found them very interesting to say the least. Like so many great European lead singers, Ghoul, does sing in very good English.

The Shining on stage

After the Shining, I was totally pumped on seeing Mastodon, as was the rest of my group, although I didn't follow them to the front. Mastodon came out on stage with a pretty cool light show, unfortunately, their music did nothing for me. After twenty-five minutes of trying to get into them but being unable, I went back to the Sophie Lancaster Stage so I could get a good place for Acid Reign. In doing so, I got a bit of a treat as did all the men who were there. The Four Deejays of the Apocalypse were spinning some cool metal tunes with two very attractive young ladies dancing on the stage. It was certainly better than Mastodon. I would learn later that Teal, my stepson, was quite disappointed with Mastodon too.

Cool light show but nothing else

More like it!

I don't think anyone knew what to expect when Acid Reign came out on stage late on Saturday night. When they did, they bashed those in attendance with a unique brand of speed metal. The only original member of the band on stage that night was lead singer Howard H Smith and he was every bit the show man. Darting around on stage, climbing up on amp stacks, he was full of energy more accustomed to a much younger man. All the while, his new band kept up with him very nicely. They even premiered their new single, "Plan of the Damned," which reminds me, I need to carry out Smith's request and get it. Of course, they played some of their material from the late 1980s too. During the set, Howard thanked Mastodon for being their support act. All I could think was, "He's got that right." Acid Reign closed the Saturday night out tremendously.

Acid Reign come out under the lights

Orange jacket with matching shorts, an interesting choice of wardrobe for Howard H Smith

Howard addresses the crowd from the amp stack

Cranking out a guitar solo

Howard changes his clothes for the finale

The night didn't end with Acid Reign. The Four Deejays returned to play more metal only this time, there were ladies dancing with flaming batons. Cool, but I couldn't get a decent picture of it. Still, it was a cool way to end the night.

Best I could do with the fire dancers

Next post: Sunday

To buy Rock and Roll Children, go to www.strategicpublishinggroup.com/title/RockAndRollChildren.html

Also available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Froogle and on sale at Foyles Book Shop in London

Bloodstock 2016: The Friday- Twisted Sister

Having stood in virtually the same spot for nearly five hours and having to endure things like crowd surfers and mosh pits opening nearby, I was ready for the main event. It wasn't all bad. I did get to rock out to Behemoth, Venom and Corrosion of Conformity and Venom did give me a present before they left the stage. Now, as I was waiting for the band I would have moved mountains to see, especially since it was the farewell to the UK gig, I couldn't wait for Twisted Sister to get on that stage!

A nice gift from Venom, I managed to pick one up off the ground.

Let me cut straight to the chase, Twisted Sister were full of surprises this night. The last two times I saw them, they opened the show with "Come Out and Play" and the two other times before, it was "Stay Hungry." I'm not sure which song it was the first time I saw them in 1983 but it might have been this one. They opened with the first track from their "Under the Blade" album, "What You Don't Know (Sure Can't Hurt You") and both the crowd and I went nuts. Afterwards, they kept the momentum going with "The Kids are Back" rapidly followed by "Burn in Hell." It was a great way to start the show.

Any speculation that Twisted Sister's set was going to be dominated by their most successful album, "Stay Hungry," evaporated very quickly. They played a good mix from their first four albums and I thought they sounded better than ever. If this was their farewell performance, they were certainly going out on a high, an astronomical high! A few songs in, Dee Snider, probably one of music's best when talking to the audience, explained about this being Twisted Sister's farewell show. He did point out the likes of The Scorpions, KISS and Ozzy, all of whom said they were retiring only to return two years later. Dee promised that this was definitely the band's last tour, the skeptic in me says time will tell. Anyway, they followed his words up with my all time favourite TS song, "You Can't Stop Rock and Roll."

Continuing on with their domination of Bloodstock with that great mix of songs, (I'll provide the full playlist further on down the post,) Dee again addressed the crowd in his usual manner. This time he was more serious as he highlighted all the great losses heavy metal has had in the recent years. Starting with the legend, Ronnie James Dio, he then went to point out the band's on personal loss with AJ Pero, who passed away last year. Here Dee introduced Mike Portnoy and thanked him for stepping into AJ's place. After which, he told about the two most recent losses, Jimmy Bain and of course Lemmy, thanking Lemmy for his role in getting Twisted Sister noticed. Tributes were payed to all four with the most appropriate Twisted Sister song to do it with, "The Price."

Metal Twisted Sister style rocked the arena for several more minutes with Eddie Ojeda and Jay Jay French hammering out solos, Mark Mendoza beating another bass to death, Mike Portnoy's drumming and Dee Snider's vocals and crowd chat. It all seemed to end too soon and Twisted Sister appeared to close out by playing a great Rolling Stones classic, "It's Only Rock and Roll" and I loved it.

Of course, they came back for an encore, starting with the song I thought they might have opened with and then went into a great song from the first album, have a guess, the answer's further down. It was after the second song that all four of the original members each spoke to the crowd thanking them for all their dedication over the years. Starting with Mark and then Eddie, but as usual, I thought it strange he hadn't said much before, Jay Jay brought up a very good point. Using the example of X-Factor, he says how the winners thank everyone for their support for fifteen weeks. He was totally right when he said that fifteen weeks was nothing when compared to bands like Judas Priest and KISS as well as Twisted Sister who have been going strong for forty years or more! Stick that one Simon Cowell. Always to have the last word, Dee thanked everyone, especially Mike Portnoy and explained that Mike had been personally chosen by AJ to replace him if the need should ever arise. No one would have thought it would have been under the most tragic of circumstances. With that, Twisted Sister brought an end to a great night with the best song possible, "SMF." When they left, I'm sure the 15,000 or so who saw them felt they got their money's worth.

Playlist:

My memory sucks so the order may be slightly out

1. What You Don't Know (Sure Can't Hurt You)
2. The Kids are Back
3. Burn In Hell
4. Destroyer
5. Knife in the Back
6. You Can't Stop Rock And Roll
7. The Fire Still Burns
8. I Wanna Rock
9. Under the Blade
10. The Price
11. I Believe in Rock and Roll
12. I Am I'm Me
13. We're Not Gonna Take It
14. It's Only Rock and Roll

Encore

1. Come Out and Play
2. Shoot' em Down
3. SMF

Photos from this historic night

Twisted Sister come out and play

Jay Jay and Mark in support while Eddie cranks out a solo

Dee showing he still got the vocals while Mark beats his bass to death

Good lighting as well as music

Jay Jay's turn for a solo

The fire still burns

TS at the best ever

And here

The grand finale

I am making a promise here which all of you can hold me to. If Twisted Sister change their minds and do come back again, I will not go see them. Not because of any lies but because I believe they couldn't do any better than what they did on this night. For me they went out on an ultimate high.

Note: My memory isn't the greatest and though I took notes of the entire weekend, shit for brains here lost the notepad so my memories may be slightly off. If any of you reading this were there, I would love to read about your versions of this piece of history.

Next post: Saturday

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