Twisted Sister – Metal Meltdown 
Loud & Proud
http://loudandproudrecords.com/artists/metal-meltdown-twisted-sister/

Rating: B

Twisted Sister headlined the Metal Meltdown concert performed last year at The Joint in Las Vegas.  The lineup that night also featured the bands Great White, Skid Row and Extreme.  What makes this one special for Twisted fans is that it was the first performance by the band after the death of drummer A.J. Pero from a massive heart attack.  Sitting in  A.J.’s seat that night was none other than one of the best pounders in the world, Mike Portnoy. 

Sister’s JJ French had this to say in the press release for CD/Blu-Ray, “In the end, I believe we did what A.J. would have wanted us to do and Mike Portnoy was a very big part of that decision in both an emotional and artistic way. This performance captured herein just two months after A.J.’s death really was about our way to help memorialize the great A.J. Pero. The front four (Dee [Snider], Eddie [Ojeda], Mark [Mendoza] and I) have had no one but A.J. behind us since 1982. This concert has A.J.’s influence permeating through our bloodstream in ways that I will never forget and when we cut to A.J.’s drum solo on the rear projection screen, We were all emotionally overwhelmed. Not since our reunion for NY Steel in 2001 (to honor and raise money for the families of the NYC police and fire department who died on 9/11) have I been moved to tears.”

The concert is actually pretty good.  The band mates rock through their set and touch on all of their classics.  Of course, “We’re Not Gonna Take It,” “I Wanna Rock” and “You Can’t Stop Rock ‘N’ Roll” are the best of the bunch.  TS had a lot of great songs that never made the charts.  In fact, some of their best songs are album radio hits like “The Kids Are Back,” “Under the Blade” and “The Price.”  “Burn in Hell” is the most intense song in the set... this is one heavy tune! 

The fans will love Rockshow, the bonus documentary on the DVD/Blu-ray that looks back at Twisted Sister throughout the years.  All in all, this is a fun disc . It is mostly for Twisted fans, but anyone curious about the band would do good to start here, especially with the documentary.

Plans are in the works for possible release of the other concerts performed that night by Great White, Skid Row and Extreme. 

Twisted Sister, ‘Metal Meltdown’ Track Listing

1. “What You Don’t Know”
2. “The Kids Are Back”
3. “Stay Hungry”
4. “The Beast”
5. “Shoot ‘Em Down”
6. “You Can’t Stop Rock ‘N’ Roll”
7. “I Believe In Rock ‘N’ Roll”
8. “Under the Blade”
9. “I Am (I’m Me)”
10. “We’re Not Gonna Take It”
11. “The Fire Still Burns”
12. “The Price”
13. “Burn in Hell”
14. “A.J. Pero Tribute”
15. “I Wanna Rock”
16. “Come Out and Play”
17. “S.M.F.”

By Jeb “Ah heck…I’ll take it after all” Wright