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Under the Blade

Twisted Sister - Under the Blade Audio CD

A fair review of the Twisted Sister "Under the Blade" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Twisted Sister reviews here, or go back to the Twisted Sister tabs.

Band: Twisted Sister
Title: Under the Blade
Rating:

Release Date: 1999-11-02
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: What You Don't Know (Sure Can Hurt You) 2: Bad Boys (Of Rock 'n' 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

Twisted Sister's Most Metal Release.
In truth the band dates back to the 70s and began life, first as a general Hard Rock Glam act before vocalist Dee Snider arrived and introduced the music of Judas Priest, Ac/Dc, Black Sabbath and the NWOBHM. Most people today remember Twisted Sister as the spearhead of the Hair Metal movement with there poppy bubble gum Hard Rock anthems all over Rock radio.

This debut is far removed from what will follow two albums later with 1983's breakthrough album, "Stay Hungry", containing a sound that was raw and mean, stripped down and primal. The sound was Heavy Metal and if you were there in 1982, you probally would have thought this band to be the next big band in Metal.
Even if they did not rock quite as heavy as here, Twisted Sister still remained one of Metal's best loved bands of the 80s, and this was the masterpiece of there catalouge.

Each track is a classic of it's kind:

What you Don't Know, Sure Can Hurt You-Awesome Cooper inspired Heavy anthem(echoes of his "Hello Hooray!") that welcomes us into there Metal world. Rebellious and insidious, this is a perfect way to set up the heavy album. One of there best tracks.

Bad Boys of Rock and Roll-A more standard Rock and Roll anthem, this feels more akin to there sound of later but still carries the sound of there 70s influence. Good time Hard Rock and likeable enough.

Run For Your Life-Totally bad a s s song with a great melodic spoken intro by Snider that recalls Zeppelin before the song gets heavy and speeds up to the level of Priest brutality. Another all time classic.

Sin After Sin-Terrific OTTer(as in "Over the Top") is clearly titled as a tribute to the Priest masterpiece of 1977 of the same name. And the song very much recalls the same sound from those 70s records, clearly showing the band was capable of such. One of my favorite song sof theres', it's also one of there heaviest and rocks with actual purpose in it's tale of embracing a sin filled life.

Shoot Em Down-Cool song that sort of rocks like heavy Kiss but features a more UFO inspired chorus. Pretty addictive and leagues ahead of there pop hits. Great late night driving song.

Destroyer-The title may recall the Kiss album of 1975, but this track is more at home with Metal monsters like Black Sabbath's Iron Man and Judas Priest's Sinner in it's tale of undying creature poised for destruction of all. The heaviest song on the record and the band's heaviest overall, this features one of Dee's best performances and a good use of the bass as dead weight tp carry the lurching sound of Metallic doom.

Under The Blade-Twisted Sister's best song and my personal favorite, this is the one all Manowar loving metalheads reach for first. Guitarist Jay Jay French's riff is one of his best and the lyrics are among the best the band ever wrote. Not quite the S and M classic the PMRC decreed it(even though you can HEAR where they got that from!) this follows the blade as a metaphor for death, an operation and seeing the band. Of course the way Dee sings it can make one think otherwise. . . .

Tear It Loose-Speed metaller that is inspired by Motorhead and rocks pretty heavy. Motorhead's ace guitarist, Fast Eddie Clark, even contributed a solo to the classic. Another album standout.

Day of the Rocker-Slow and heavy with a definitely Sabbath inspired riff that tells the tale of a Rocker's lifestyle. Perhaps not the Metal maelstorm of many previous tracks, this one still has appeal and fits as a nice closer to a powerful record.

Under the Blade ranks as one of the great debuts of Heavy Metal and one of the best albums of 1982. It's one of my personal favorites, and one that is a must for fans of the NWOBHM and Traditional Metal. An absolute Metal essential that will have the committed headbanger going back for many more trips "under the blade".

One of the best Twisted Sister albums available
A masterpiece of the band that is Twisted Sister. This album is incredible. Start to finish, every track is great music. And dont forget, as Dee Snider himself would say "PLAY IT LOUD MUTHA!!!".

Not Their Best...But It Does Have It's Moments
The songs are at times very similar to early Black Sabbath. "Under the Blade" features a "different" sound than what most SMF's might expect from Twisted Sister. Plodding, dirge-like tunes with only flashes of the hair-metal like guitar riffs they would popularize with "Stay Hungry". Tunes like "Destoryer" and "Sin after Sin" emphasize this. Both feature a slower, plodding pace that emphasize A. J. Pero's drumwork and Mark Mendoza's bass. The screaming guitars take a backseat on these songs, and they aren't bad, just not what you would expect. On the other hand, tunes like "Under the Blade", "I'll Never Grow Up" and "What You Don't Know" are all shaded with what would become Twisted Sister's signature sound on "Stay Hungry" and "Come Out and Play". If you are a fan of the band, then this is a must own, but if your only interested in the hits. . . stick with "Stay Hungry" and download the title song from this disk.

Twisted beginings

Under the Blade is Raw, and has an edge to it that only came from that era. Twisted Sisters first album ranks close to the top only below the ever popular Stay Hungry.

As bands progress, their sound suffers and ultimatly falls short in the sales department due to their untimely evolution. Under the Blade is REAL Twisted and it shows.

Twisted is one of a small handful of bands that have really kept the same sound throughout their careers.

Get this CD, enjoy it, and relive the good ol' days of music.

5 stars for the music, -2 stars for the remastering job.
All of the raw intensity has been stripped away in favor of way too much reverb on the drums and vocals, ostensibly to "clean up" the sound. I was fortunate enough to buy the original Secret Records release on vinyl as an import from Italy back in the 80s and I am so happy that I still have it because I really don't like what was done to this album in the remastering process. UTB was not a clean-sounding album to begin with and that was part of why it succeeded so well. Sadly, this happens with way too many remasters -- reverb effects or drum triggers that did not exist in the original production are added supposedly to modernize the production and, in every case where this is done, it detracts from what made the album so great so many years ago. I don't know if a CD has ever been released with the original mixes of these tunes, so you may have no choice but to hear it only in its remastered form. Fortunately the tunes are great and, if you've never heard what the original mix sounded like, you won't know what you're missing anyway so definitely buy it on the strength of the tunes. Me. . . I'll stick to my vinyl copy thank you very much.

You can see a complete list of all Twisted Sister discography, or go back to the Twisted Sister tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.