Eagle Rock Entertainment will release the landmark metal debut of 1982, Under The Blade by Twisted Sister, on May 31. The CD—originally produced by Pete Way of UFO—will also contain four tracks from their 1982 Ruff Cuts EP (never before on CD) as well as Shoot ˜Em Down, an ˜82 live track from England's prestigious Reading Festival. The lavish package features the original Under The Blade cover, which has not appeared on any domestic versions of the album until now, and reflects the original Secret Records track list and remastered audio mix.
The DVD contains the entire previously-unreleased Reading concert. Vocalist Dee Snider, guitarists Jay Jay French and Eddie Ojeda, bassist Mark Mendoza and drummer A.J. Pero gave the crowd something they had not exactly ever seen before. It was, for all intents and purposes, a coming-out affair for this great band. They play as if their life depends upon it. They play as if they have something to prove. And they did. They're young, hungry, determined and wind up headbanging with a desperate ferocity usually reserved for those kinds of life-altering performances that make a band. This is one of those performances. The set concludes with a show-stopping version of It's Only Rock N Roll as the band jams out with Pete Way and Motorhead's Fast Eddie Clarke and Lemmy! The DVD also includes 40 minutes of newly shot interviews with the band about the recording of Under The Blade and the Reading Festival.
French joined the band Silver Star, a New Jersey based 'Glitter Band" in December 1972. The band, whose original purpose was to be the New Jersey version of the New York Dolls, changed their name to Twisted Sister on Valentine's Day 1973. The band however continually changed line-ups and didn't take off until Snider joined in 1976. The lineup didn't fully coalesce until 1982 with the final addition of drummer AJ Pero. Under The Blade first came out on an independent UK based label called Secret Records, but really gained momentum when Atlantic Records released a different mix of the album nationally in 1985 while taking advantage of the bands newly minted stardom. Their meteoric ascent came in tandem with the simultaneous rise of MTV. This version you now have in your hands is the most requested and sought after. The new digital re-mastered original mix of Under the Blade.
