Recently, Andrew Daly caught up with Dee Snider for Ultimate Guitar to discuss the band being inducted into Metal Hall of Fame back in January, and how metal in underappreciated. Following is an excerpt from the chat.
UG: What does Twisted Sister's induction into the Metal Hall of Fame (January 2023) mean to you?
Snider: "To me, it means that a group of people have gotten together and said, 'Heavy metal needs to be recognized independently of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame or any other establishments and that as a music form, it is worth recognizing.' The Metal Hall of Fame only started five years ago, and they've been building it up since in terms of getting more people involved. The reality is that they don't have Metallica in there. And you might think, 'How could Metallica not be one of the first nominations?' Well, I'll tell you why — because it's a brand-new organization, and Metallica isn't going to come to the event.
They're not going to respond to the invitation, quite honestly. For larger bands to take notice, it's got to become a 'thing,' so we need to support this vital movement as an important recognition of an art form. Make no mistake – metal is an art form. It's influential and incredibly important. When you go down the list of the greatest guitar players of all time in any field, it's Jimi Hendrix, Eddie Van Halen, Jimmy Page, and Steve Vai, all guys from the hard rock or heavy metal circles. So, to me, this is a fledgling organization that continues to carry the torch and recognize an underappreciated form of music, which is metal. They asked Twisted Sister to be a part of this, so we're just adding to the grandeur of this important yet very new organization."
Read more here.
On January 26th, Twisted Sister were inducted into the 2023 Metal Hall Of Fame at the 6th Annual Metal Hall Of Fame Charity Gala, at the Canyon Club in Agoura Hills, CA.
The surviving members of Twisted Sister - Dee Snider (vocals), Jay Jay French (guitar), Eddie Ojeda (guitar) and Mark Mendoza (bass) - performed together for the first time since 2016 at the event. The band performed "You Can't Stop Rock 'N' Roll", "Under The Blade" and "We're Not Gonna Take It". On drums was Mike Portnoy.
Video footage of Twisted Sister's performance (courtesy of Michael Brandvold, and YouTube channel Fortheloveofrock) can be viewed below:
Below are the acceptance speeches from Dee Snider, Mark “The Animal” Mendoza, Jay Jay French, and the daughters of AJ Pero and Eddie Ojeda.
Dee Snider
Mark “The Animal” Mendoza
Jay Jay French
Daughters of AJ Pero and Eddie Ojeda
