Rating:
Genre:
Rock
Release Date: 06/30/2009
After nearly a decade trying to make it to "The Show,"
Twisted Sister were finally up to bat. Their first album was a wild swing, their second had flown just barely foul, but with their third -- the unstoppable
Stay Hungry -- the New York veterans finally hit one out of the park. And few bands were as deserving. Having paid their dues on the tough as nails N.Y.C. club scene (half of the band looked like
the Ramones, the other half like
the Dictators, and
Dee Snider looked like, well,
Dee Snider),
Twisted Sister had finally worn down the opposition and truly arrived. With their comedic videos and bubblegum undertones, hit singles
"We're Not Gonna Take It" and
"I Wanna Rock" helped the band bridge the "beauty gap" into
MTV acceptance, and a competent power
ballad in
"The Price" would cement their consumer-friendly status. But it was the irrefutable menace of tracks like
"The Beast," "S.M.F.," and the massive
"Burn in Hell" that connected with their loyal fans and displayed
Twisted Sister's true power. Equally grim,
"Captain Howdy" and
"Street Justice" -- the two songs comprising the "Horror-teria" suite (later the basis for
Snider's ill-fated movie project
Strangeland) -- are a cross between
Alice Cooper and its stated source of influence,
Stephen King. And don't forget the all-out
metal ambition of the title track. Ironically, the album's very mainstream appeal would alienate their core
heavy metal fan base and spell the band's overexposure-induced fall from grace, but for this brief moment,
Twisted Sister were truly the "talk of the town, top of the heap." [In 2009,
Rhino released the
25th Anniversary Edition of
Stay Hungry which included a re-mastered version of the original album, as well as a bonus disc with sixteen previously unissued tracks and one newly recorded cut.]
~Eduardo Rivadavia, All Music Guide
;)
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