ALBUM REVIEW: For The Love Of Metal Live – Dee Snider

TWISTED SISTER’s Dee Snider has always carried the torch for rock and metal, and in recent years has only continued to emerge as one of the genre’s foremost defenders and stalwart preachers. Then, in 2018, after spending time dabbling in various projects in many forms of media and music, Snider, working together with the hardest working man in metal, Jamey Jasta, and a whole host of guests, reinvented himself and re-captured the heart of the metal world with his refined, back to basics metal slam dunk, For The Love of Metal. The record recaptured the rebellious fun and old school snarl that made metal such a force in its golden age, and it was the lightning in the bottle Snider needed to ascend from his past and into the present.

Now, Snider and co. have captured that magic in a whole new way on both audio and video with For The Love of Metal Live, and to sum it up, it’s just what the metal world needs right now. With live shows having gone kaput for the foreseeable future, this live record in every sense embodies everything there is to love about a great rock show. Mixing a large number of classic TWISTED SISTER tracks with a chunk of material from For The Love of Metal, as well as a few other surprises, recorded at both huge festivals like Bloodstock and in small clubs, the record takes you there in a way sorely needed though its huge production a lot great banter and joking from Mr. Snider himself. Not every track connects or stands out, but the beauty lies in the whole journey and not each stop along the way.

Barrelling out of the gate with two of the tracks from the new record, Lies Are A Business and Tomorrow’s No Concern, the sheer amount of fun Snider is having is evident right away as the sound booms out to a rabid audience, whose cheers bring a smile each time they roar and respond. The guitars gallop and are mixed nice and high to really spotlight their harmonies and leads. The rhythm section sounds big and the bass drum thump hits like it does at a real show. Other songs from the record really show Dee’s newfound energy and gusto, like American Made, a classic, badass rock ‘n’ roll stomp, which he lovingly adds a personal touch to by naming different countries at the end, and I Am The Hurricane, a melodically powerful song that sounds even more massive live, which becomes obvious when remembering it was co-written by Howard Jones and Mark Morton. Perhaps the highlight of all the new tracks is the title track, which in its live incarnation is even more of a classic riff filled fist pumper and rallying cry to the masses that obviously felt its power in the moment.

Even better are the TWISTED SISTER tracks. Well, at least the majority of them. Some tracks, like The Beast, don’t stand out as much, but the hits, like We’re Not Gonna Take It, with its newfound crunch and a goosebump and perhaps tear inducing section of crowd sing along and kick in, and I Wanna Rock, which still sounds album quality all these years later. Other tracks, like Under The Blade, The Kids Are Back, and Burn In Hell all still have that nastiness and classic feel that comes across so well on this live record, and extra points to Snider for some top notch crowd interaction, one well placed dedication to DIMMU BORGIR, and one well placed CRADLE OF FILTH wisecrack.

The few surprises on the record include an awesome sounding, if standard Highway To Hell cover, which is suitably thick, chunky, and full of muscle. But more importantly, there’s a very cool inclusion of Ready To Fall by Snider’s side project WIDOWMAKER, which has a really nice swinging, crunchy riff and some great guitar solos while Dee brings a bluesy swagger that shows he can still bring it like no other. And the last inclusion is Prove Me Wrong, a brand new studio recording with a full steam ahead pace. The song feels solidly late 2000’s hard rock, but in a kind of cool, nostalgic way with its echoing backing chorus vocals and chugging riff. It’s not groundbreaking, but its yet another flavor to add to the stew that has become DEE SNIDER’s metamorphosis into perhaps one of the most vital and important voices for rock and metal in the past few years and perhaps the years to come.

If there’s one thing to take away from For The Love of Metal Live, it lies within its title. The love of metal starts with records, but it is solidified in a live setting, and DEE SNIDER absolutely gets it. The record puts the listener right in the centre of the crowd and invites them to sing and headbang along at every song, chant as SNIDER leads the charge, and laugh at the jokes in between. These moments are indelibly the spirit of a great metal show, and just as the studio record of For The Love of Metal masterfully broke the genre down into its most basic components and reminded the world what it was all about, For The Love of Metal Live reminds and instils just what a great metal show is all about.

Rating: 7/10

For The Love Of Metal Live is set for release on July 31st via Napalm Records.

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