I wanna rock!
Although they haven't released anything new in the studio sense in some twenty years (Excluding 1994's re-recording of Stay Hungry (Still Hungry) and 2006's A Twisted Christmas), hard rock act Twisted Sister still remain an active entity on the live circuit playing purely for the fans. Throughout the last twenty years there have been plenty of compilations, live albums and D.V.D.'s to tide fans over, and the latest effort to emerge from Twisted Sister is their live C.D./D.V.D. effort Live At The Astoria.
Recorded primarily as a 'pay-per-view' special at London's infamous The Astoria venue on August 1st 2004, Live At The Astoria finally gets its long overdue release to fans via Demolition Records/DR2 Records, and captures the Long Island (New York, U.S.) act at their best in front of a sold out crowd who waited more than eighteen years for the band's inevitable return to U.K. shores.
Although the band (Comprising of vocalist Dee Snider, guitarists Jay Jay French and Eddie Ojeda, bassist Mark 'The Animal' Mendoza and drummer A.J. Pero) are looking a little older and heavier than they did back in their heyday (From 1982 through to 1985), you would be hard pressed to fault their energy and commitment to putting their all in their performance based on the ninety-five minute performance on Live At The Astoria. All the band's official hits are rolled out as expected (Including You Can't Stop Rock N' Roll, We're Not Gonna Take It and I Wanna Rock), but it's the addition of classics such as What You Don't Know (Sure Can Hurt You), Under The Blade, Destroyer, Like A Knife In The Back, Burn In Hell, The Fire Still Burns, The Price and I Am (I'm Me) where behind the make-up, Twisted Sister show they really were capable musicians and song writers in their own right.
On the visual side of things, the four cameras manage to capture the essence of the band in full flight on stage for the most part (Bearing in mind that this was originally just a 'pay-per-view' special and nothing more), while audio wise, there's little to fault throughout, with the band sounding great across the entire show.
Although the seventy-four minute audio C.D. on this disc is a cool addition to the set, it's the D.V.D. that really is the must have for fans, as it includes both French and Snider's onstage addresses with the audience in-between the songs, which at times steal the show. It may have been shot four years ago and feature no new material, but Live At The Astoria is a definite must for diehard S.M.F.'s.
(Demolition Records/DR2 Records/Riot! Entertainment)
