Twisted Sister reformed for one-night only yesterday (26 January) when they were joined by Mike Portnoy on drums for a storming three-song set at the Metal Hall of Fame ceremony at The Canyon in Augora Hills, California.
The New Jersey hard rock and metal legends were in town to be inducted into the Metal Hall Of Fame, with the great Steve Vai swapping the electric guitar for the mic as he paid tribute to the band at the charity gala event. It is the first time the band have played together since November 2016, when the Forty and F*ck It Tour roared to its conclusion.
Portnoy also sat in with the band for that farewell tour, with the Winery Dogs and former Dream Theater drummer filling in for the late AJ Pero, who died in 2015 when out on tour with Adrenaline Mob.
Sadly, Eddie Ojeda had Covid and couldn't make the event so Keith Robert War, more used to covering Ace Frehley’s parts, joined Jay Jay French on guitar, frontman Dee Snider and bassist Mark Mendoza.
Fanshot footage has emerged with more than passable audio of the Twisted Sister set, where Snider and go launched into You Can’t Stop Rock Rock ’N’ Roll, followed by Under The Blade, before rounding off the briefest of reunions with the evergreen classic We’re Not Gonna Take It.
Don’t be counting on a reunion, however. This looks very much like a one-off for the band. Speaking to The Metal Voice, French explained how the organisers of the event originally wanted to induct Pero.
“When I was told that, I went, that’s very interesting. You wanna induct AJ?’ I mean, AJ happens to be one of the best rock drummers in the world,” said French. “I think Mark Mendoza and AJ Pero, as a rhythm section, is one of the best rhythm sections in all of metal. But I thought, ‘That’s a bit weird.’ But not Twisted?’”
The organisers told French that they didn’t think the band would come. “Try us,” came French’s reply. French said he was tickled that Portnoy and Vai would both be there to induct them.
“The reason why they are going to induct us is they used to sneak in and see Twisted Sister when they were 15 years old in the bars of Long Island. This is Steve Vai and Mike Portnoy, two of the greatest rock musicians on the planet.”
The Metal Hall Of Fame ceremony was the sixth annual event and raised money for the D.A.D. Program (Drums and Disabilities) charity.
