Metal Messiahs #2: Twisted Sister "Under The Blade"

METAL MESSIAHS #2: TWISTED SISTER – UNDER THE BLADE
Buzz Drainpipe for The Discarded I
(“You can’t stop rock 'n' roll—but you can sure as hell trace it to a blood-soaked altar.”)

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Before the MTV makeup and courtroom battles with Tipper Gore, Twisted Sister were a pack of Long Island street wolves clad in biker leather and warpaint, howling through the gutters of glam and the raw noise of proto-thrash. Their debut album, Under the Blade (1982), is the battle cry of a band with revenge in their veins and chainsaws in their solos. It’s filthy, it’s furious, it’s criminally overlooked—and it’s why they earn their unholy sash as Metal Messiahs #2.

🕷️ The Album:

Under the Blade is a fist to the teeth of anyone who thought Twisted Sister were just cartoon punks in lipstick. Recorded in the UK and produced by UFO's Pete Way, it’s rough, unvarnished, and more dangerous than anything they’d record after.

"Sin After Sin" rides in like a leather-clad revenant from a Motorhead bender. "Shoot ‘Em Down" is a barroom brawl disguised as a sing-along. And that title track? That’s pure horror-metal. Dee Snider doesn’t just sing—he threatens. His voice is a Molotov cocktail, pitched somewhere between Alice Cooper and a reanimated glam corpse on a vendetta.

⚔️ The Vibe:

This record is haunted by the Bowery, the Jersey shore, and every busted bar between. It’s not pretty. That’s the point. These songs bleed. They reek of gasoline and Aqua Net. You can hear the years of rejection in every riff, every scream, every chain-rattling drum fill. It’s music forged in resentment, desperation, and theatrical rage.

They were playing like their lives depended on it—because in a way, they did.

👹 The Look (Before It Was A Joke)

Twisted Sister weren’t just costumed—they were armed. Their look was drag-as-combat-armor. The glam wasn’t pretty; it was grotesque, theatrical, and confrontational. Their androgyny wasn’t designed for mainstream appeal—it was a middle finger to every A&R suit who told them they’d never make it.

💉 Why It's Metal Messiah #2

Because Under the Blade is a record that scared people—parents, censors, even the record industry. Because it's raw, feral, and absolutely sincere. Because Dee Snider hadn't yet become the spokesman of suburban rebellion—he was still the cult leader of a fringe movement.

Because for one album, Twisted Sister were the bridge between the Dolls and Slayer, between glitter and blood.

And because the blade cuts deeper when you smile while twisting it.

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