The Bottom Line
Pros
- Every metalhead knows (or darn well should) Stay Hungry; the album speaks for itself.
- The second disc is one of the most entertaining bonus features ever conceived.
Cons
- None.
Description
- Released June 30, 2009 by Rhino Records.
- Contains bonus disc of demos, previously-unreleased songs and the newly-recorded “30.”
- Produced by Jay Jay French.
Guide Review - Twisted Sister - 'Stay Hungry 25th Anniversary Edition'
You know the songs of Stay Hungry like the back of your keister, so whattya getting on this 25th anniversary cut? How about a second disc comprised of a handful of Stay Hungry demos and a bounty of previously-unreleased studio tracks from 1983, plus a brand-new song?
What’s particularly fabulous about this edition is hearing Twisted Sister’s varied facets. As they were putting together a scuzzball heavy metal archetype, they were also dabbling with punk ala the Dictators, New York Dolls, The Vibrators and the Dead Boys. Quite a different vibe from “Burn in Hell,” “I Wanna Rock” or Twisted’s still-impactful power ballad “The Price.”
Tunes omitted from Stay Hungry such as “Prime Motivator,” “We’re Coming On,” “Our Voice Will Be Heard,” “Death Run,” “This One’s For You” and the amped-up “Pay the Price” are all wildly entertaining songs that should’ve been fleshed out on Twisted’s future albums if not on Stay Hungry.
Even the demo cut of “We’re Not Gonna Take It” is so Dictators-ish it’s nothing short of phenomenal it was reworked into a metal anthem for the ages. A sobering thought lingers as “Pay the Price” instead of “Hot Love” might’ve carried Twisted past the eighties.
Perfect for Dee and the boys they sound so motivated on their new song “30,” a song similar to the Ramones’ “Touring” which carries a torch for the old days with an aspirant foot aiming towards an uncertain future. Here’s hoping “30” and the entire Stay Hungry 25th Anniversary Edition serves as preview to a brand new Twisted album. SMFs get ready!
