Twisted Sister - Stay Hungry review
| Band: | Twisted Sister |
| Album: | Stay Hungry |
| Style: | Glam metal, Hard rock |
| Release date: | 1984 |
| Guest review by: | omne metallum |
Disc I
01. Stay Hungry
02. We're Not Gonna Take It
03. Burn In Hell
04. Horror-Teria (The Beginning)
1 - Captain Howdy
2 - Street Justice
05. I Wanna Rock
06. The Price
07. Don't Let Me Down
08. The Beast
09. S.M.F.
Disc II [25th Anniversary Edition]
01. Death From Above
02. Prime Motivator
03. We're Not Gonna Take It [early demo]
04. Death Run
05. This One's For You
06. S.M.F. [early demo]
07. We're Coming On
08. Call My Name
09. Burn In Hell [early demo]
10. Pay The Price
11. What's Love Without You
12. Our Voice Will Be Heard
13. You've Got To Fight
14. The Price [early demo]
15. Stay Hungry [early demo]
16. Kmet Radio Spot
17. 30 [new song]
18. Untitled [hidden track]
It is a big shame that Twisted Sister are oft regarded as being merely a two-hit wonder with a front man who looks like he just walked off the set of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Listen to this album and you will discover a band who have been unfairly labelled and deserve to be viewed with greater respect. From the out and out classic barnstormer of an opener in "Stay Hungry", Twisted Sister run through nine tracks of hard-hitting anthems that will convert you from one of those people who think this album is just "We're Not Gonna Take it" and "I Wanna Rock" plus seven other tracks, into someone who wants to seek the rest of their catalogue out.
To what can only be described as a subversion of expectation, the best song on this album is the title track, which showcases an energy that is infectious and rousing, while also being catchy enough that you'll find yourself singing the chorus long after the track has ended. Of course, "We're Not Gonna Take it" and "I Wanna Rock" are both classics and need no words to describe why they are great songs, but they don't stand alone. "Don't Let Me Down" and "S.M.F." are overlooked tracks that deserve attention that few outside of fans of the band give (unless you're Tipper Gore, anyway).
Twisted Sister aren't the cartoons their MTV videos made them out to be, with "Burn In Hell" being a song that shows they can do faux satanic heavy metal as well anyone else, featuring a tempo change that hits just at the right time, leaving you holding on until the song fades. Starting off slow, the band set the scene perfectly and engage the listener before taking them on a high-speed ride down to the hellfires Dee Snider warned of at the start of the song.
Is this a flawless record? No; "The Beast" is in the same mould of the aforementioned "Burn in Hell", but lacking the tempo change that elevated the former track. Instead, it chooses to stay mid-paced throughout and drags on for its duration, too busy trying to sound heavy rather than being good. The album does sound quite flat as well production-wise. Sure, everything sounds good, clear and coherent, but it doesn't jump out at you like the songs want to do; these songs are built for a better mix (as would happen on the re-recorded version of the album [i]Still Hungry/i] some twenty years later).
If you want to rob yourself of an album that is full of high-quality songs and believe the band have only two hits in their arsenal then more fool you; I highly recommend giving this a listen and the respect it deserves.
Damn right I wanna rock
(This is a review for the original version of the album)
Rating breakdown
| Performance: | 9 |
| Songwriting: | 9 |
| Originality: | 8 |
| Production: | 6 |
Written by omne metallum | 08.04.2020
Guest review disclaimer:
This is a guest review, which means it does not necessarily represent the point of view of the MS Staff.
This is a guest review, which means it does not necessarily represent the point of view of the MS Staff.
Rating:
N/A
N/A
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Rating: N/A |
Hard rock USA Length: CD1 36:59 / CD2 39:17 25th Anniversary Edition Back in 1984, history was created for a certain cross-dressing, makeup-clad hard rock band. The album was Stay Hungry, and this year marks its 25th anniversary along with a re-mastered version of the album complete with a second disc of previously unreleased tracks written at the time. This anniversary edition also includes a booklet with the history of this monumental album describing the troubles the band had at the time, and also the successes gained off its back. Read more ›› |
Guest review by
amerislave
amerislave
Rating:
9.6
9.6
|
Rating: 9.6 |
Twisted Sister had been touring and playing for years and years prior to the mainstream success of "Stay Hungry". "We're Not Gonna Take It" and "I Wanna Rock" received massive airplay on MTV. The videos became so popular that they became synonymous with the band and their core fan base jumped ship as the masses came on board. Read more ›› |
Comments
Comments: 1
Visited by: 19 users
| Bad English Tage Westerlund Posts: 62018  |
One hit wonder well, I remember some YT interview where Franco Belgian in bad english asked Biff Byfford something about so many albums, he answered:'' We are an album band we work hard and put new album out in 3 years, we dont sleep on old glory as Twisted Syster did whit one 2 albums and tour same time, same songs. Its true this band has 2 good albums and loads of tours whit out changing set list..... well what is better, to me saxon version if 60% of classics are there.
---- I stand whit Ukraine and Israel. They have right to defend own citizens. Stormtroopers of Death - "Speak English or Die"  I better die, because I never will learn speek english, so I choose dieing
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