Twisted Sister Legend Dee Snider Plays ‘Wikipedia: Fact or Fiction?’
Heavy metal is forever in Dee Snider's debt for when he went to fight censorship in Washington as the PMRC sought to police what they deemed to be controversial music — fact. But what about the rest of his history? In this episode of 'Wikipedia: Fact or Fiction?' the outspoken, boldly honest and highly self-aware Twisted Sister legend offers the truth to his life's story from anecdotes from his childhood, rise to fame, subsequent projects, a revealing fact about a potential collaborator in Janick Gers (who later joined Iron Maiden), writing for Celine Dion and more.
Snider spent quite a lot of time honing his skills as a singer in high school and in church. "Choir geek, guilty as charged," he confirmed, noting his choir director now cries when she hears him on the radio. Presumably, he was a much different singer than the powerhouse madman who cut his teeth and tortured his vocal chords performing multiple sets each day for a decade in tri-state area clubs before Twisted Sister's ascent.
Twisted Sister are largely cited among the pioneers of hair metal as they amped up the look of '70s glitter rock and maintained its image until the look resurfaced in the early-to-mid '80s, but did you know they invented speed metal? At least that's what Snider claims when discussing the Under the Blade ripped "Tear It Loose." The speed Twisted Sister played at also aligned with Snider's energized lifestyle, which he says nearly got him thrown out of the band in the early days.
Now, as for Janick Gers ... In 1986, Snider was looking to record a solo album and showed interest in collaborating with Gers, who had previously worked with the Ian Gillan Band. The guitarist shut down the idea of wearing makeup because he just wasn't "into that shit," but Snider called him out as a liar and exposed some intimate details about the six-stringer.
To find out exactly what and for more on Snider and Twisted Sister's history, including why you should "never speak ill of Celine Dion in front of Dee Snider," watch the video in full above.
Alice Cooper Plays 'Wikipedia: Fact or Fiction?'
See Dee Snider in the 66 Most Important Moments in Metal History