Dee Snider made the two heaviest albums of his career, “For The Love Of Metal” and “Leave A Scar,” before mostly stepping away from the stage. Twisted Sister reunited for an appearance at their induction into the Metal Hall Of Fame, and Snider has said that the band will likely reunite again in 2024 for performances “at different political rallies that need our support.”
Still, Snider has largely stuck to his word about not doing live shows/appearances, and he isn’t a fan of most bands who stay too long at the party. During a Q&A session at Rock City Music Company in Michigan last month, Snider talked about Twisted Sister’s decision to retire from touring in 2016.
“I didn’t lose the passion for the music,” Snider said. “I didn’t lose that at all. My last two albums, ‘Leave A Scar’ and ‘For The Love Of Metal’, were stronger and sort of Dee resurging. I lost the willingness to get old on stage. I don’t want you guys to watch me age out.”
Snider continued: “I read a review once that said — and it was actually a positive review about the Twisted reunion, which was ages ago now — but it said, ‘When a band reunites and they’re good, it makes you feel young again. But when they’re bad, it makes you realize how old you have gotten.’ And people were coming to see Twisted and coming to see me and people were smiling.”
“But I know… Look, I’m not a b*tcher and moaner, but I’ve had knee surgery, shoulder surgery, throat surgery, neck surgery… I can’t lift my arms up. It hurts when I throw the horns. F*ck! It’s not supposed to hurt… So I’d rather walk off with some dignity and leave you guys with a positive memory, saying, ‘We wanted more,’ than to overstay your welcome and say, ‘Gee, when is this guy gonna get off the f*cking stage, man?'”
Snider than threw a not-so-subtle dig at KISS and Ozzy Osbourne.
“I see people singing ‘Crazy Nights’ and they’re not so crazy anymore,” Snider said. “I’m not gonna name names. I always bitch about people who retire, sell us the ‘No More Tours’ shirt — Ozzy — and then come back a few years later, ‘We love you, we love you.’ That’s bullsh*t. And people say, ‘Well, that’s f*cked up.’ No — stay forever, man. Stay forever. We don’t want you to leave. Just don’t do a three-year farewell tour — Scorpions — and then say you changed your mind. ‘Cause you haven’t played every place? No, you’ve played every place — twice.”
“Blue Öyster Cult have ‘On Tour Forever’ jackets. Forever. God bless ’em. You do it,” Snider said. “I’m not gonna be on tour forever. I’m gonna walk off into the sunset, waving and smiling.”
Very few hard rock/metal bands that say they’re retired or retiring have managed to stay that way. With the exception of Slayer (who very well could come back at some point, too), just about everyone who says they’re calling it quits ends up getting together again for one reason or another.
