Still Hungry

Look, I'm quite aware the Metal community has alot of members of the "Purist" persuasion. Once some form of music is completed/released, especially if seen my most done right the first time, there's no need to do it again, regardless of the reason. Hence the otherwise noted, and somewhat hated, "Re-Recorded" album. That's when a band of a few years decides to revisit work they have already recorded & offically released in the past, goes back in the studio to improve on it, be it with better production, newer members, whatever their reason, with the intent of offering it back to the Metal consumer as a new product. To many, nostalgia instantly sets in, with many to shout "There's nothing wrong with the album so many years ago, this is a cash-grab waste of time! How dare they do this to my childhood memories!".

Jeez, lighten up.

For me, I always said "If I enjoy a song, I would probably like to hear as many different versions of it as possible". Versions like the demo & live ones come to mind. But I also have opened myself to the concept of bands going into the studio & completely re-recording them as well. Metal Giants like Kiss, Anthrax, Venom, Suicidal Tendencies, and Saxon (to name just a few) all have within the past twenty years gone back to their libraries to take popular songs from their past & try to bring their sound and performance up to today's standards, maybe hoping to grab a younger audience that may (I say "may") not willingly give it a chance now because the recording technology at the time sounds too "dated" to their ears. While I don't personally agree with that reason, I can see it becoming a "necessary evil" to lure more fans to your camp for future success. Because of all this above, I always am open-minded to this concept and look for these albums whenever they surface.

Which brings me to the album that I wish to speak of today, legendary Heavy Metal band Twisted Sister's 2004 album "Still Hungry". Created in mind to celebrate the 20th anniversary of their most successful album, 1984's "Stay Hungry", the original launching the lifetimes of many of a Metalhead of my generation. The band has spoken many times that they were never too happy with the finished product due to weak production, even though it would launch two major hits "We're Not Gonna Take It" & "I Wanna Rock" to the young MTV Generation with that sound. In fact, this album was so perfect outside of the audio quality, the Sister were never able to top it and eventually fell to the wayside in favor of the Thrash Metal movement to follow. But no one completely forgot "Stay Hungry", to it's other tracks like "Burn In Hell", which was featured in the film "Pee-Wee's Big Adventure" complete with on-camera appearance, to "S.M.F." that probably was the dirtiest way to title & describe TS fans back in the mid 80's & the PMRC. Truly great from beginning to end, "Hungry" is a Heavy Metal masterpiece. So how does the remake stand by it? Actually, not too bad! The first thing you'll notice is a huge bottom end of today's recording versus the tinny body of the original. A.J. Pero's drums just boom on this from the start. The guitars of Jay Jay French & Eddie Ojeda also get a facelift too, with new, deeper tones and crunchier sound (if that was even possible, but is here). In fact, what probably struck me the most is the sound and playing of bassist Mark Mendoza, who just rips on this re-record, with fills that I doubt were even on the original version, that is if I could really hear him in the original '84 mix. Not to say that they stray too much of the original path, they don't, playing each song about 95% as you remember them. A couple of lead solos seem different, as well as an ending or two changed from hard stop to fade-out & vice-versa, but structurally it is "Stay Hungry" as you remember, but with today's full deep bottom-end sound.

But what about lead-singer Dee Snider? Has twenty years taken anything off his voice? Well, I hate to say it but yes, but not much. On this he doesn't really improve on his 80's performance's highs and screams, but keeps up as best as he can with an adequate yet powerful performance that most singers his age probably can only dream about. But you can tell some of Dee's range has gotten a little lost due to time, but he no doubt gives it all he can here (no phone-in for sure). But while a track like "I Wanna Rock" suffers a tad for it, others like "We're Not Gonna Take It" & "Don't Let Me Down" sound more powerful & aggressive with a slighly lower range Dee at the helm. So, overall these nine tracks (ten if you count "Horror-Teria" as two, also combined as one here like the original) are refreshed with this new recording, not replaced but a new more-modern sounding take on a piece of music some of us have grown on for most of our lives. Worthy of any overall Metal fan's collection.

BUT THAT'S NOT ALL! Maybe fearing just the remake album wasn't worthy enough for a purchase, Twisted Sister added SEVEN bonus tracks recorded between 1998 & 2004 that truly shows the band weren't completely done with recording new material. While one track "Heroes Are Hard To Find" is from the '98 soundtrack to Dee's movie "Strangeland", as well as two tracks that were written, but not recorded, from the Stay Hungry sessions, these tracks are not just filler, in fact kick major Twisted ass. "Rock 'N Roll Saviors" could have been Twisted Sister's comeback song it's so strong & good. Actually in my opinion, if these seven songs (plus the 2009 new bonus track "30", off of the Rhino 25th Anniversary remaster release of the original "Hungry") were released as an album all on it's own, we might have been talking about Twisted Sister's best album since Stay Hungry, as these tracks are better than ANYTHING off of 1985's "Come Out And Play" or 1987's "Love Is For Suckers" by leaps and bounds! Almost like getting two albums in one, Still Hungry pleases both longtime fans & newbies alike, without hurting the original's legacy, just adding to it.

So with a total of 16 heavy metal rockin' tracks, this is not just a throw-away forgettable album, but a celebration of one of the greatest albums of the genre. Not to mention that unlike re-recorded albums like the bands I mentioned above, only this one features all five ORIGINAL members performing it (sorry Exodus, but having only 2 outta the five hurt "Let There Be Blood" bad), and a bit bittersweet too, as drummer A.J. Pero would pass away less than a decade after this. But no matter what, a great revisit to a simpler time but with today's recording standards, Still Hungry is one remake album you're gonna want to take!

Twenty years prior to this recording, Twisted Sister released their breakthrough album Stay Hungry. Full of anthemic rockers, heavy metal bravado, and the balls to back it up, the album topped the charts and among the dregs of popular 80's metal. Twenty years later, the band re-envisioned the album, re-recording it and slapping on a bunch of bonus tracks. Fans should rejoice, no? Well....no, not really. Though it is nice to hear some of these classic tunes produced under the power of modern technology, you can't buy the energy of rebellion captured on the original recording. Tack on the inessential bonus and "lost" recordings and this thing is pretty much obsolete from the get-go.

The album starts off well, as the first three tracks from the original are classic. "Stay Hungry" is a good representation of the kind of star treatment the re-recording got. No, Dee Snider doesn't sound as good as on the old album, but the guitars, bass, and drums are perfect. The pace continues with rebel anthem "We're Not Gonna Take It," one of two TS songs that everybody knows, the other of course being "I Wanna Rock" found later on this album. The real charmer is of course "Burn in Hell," a track so heavy and twisted that it's a shame it's overlooked in favor of the hits. The rest? Anyone who remembers this album won't be disappointed, as the remainder of the tracks don't lose that classic sheen (though granted, the rest of the songs weren't nearly as memorable). New-school fans would do well to pick this up; it's pretty faithful to the original and should keep a new generation of sick motherfuckers duly satisfied.

Now for the old-school fan, it's the bonus tracks that make this album intriguing. Two songs left unreleased from the original sessions, plus five new recordings. Twisted bliss? Well, not exactly. The bonus songs kind of blow. None of these are painful to listen to, but christ are they mediocre. Generic riffing typical of the band's past fillers, uninspired vocals, and nothing particularly memorable about the lyrics. I did take note of some exonerable bass work and a few nice solos, but no reasons otherwise that these tracks should have been recorded (or in the case of the old ones, dug up).

The hardcore Sister fan might disagree, but this release seems pretty superfluous to me, considering the original record is better and the bonus tracks are unremarkable. Conclusion: try it before you buy it.