It was shortly after I had gotten into Twisted Sister around 1984 when I was at Camelot Music in Randhurst Mall. I was browsing through the vinyl when I saw Under The Blade–an album from Dee Snider and crew I never had known about. My mom ended up getting it for me as a St. Nicholas Day gift; I remember putting it on as I was getting dressed for school…
...and finding myself wondering just what I was listening to. This sure didn’t sound like the same band that had kicked my ass with Stay Hungry. The sound was sludgy, the songs didn’t have the same poppy hooks (something you’d never normally associate with a hard rock album)… it just let me down.
It’s been 43 years since Snider and crew burst onto the UK scene with this album–it didn’t see a formal US release until 1985 in a heavily remixed version, the less said about which, the better–and it’s been 41 years since that first spin on my turntable. The murky production by Pete Way is still there, but the AC/DC and Judas Priest influences can clearly be heard in the material–and, while it’s still not their best work, it does show signs of what was to come.
If we’re completely honest with ourselves, the opening salvo of “What You Don’t Know (Sure Can Hurt You)” and “Bad Boys (Of Rock ‘N’ Roll)” wouldn’t have made anyone think that they were listening to a band that in just two short years would be superstars in the hard rock/heavy metal world. Way’s production work on “What You Don’t Know (Sure Can Hurt You)” actually does hurt Twisted Sister; sounding like they put the loudspeakers in mud puddles doesn’t make one think that the rest of the album will bode well.
But something shifted with Under The Blade in terms of the songwriting. “Run For Your Life” feels like it could have been an outtake from a ‘70s-era Judas Priest album, albeit without the high-pitched vocals. Following it up with “Sin After Sin” was a solid move as well; one of the best songs on the disc, it showcased the power that Twisted Sister had.
The remainder of Under The Blade is a bit hit or miss, though it leans stronger on the “hit” side. Tracks like “Tear It Loose” (the other track I’d have pegged as the best material on the album) and the title track make the listener sit up and pay attention to what they’re listening to, while tracks like “Day Of The Rocker” and “Destroyer” just feel a bit too plodding.
The twin guitar attack of Jay Jay French and Eddie “Fingers” Ojeda is decent enough, though one would be hard pressed to have called any of the solos groundbreaking. Bassist Mark “The Animal” Mendoza and drummer A.J. Pero provide a solid backbeat to Snider’s vocals–though even Snider seems a bit more controlled in his delivery than on later albums, where his vocal power was allowed to shine forth.
Is Under The Blade a breakthrough album? No… but time has proven it was hardly a failure either. This album provided enough evidence that Twisted Sister was going to be a name to reckon with–though no one could have expected that reckoning to last such a short time. I might not have appreciated this one in my teenage years, and I’ll admit it’s still not one I’d find myself going back to repeatedly. But Twisted Sister’s first foray into the studio was hardly a failure, and has enough to justify adding it to one’s collection.