Album review: Dee Snider “Leave a Scar”
Dee Snider is rawer, more hard-hitting and less accommodating on his new album.
Dee Snider built up his stamina and perfected his style and on-stage persona during many years of doing local club gigs with Twisted Sister from the mid-70s. By the time Twisted Sister made it big in 1984, Dee and his bandmates were already seasoned which is why they, unlike some other bands making it big at that time, could deliver a proper stage show. Twisted Sister called it quits a few years ago, but Dee Snider soldiers on as a solo artist. On his new 12-track solo album, Dee continues the musical journey he has been on for some time now. It is less commercial than Twisted Sister’s big hits. I dig it. The new album is rawer, more hard-hitting and less accommodating than its predecessor, 2018’s “For the Love of Metal”. Don’t get me wrong, Dee’s music can be catchy as hell, but for the most part, this does not sound like music created with radio and MTV in mind (which probably was the case with Twisted Sister’s 80s hits). This is modern heavy metal built on a solid foundation of classic metal with Dee’s powerful voice at its heart. The songs are not as immediate as much of Dee’s earlier work. More importantly, it’s less predictable and bloody good. Stylistically it covers quite some ground – from catchy Twisted-like hair metal on “I Gotta Rock (Again)” via the metalcore of “In for the Kill” and the power ballad “Stand”, to the heavy brutality on “Time to Choose”, a song on which Cannibal Corpse’s vocalist George “Corpsegrinder” Fisher appears as a guest. Once again, Dee’s album has been produced by Hatebreed frontman Jamey Jasta. Dee’s band consists of Charlie Bellmore (guitar), Nick Bellmore (drums), Russell Pzütto (bass) and Nick Petrino (guitar).
Dee Snider’s album “Leave a Scar” is out on 30th July via Napalm Records.
