Various Artists: Twisted Forever

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VARIOUS ARTISTS

"Twisted Forever: A Tribute to the Legendary Twisted Sister" (Koch Entertainment)

There are so many surprising things about this killer CD that I have no choice but to list them item by item:

1) It's a tribute album to Twisted Sister! Of all the heavy metal bands of the 80s, you'd think that Twisted Sister would be the last to be honored thus. Why? Because the band barely got any respect when they were selling six million records - why should we expect them to get any respect now? I guess somebody out there was paying attention!

2) The caliber of the bands paying tribute: This isn't just a collection of some up'n'coming bands trying to get some buzz by performing on a tribute album for well-known band (although those can be cool, too). "Twisted Forever" features some serious names: LIT, MOTORHEAD, NASHVILLE PUSSY, ANTRHAX, OVERKILL, CRADLE OF FILTH, FU MANCHU, JOAN JETT, SEBASTIAN BACH, SEVENDUST and the list goes on and on.

3) Twisted Sister actually wrote some damn good songs! You may have forgotten in the blitz of 80s metal radio that - for the first 100 times or so - some of these songs by Twisted Sister actually moved you, either by speaking directly to your heart ("The Price") to your fist ("We're Not Gonna Take It," or to other parts of your body. Listen to this CD and see if you aren't inspired to dig out that old Twisted collection. (Either that or go Twisted Sister hunting on eBay).

4) Rap can be good! Not buying that one? Okay, will you buy "Rap can be tolerable"? Chuck D's very twisted cover of "Wake Up the Sleeping Giant" is one of this CDs most interesting cuts.

5) Fu Manchu can indeed play too slow. Their version of "Ride to Live (Live to Ride)" plods along at a maddeningly slow pace. Stoner rock? If that's the case, you'll need some speed.

6) Twisted Sister can play a decent cover. Forget that lame cover of "Leader of the Pack" the band recorded just before their final downfall. Here, Twisted Sister reunites to cover AC/DC's classic "Sin City." Oh, yeah! That's what we're talking about! A great ending to a great CD.

A great CD overall. One of the best tribute albums we've ever heard.

Complete track listing:
LIT "I Wanna Rock"
MOTORHEAD "Shoot Em Down"
NASHVILLE PUSSY "The Kids Are Back"
NINE DAYS "The Price"
CHUCK D "Wake Up the Sleeping Giant"
ANTHRAX "Destroyer"
OVERKILL "Under the Blade"
CRADLE OF FILTH "The Fire Still Burns"
VISION OF DISORDER "Don't Let Me Down"
THE STEP KINGS "Burn In Hell"
FU MANCHU "Ride to Live (Live to Ride)"
JOAN JETT "We're Not Gonna Take It"
SEBASTIAN BACH "You Can't Stop Rock'n'Roll"
HAMMERFALL "We're Gonna Make It"
SEVENDUST "I Am (I'm Me)
TWISTED SISTER "Sin City"

For more information, check out http://www.twistedsister.com or http://www.kochentertainment.com.

Rating Guide:

A classic. This record will kick your ass.

Killer. Not a classic but it will rock your world.

So-so. You've heard better.

Pretty bad. Might make a nice coaster.

Self explanatory. Just the sight of the cover makes you wanna hurl.

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