| Under the Blade | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | September 1982[1] | |||
| Studio | The Barn at Kitchenham Farm,Ashburnham with the RAK Mobile, I.C.C. Studios,Eastbourne, Maison Rouge, London, England | |||
| Genre | Heavy metal | |||
| Length | 40:01 | |||
| Label | Secret | |||
| Producer | Pete Way,Mark Mendoza,Dee Snider | |||
| Twisted Sister chronology | ||||
| ||||
Under the Blade is the debut studio album by Americanheavy metal bandTwisted Sister, released onSecret Records in September 1982. It was produced byUFO/Waysted bassistPete Way and featured an aggressive and hard-hitting sound, which was eventually ignored on a remixed re-release byAtlantic Records on June 13, 1985.[2] The re-release also added a remixed version of the song "I'll Never Grow Up, Now!", the band's long-forgotten 1979 single. The Atlantic Records release was both an attempt to cash in on the commercial success ofStay Hungry and, by then (and for years to come), the only official way to get the album as Secret Records was no more. However, bootlegs with the original mix were still in circulation. On May 31, 2016,Eagle Records re-releasedUnder the Blade in a digital remastered form with the original mix finally restored, which it would be re-released underRhino Entertainment through streaming services.Under the Blade has sold over two million copies worldwide.[citation needed]
The track "Bad Boys of Rock 'N Roll" is a new recording of a track that appeared earlier on the 1981 compilation "Homegrown Album"
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [3] |
| Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal | 9/10[4] |
| PopMatters |  [5] |
In a long article about '80s metal, Tim Holmes ofRolling Stone wrote a contemporary review about Twisted Sister describing them as "the clown heir apparent to the gaping vacancy left byAlice Cooper" and a band who "write(s) songs that have a giddy, street-smart narrative approach and a gritty coherence that metal usually lacks." He also wrote thatUnder the Blade "is not technically a new album but rather a remix for modern ears" of older music.[6]
Modern reviews are very positive. Greg Prato ofAllMusic reminds how the band moved to the UK, which was having a "heavy metal resurgence (dubbed theNew Wave of British Heavy Metal)", to record with UFO bassist Pete Way "many of the band's best compositions from their club days" and findsUnder the Blade "one of Twisted Sister's hardest rocking albums... highly recommended to lovers of early-'80s British heavy metal."[3] AlsoExclaim! reviewer Ian Gormely considers the album "a must for anyone with an interest in the history of American hard rock". Despite "the raw production... and lack of an obvious hit... it laid the groundwork for their future success", thanks also to Twisted Sister's "tongue-in-cheek presentation that latter-day hair metal bands clearly lacked."[7] Adrian Begrand ofPopMatters reviews the album as a "near-classic" and "the most ferocious of the band's career." He writes that the musicians may have "bar band roots", but on the album "the fun side of Twisted Sister is set aside in favor of something a lot darker", which brought to "a hell of a debut that not only connected with British heavy metal fans, but would eventually lead to a contract with Atlantic Records, paving the way to stardom a couple years later."[5] Canadian journalistMartin Popoff considersUnder the Blade "dead serious despite the garish imagery, a good four-fifths of it rocking with hellacious clout, attitude and clever economy" and remarks how the influence ofJudas Priest is evident inDee Snider's compositions.[4]
The album was ranked #24 onMetal Rules list of "The Top 50Glam Metal Albums".[8]
In 1985 the member of thePMRC committeeTipper Gore (wife of SenatorAl Gore), found that the song "Under the Blade" referred to"sadomasochism,bondage, and rape", promoting violence, whileDee Snider testified at the Congress panel hearings that it was "about surgery, and the fear that it instills in people", concluding that "the only sadomasochism, bondage, and rape in this song is in the mind of Ms. Gore."[9]
In 2005,Under the Blade was ranked number 387 inRock Hard magazine's bookThe 500 Greatest Rock & Metal Albums of All Time.[10]
All tracks are written byDee Snider
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "What You Don't Know (Sure Can Hurt You)" | 4:45 |
| 2. | "Bad Boys (of Rock 'n' Roll)" | 3:20 |
| 3. | "Run for Your Life" | 3:28 |
| 4. | "Sin After Sin" | 3:23 |
| 5. | "Shoot 'Em Down" | 3:53 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 6. | "Destroyer" | 4:16 |
| 7. | "Under the Blade" | 4:40 |
| 8. | "Tear It Loose" | 3:08 |
| 9. | "I'll Never Grow Up, Now" (1985 Atlantic re-issue only) | 4:27 |
| 10. | "Day of the Rocker" | 5:03 |
The special edition, released on CD, contains the original album, the complete and remasteredRuff Cutts EP, and an edited live version of "Shoot 'Em Down" from a UK sampler called "Reading Rock Volume One".Also, the appearance of Twisted Sister at the 1982 Reading Festival is on a bonus DVD, together with interviews from the band members.
†from the 1982Ruff Cutts EP
††"Day of the Rocker" contains few seconds extra after fade out (4:55 to 5:02) with the final phrase "Rock, Rock, Rock!"
| Chart (1982) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Albums (OCC)[11] | 70 |
| Chart (1985) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[12] | 40 |
| USBillboard 200[13] | 125 |
