DEE SNIDER – Leave A Scar

July 2021 has reached its end and many Rock and Metal fans from all over the world can give a sigh of relief. If anyone happens to hear a loud thud literally anywhere, don’t panic – it most likely is the huge load that is now off the aforementioned fans’ chest. Metal Church’s Mike Howe, ZZ Zop’s Dusty Hill and some other prominent musicians left this world and the news can hardly ever get more devastating. But there are some events that don’t cast such a bad light on July 2021 and one of those events is the release of the fifth album by no one but Dee Snider himself.

Leave a Scar, because that’s what the record is called came out just before July turned into August. And yes, its release is a big event on many levels. Those who love Twisted Sister know that they decided to call it a day in 2016 and come offstage sounding like rock stars who are ready to gig 24/7. Anyone who got to see them during their farewell tour surely feels nostalgic about that fact, but the fact there is no more Twisted Sister does not mean the musicians – or at least Dee Snider – stopped making music. Leave a Scar is a powerful 12 track album with every single song being an absolute kick. Like the mythical Heracles had to complete his 12 daunting tasks, Dee Snider decided to deliver 12 songs (as badass as they get) to let the global Rock and Metal scene know, that he is far from retiring; or perhaps he’s simply born again?

The opening track titled “I Gotta Rock (Again)” is probably what everyone would expect… just with a dose of crack. Dee Snider proves that he is just impossible. That is quite anything but what a man in his mid 60s sounds like normally. Of course, everyone’s voice changes through the years, but whatever Dee Snider does to keep himself young, it certainly works. The guitar solo can make some listeners think of the immortal Twisted Sister song “What You Don’t Know… Sure Can Hurt You” they would open their gigs for whole four decades – the spirit of the legendary Hard Rock band lives on. But here comes the second track: let “All or Nothing More” kick in. That bass line is just the sonic embodiment of perfection. The producer must have taken some of the song’s lyrics literally, especially the bit about not being afraid. They were anything but afraid to turn that bass up and kudos to them for that. Rarely does the bass sound so almighty, that song is just as much of a kick as the previous one.

The album goes on and the third track “Down but Never Out” is also a decent dose of Hard Rock ass-kicking that is also enhanced with some near Speed-Metal sound. Anyone who loves Rock and Metal and somehow does not like Twisted Sister a lot because their music is not enough of a kick… they should give this song a listen in particular. The rock-solid rhythm section, flamboyant riffs, fiery solos and, last but not least, dark and badass backing vocals are something a bit different from what most of the songs by Twisted Sister has to offer. Also people who happen to hate waking up in the morning and are not big on coffee either might find Leave a Scar worth checking out, particularly the next track up titled “Before I go” – blasting that bad boy will have the same effect morning coffee with Red Bull would… and with no nasty side effects. Someone beat that!

Although everything is described as powerful and kicking, there is some diversity to this record. Most of the songs last around 4 minutes, but there is one that’s barely 3. It is the 9th one and it’s called “Time to Choose”. One could wonder if the band had time to choose everything they wanted to chuck in that song because despite it being so short, it is just full of everything one can expect from a badass song. There’s also an interesting analogy with football (yes, football) here: one of the gods of football Lionel Messi is quite short. That doesn’t prevent him from being who he is. “Time to Choose” is short too and it kicks no less ass than any other song on this record. There are some less heavy songs with a bit of a clean sound to them here too, such as “Crying for your Life” being the 7th one and the final one titled “Stand”. And here’s finally something to be critical about: this ending could be better. It end too abruptly, too suddenly, too unexpectedly. But perfection exists not, some would say.

To sum things up, Leave a Scar is one hot release and anyone who can get their hands on it – better do. Legends come and go, but Dee Snider still rocks. Who knows if his next album is not going to be titled Just Can’t Stop Rock. But no matter how many more albums by Dee Snider come out… it’s good to get back to the first song. The very final line, to be precise: I gotta rock until the day that I die. No one knows how serious Dee was here. Maybe he was dead serious, or maybe just a bit. He probably wasn’t kidding. But one thing is for sure: the world of Rock and Metal takes his word for that.