MIKE PORTNOY confirms he will drum for TWISTED SISTER's 'Metal Hall Of Fame' reunion performance
16-01-2023
Mike Portnoy has confirmed that he will play drums for TWISTED SISTER when the band reunites to perform at the sixth annual Metal Hall Of Fame charity gala. Portnoy and guitar virtuoso Steve Vai will also induct TWISTED SISTER‘s classic lineup of Dee Snider (vocals), Jay Jay French (guitar), Eddie Ojeda (guitar), Mark Mendoza (bass) and late drummer A.J Pero into the Metal Hall Of Fame, which will take place January 26 at The Canyon club in Agoura Hills, California.
During a new appearance on “The Chuck Shute Podcast”, Portnoy said that he will be “the drummer” for the reunion performance and added that “we’ve known that we’re playing for months now. I think it was only kind of made public a few days ago.”
He continued: “Steve Vai and myself are inducting them into this Metal Hall Of Fame, and then we’ll be performing a few songs there at the ceremony.”
Mike‘s latest comments come five days after Ojeda took to his Twitter to write, “Looking forward to our induction into the Heavy Metal Hall of Fame on Jan.26th 2023 in LA”. A short time later, Snider shared Ojeda‘s tweet and added: “Looking forward to playing together for the first time since 2016…especially the rehearsal!”
In 2016, TWISTED SISTER embarked on one final trek, titled “Forty And Fuck It”, in celebration of its 40th anniversary. These shows featured the band’s “core lineup” of Snider, French, Ojeda and Mendoza, along with Portnoy. The band’s last-ever concert took place in November of that year — 20 months after the passing of Pero.
TWISTED SISTER‘s original run ended in the late ’80s. After more than a decade, the band publicly reunited in November 2001 to top the bill of New York Steel, a hard-rock benefit concert to raise money for the New York Police And Fire Widows’ And Children’s Benefit Fund.
The surviving members of the classic lineup of TWISTED SISTER — Snider, French, Ojeda and Mendoza — reunited virtually in March 2021 for a special episode of Mendoza‘s Internet TV show “22 Now”. The hour-and-a-half-long program was a tribute to Pero, who died exactly six years earlier at the age of 55 while on tour with the band ADRENALINE MOB.
Prior to the March 2021 virtual reunion, the four surviving members of TWISTED SISTER reunited for two days and nights in November 2019 to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the band’s classic album “Stay Hungry”
Looking forward to playing together for the first time since 2016...especially the rehearsal! https://t.co/FgTJJd5teA
— Dee Snider🇺🇸🎤 (@deesnider) January 7, 2023
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