Last month, the metal community was shocked by the sudden death of A.J. Pero. Twisted Sister’s future following the passing of their drummer seemed uncertain. Now comes word that after 40 years, Dee Snider and company will indeed call it quits following one last tour.
According to TMZ, Twisted Sister will be embarking on the “Forty And Fuck It Tour” in 2016 before throwing in the towel. A band rep also says that none other than Mike Portnoy will be filling in on drums for the final tour, as well as two tribute shows to Pero this year. Normally we would take a TMZ report with a grain of salt. However, Twisted Sister shared said report via its socials, along with the text “It’s official! New drummer and farewell.”
In addition, Portnoy has since confirmed his new gig via Twitter, saying “Yes it’s true…just leaving TS rehearsal now…myself and the band will both be posting more info tomorrow…stay tuned! \m/ #SMFforever”. He also added that these “TS dates have no effect whatsoever on The Winery Dogs upcoming album & tour…the timing works out great! More tomorrow.”
Guitarist Jay Jay French did mention that the band would at least fulfill their remaining commitments with the help of a “professional drummer”. And it’s not all too surprising that the former Dream Theater is the said pro tapped to sit behind the drum kit for Twisted Sister’s final shows. Portnoy and French recently paid tribute to the fallen drummer by playing with Adrenaline Mob (the band Pero replaced Portnoy in). While it’s sad to hear that Twisted Sister will soon be no more, it’s even sadder that they won’t get to say goodbye with Pero onstage. With that said, don’t be surprise if this farewell tour turns into a multi-year deal.
