Overview: The story of the Twisted Sister reunion, told by each band member, is as compelling a tale of the demise and rebirth of a band as you will ever see. Each baby step is chronicled in such a way as to be an example of how a band of such magnitude could re-form and be bigger than ever.

DVD + CD Verdict: So the story goes, as I didn't actually know this fact, in 2003 the classic Twisted Sister line-up took to the stage at the Wacken Festival in Germany. The band had split acrimoniously in the late eighties after a string of highly successful albums had established them as a band with a unique and instantly recognizable sound and image. Reuniting in the early 2000s, this was the first filmed performance of the newly revitalized band.

Cool, as I quite like Twisted Sister and having met Dee Snider once before, found him to be very likeable ... and so they kick-off the CD ('Live ... Past & Present') in Detroit, MI (and later alternate with Portchester, NY) in 1980 announcing their new single, 'Bad Boys of Rock 'n' Roll,' before heading (curiously) into the cover of 'Born To Be Wild' (dedicated to a friend of theirs in hospital. Then, bleeding seamlessly into 'I'll Never Grow Up. Now!,' it seems with each passing second that Dee's ever-croaky voice will give out - and yet never does!

Dee welcomes everyone to the show, beckoning all his "friends" to join in the singing, hoping that they all know the next song, 'You Know I Cry' - and yes, they seemingly; thankfully do! There's a large gap of silent air time before Dee announces that, 'You Can't Stop Rock 'n' Roll,' recorded at the Marquee in London, England back in 1982!

Up next is 'What You Don't Know (Sure Can Hurt You),' recorded live at the DVD/CD titled Wacken Open Air Festival, Germany in 2003. Introduced by an MC as the "Legendary Twisted Sister," Dee welcomes the crowd to the show, and they give everything they have, for sure - even if the actual recording is VERY low!

With another Dee announcement, "OK Wacken, if you're ready to kick some ass, we are Twisted F**kin' Sister," they launch into 'The Kids Are Back,' following it with, "Germany, ... 'Stay Hungry'." Bringing the whole CD aspect to a close with 'Like A Knife In The Back,' 'I Am, I'm Mew,' and finally 'The Fire Still Burns,' Dee leaves us with, "Wacken, the fire still burns for Twisted F**kin' Sister"!

The DVD is another matter completely though. Featuring, of course, all five band members from the classic '80s line-up, the concert footage is great to flirt back to; not classic, but nice to have playing along in the background.

Sadly, the concert footage is broken up throughout. You go from the stage, to the studio, back to the concert, cut to another interview, then back to old concert footage, then to the new live footage, then back to the studio for more interviews! You just can't get into the shows without being hoisted out some song or two later.

In fact, I searched high and low for a simply 'Play Concert' tab, but to no avail. To my mind the bonus features should have been, as they are with most all other recordings of this ilk, made separate.

As for Twisted Sister though, the new live footage is great. Mark still attacks his bass rather than play it, Eddie can still whip out a solo as good as ever, and Dee is still Dee. He can still curse at a crowd and get a mob all riled up for the next number!

The USO footage of Twisted Sister visiting Korea was fun too. Watch Twisted Sister at the DMZ line. North Korean guards are staring at them very intently as Dee asks if he's allowed to take photos of them. See the band ride in a CH-46 helicopter while signing guitars for the crew! Now THAT's classic!

1) What You Don't Know (Sure Can't Hurt You) 2) In The Beginning 3) The Final Show...1987 4) The Kids Are Back 5) Stay Hungry 6) The Speaks Reunion 7) A Night For Jason 8) Destroyer 9) Like A Knife In the Back 10) TS On TV 11) The New York Steel Benefit 12) Under The Blade 13) Old School Returns 14) You Can't Stop Rock 'n' Roll 15) The Fire Still Burns 16) South Korea April 2003 17) Shoot 'Em Down 18) We're Not Gonna Take It 19) Festivals 20) The Price 21) Reflections 22) Burn In Hell 23) I Wanna Rock 24) Band Intro 25) S.M.F.

This is a Full Screen Presentation (1.33:1) enhanced for 16x9 TVs and comes with the Special Feature of:

Photo Gallery
The Making of Still Hungry - Mendoza's Chair