Twisted Sister frontman Dee Snider has always been one of heavy metal's biggest fans and one of its straightest shooters — whether he's right or wrong, he's honest.
In a recent conversation with Ultimate Guitar, Snider was asked about how he saw the thrash metal movement in the mid-'80s during the height of hair. He recalled being completely wrong about Metallica.
"Well, we toured with Metallica in '84, and this is pretty funny actually. I remember one of the shows, we went on first — they were opening for us, but in Holland at this one show, they closed," Snider said.
"So I got to watch them and stand on stage. And I watched them, and I remember turning to my bass player Mark Mendoza and saying, 'You know, this band has a lot of heart but they're not going anywhere.' (Laughs)"
He continued, explaining that he figured the band's sound was way too extreme to find amass appeal.
"I thought they were great, I just thought they were too heavy to be hugely successful."
Snider has supported metal through all of its changes and sub-genre splintering over the past four decades. He says keeping his ear to the underground has allowed him to appreciate new bands at every step of the way.
While he has explored modern metal sounds on his recent solo albums, he's also been open about the fact that he stopped writing his own songs decades ago.
This year, Snider has been working on a variety of projects, including the pending release of his live album For the Love of Metal Live due July 31.
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