Four Decades Later, Twisted Sister’s Stay Hungry Remains a Wild Cultural Touchstone

For many that were around in the 80s to see it rise from MTV music video curiosity to the ubiquitous powerhouse it is today, Twisted Sister‘s “We’re Not Gonna Take It” has transcended metal. In the 40 years since its release, Stay Hungry and its songs are a calling cry for rebellion. Silly as it may be by today’s standards, many of the songs still stand the test of time and show up everywhere from movies to sporting events and everywhere in between.

Originally released on May 10, 1984 by Atlantic Records, the album is most famous for “We’re Not Gonna Take It” and “I Wanna Rock” — both of which helped propel the album to multi-platinum status. While both are basically memes today, they’re also classic expressions of pissed off anti-establishment fury. It’s the kind of angst that political movements try to glom onto, but often fails to understand the meaning of the song — like when Trumpers tried to claim the song as an anthem, only to have vocalist Dee Snider put them in their place.

There is, however, a darker, edgier side to the record as well. “Burn in Hell,” while definitely still cheesy, has more of a Judas Priest vibe than the rest of the record and is famous for its hilarious cameo appearance in Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure. The song has since been covered by Dimmu Borgir, and it still rips.

The other strange part of the record is the “Horror-Teria” suite, which contains the creepy, serial killer-obsessed “Captain Howdy,” a song that has since been covered by death metal band Broken Hope. It also inspired Snider’s 1998 movie Strangeland, in which he himself plays Captain Howdy.

Even side two has its movements aside from “I Wanna Rock.” “Don’t Let Me Down” is a weird, angry, poppy love song, and “The Beast” is another bizarre, early metal classic. While the flow on the record overall is a little confusing, the songs all still work really well together in a strange way.

Re-recorded in 2004, and then played in its entirety live in 2009, there is a reason the songs from this album still show up in pop culture. From protest songs to singing about hell and the macabre, Twisted Sister did it all on this record, and it deserves to still be celebrated.