Dee Snider’s 2018 solo album, For the Love of Metal, was meant to be his last. After more than four decades of delivering the heavy metal goods, the former Twisted Sister frontman was hanging up his mic. “I had told the band management and my family that I was done with live performing and recording,” he tells Apple Music. “I just didn’t announce it publicly, because there are too many retirement announcements. Then the world shit the bed.” Frustrated with the pandemic and the political turmoil of the last few years, Snider reunited with For the Love of Metal producer and collaborator Jamey Jasta, of Hatebreed, to make Leave a Scar. “This album is very much a product of the pandemic,” Snider says. “I was on social media, railing for the center to speak up and stop allowing the extremists on both sides to take over. It made me realize I needed to make another record.” Below, he comments on some key tracks from Leave a Scar.
“I Gotta Rock (Again)”
“This was really the other flashpoint for the record. I had just a moment’s thought in my head: ‘Oh, man, I gotta rock again.’ And then I chuckled to myself. Boy, if there was ever a Dee Snider song title, that’s it. This has got to be in the zeitgeist, with lockdown and no concerts. This has got to be a universal thought: I gotta rock again.”
“All or Nothing More”
“This is just a reflection on settling in life. Too many times, we’re given choices. It goes back to our childhood: You can have this or you’re going to have that. You can’t have both. You can’t have it all. I think that approach permeates the psyches of people, and they go through life feeling like they’re not worthy of having it all. And I’m not saying that everybody can and will have it all, but you should at least approach it like you can. That’s what I try to do—the old Freddie Mercury, ‘I want it all, and I want it now.’”
“Open Season”
Jamey Jasta calls me up and goes, ‘Dude, when people come after you on social media, I actually feel bad for them. They put their hand in the bear cage and you just take them apart. You’re merciless. It’s like open season.’ And I knew that had to be a song title. So, the song is about social media and these assholes who don’t know me very well. If they knew anything about Mr. We’re Not Gonna Take It, I’m not going to sit there and put up with your shit. You get it immediately with the opening line: ‘Hey, motherfucker, are you kidding me?’”
“Crying for Your Life”
“This is observational, and I’m not talking about everybody from the younger generations. But, as a dad, I’m responsible for raising some of these kids. It seems a lot of the post-baby boom generations are very reluctant to take responsibility for their actions. They’re very quick to finger-point, to blame others, to say, ‘It’s not my fault.’ But I come from a different world. When Twisted Sister broke up, it was my fault. Yeah, I could find little bits and pieces to blame on other people, but I was the lead singer and I was a fucking asshole. I broke up Twisted Sister and I take credit. So, in the song, I’m expressing my frustration with all the finger-pointing.”
“Time to Choose”
“Historically, I’ve written many songs—whether it’s ‘Sin After Sin’ or ‘Burn in Hell,’ and others—which have been about realizing the path you’re on and checking yourself to see if this is where you want to be. This is one of those songs. As we were recording it, I said, ‘You know who would sound great on this? George Fisher from Cannibal Corpse.’ People from my generation, if they even acknowledge death metal, it’s to make fun of it. They look down on it. But not me. When Jamey asked George to do it, he practically got emotional. It turns out, he’s a fan of mine. And he sounds awesome on it.”
“S.H.E.”
“This is about my wife. Through 45 years, the makeup, the costumes, the hair, the bone logo, she continues to be in my corner, on my side. From time to time, I’ll write songs about her, like, ‘You’re Not Alone’ or ‘Hot Love.’ But I haven’t written one for her in 25 years, so I was overdue. And I didn’t want it to be a ballad. I wanted it to be a metal song. And this one’s got a really big hook—very melodic, almost Queen-like.”
“Stand”
“This is the most important song on the album, and it was the most difficult one to write. When we finally got it, I decided to send the most important message of all. Too many people sit on the sidelines, saying things like, ‘I trust things will work out. I’m sure it will get better. It usually comes back to the center.’ And the loudest voices are the extremes on either side. The world has shit the bed, because the majority have sat back and allowed the extremists to run things. So, I’m trying to wake people up. Stand for something. No more trusting. Don’t leave your mark—leave a scar.”