Ok, elephant in the room here. Ok, not so much of an elephant in the room, but something I finally have the energy to address. Sebastian Bach is fronting Twisted Sister for a handful of 2026 fall dates.
Earlier this year, Twisted Sister announced that they would be doing a handful of reunion (kind of) shows to celebrate the band’s 50th anniversary. Still, not long after, they announced that the shows had all been scrapped due to Dee Snider’s rapidly declining health. Because of this, all the shows had been cancelled, with French saying he didn’t know what would happen, but the idea of moving forward with another singer wasn’t off the table.
The shows were to feature guitarists Eddie Ojeda and Jay Jay French, and Dee Snider on vocals. Joining them on bass guitar was Dee Snider’s bassist Russell Pzütto (replacing longtime bassist Mark “The Animal” Mendoza and drummer Joey Franco, who replaced longtime drummer AJ Pero for the band’s 1987 Love is For Suckers album/tour.
While the sleeping giant may have been awakened and then silenced, the giant has been awakened once more. It was announced today (March 3, 2026) that Twisted Sister will be doing a handful of shows in the fall, featuring none other than former Skid Row vocalist Sebastian Bach. Those who know me well know that Sebastian and I have a small history together, but honestly, I couldn’t think of a better singer to step in for Dee Snider.
Dee Snider, to me, will forever be irreplaceable, but with Sebastian stepping in to carry the torch, I don’t think of it as him replacing Dee so much as him stepping in to carry the torch for Dee, who is no longer able to do so.
Snider discussed the prospect of somebody stepping in for him as TWISTED SISTER’s lead singer during a recent episode of the “Beardo & Weirdo” podcast, hosted by FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH bassist Chris Kael and comedian Craig Gass. Asked if he thought TWISTED SISTER could carry on without him, Dee said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “I ?hope so. I believe there’s gotta be somebody out there who can kick ass.”
Asked if he had anybody in mind that he would recommend to take that role, Dee said: “All right. Okay. Back it up. Back it up. So cut back to, we’re still reunited — it’s, like, 2014, something like that, and we only do, like, 20 shows a year, and they’re headlining festivals, whatever. And we realized that if someone got sick or had a problem at home and couldn’t do a show, it would be a great loss, since it was one of 20 shows for the year. So we said, ‘Listen, let’s all find a stand-in guy who will do the job in case we can’t make a show.’ I was trying to get someone to replace me, in case we can’t make a show. I was trying to get someone to replace me, and nobody would take the job. And I called him Sebastian Bach. I was, like, dude, ‘Will you be the fill-in?’ And he goes, ‘No way.’ I’m like, ‘What do you mean, no way?’ ‘Dude, that’s a thankless job. No, I’m not standing in for you. Never.’ I’m, like, you’re my student. You studied me. You’re a great singer. You can do it. People will love it.’ ‘Nah, nah, no way.’ So, he, Michael Monroe from HANOI ROCKS. No way. I hear rumors that the band is actually trying to find someone, and I say, God bless ’em.”
After Gass noted that he had heard that TWISTED SISTER was rehearsing with one of the singers who was already mentioned by Dee in his previous response, an apparent reference to Bach, Snider said: “Yeah, I know there’s been rehearsals with him. And he hasn’t reached out to me. I think he knows he has my blessing. And I would never begrudge anybody continuing to rock.”
Snider and Bach publicly praised each other in 2020 after they disagreed on social media about whether the term “hair metal” was derogatory.
“I love Sebastian Bach!” Snider wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “During the darkest period of my career, he stood tall as a Dee Snider fan when few would. I will always be grateful to him for not caring about what was ‘cool’ at the moment and for speaking our pride in the things he loved. Thank you, SMF#2!”
Bach wrote in response: “I love Dee Snider. I will always love the music he has made. No matter how much Dee sees himself as ‘hair metal,’ I will always see him on a much higher level than that implies. He is one of the greatest frontmen and vocalists of all time. Any corny label less than that is an insult.”
The original shows were supposed to feature former Twisted Sister drummer Joey Franco but it was also announced that Franco will now be replaced by Joey Cassata, Ace Frehley’s drummer.
There has been no word on dates as of this article but as soon as there is, I will keep you all posted!
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