It's a sad day for Twisted Sister fans, as the heavy metal band's longtime drummer A. J. Pero has passed away. He was 55.
A cause of death has not been announced, but social media posts reveal that he was on tour as a member of Adrenaline Mob. That band wrote on Facebook that he passed away in his sleep this morning on the tour bus. The also shared the final photo they took with the drummer.
The surviving members of Twisted Sister, meanwhile, each posted tribute statements on the group's website. Singer Dee Snider wrote, "His sledgehammer assault on the drums helped drive Twisted Sister and I to greatness and inspired me to rock every single show."
Pero, born Anthony Jude Pero in Staten Island, NY, wasn't a founding member of the group, but he was in place by the time the band released their debut album Under the Blade, and he later played on career-defining hits like "We're Not Gonna Take It" and "I Wanna Rock."
Pero left the band in 1986 and rejoined his prior outfit Cities, and Twisted Sister broke up a couple of years later. More recently, Pero participated in the band's post-millennial comeback.
Read the tribute messages from Pero's Twisted Sister bandmates here. The band are due to play some shows in the coming months; it's currently unclear whether these will go ahead as planned.
A cause of death has not been announced, but social media posts reveal that he was on tour as a member of Adrenaline Mob. That band wrote on Facebook that he passed away in his sleep this morning on the tour bus. The also shared the final photo they took with the drummer.
The surviving members of Twisted Sister, meanwhile, each posted tribute statements on the group's website. Singer Dee Snider wrote, "His sledgehammer assault on the drums helped drive Twisted Sister and I to greatness and inspired me to rock every single show."
Pero, born Anthony Jude Pero in Staten Island, NY, wasn't a founding member of the group, but he was in place by the time the band released their debut album Under the Blade, and he later played on career-defining hits like "We're Not Gonna Take It" and "I Wanna Rock."
Pero left the band in 1986 and rejoined his prior outfit Cities, and Twisted Sister broke up a couple of years later. More recently, Pero participated in the band's post-millennial comeback.
Read the tribute messages from Pero's Twisted Sister bandmates here. The band are due to play some shows in the coming months; it's currently unclear whether these will go ahead as planned.