Twisted Sister: Pero was our Bonham

Twisted Sister guitarist Jay Jay French has described late drummer AJ Pero as the band’s John Bonham or Keith Moon.

He passed away earlier this month at the age of 55, while on tour with Adrenaline Mob. It’s suspected he suffered a heart attack.

In an emotional interview with Eddie Trunk, French says: “What John Bonham was to Zeppelin, what Keith Moon was to The Who, AJ was to us. I just mentioned two legends – and AJ’s up there with them.”

He continues: “We’ve been together longer and spent more time together than we do with our own families. I think metal’s the only genre where that happens.”

Bassist Mark Mendoza adds: “We had a team. We still have a team. When you’ve got to replace a guy it’s tough, because everything was a huge amount of teamwork.”

Twisted Sister are expected to reveal their future plans in the coming days. Frontman Dee Snider predicted the band would continue – although French later revealed they’d been considering retirement before Pero’s death.

Not only is one-time online news editor Martin an established rock journalist and drummer, but he’s also penned several books on music history, including SAHB Story: The Tale of the Sensational Alex Harvey Band, a band he once managed, and the best-selling Apollo Memories about the history of the legendary and infamous Glasgow Apollo. Martin has written for Classic Rock and Prog and at one time had written more articles for Louder than anyone else (we think he's second now). He’s appeared on TV and when not delving intro all things music, can be found travelling along the UK’s vast canal network.