Customer Reviews

Standby for Pain

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I gave this recording 4 stars,Dee and Al are a very heavy duo! I would have given this 5 stars but I would have to give that last star to the first recording-Blood and Bullets. Nothing is better than seeing these guys live! Dee, when you playing out again?Anyway I do believe this recording is a must

If you like Motley Crue Motley Crue (minus Vince Neil), Warrant, Skid Row, Fight, Accept, etc. then this one's for you. Overall it has a hard, driving quality that causes you to move and crank the sound dial higher. Killing Time drips with an awesome stalking quality - with Dee Snider sneering out a great lyric. The guitar work is violent, clever, and laced with attitude. The 2nd and 3rd songs pretty much cook - but in a slightly different way. The 4th song rocks and really causes you to strap yourself in! The title track: Stand By For Pain, shambles out with a really big sound. There's an interesting prelude that builds and tantalizes, until the guitars crash through and roughly rub your face in it. It's rather similar to the Scorpion's "The Zoo" in that it keeps a slower pace, but serves up some awesome guitar work. The fills are truly excellent. There are some other good pieces here too, but they can't all be in your face like tracks 1 and 7. I like a consistent, thrashing, driving CD, and this slows down a bit towards the end. All in all - it flat out rocks and truly deserves a solid 4 in my book. Do yourself a favor and buy this CD now!

I always wondered what happened to Dee Snider since Twisted Sister imploded. Well, I heard a few songs by WidowMaker on the DSS metal channel and bought the CD. Yow! Dee Snider is seriously angry and has put out one great album. The musical skill is a noticeable notch above T.S. (not hard) and the lyrics are more menacing. Of course Snider has always been able to carry a tune and every song sticks in my head and I end up humming them later. If you like good old hard metal, not death, speed, thrash, or industrial, then you'll love WidowMaker. I wish there were more CDs from them available.

Dark, Heavy, if you like Twisted Sister, then you'll love this, other good cd's ( if ya can find em) are Widowmaker:Blood and Bullets. And Desperado:(title unknown, was sniders inbetween band. refered to as the lost years)

Between Dee Snider's departure from the legendary Twisted Sister and his subsequent band Widowmaker, Dee had released his magnum opus, the (sadly) unreleased Desperado album. The Widowmaker "Blood and Bullets" album followed, rehashing many of the Desperado songs. That album had a commercial edge, partially due to the fact that the Desperado songs were written in the 80s. Several years later, Dee was on hard times. He was bankrupt and reportedly rode a bicycle to a clerical job to feed his family. The Standby for Pain album came out shortly after this trying period in Dee's life. It's a very organic-sounding album, written, rehearsed, and recorded in the scope of only several weeks.

The guitar is dark and heavy, courtesy of Al Pitrelli, newly of Megadeth. As for Dee, his voice has been fermenting over the years like good wine. Much like Mr. Ronnie James Dio, Dee Snider sounds great in his middle age. This is not a happy album--and once again Dee delivers the goods.

"Twisted pictures pass
Through the tainted glass
I relive it all in silent rage"
-'All things must change'

Widowmaker was Dee Snider of Twisted Sister's 2nd band in the 90's and he got even heavier than Twisted Sister with the 2 Albums they released.The first being Blood and Bullets and this the follow up.The Album starts off blasting with "Killing Time" and then the single and video "Long Gone" which will guarantee to have u playing over and over."Protect and Serve" rocks as well and some stand out tracks have Dee singing like "Bad Rain".Standby for Pain is an Outstanding and Incredible Metal Bombast of an Album that unfortunately went unrecognized thanks to the grunge outfit at the time.Go back and get it relive the Maker!!!

Kiss - White Face T-Shirt
Dee Snider and new band rock out .

1994's Stand by for Pain was the second album from Widowmaker, which featured former Twisted Sister vocalist Dee Snider and guitarist Al Pitrelli (ex-Savatage, ex-Megadeth, Trans-Siberian Orchestra).

Unlike Widowmaker's 1992 debut (Blood & Bullets), the band took a decidedly less melodic approach with Stand by for Pain. It's a heavy, straightforward hard rock album similar to Skid Row's Subhuman Race. I also see some similarities to Vicious Rumors, but I've been spinning a lot of VR lately so that may be coincidental. Snider's vocals were harsher and more aggressive, and Pitrelli's guitar work was nearly grunge-like. As good as the album is, I don't think there was any real way Snider could win with this one. It was too modern for most Twisted Sister fans and not modern enough for the Nirvana/Soundgarden/Bush set.

Stand by for Pain would prove to be Widowmaker's final album. Even with the less melodic, heavier approach, the musical climate in the mid 90's was just not receptive of anything related to the hair metal scene. Snider kept busy with various solo projects and in the new century was once again active with Twisted Sister.

I liked Twisted Sister. Dee Snider was a great front man for TS. Looking back, I guess I always hoped TS would have gone in heavier/darker direction. Though, as I said I liked their stuff, they did get a bit cartoonish after Stay Hungry. I was excited to hear that the end of Twisted Sister did not mean the end of Dee Snider, and that he would be releasing solo projects. The Desperado CD had many good songs on it- my favorite being "See you at Sunrise", but it still wasn't heavy enough for me. Dee's initial release with Widowmaker, Blood and Bullets also had some good songs with "Emaheevul" , "Blood and Bullets" and "Blue For You" standing out. But then came Widowmaker's 2nd release, "Stand By For Pain"- this CD is raw, hard and feels like a punch to the chest. So many things are right about this cd. My favorite track here is "Protect and Serve", about a dirty cop. This outing shows Dee can deliver the goods with the best of them. I'd also like to single out the guitar playing of Al Pitrelli. If he's not the fastest fret-board freak around, he's in the top 5 or so. This is what I'd always hoped Twisted Sister would have always sounded like...

I remember buying this when it came out. After 'Blood And Bullets' this was an album that took a few listens to get comfortable with. I haven't listened to this recently, but 'The Iron Road' is the only song with that "old school" metal sound. This album presents a much more vicious sounding Widowmaker. They did a great job with this one. Too bad it was their last. After the first one and then this one I was interested to hear the direction a third album would have taken. The entire band is solid throughout. Definitely recommended for a metal collection. Don't expect another 'Blood And Bullets', though, but give it a chance...