Twisted Sister/Adrenaline Mob drummer AJ Pero has died of a heart attack at age 55.
Twisted Sister posted the following messages on their Facebook page.:
“The members of Twisted Sister are profoundly saddened to announce the untimely passing of our brother, AJ Pero
The band, crew and most importantly the family of AJ Pero thank you for your thoughts and prayers at this time.”
“Today I lost a brother. Anthony Jude Pero passed away. A.J. was the final piece in a band that would become an international sensation and one of the greatest live rock acts to ever hit the stage. His sledgehammer assault on the drums helped drive Twisted Sister and I to greatness and inspired me to rock every single show. My heart breaks knowing I will never feel the power of his beat behind me, or turn to see his face smiling broadly from the sheer joy he got from doing what he loved. I will always remember that smile. RIP my friend.”
Dee Snider
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“AJ Pero was a force, the likes of which I doubt I will ever have the chance to play in front of again. His drumming was legendary but his heart, as a human being, was even greater.
This April 1st would have been his 32nd year as a member.
In the Twisted Sister world he was always affectionately known as “the new guy”. That is how long and deep our history was/is.
In our hearts he will always be the engine that drove the train. I loved him and today my heart has been ripped out. RIP”
Jay Jay French
———-
This morning I received the tragic news about AJ’s passing. As anyone would be, I am devastated. With such a loss, even I broke down and cried, allegedly the tough guy in the band. One statement says it all, “AJ was my band mate, my friend and my brother and I will miss him forever”.
Mark ‘The Animal’ Mendoza
———-
My family, extended Twisted Sister family, and I are heartbroken and devastated to hear the news of Anthony Jude Pero’s passing. A.J. was a dear friend and brother to me, and in my opinion, one of the most talented drummers of all time. I will always remember the amazing experiences and great laughs we shared. A.J. always had an amazing sense of humor and did his best to please everyone he came in contact with.
Back in the day, when the band first started touring, we were often room-mates and he never failed to keep me smiling. It’s very difficult for me to talk about this right now. However, I feel that out of respect for his legacy, it’s important for us to let the world know how we all felt and will always feel about him. I know I will dearly miss him, but I’m grateful to have been his friend and musical partner for thirty-eight years.
At this time, my sincerest sympathies go out to his family. Heaven just got a great drummer, one that will live forever in our hearts.
Eddie Ojeda and The Ojeda Family
Anthony Jude Pero powered the fast-paced sound of Twisted Sister, one of the most famous 1980s metal groups.
He was well-known for a scene in the video for 1984’s We’re Not Gonna Take It in which he struck a snare drum covered with glitter, sending it spraying into the air.
Twisted Sister guitarist Jay Jay French says Pero was on tour with the band Adrenaline Mob, and members of that group were unable to rouse him on their bus Friday morning.
He was taken to a hospital in Poughkeepsie, New York, where he died.
18 Responses
I can’t believe this. My buds and I made sure we listened to Friday Night Rocks tonight on Q104.3 so Eddie can kick off the show by mentioning this great drummers passing TODAY and then GO RIGHT INTO a classic TS song…..
Instead we get a mention that Steven Adler will be calling in to talk about how much he wants a GnR reunion AND then Eddie plays a Sabbath Bloody Sabbath…….a cliche start from A DJ who claims he stays away from cliche on an otherwise SAD day for metal fans….
Im shutting off radio now, I dont care if you mention it later on or dedicate the ballad to him, too little too late. AJ’s passing this morning shouldn’t be a footnote on your radio show.
This isn’t me “pouncing” (YOUR FAVORITE WORD!) it is a comment from fan of yours who is shocked and upset you didn’t do the appropriate thing as you have done with many other who have passed on.
Start your engines, baseless rebutters!
*** I JUST POSTED THE ABOVE STATEMENT and I want to mention that IF there was A CHANCE that this was a PRE RECORDED show tonight – then, I ABSOLUTELY, SINCERELY APOLOGIZE for my heated comments!!!!!!!
I STILL will say that I DOUBT it was because I did not hear Ed mention that at all –
AS HE USUALLY DOES at the start of prerecorded shows.
See my comment below, it was pre recorded, as are all of his Q104 shows now.
Dana from ET.com
Um Tee,
I apologize if I sound snarky, but I suggest you have all your ducks in a row before you make a comment.
Eddie’s Q104.3 “Friday Night Rocks” show is no longer a live broadcast. He tapes the shows in advance, and has posted about it not being a love show anymore, on this very site. The show has not been live show for quite some time now. As a matter of fact, he was in Virgina yesterday. I am sure if the show was live, of course, he would have paid tribute to AJ Pero. As a matter of fact, he emailed me from the road to inform me of this very sad news, so that I could post it in the news section.
I have no doubt that he will honor Pero ,as soon as he returns from Virgina, on his Sirius/XM show, which is still a live broadcast.
Dana from ET.com 🙂
Dana – I appreciate the clearing up and I trust you noticed the apology I immediately posted for anyone to see IN THE CHANCE THE SHOW WAS PRERECORDED.
As far as Im concerned, I cannot have my ducks in a row if Eddie’s intention is to not make it public that the Q104 shows are now done in this fashion. I say this because he has not made this MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT, as he had been constantly telling listeners when they were listening to a show that was, in fact, pre recorded.
Tee Vee,
I did, and I replied to your comment, which was, “I STILL will say that I DOUBT it was because I did not hear Ed mention that at all –AS HE USUALLY DOES at the start of prerecorded shows,” to “see my comment below, the show was prerecorded.”
I am not sure if Eddie ever made a formal announcement about the show not being live anymore, so I will give you the benefit of the doubt. However, I know the subject has been broached on the site many times in both his Trunk Report and in the comments section.
Anyway, glad to see the confusion was cleared up.
Cheers,
Dana from ET.com 🙂
just found out about aj. condolences to you’re family aj. enjoy your new path along with dio and the rest. im m sure he wants us to keep rockin..remeber you cant stop rock n roll.
Sad.
get a checkup folks. Go to the doc.
these things can sometimes be a avoided.
rip aj
So sad. I feel that he didn’t get enough credit in life as far as his drumming skills. His adrenaline mob stuff really showed off how great he truly was. Glad he got to make a couple records with them before he passed. Condolences all around to his family and friends.
R.I.P AJ Pero Twisted Sister drummer. You Will be truly missed.