Twisted Sister frontman Dee Snider said bassist Mark Mendoza will not participate in the band’s recently announced 2026 reunion tour, citing “irreconcilable differences.”
“I can only simply say irreconcilable differences and leave it at that,” Snider told radio host Eddie Trunk on Wednesday. “I can’t get into the weeds. I can’t go down that path and I won’t, but irreconcilable differences, and people change. I’m not saying he changed. Maybe we changed, whatever it is.”
Russell Pzutto will play bass in Mendoza’s place. Pzutto previously played on Snider’s solo albums “For the Love of Metal” (2018) and “Leave a Scar” (2021), and has served as Mendoza’s bass technician.
Snider said each member of Twisted Sister had chosen musicians to fill in for them if needed, and Pzutto’s longstanding association with the band made him a logical choice.
“He did an amazing job on those two solo albums,” Snider said. “He was a great guy to tour with the band. All knew him from years of working with Twisted, and again, he seemed like a likely choice.”
Snider added that Pzutto has previously filled in for Mendoza, performing with Twisted Sister at the Graspop Metal Meeting in Belgium when Mendoza was unavailable.
When asked if Mendoza might join Twisted Sister for a one-off show in the future, Snider said, “I can’t imagine it right now. I plead the Fifth. I can’t go beyond that, but things have happened that I don’t see being reconciled, hence the term ‘irreconcilable differences.’”
Twisted Sister has not yet announced dates for the reunion tour. Snider said fans can expect more elaborate makeup and costumes than during the band’s final run in 2016. His wife, Suzette Snider, who has long served as the band’s makeup artist and costume designer, is designing new outfits for the tour.
“A lot of the guys were really down to just black jeans and a black leather vest during the final shows,” Snider said. “Not me, I always like to throw a little pizzazz. But she’s working on costumes for the tour. She’s not saying we should go back to what we wore in the ’80s, but she said, ‘I think that you should pay homage.’ Maybe age-appropriate, some lipstick on the teeth like your old aunt.”
Snider said he is preparing for the physical demands of the tour.
“Right now it’s off-season. It’s been off-season for a while. But I’m not about to embarrass myself. I can’t. I can’t disappoint people. I can’t disappoint myself. So I’ll be ready,” he said.
