A.J. Pero, the drummer behind the '80s hit metal band Twisted Sister, passed away this morning, the band's Facebook page reported. He was 55.
As the Associated Press later reported, Pero died of an apparent heart attack. He was in the midst of touring with Adrenaline Mob, a group he performed with between Twisted Sister engagements, before he was rushed to a hospital in Poughkeepsie, New York. Pero was declared dead after 11 a.m. ET.
"A.J. Pero was a force, the likes of which I doubt I will ever have the chance to play in front of again," Jay Jay French, Twisted Sister's guitarist, said on the Facebook page. "His drumming was legendary but his heart, as a human being, was even greater."
French also noted how April 1 would have marked the 32nd year Pero was in the band.
Known as "The New Guy," Pero was the last member of the band to join in 1982, as Dee Snider, Twisted Sister's frontman, noted. Snider's considered the drummer "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," he continued. "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."
Although Pero left Twisted Sister in 1986, as Billboard notes, he returned in 1997 and drummed in every Twisted Sister album save for 1987's Love Is For Suckers.
French reveals, in light of this recent development, it's unclear what becomes of Twisted Sister's six upcoming summer shows.