“Twisted” Is Officially Nominated for Song of the Year – Metal/Alternative Metal at the 12th Annual Josie Music Awards, September 20 at the Grand Ole Opry House
SCARECROW frontman John Blaze has spent decades building a reputation on hard-edged, theatrical rock and roll, and in 2026 he has delivered one of the most powerful tracks of his career. “Twisted” has officially been nominated for Song of the Year – Metal/Alternative Metal at the 12th Annual Josie Music Awards, set for September 20 at the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville — a recognition that places SCARECROW alongside some of the strongest independent rock releases of the year.
“Twisted” is a song rooted in friendship as much as fury. Inspired by Blaze’s long-standing relationship with Dee Snider and the members of Twisted Sister, the track brings Snider himself in on guest vocals, joined by electrifying violin work from Mark Wood of Trans-Siberian Orchestra. The result is a modern, radio-ready rock anthem that channels decades of shared history between Blaze and Snider into something that still sounds urgent and new.
SCARECROW’s roots run deep in that same world. Blaze founded the band as a writer, producer, and lead vocalist, with an original lineup that featured Twisted Sister guitarist Eddie Ojeda. His gruff, scratchy voice became the band’s defining signature from the start, shaping the gritty identity that has carried SCARECROW across a career built on hard-hitting rock and loyal, dedicated fans. “Twisted” arrives as a full-circle moment — a song that reunites Blaze with the Twisted Sister lineage that helped define his sound in the first place, this time with Snider standing right beside him on the track.
A Josie Music Awards nomination places “Twisted” in front of one of the largest independent music award organizations in the world, at a ceremony that draws thousands of recording artists and industry professionals to the Grand Ole Opry House each year. For a band with as much history as SCARECROW, the nomination is both a validation of the new material and a reminder that the group’s theatrical, hard-hitting rock and roll still resonates as strongly today as it did decades ago.
As Blaze himself has put it: SCARECROW — the best is yet to come.