Not one to shy away from any political or social cause that he wholeheartedly believes in, legendary rocker Dee Snider is now showing his support for the thousands of men and women at the Standing Rock Indian reservation in North Dakota who are protesting the Dakota Access Pipeline.
In a video for "So What" that premiered earlier today, Dee and son/director Cody Snider beautifully exhibit the faces of the courageous men, women and children that are fighting for their land and offers a glimpse at the resistance and tribulation they are faced with as they stand their ground. The song can be found on Dee's new solo album, "We Are The Ones", which was released October 28 on Red River Records (distributed by BFD/RED).
As Snider recently told the New York Post's Page Six: "To see U.S. government state and local authorities, along with hired private security, use this type of extreme violent force against unarmed American citizens in peaceful prayer is the saddest, most disturbing thing I have ever experienced. I'm glad we were there to capture the truth for all to see."
Produced by Damon Ranger, "We Are The Ones" is described by Dee as "an album that is think part FOO FIGHTERS, part IMAGINE DRAGONS, part THIRTY SECONDS TO MARS." He added: "Forget anything from the past. Most of my heavy metal fans are gonna hate it; I've abandoned my past to move forward."
Regarding the decision to make a contemporary rock record, Dee told Salon: "[Damon is] the one who approached me and said, 'Dee, I think there's an album for you, a contemporary album, a mainstream rock record, a metal-rock record that will speak to people today…' I said, 'Really. Me. This guy? A 61-year-old guy.' He says, 'Absolutely, Dee. You're timeless. And you represent something, a spirit, and I think the right songs…" And I heard his stuff that he's worked on before and I said, 'There are songs out there that are inspirational.' You see that sometimes they just get lost, and one of the things that gets lost is the fun of rock and roll. Don't forget, rock and roll, first and foremost, it's supposed to be fun. It's supposed to be [an] escape. It shouldn't be super-heavy. At the same time, as 'Louder Than Words' is showing, it can be inspirational."