Twisted Sister drummer A.J. Pero dies at 55

Heavy-metal band Twisted Sister announced on its Facebook page that drummer A.J. Pero died Friday.

He was 55.

AP says Pero had an apparent heart attack. Twisted Sister guitarist Jay Jay French said 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, N.Y., where he died.

Anthony Jude Pero was the drummer behind the throbbing, fast-paced sound of Twisted Sister. Loudwire.com says he was "easily the band's most celebrated man behind the kit. Pero had many stints with Twisted Sister, the longest being his latest run of 12 straight years (2003 – 2015) with the heavy metal legends."

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.

Dee Snider, frontman for the band, shared a tweet saying he was "heartbroken" by the news.