( CNN ) A.J . Pero , a longtime drummer for the metal band Twisted Sister , has died , the band posted on its Facebook page . `` The members of Twisted Sister are profoundly saddened to announce the untimely passing of our brother , AJ Pero , '' said the post . `` The band , crew and most importantly the family of AJ Pero thank you for your thoughts and prayers at this time . '' Pero was 55 . Pero died of what appears to be a massive heart attack , his longtime agent Dan Stanton told CNN . `` He had been complaining of a sore arm all week and took a few days off from his tour with the band Adrenaline Mob , '' says Stanton . Pero had been on a tour with the band in Poughkeepsie , New York , and was scheduled to play tonight , according to Stanton . Twisted Sister guitarist Jay Jay French told CNN that Pero was found this morning in his tour bus . He was taken to a hospital and died there . `` We are devastated . He was a great guy and one of the best drummers , '' French said . `` To lose someone you have depended on for 33 years ... I do n't know what it is going to be like to be on stage without him . I ca n't even think about what it will be like . '' Twisted Sister frontman Dee Snider tweeted about the death . `` Today I lost a brother . Anthony Jude Pero passed away , '' Snider said in a statement . `` His sledgehammer assault on the drums helped drive Twisted Sister and I to greatness and inspired me to rock every single show . 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 . '' Pero joined Twisted Sister , best known for its 1984 song `` We 're Not Gon na Take It '' and accompanying comedic video , in 1982 . Though he left for a time in 1987 to join another band , he reunited with Twisted Sister in the 1990s and was with the band for the past 12 years , according to Loudwire.com . In the `` We 're Not Gon na Take It '' video , which also starred `` Animal House 's '' Mark Metcalf , Pero can be seen in concert , hitting a drum that brings up a cloud of glitter . In recent years , he was also the drummer for the band Adrenaline Mob . CNN 's Tony Marco contributed to this story .
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