“Asshole” proves he’s anything butt. hen Gene Simmons called his 2004 solo album Asshole, who knew it would be such a wondrous eclectic mix of genres and variegated song stylings? And yet, we should have guessed this co-instigator of KISS had it in him, from the tenor of his last solo album, released in 1978 under the KISS aegis, Gene … Read More
KISS | Alive III
Vengeance is theirs. Alive! for GeneratioNext. nice clean desk tape with crowd noise overdubbed. D’oh! Truth or fiction? You decide. The 26th overall KISS album, Alive III is the 3rd Live album from the New York foursome whom many fans and critics had dismissed as irrelevant after their uneven studio effort Hot In The Shade (1989). But after the … Read More
KISS | Asylum
Sounding better, looking worse (the Who-Dressed-Gene? album)… he 13th studio album from KISS, Asylum, is guitarist Bruce Kulick’s first tagalong! Wait– another guitarist?! The Guitarist Revolving Door comes to an eventual stop when Bruce takes over from Mark who took over from Vinnie who took over from Ace. Asylum continues the “hair metal” ethos started with Animalize: heavy enjoyable rock, … Read More
KISS | Smashes, Thrashes & Hits
Not to be confused with actual KISS songs… f you don’t know KISS – don’t start here! True Fans of any band spit on Greatest Hits albums. They’re albums for the weak. Greatest hits are for Casual Listeners, or for some dork to explore a band without the expense of buying the back catalogue. (Well, that used to be the … Read More
KISS | Revenge
God Gaveth Rock and Roll and Taketh the Backbeat away… he amazing happens! The unthinkable becomes fact! On KISS’s 16th studio album, all Gene’s songs are better than Paul’s songs! It only took 16 albums… Revenge, produced by Bob Ezrin (who produced the KISS career high – Destroyer – AND career low – The Elder), is a cohesive, steel-belted sharpshooter. … Read More
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KISS | Animalize
Selling better, sounding worse… ISS’s 12th studio album was a platinum seller, with some very metal songs, but was not very appealing or enjoyable. A lot of it had to do with bees. Animalize continued the rise and rise of KISS in their non-makeup era; through all their adversity with not solidifying a lineup, not selling out arenas, and not … Read More
KISS | Crazy Nights
Crazy, Crazy Fluff. No No No Thank You. razy Nights, the 14th studio album by KISS, and the fourth in a row to be certified Platinum, is the Unmasked of the unmasked era – the guilty pleasure. Crazy Nights is an anomaly in the KISS discography. Sandwiched between two heavier albums, 1985’s Asylum and 1989’s Hot In The Shade, Paul … Read More
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KISS | Psycho Circus
You Wanted The Best — You Got… a facsimile thereof. drummer that forced hotel staff to put tinfoil on his windows that faced a certain direction and a lead guitarist that would rather play cards with his friends than catch a plane to a gig with the biggest band in the world. It truly was a… Psycho Circus. Did … Read More
KISS MY ASS
Kicking Kissed Ass. KISS MY ASS is the 1994 home video release in conjunction with the 1994 album of the same name (Kiss My Ass: Classic Kiss Regrooved), but is a totally different rock animal. Unlike the album, it ain’t a bunch of popular bands doing KISS covers. It’s the Real Thing. On their 20th anniversary, KISS release another collection … Read More
KISS: X-TREME CLOSE-UP
Hardcore hard rock. Shit’s about ta get RAYL! Twenty years after their inception, and a mere five years after their comical “documentary” EXPOSED, Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley of KISS at last shed their 13-17 demo façade, grow a little facial hair, swear like they mean it, and tell it like it really is. Or at least how Gene Simmons … Read More
KISS | Carnival Of Souls
Carnival of Soul-Searching. omething happened to KISS before they re-donned the makeup in 1996 – they grew up. Their 17th studio album, Carnival Of Souls, displays a ferocious maturity, unmatched by any KISS album to date. A sweeping statement to be sure, especially pertaining to a band whose career has lasted longer than fully half their fan-base’s lifetimes. But I … Read More