Great Metal Albums of 1984: KISS- Animalyze

 

Since Queensryche supported KISS in late 1984, I thought it only appropriate for the next post to be KISS's "Animalize" album. Unlike Queensryche, I was able to put more details of their performance on this tour in "Rock and Roll Children." Although I didn't actually see the concert, I did get the video of KISS concert for "Animalize," so that helped me a lot. This was in spite of the fact that the concert on the video didn't take place in Philadelphia, which was where I went to see all the concerts at the time.

"Animalize" was the second album by KISS without their make up, following on from their previous album, "Lick It Up." Now, I know KISS themselves along with many others like to downplay this era of Kisstory. True, they were looking more and more like a glam band but then again, so were many bands. However, I don't think this album was particularly bad, it has its good moments.

The opener, "I've Had Enough (Into the Fire)" opens with some metal sounding riffs, which I've always liked. The riffs alone make this song the best choice to open the album. Next comes the big single, "Heaven's On Fire." No arguments from me that this song was made for commercial radio and MTV. It is too similar to "Lick It Up" but then again, I don't dislike it either. I just find myself amused at the similarities between the two singles.

"Burn Bitch Burn" is nothing more than a catchy title and a cool guitar solo. It does give weight to the belief that Gene was too sidetracked with other projects and not putting his full attention to KISS. Paul does succeed in making up for it with "Get All That You Can Take." With all the "ooohs," one could probably say it was Paul's best vocal effort. It too has a cool guitar solo and throughout the years, I've wondered if Mark St John hasn't been given the respect he deserves. Saying that, then future band member Bruce Kullick nails the guitar solo on the next track, "Lonely Is the Hunter" and makes me wonder if KISS should have had him play on the whole album. God, thinking about it can give a person a headache, almost. I will say that the track in question is a better effort from Gene, possibly his best on this album.

It seems that KISS tried to be more speed metal with "Under the Gun." It is definitely the fastest song on the album and the best part is that Paul's vocals fit the song. Maybe I've underestimated his vocal ability these many years. The song does open side two, if you have vinyl or cassette, very nicely and leads to my choice for hidden gem. I know that "Thrills in the Night" was released as the second single on the album but from what I've read, it failed to chart. That makes it a hidden gem in my opinion. It's hard enough to please metalheads but with some good melody and Gene and Eric give great backing to Paul on the vocals and it has a cool guitar solo. Personally, I think the idea for the big single on their next album was taken from it. While I won't call the remaining two songs, penned by Gene, filler, I won't say they're standout tracks. Just two good songs to end the album in the best way.

Track Listing:

1. I've Had Enough (Into the Fire)
2. Heaven's On Fire
3. Burn Bitch Burn
4. Get All you Can Take
5. Lonely is the Hunter
6. Under the Gun
7. Thrills in the Night
8. While the City Sleeps
9. Murder in High Heels

Paul Stanley- rhythm guitar, lead and backing vocals

Gene Simmons- bass, lead and backing vocals

Eric Carr- drums, backing vocals

Mark St John- lead guitar

Additional musicians

Bruce Kullick- lead guitar on "Lonely is the Night" and "Murder in High Heels"

Jean Beauvour (ex Plasmatics): bass on "Get All You Can Take," "Thrills in the Night" and "Under the Gun"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7o9A0kRIi7Q

Say what you want about KISS during their unmasked 1980s period, but I think that "Animalize" isn't all that bad. It does have it's good and amusing points but on the other hand, it never made me want to stop listening to "Destroyer."

Next post: Whitesnake- Slide It In

To get Rock and Roll Children,email me at: tobychainsaw@hotmail.com 

Great Metal Albums of 1983: KISS- Lick It Up

 

Coming out of the marines in 1983, I was a much different person than when I went in four years earlier. Not only had I changed but a lot of things in the world around had changed too. Around the four month mark after becoming a civilian, while watching the TV show, "Video Rock," a song with a vaguely sounding voice began singing a song that to me sounded rather promising. Then the programme flashed up the artist and song title and it was at this point, I learned that KISS had come out of make up and that would forever be what I would most remember 1983 for in the musical sense.

I had already warmed to KISS after hearing their previous album, "Creatures of the Night" so the song played on the video, "Lick It Up" was no surprise and I quite liked it. Therefore, KISS continued their journey back into my acknowledgement. Before that and though I never really mentioned here but have done so in other blogs, I ignored KISS during the late 1970s. Some could argue that they didn't put out anything worthy during that time but that wasn't it for me. I ignored them because I was going through deep religious phase back then. One of my fellow Christians stated that KISS was an anagram for Knights In Satan's Service and I believed it. So, I avoided them on the misguided belief they were Satan worshipers. I won't go into details here but if you want to read more about it then here it is:  https://peacefulrampage.wordpress.com/2017/01/18/my-confusion-of-religion-and-music/

I've heard all the talk about the unmasked 80s KISS not being the best period in their history. I won't enter into that debate. I would be the first to admit that "Lick It Up" doesn't quite reach the heights of classics like "Destroyer" or even "Creatures of the Night" but for me, "Lick It Up" was the right album at the right time. Plus, say what you like, but it's better than their attempts at sounding more commercial in the early 198os.

Something I have always loved about any album is when the 'hit' single is not the best track on it. Although there are plenty of albums I like that are exception to this. "Lick It Up" is not the best song on the album that bears its name. There are several tracks which are better. Let's start with my personal favourite, "Young and Wasted." Of course the song title brought me much amusement, especially that they applied to me quite a bit during that time. However, I like the more aggressive intro this and several other songs on the album I rate higher than the title track. For "Young and Wasted," it just seems to be done the best. On "Not for the Innocent" and "Gimme More," I can hear the Vinnie Vincent influence on the guitar. "Dance All Over Your Face" is a really cool tune and "And on the Eighth Day" closes the album out rather well. A great majority of the songs on "Lick It Up" just seem to be in your face cool rockers. Say what you will about this album, but I quite like it.

Track Listing:

1. Exciter
2. Not for the Innocent
3. Lick It Up
4. Young and Wasted
5. Gimme More
6. All Hell's Breakin' Loose
7. A Million to One
8. Fist Like a Glove
9. Dance All Over Your Face
10. And On the Eight Day

[caption id="attachment_3693" align="aligncenter" width="300"] KISS[/caption]

Paul Stanley- rhythm guitar, lead vocals

Gene Simmons- bass, lead vocals

Eric Carr- drums, backing vocals

Vinnie Vincent- lead guitar, backing vocals

Vinnie Vincent would leave KISS after this album. According to which camp you belong to, he was either fired or left on his own accord. He would go onto put out a solo record which I will definitely visit when I hit 1986. As for KISS, for me, "Lick It Up" was their way completely back into my attention and they would continue to be there for a long time.

Next post: Metallica- Kill'Em All

To buy Rock and Roll Children, email me at: tobychainsaw@hotmail.com 

Great Metal Albums of 1982: KISS- Creatures of the Night

 

KISS, in 1982, were very much in danger of slipping into musical obscurity in the same way Aerosmith were at the time. Unlike, Aerosmith, it wasn't drugs that were causing the slide, it was KISS  themselves. When I visited their album "Unmasked," I pointed out that they seemed to be abandoning the hard rock sound that made them a household name, for good or ill, back in the 1970s. "Unmasked" was a deliberate lurch to more commercial sounds that was feared to have started when they released a disco tune on the "Dynasty" album and continued onto the 1981 "Music From the Elder" album, although the latter was an improvement on the predecessor. By 1982, people like me were starting to forget them. My biggest memory of them that year was the night before my battalion was starting its combat readiness evaluation. My company gunnery sergeant told us that when we applied the camouflage make up the next day, that we were not to make ourselves up to look like KISS.

[caption id="attachment_2788" align="aligncenter" width="288"] Definitely not like KISS[/caption]

What KISS needed was to go back to their heavy roots. One night, at my favourite rock bar on Okinawa, a video came on that made personal history. It was for the song "I Love it Loud" and from first strike of the guitar string, it was clear that KISS had gone back to what made them great. "I Love it Loud" is a complete rock out and since that fateful evening, it has been my all time favourite KISS song. I think the band knew that too because it would be another three years before I would finally get to see them live and they played that song for me. Even to this day, hearing that song makes me want to jump out of my seat.

Insert tired cliche here but one song does not make a good album and there are plenty of other great rockers on "Creatures of the Night." In fact, there it is extremely difficult to pick one that isn't. Even the power ballad "I Still Love You" rocks and rocks hard. Maybe back then, I should have played that one as opposed to "Beth" in my attempts to woo the ladies. While I can't fault any track on the album, the ones that really do it most for me, apart from my all time fave, are "Rock and Roll Hell," the title track," "Killer," "Saints and Sinners" and "War Machine" is the perfect closer to this album. It's also the track for me where Vinnie Vincent comes into his own as a lead guitarist. What I said back then I reiterate now. When I heard "Creatures of the Night," I concluded that KISS were truly back.

Track Listing:

1. Creatures of the Night

2. Saints and Sinners

3. Keep Me Coming

4. Rock and Roll Hell

5. Danger

6. I Love it Loud

7. I Still Love You

8. Killer

9. War Machine

[caption id="attachment_2338" align="aligncenter" width="316"] KISS[/caption]

Paul Stanley- rhythm guitar, vocals

Gene Simmons- bass, vocals

Eric Carr- drums, backing vocals

Ace Frehley- lead guitar

Vinnie Vincent- lead guitar on tracks 2, 3, 5, 6, 8 and 9

Sometime during the recording of "Creatures of the Night," lead guitarist Ace Frehley would be out and new guitarist Vinnie Vincent would be in. Thus the course of metal history would be changed in the KISS camp. Notice, I said metal here. That is because I believe that this album would be the first KISS album that I would truly call heavy metal.

Next post: A Tragic Loss for Metal

To buy Rock And Roll Children, email me at: tobychainsaw@hotmail.com

Great Rock/Metal Albums of 1981: KISS- Music From the Elder

Of the four albums I have visited in this rock/metal segment, this 1981 offering from the legendary KISS totally passed me by in the year. I can't even blame it on being in the marines. The reason this album not only passed me by but many others as well was due to the fact it disappeared almost as soon as it was released. According to history, it was reviled by many fans and although it did receive some positive feedback from the critics, "Music From The Elder" was voted the 44th worst album of all time by Q Magazine and 6th in the category "When great rock bands lost the plot." Nevertheless, being a fair minded bloke, I thought I would give the album a listen and decide for myself. Still, I would welcome any comments, especially from fellow metal blogger and self confessed KISS-a-holic, Stone from Metal Odyssey fame.

Let me be totally frank, "Music From the Elder" is nowhere near a patch on great KISS albums like "Destroyer," "Love Gun," "Alive" or even some of the albums they made following this one like "Creatures of the Night." However, the album isn't as terrible as I feared it was going to be. The opener, "The Oath" was an attempt to create the earlier KISS sound at least as far back as "Dynasty" anyway and it is a notable effort on their part. Then came the instrumental "Fanfare" which had me thinking "WTF?" Fortunately, things return to normal, well sort of. I am sure that with "Just a Boy," that KISS are trying to sound like The Who here and while not a bad song, it doesn't leave me thinking, "Okay, cool." Ace Frehley and Gene Simmons manage to rescue things a bit with the tracks "Dark Light," "Only You" and "Under the Rose" but then comes the ballad "A World Without Heroes" and I am left saying to myself "No" and that if I was listening this back in 1981, I would say, "Leave the ballads to Peter Criss." "Dr Blackwell" does go a good long way to redeem things and I do like the guitar solo on this song. Then after another instrumental which isn't too bad, they try to be creative with "Odyssey." Not sure if it works though. At the end, barring a very short instrumental which perhaps shouldn't be on there was a pleasant surprise for me. I have heard the the track "I" before. It wasn't recorded by KISS but covered in 2000 by the band Hair of the Dog on their album "Rise." For them, "I" was a great closer for a great metal album and there is little comparison to it and the version done by KISS on this album. I think that the song was good enough for Hair of the Dog to record it just like the way it is done here. That song should have been the closer.

I guess I should mention that "Music From the Elder" was the first KISS album to fully feature new drummer Eric Carr who replaced Peter Criss when he left the band a year earlier. Most of you probably already knew that.

Track Listing:

1. The Oath

2. Fanfare

3. Just a Boy

4. Dark Light

5. Only You

6. Under the Rose

7. A World Without Heroes

8. Dr Blackwell

9. Escape From the Island

10. Odyssey

11. I

12. Finale

[caption id="attachment_2338" align="aligncenter" width="260"] KISS[/caption]

Paul Stanley- rhythm guitar,vocals

Gene Simmons- bass, vocals

Ace Frehley- lead guitar, vocals

Eric Carr- drums, percussion, backing vocals

My final verdict here is that if KISS had remained more true to their hard rocking roots, I think "Music From the Elder" would have been a much better album. I have no problem with an album telling a story through its songs, King Diamond''s "Abigail" does that beautifully. It doesn't mean a band has to go all progressive to do so and that's where this album falls down. The other thing I can see with the album, with the aid of hindsight, that KISS were beginning to move away from Gene Simmons' 1980 boast that KISS were four guys equally covering for each other towards simply becoming Paul and Gene's band.

Next post: Ozzy Osbourne- The Blizzard of Oz

To buy Rock And Roll Children, go to www.strategicpublishinggroup.com/title/RockAndRollChildren.html

Also available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Froogle and on sale at Foyles Book Shop in London

Great Metal Albums of 1980: KISS- Unmasked

This is definitely one album I can blame the military on for letting slip past me. It was released around the time I was floating around the Indian Ocean on a ship. My first indication that KISS had released an album at that time was the news that Peter Criss was leaving the band, which he did shortly after. However, the album never made any waves in the sense that everyone was talking about it and as a result, it passed me by and became one of those many albums I had to discover in retrospect.

Listening to it again, I'm not sure how I would of reacted to it back then. Right now, I am saying to myself, "This isn't the hard rocking KISS I knew from the 70s." Then again, my adolescent experience with religion was still tugging at the coat tails of my consciousness back then when I believed all that Satan worshipper crap aimed at them. So, I might have liked it, but I can't say for sure.

"Unmasked" starts off ok with "Is That You" giving me the impression that KISS were remaining true to their roots. However, when I heard the next two songs, "Shandi" and "Talk to Me," I thought, "What the hell!" These songs make them sound like sound fresh faced top 40 band or a lounge act. "Naked City" is a slight improvement and fortunately the album makes a more traditional KISS return after that for the remainder of the album. It gets more harder with some decent rockers like "Tomorrow," "Two Sides of the Coin" and "She's So European" before going out with an all right closer. Unfortunately, those songs don't fully remove the unpleasant taste in my mouth put their by tracks two, three and four even with some good guitars solos from Ace.

Track Listing:

1. Is That You

2. Shandi

3. Talk To Me

4. Naked City

5. What Makes the World Go Round

6. Tomorrow

7. Two Sides of the Coin

8. She's So European

9. Easy As It Seems

10. Torpedo Girl

11. You're All That I Want

KISS

Paul Stanley- vocals, rhythm guitar

Gene Simmons- bass, vocals

Ace Frehley- lead guitar, vocals

Peter Criss- drums, vocals

Uncredited Musicians

Anton Figg- drums

Vini Poncia- backing vocals

Tom Harper- bass on Shandi

Holly Knight- keyboards

The jury is still out as to whether or not I should regret missing this album back in the day. I'm not saying it's a bad one, there are some good moments on it that remind me of their more golden years. However, even now there are some tracks that don't sit well with me.

Next post: The Scorpions- Animal Magnetism

To buy Rock And Roll Children, go to www.strategicpublishinggroup.com/title/RockAndRollChildren.html

Also available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Froogle and on sale at Foyles Book Shop in London

Great Metal Albums of 1979: KISS- Dynasty

It has been said that KISS went disco with this album and use the hit single from it "I Was Made For Loving You" as the argument to support it. In some circles, in regards to the song, that may be true but I have a younger sister who was heavily into disco at the time. Therefore, I avoided going near her bedroom so I wouldn't get my ears desecrated by "I Will Survive" by Gloria Gaynor or anything the Bee Gees were doing at the time. I would take the KISS song over those every time. If my sister should read this, she will probably kill me for mentioning these embarrassing days of her youth. She did see the light a year or so later.

The disco consideration was not the reason I didn't listen to the album back then and it wasn't even boot camp either. Back in that time, I was still allowing my mind to be messed up by religion and I actually believed the crap that KISS stood for Knights In Satan's Service and they were all admitted Satan worshipers. Thinking back to that time, I can't believe I was that naive. The problem was that back in my teenage years in the 70s, I was a born again Christian, a Jesus freak if you like. I won't go into details on it but I will say that as a teenager, religion messed my head up more than drugs or music ever could.

Anyway, to the "Dynasty" album. Having listened to it again, I didn't feel the need to sacrifice a goat to the Dark Lord, well maybe a couple of chickens. Still even with the disco song included, it's not that bad of an album. In fact, maybe there is an argument for removing "I Was Made For Loving You" from it because the rest of the album is pretty good. Like I said with Triumph, back then, metal was still in its early stages and many acts were still experimenting with their sound. So, I'll give KISS the benefit of the doubt on this one. Besides, I especially love the last four tracks and "Magic Touch" and "X-Ray Eyes" stand out for me in particular. All of those final songs remind me that KISS are capable of putting out some great rock.

Track Listing:

1. I Was Made For Loving You

2. 2,000 Man

3. Sure Know Something

4. Dirty Livin'

5. Charisma

6. Magic Touch

7. Hard Times

8. X-Ray Eyes

9. Save Your Love

KISS

Paul Stanley- rhythm guitar, vocals, bass on "I Was Made For Loving You" and "Magic Touch"

Gene Simmons- bass, vocals

Ace Frehley- lead guitar, vocals

Peter Criss- drums, percussion, vocals

One thing KISS could still pride themselves back then was the fact that all four members took a turn at the lead vocals, not something most bands do. The Beatles and The Eagles were the only ones that come to mind at the moment. For KISS, they still continue to do that very well on the "Dynasty" album and there is something cool about hearing the different vocalists on it. That is why I this album probably deserves more credit than what it has been given.

Next post: Motorhead- Overkill

To buy Rock And Roll Children, go to www.strategicpublishinggroup.com/title/RockAndRollChildren.html

Also available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Froogle and at Foyles Book Shop in London

A Metal Book Worth Reading

While I was going through my daily dose of heavy metal google alerts this morning, I can upon a book that sounds fascinating to me. The book is called "What Are You Doing Here?" by Laina Dawes. It tells about the struggle on an African American woman in the world of heavy metal.

When Laina Dawes was eight years-old, she sat in front of her television watching the made-for-television movie “Kiss Meets The Phantom of the Park.”  Soon after, her parents gave her Kiss’ Double Platinum record, and later followed an obsession with bands like Judas Priest and Black Sabbath.  Laina Dawes is a bona fide metal head. But her fandom is complicated, though it probably shouldn’t be, by the fact that Laina is a black woman.
During her time in the heavy metal scene, she has experienced a lot of racism and sexism, as well as judgment and hostility from various black communities. Laina Dawes is the author of “What Are You Doing Here?: A Black Woman’s Life and Liberation in Heavy Metal" (Bazillion Points, 2013).
Dawes talks with host Frank Stasio about the complicated relationship she has with heavy metal. She says that although heavy metal has in the past been viewed as a white male scene, the music can be powerful for anyone who feels like they need an outlet for anger.
“Heavy metal has always had this stereotype of being a working-class blue collar music for predominantly men who are frustrated by their day job, and want to listen to music to let out their aggressions…” Dawes says. “I think that translates to how people are still drawn to the music…It’s for the positive energy and the positive aggression that you have the ability to let out…and we’re not able to do that in other aspects of their lives.”
Dawes grew up in rural Kingston, Canada, as one of the only black people in her community. Listening to heavy metal was one of only a few things that helped her deal with her frustration and feelings of isolation. 
Dawes tells host Frank Stasio that “the music was what got me through…I never did fit in, and I always felt like an outsider, but I knew that I desperately needed something to make me feel better, and to make me feel more empowered then I did in my everyday life.”
Although heavy metal can be very empowering to its listeners, the scene surrounding it can be very racist and sexist. Dawes spoke to many black women involved in those scenes in their respective communities who survived violence inflicted on them on the basis of their race.
“One of the women I interviewed for the book was knocked unconscious” states Dawes.
“Another girl in Atlanta was chased around the venue by a bunch of skin heads, because they had warned her that she had to leave because they didn’t want her there…And then they stayed so they chased her,” she recalls.  “You get these extreme stories of people violently reacting to your presence.”
And not only has there been push back from white people in the heavy metal scene, but black communities have taken issue with black people’s participation in heavy metal. Dawes explains that listening to heavy metal as a black person is often seen as something that makes you “less black.”
“One of the reasons I’ve faced resistance from various black communities is the [link to culture]. Blues music is not just music, it’s seen as a narrative of the lives of African Americans who came before us…it has a connection to African-American listeners,” says Dawes. “But on the other hand in terms of listening and participating as a fan or musician it should be wide open.”
But there are still black women breaking down barriers and performing heavy metal. Dawes says that her favorite part of this project has been meeting women who challenge the norm with their passion for the genre.
“The best part of this journey is meeting extremely strong women who want to play the music that they’re passionate about and also realize that there are a lot of roadblocks in their way,” Laina reflects. “And for them it’s not about the money. It’s about them being passionate about their art.”
I, for one, am going to read it because I have always battled against the accusations of heavy metal being sexist and racist and I've always believed that knowledge is the best weapon.

Great Rock Albums of the 70s: Nazereth- Hair of the Dog

Some may be asking themselves what some of the albums I have written about here have to do with 80s metal and my answer is that each one I have written about so far have shaped me into the metal I became in the 80s and I still am today. However, with this post, I am going back to my true metal roots with Nazereth's sixth album "Hair of the Dog." It's true that Black Sabbath, Led Zepplin, KISS and all of the bands I have listed, along with their albums, laid the foundations of what we know and love as heavy metal, but if there is any one album I can point to and say, "This is how it was meant to be done," it is this one.
Although, I didn't own a copy until 1981 and that was because an old service buddy left the tape in my car and was transferred out of the unit a few days later and never reclaimed it, I remember everyone talking about this album and even wearing "Hair of the Dog" t-shirts. This was before rock t-shirts became a thing of mass production. When I did hear the album, I immediately found myself headbanging away to the first track and carrying on through the rest of the album. If it wasn't for the ballad "Love Hurts," my head might have come off from all of the great hard rocking tracks that comprise this album.

Track Listing:

1. Hair of the Dog

2. Miss Misery

3. Guilty

4. Changin' Times

5. a) Beggar's Day b) The Rose and the Heather

6. Whisky Drinking Woman

7. Love Hurts

8. Please Don't Judas Me

Nazereth:

Dan MacCafferty- vocals, talk box on "Hair of the Dog

Manny Charlton- guitars, synthesiser

Peter Agnew- bass

Darrell Sweet- drums

I am willing to bet that if I were to play this album to any metal head from the 1980s to the present, not one of them would call it "dated." This album set the standard for what heavy metal should sound like.

Next post: Bue Oyster Cult, Agents of Fortune

To buy Rock And Roll Children, go to www.strategicpublishinggroup.com/title/RockAndRollChildren.html

Also available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Froogle

Rock And Roll Children- The CD

Book sales of Rock And Roll Children are a bit slow at the moment, so in order to jump start things, I will be now giving away a free CD with any books bought directly from me. All you have to do is email me at tobychainsaw@hotmail.com for more information. However, those lucky few who already have a copy can still get a CD by writing a review on Amazon, The Rock And Roll Children Page on Facebook or on any blog. Just alert me to it's presence.
The CD obviously features songs mentioned in the book. When compiling the list, I originally chose 61 songs to use on the CD and I could have used a few more. Some of my British friends may wonder why "Don't Tell Me You Love Me" by Night Ranger is not on it as the club we all used to go to back then played it every week. After much consideration, I eventually had to cut it down to 17.

Song List:

1. Judas Priest- You Got Another Thing Coming
2. Twisted Sister- We’re Not Gonna Take It
3. Ratt- Round and Round
4. Dio- The Last in Line
5. Krokus- Screaming in the Night
6. Iron Maiden- Two Minutes to Midnight
7. Deep Purple- Perfect Strangers
8. AC/DC- For Those About to Rock, We Salute You
9. Dio Rock And Roll Children
10. Stormtroopers of Death- Pussywhipped
11. Aerosmith- Dream On
12. Ozzy Osbourne- Shot in the Dark
13. Anthrax- Madhouse
14. Iron Maiden- Wasted Years
15. Megadeth- Peace Sells
16.  WASP- Fuck Like a Beast
17.  Kiss- Crazy Crazy Nights

 

So, if you fancy a good read and you want some kick ass jams to accompany it, then buy the book and get this great CD.

Next Post: An alternative compilation album

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Great Rock Albums of the 70s: KISS- Destroyer

If there are any albums which I can site as being an album that converted me to metal, this would definitely be one of them. I wasn't quite fifteen when this album came out and it would be a few months after its initial release before I actually heard any of it, but when I did, I was hooked. Before, I heard this album, my idea of hard rock was Bachman Turner Overdrive but KISS's "Destroyer" album completely blew me away. This was in spite of my religious upbringing and some people trying to tell me that KISS were admitted Satan worshippers.

Track Listing:

1. Detroit Rock City

2. King of the Nighttime World

3. God of Thunder

4. Great Expectations

5. Flamming Youth

6. Sweet Pain

7. Shout It Out Loud

8. Beth

9. Do You Love Me

10. Rock and Roll Party

"Detroit Rock City" became a show opener for KISS for nearly the next ten years. I saw them in 85 and have the video of their 1984 tour and they opened both concerts with this song. Upon hearing it, I can definitely see why and is also why I include lyrics from the song in "Rock And Roll Children." Of course the album includes the ballad Beth which, as I mentioned in previous postings, is the song that young rockers like me played to their girlfriends in the hopes it would lead to paradise.

KISS:

Paul Stanley- rhythm guitar, vocals

Gene Simmons- bass, vocals

Ace Frehley- lead guitar, vocals

Peter Criss- drums, vocals

While KISS would dominate rock throughout the rest of the decade and go on to be a chief influence for many of the 80s metal bands, I'm afraid my religious affiliations would prevent me from getting into more of their music after this. However, although fear of hellfire at the time didn't allow me to admit it, this album would always stick in my mind and be a big influence on me. But it just wasn't me, many other great bands have covered songs from this album including Iced Earth, White Zombie and even Nirvana. But my favourite cover is Hammerfall's cover of "Detroit Rock City." If anyone wants to know where it all began, this album was one of the doorways.

Next Post: Led Zepplin: Physical Graffiti

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