Tuesday, 2 January 2018
743 Goodbye Kiss -Unholy
Chart entered : 9 May 1992
Chart peak : 26
The theatrical rockers remained a cult concern in the UK , scraping some minor hits in the early eighties as their popularity in the US steeply declined. This was partly down to line-up changes. Drummer Peter Criss , who had not fully recovered from a car accident, left the band in 1980. He was replaced by Eric Carr who adopted the "Fox" persona on stage. Two years later, guitarist Ace Frehley quit, unhappy at the musical direction adopted on 1982's unsuccessful album "The Elder". He was replaced by Vinnie Vincent who made up as an Egyptian warrior. The following year they decided to ditch the make-up which made little difference to their commercial fortunes. Vinnie was fired in 1984 and replaced for one album by Mark St John. He was then replaced by Bruce Kulick . This line up scored their joint biggest hit in the UK with "Crazy Crazy Nights" in 1987 which reached number 4 here though it only got to 65 in the States. In 1991., Eric died of cancer. He was replaced by session veteran Eric Singer.
"Unholy" was the second single from their album "Revenge" , following the cover of Argent's "God Gave Rock And Roll To You" which also reached number 4. It moves on to Metallica's turf with a harder-edged metallic sound and a snarled lead vocal from bassist Gene Simmons. The lyric is somewhat similar to Sympathy for the Devil with the message coming from the evil side of the individual. It's OK but with a shortage of hooks and a clearly enunciated "Bastards and whores" in the second verse it wasn't going to get the airplay to cross over from the metal audience.
There were two more unsuccessful singles from the album, Gene's half-spoken "Domino" about a bunny boiler and the Peter Frampton- style semi-acoustic ballad "Every Time I Look At You" sung by Paul Stanley.
The following year they released a double live album "Alive III" with the rabble-rousing " I Love It Loud " released as a trailer single. In 1995 they went out on the Worldwide Kiss Convention Tour doing Q & A sessions as well as an acoustic set. Later in the year they appeared on MTV Unplugged. Peter and Ace joined them for three songs at the end sparking speculation that a reunion of the classic line up was on the cards. One of those songs "Rock N Roll All Nite" was released as a single. The resulting album reached 15 in the US and 74 here.
Shortly afterwards the current line up recorded another album but before it could be released the original line up announced they were reuniting for a worldwide tour, appearing at the Grammys in full make up once more. The tour only covered material from the seventies and was a huge success commemorated in a live album "You Wanted The Best You Got The Best". The following year the album recorded by the current line up "Carnival of Souls : The Final Sessions" slunk out , a joyless affair with the group trudging through a set influenced by thrash metal and grunge with few hooks and far too much of Paul's grating voice. It got to 27 in the US and failed to chart here.
Eric and Bruce were sidelined for the next album "Psycho Circus " in 1998 although Peter and Ace's contributions were limited. It achieved their highest chart position in the US reaching number 3 though only 47 here. It's an attempt to recapture former glories with a moden production sheen. Peter got another acoustic ballad to sing in the vein of their 1976 US hit "Beth" with "I Finally Found My Way" but only drummed on one track. It all sounds a bit hollow to me and the band themselves weren't happy with it. Paul has since said part of his motivation for keeping going was not wanting the album to be their last word.
Kiss toured the album that year then in 2000 went out again on a Farewell Tour. Peter did not complete it after failing to come to new terms when his contract expired and Eric rejoined the band for the Japanese and Australian dates in 2001. The following year Ace's contract also expired and the band played a private concert in Jamaica with Tommy Thayer replacing him.
The following year the band arranged a concert in Melbourne featuring the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. Peter and Ace were invited but only the former took up the invitation. The concert was recorded and released as "Kiss Symphony: Alive IV". Shortly afterwards, Ace confirmed his departure from the group. The band went on a World Domination Tour co-headlining with Aerosmith with Thayer in the line up.
When that was finished, Peter's contract was not renewed and he himself conceded that he was finding it physically taxing at 59. Eric rejoined permanently. In fact Kiss performed little over the next few years as Paul was experiencing hip problems. Gene busied himself with two entertaining series of Rock School on Channel 4 where he created two rock bands from British schoolchildren and discovered the ill-fated Lil' Chris.
In 2009 the band released their first new studio album in over a decade with "Sonic Boom", a solid effort which wasn't going to win them any new fans but proved their ability to come up with pop -rock hooks remained intact. It reached number 2 in the US, becoming their highest charting album. Their last LP to date, 2012's "Monster" offered more of the same and did almost identical business. The band have continued to tour and guested on a Japanese band's single in 2014.
Peter produced one solo album , "One For All" in 2007 which roams across a number of genres, the unifying factor being his terrible singing. His pub singer rendition of "Send In The Clowns" could clear a room in seconds. He's not recorded since then but published his autobiography Makeup to Breakup : My Life In and Out of Kiss in 2012.
Unlike Peter, Ace has had a viable solo career. All three of his solo albums since leaving Kiss for the last time have charted. He's stayed within the hard rock genre and sounds like the best vocalist of the four. His last album "Origins Volume 1 " in 2016 was a covers album. It included three Kiss numbers and his cover of Free's "Fire and Water" featured Paul.
Vinnie travelled the world after leaving the band then formed Vinnie Vincent Invasion, a glam metal band pretty much in the Kiss mould. They released a couple of unsuccessful albums in the late eighties before singer Mark Slaughter and bassist Data Strum quit to form Slaughter. He has been pretty quiet since then.
Mark formed a band called White Tiger which also featured Peter for a time. It didn't work out and Mark became a guitar tutor in California. In 2006 he was jailed after a drugs bust. He died of a stroke the following year.
Bruce has continued to be an active musician . He recorded three albums with a band called Union in 1998-2000. When that band split he became guitarist in the reactivated Grand Funk Railroad. He's also released three solo albums, the last one in 2010.
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