Today in 1974 Kiss released the album Hotter Than Hell New York City, New York Hard rock, heavy metal Status:Active Years active 1973–present Kiss (often styled as KISS) is an American rock band formed in New York City in January 1973. Well known for its members black and white face paint and flamboyant stage outfits, the group rose to prominence in the mid to late 1970s with their elaborate live performances, which featured fire breathing, blood spitting, smoking guitars, shooting rockets, levitating drum kits and pyrotechnics. Counting the 1978 solo albums, Kiss has been awarded 28 gold albums to date, the most of any American rock band. The band has sold more than 40 million albums in the United States, of which 20 million have been certified by the RIAA and their worldwide sales exceeds 100 million records, making them one of world’s best-selling bands of all time. The original 1973–80 lineup consisted of Paul Stanley (vocals and rhythm guitar), Gene Simmons (vocals and bass guitar), Ace Frehley (lead guitar and vocals) and Peter Criss (drums and vocals). With their makeup and costumes, they took on the personas of comic book-style characters: Starchild (Stanley), The Demon (Simmons), Spaceman or Space Ace (Frehley) and Catman (Criss). Stanley became the Starchild because of his tendency to be referred to as the starry-eyed lover and hopeless romantic. The Demon makeup reflected Simmons cynicism and dark sense of humor, as well as his affection for comic books. Frehleys Spaceman makeup was a reflection of his fondness for science fiction and his supposedly being from another planet. Criss Catman makeup was in accordance with the belief that he had nine lives because of his rough childhood in Brooklyn. Because of creative differences, both Criss and Frehley were out of the group by 1982. The bands commercial fortunes had waned considerably by that point. Buoyed by a wave of Kiss nostalgia in the 1990s, the band announced a reunion of the original lineup in 1996. The resulting Kiss Alive/Worldwide/Reunion Tour was the top-grossing act of 1996 and 1997. Criss and Frehley have since left Kiss again, but the band continues with Eric Singer and Tommy Thayer. Stanley and Simmons have remained the only two constant members. Kiss has been named in many Top lists. They include Number 10 on VH1s 100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock, 9th on The Greatest Metal Bands list by MTV, number one on Hit Paraderss Top 100 Live Bands, 56th on VH1s 100 Greatest Artists Of All Time, and 26th on Gibsons 50 Greatest American Rock Bands. Kiss was nominated for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, ten years after becoming eligible Casablanca Paul Stanley - vocals, rhythm guitar Gene Simmons - vocals, bass guitar Ace Frehley - lead guitar (all guitars and bass on Parasite and Strange Ways, backing vocals on Parasite, Comin Home, and Strange Ways) Peter Criss - vocals, drums, percussion 1. Got To Choose (3:54) 2. Parasite (3:02) 3. Goin Blind (3:37) 4. Hotter Than Hell (3:30) 5. Let Me Go, Rock N Roll (2:15) 6. All The Way (3:17) 7. Watchin You (3:44) 8. Mainline (3:51) 9. Comin Home (2:38) 10. Strange Ways (3:18) Total Time 33:10 The Smelly Tongues covered Parasite on Hard to Believe: Kiss Covers Compilation. Parasite was also covered by American thrash metal band Anthrax on Attack of the Killer Bs album in the early 90s. Anthrax also covered Watchin You for the 2001 remastered Stomp 442. Goin Blind was covered by The Melvins, on the 1993 release Houdini. Comin Home has been translated into Swedish and recorded on the 2009 album Kyssar & Guld by Rolf Carlsson. Strange Ways was covered by Megadeth, Hypocrisy, Ulver and Vicious Rumors. Watchin You was covered by Motorpsycho on the 1994 EP Another Ugly ep. Hotter Than Hell is the second studio album by American rock band Kiss, released on October 22, 1974. It was certified gold on June 23, 1977, having shipped 500,000 copies. The album was re-released in 1997 in a remastered version. It peaked on the charts at #100, without the benefit of a hit single. Many of the albums songs are live staples for the band, including Got to Choose, Parasite, Hotter Than Hell, Let Me Go, Rock & Roll, and Watchin You. The production team of Kenny Kerner and Richie Wise, who had produced the groups first album, was chosen for the follow-up. Since the pair had relocated to Los Angeles, Kiss moved there to work with them. The band, all hailing from New York, immediately developed a dislike for their new surroundings. Paul Stanleys guitar was stolen on his first day in Los Angeles. The working title for the album was The Harder They Come. Although the album featured three songs penned by lead guitarist Ace Frehley, he did not sing lead vocals on any of them; his lack of confidence in his singing abilities at the time led to lead vocal duties for Parasite and Strange Ways going to Gene Simmons and Peter Criss, respectively. Frehleys guitar solo on Strange Ways has been referred to as one of his best. The album is well known for its striking cover. The front featured Japanese manga-influenced artwork, and the back cover showed individual band shots taken by Norman Seeff at a wild party, and a composite of all four band members makeup designs. The Japanese character on the bottom of the album cover (力) is chikara, which means power. It would later be used on various forms of Kiss material during the 1970s and 1980s, most prominently on Eric Carrs drum kit. The Japanese characters on the top-right corner of the album cover (地獄 の さけび) are jigoku no sakebi, which means hells shout or the shout of hell. The Japanese characters used for Aces name are mispronounced. The characters are エイス フューリ (eisu fyuuri), which would translate to Ace Fury. The characters should have been エースフレーリー (esu fureri). Every shot of Frehley has his makeup airbrushed into the photo, as he had injuries to one side of his face after a vehicle accident, making it difficult for him to actually wear the makeup. youtube/watch?v=dbqi1jKPu_4
Posted on: Wed, 22 Oct 2014 17:25:19 +0000
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