Kiss - The Legend of the Masked Rockers

It's hard to see your true destination when you're only focused on the cracks in the sidewalk

(Gene Simmons)

If I'd known I would influence so many guitarists, I'd have practiced more

(Ace Frehley)

Nothing can ever stop Kiss. I've seen the band go through crises where critics were like vultures circling overhead, saying things like: "Well, you know this is the end of your career"

(Paul Stanley)

I'll forever be the cat man

(Peter Criss)

An American story

You wanted the best, you got the best,

the hottest band in the land!

Kiss's battle cry still echoes today just as it did half a century ago, at the dawn of the legend. It's no coincidence that the one and only Army of rock'n'roll hasn't budged an inch in fifty years, holding a trench that has managed to repel every hostile musical trend. The story of Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Ace Frehley and Peter Criss is the classic stars-and-stripes tale, made of blood and sweat, of falls and unshakeable perseverance. A journey that turned four masked men into an American myth, on a par with Elvis Presley, James Dean or Marilyn Monroe. The most classic of so-called larger than life stories, as Kiss became a global brand capable of licensing over three thousand merchandising products for an estimated profit of more than 500 million dollars. But how did a simple rock'n'roll band turn into a multinational corporation of the seven notes?

On January 30, 1973, when Kiss perform for the first time in a dive in Queens, a venue called Coventry, barely anyone shows up, with tickets going for just a few dollars. But the four of them play as if in front of 100,000 people, with such energy that you'd think they simply have to make it. Too ambitious, too convinced of their own abilities. In the United States, those who chase their dreams eventually achieve them. Too bad Kiss's dream is slightly oversized: conquering the entire world with rock'n'roll. And it won't be easy at all, because the road to success is always long and winding, packed with parents who aren't at all pleased that these hooligans are disturbing their children's sexual peace of mind. But just look at them - they look like they stepped out of a sci-fi movie for kids, how on earth are they going to become as famous as Elvis? Panned by critics, ridiculed for their outfits, Kiss manage to redefine the boundaries of the impossible in just three years, driven by sales of their fourth record Alive! and the monstrous success of the single "Rock And Roll All Nite". And thanks a lot to the English glam rock phenomenon, which legitimized excess and transgressive creativity thanks to Bowie, Bolan, Elton John. The four painted creatures hold themselves up on impossible platform boots, and they're ready to sweep away everything and everyone, mercilessly, just like in the best American dream.

Wicked Lester

Chaim Witz is born on August 25, 1949 in the wards of Rambam Hospital in Haifa, Israel. His mother, Flóra Kovács, hails from Jánd, a small town in the Hungarian county of Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg. Having survived the terror of the Holocaust in Nazi concentration camps, Florence Klein - as her name is anglicized - married carpenter Ferenc "Feri" Yehiel Witz, living a humble life made of prayer and simple meals. At the age of eight, young Chaim moves with his mother to New York City, leaving behind the town of Tirat Carmel and, above all, his father, who stayed in Israel with the children he had with another woman. Once in the Big Apple, Chaim takes the name Gene Klein, adopting his mother's maiden name. Shortly after, he enrolls at the Jewish religious school Yeshiva Torah Vodaas, which he later leaves for a standard public school before going on to study at Richmond College. Gene develops a passion for music, starts playing guitar and dreams of becoming like one of the fabulous Beatles, all while juggling various jobs, from assistant to a Vogue editor to teacher at a middle school on the Upper West Side. His first band is called Lynx, later becoming Missing Links and then Long Island Sounds, simple pastimes squeezed between selling used comic books and a new course of study at Sullivan County Community College.

Among Gene's closest friends (and bandmates) is Stephen Coronel, a guitarist born in 1951, who often lends his New Jersey apartment for rehearsing new songs. Gene and Stephen intend to form a new band, a trio, and are looking for someone capable of singing and playing guitar at the same time. Coronel is strongly thinking of a former bandmate from Tree, one Stanley Eisen, who's endowed with a voice as powerful as Robert Plant's. At least that's what Gene thinks when he hears him play live at a venue in Harlem, performing "Whole Lotta Love" with an uncommon stage presence.

Stanley Bert Eisen was born on January 20, 1952 in Inwood, a neighborhood in northern Manhattan, the second son in a Jewish family that had escaped the Nazi regime from their native Poland to Amsterdam and then New York. Great lovers of classical music, his parents introduce Stanley to the works of Beethoven, trying to help him overcome a severe deformity in his right ear that has afflicted him since birth. Bullied by his schoolmates, Stanley shows great character in wanting to overcome his hearing problems, developing a passion for the TV show "American Bandstand" and especially for rock'n'roll, from Jerry Lee Lewis to Little Richard. At the age of seven he's given his first guitar as a gift, starting to practice and carrying on undeterred throughout the 60s, listening to the Beatles and the Stones while attending the High School of Music & Art, where he shows great talent in the visual arts.

After joining Rainbow and then Tree, Eisen finds himself for the first time in the same room as Gene Klein in August 1970, introduced by Stephen Coronel with the proposal of forming a new group. With his imposing build, long black overcoat and thick beard, Gene Klein is amazed to learn that Eisen can write songs, particularly struck by his impromptu performance of "Sunday Driver", written by Stanley himself in the style of one of his favorite groups, The Move. In return, Klein plays his "Stanley The Parrot", which fails to win Eisen over due to an excessive vocal resemblance to Paul McCartney, a true idol for young Gene.

In fact, the first meeting between Paul and Gene doesn't go all that well. Klein comes across as arrogant, mostly a byproduct of his solitary nature following his parents' separation. Back home, Eisen tells Coronel he has absolutely no desire to start playing with him, but a couple of days later he's talked into showing up for another session, where keyboardist Brooke Ostrander is also brought in for an afternoon jam. The vocal chemistry between Gene and Stanley suddenly proves radiant, drawing the two closer and closer together, both for their shared musical tastes and their Jewish traditions. But above all, the two realize they share the same level of ambition: they want to take over the world, and they understand that doing it together could be a lot easier. Thus the Wicked Lester project is born, in search of a debut album that will never come, rehearsed in the downtime between recording sessions at Electric Lady, for lack of money to rent a proper studio. The band has no clear direction, let alone a shared sense of purpose, torn apart by constant arguments between Coronel and Eisen, and poorly backed by the docile drummer Tony Zarrella. Produced by sound engineer Ron Johnsen, Wicked Lester are supposed to release their first record on the Epic label, while Gene and Stanley hone their vocal interplay in the style of the Everly Brothers. And yet, the first real gig the two land is with singer Lyn Christopher on her self-titled debut album, as backing vocalists on the tracks "Celebrate" and "Weddin'". It's the first time their names appear on a record: Gene Klein is Gene Simmons, in honor of one of his favorite artists, rockabilly singer Jumpin' Gene Simmons; Stanley Eisen goes by Paul Stanley, a tribute to McCartney and Rodgers.

While waiting for their debut album to come out, Simmons and Stanley lend their voices and instruments to various singers who are regulars at Electric Lady. Tommy James, Gee Whiz, the bizarre Tonto's Expanding Headband. The Wicked Lester recordings crawl along, buried under a hippie sound somewhere between Three Dog Night and the Doobie Brothers, lacking any direction or sense of identity. Tracks like "She" feature flute parts, while "Love Her All I Can" inexplicably veers toward dance music. Gene and Paul look at each other, utterly convinced: "We have to break up this band". Having let Tony Zarrella go, Stanley starts working at a sandwich shop to get by, while Simmons gets by decently as assistant to the director of the Puerto Rican Interagency Council, a government agency.

His free time is entirely devoted to music, in search of a new sound that's as direct as possible and heavily guitar-driven. Paul Stanley is fascinated by Steve Marriott (Humble Pie), thinking about how central his rhythm guitar could be in building a sound that draws on melody (Beatles), but also heavy ferocity (Led Zeppelin, Stones, Who). His passion for English music also brings with it a major influence from Slade, whose "Mama Weer All Crazee Now" serves as a cornerstone for the new sound taking shape. Another key aspect will be live performances, which need to be powerful, unlike anything seen before. "Very simply," Stanley will say, "we wanted to be the band we had never seen live."

The first kiss

Autumn 1972. George Peter John Criscuola is in the middle of a wild party, drinking from a bottle of Portuguese rosé wine that has a cat's head on the label. Of course he can't dwell on this coincidence when Gene Simmons calls him on the phone, responding to his ad in Rolling Stone magazine dated August 31. "Do you have a beard?", "Are you fat?", "Do you have a good stage presence?" are some of the questions fired off like in the game "Guess Who?". Peter has fun, with a certain arrogance, repeating those questions out loud to his guests, impressing Simmons, who invites him to Electric Lady for an audition as drummer for a "new group that's very English in tone". Born on December 20, 1945 in Brooklyn, New York, Peter John is the son of Loretta and Joseph Criscuola, the latter originally from Scafati, in the province of Salerno. Passionate about art and swing music from an early age, Peter manages to get into the Metropole Club to receive the invaluable teachings of one of his great idols, drummer and bandleader Gene Krupa. Criscuola thus joins several groups from the mid-1960s onward, moving on to Chelsea, who release a self-titled debut album on the Decca label. The group is renamed Lips, a trio with bandmates Michael Benvenga and Stan Penridge, later reduced to a duo with just Penridge before finally splitting up. Back from a trip to Spain, Peter has bought several flashy satin outfits, which he wears to show up at the studio after Simmons's phone call. When he sees Gene and Paul dressed like mods, he bursts out laughing in disbelief: "And these are the guys who asked me if I dress wild?".

With a different but perfectly compatible musical background – Phil Spector, Ronettes, Four Tops – Peter passes the first auditions, starting to play regularly with Gene and Paul in a grungy (and expensive) rented apartment at number 10 East Twenty-Third Street, so close to the famous Flatiron Building. The walls are covered with empty egg boxes, a makeshift soundproofing job, so they can rehearse inside the apartment, perfecting a power-trio sound in the vein of Cream and the Jimi Hendrix Experience. Also dropping by the New York apartment is Don Ellis, vice-president of A&R at Epic, who can't quite grasp the reason for all the theatrics the three are putting on, between confetti and white greasepaint. The American label passes, leaving Gene, Paul and Peter to drink sherry in their roach-infested apartment.

But the three have no intention of giving up, and they place an ad in the Village Voice on December 14, 1972. Paul Stanley doesn't want to be the lead guitarist; he wants to focus on the live performance and be free to let loose. So they need a lead guitarist, a fourth member who is "fast and skilled, for an album to be released soon, no time-wasters." Dozens of guitarists of every background and skill level audition for the band, while a copy of the Village Voice ad ends up at the home of twenty-one-year-old Paul Daniel Frehley, who has recently moved back in with his parents for a while.

Paul was born on April 27, 1951, and grew up in the Bronx, the youngest of the three children of Esther Anna and Carl Daniel Frehley, who hailed from North Carolina and was of Dutch descent. Young Paul grows up in a household devoted to music, with his brother Charles a classical guitarist. At age 13 he's given his first guitar, throwing himself self-taught into a boundless repertoire ranging from Albert Lee to the Stones. He continues his education from Lutheran elementary school to a typical high school, where his classmates nickname him Ace because he's a real ace at picking up girls. He starts playing professionally in various bands: The Outrage, The Four Roses, King Kong, Honey, The Magic People. The last band is called Cathedral, which even manages to land a few gigs, enough for him to drop out of school for good. Ace then takes a string of odd jobs to support himself, working as a courier and a cab driver, until his friend Chris Cassone shows up at his parents' house with that magical ad from the Village Voice.

Frehley is taken to the audition by his mother, and he's so nervous that he's wearing two shoes of different colors. He drinks a couple of beers to calm his nerves before meeting the band and finding Bob Kulick there, practically already chosen by the band as the new lead guitarist for his love of Led Zeppelin. Kulick isn't entirely convinced looking at Simmons's Polaroids of the possible stage makeup and costumes to use. Then Ace walks in, a true freak with features somewhere between Asian and German, and starts warming up while Kulick is finishing his audition. Gene hates him from the first instant, scolding him sternly, but gives in once he hears his solo on "Deuce." Paul and Peter are floored and immediately understand that, despite his decidedly unusual personality, Ace Frehley is the missing piece for that explosive mixture. He goes home convinced he's got the job and has found the right band to take on the world, but soon discovers that the very same band lied about already having a signed record deal. Still, Gene and co.'s vision of theatrical rock is too electrifying to pass up, so Ace starts rehearsing with the group six days a week, without a break.

This is how the boundless ambitions of Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley meet the raw talent of two essential musicians, Ace Frehley and Peter Criss, finally blending a magic brew of pop and heavy metal, somewhere between the Beatles and Alice Cooper. And there will have to be makeup, lots of makeup, and alien costumes will have to live on after the tragic on-stage demise of Ziggy Stardust. Their first scheduled show is fast approaching, at Coventry, one of the few clubs in New York willing to host bands playing original material, with no covers of songs that aren't at least in Billboard's Top 40. Simmons and Stanley buy a number of decidedly unconventional outfits, from skin-tight latex trousers to a black T-shirt emblazoned with a flashy glittery word: Kiss.

Nothing to lose

Located between Queens Boulevard and Forty-seventh Street, Coventry had opened not long before, in the early Seventies, originally under the name Popcorn Pub. In the heart of Queens, the club is one of the few willing to host young bands that don't just play covers, firmly committed to rock'n'roll. The band's first official show, on January 30, 1973, is also attended by members of the Ramones, pleasantly struck by the sheer impact unleashed on stage in front of barely ten people. Still, the four of them have gone all out to promote the gig, handing out flyers across half of Manhattan, even placing an ad in the Village Voice. The band's name is Kiss, suggested by Paul Stanley while they're driving on the expressway toward Long Island. Perhaps less inspired than the Fuck suggested by Simmons, who nonetheless immediately shows great fondness for that word, so romantic and sensual, so damn English. But the name sticks mostly because it represents something universal, exactly what the four aspiring masked rockers are aiming for. Within minutes, Ace sketches out the band's logo, polished by Stanley and deliberately left imperfect in the two final S's, which to some unsettlingly recall the Third Reich.

When they debut live, Kiss look like they've stepped straight out of the most outrageously glam London: Simmons looks like a drag queen, while Ace looks an awful lot like Shirley MacLaine. For their second show at Coventry, Ace changes his look, painting two large stars around his eyes. Paul Stanley picks up the idea, drawing just one, bigger star, while Gene draws inspiration from a mix of Batman and the Phantom of the Opera, gathering his long hair into a bun to keep it from falling over his face and covering up that terrifying makeup. Frehley moves toward a sort of alien mask, leaving Peter Criss to come up with his own masked alter-ego, a cat, chosen specifically because its behavior closely mirrors that of the drummer himself, craving attention at certain moments, shy and withdrawn at others.

The band keeps playing at Coventry, while word spreads around the city about this raw, outlandish lineup. From barely ten people at the first show, crowds grow to a hundred, a hundred and fifty a night, excellent numbers given that this is a group stubbornly playing only original material, with no hits of the moment. One of the Queens shows gets a review in the Daily News, in which the four musicians' music takes a back seat, overshadowed by a stage presence like nothing seen before, a blend of English glam and kabuki theater. Kiss are then pitched to Sid Benjamin, the kindly owner of a Long Island venue, the Daisy, which is decidedly cleaner and better attended than Coventry. Sid Benjamin's sons work hard to promote the band, whose shows are scheduled on weeknights, since there isn't yet a solid fanbase to fill the place. But the group's wild performances open a crack, drawing ever-larger crowds eager to join a loud, rowdy party. It takes just a few shows to start selling out, with endless lines at the door and scenes resembling a storming of the Bastille.

Having quickly outgrown the Daisy, Kiss put together a cassette with a short press release to try to convince various bigger venues to book them, no easy task since there still isn't a defined following and, above all, no covers to put in the setlist. Simmons and co. push hard to become New York's biggest band, a title currently held only by Johnny Thunders's Dolls, who dominate the stages of the Big Apple with an abrasive R&B sound and an androgynous, aggressive presence. Technically primitive, the New York Dolls have no rivals in how they command the scene, a fact that impresses Paul Stanley and leads Kiss to drop their colorful clothes and makeup in favor of a black, white and silver palette to set themselves apart. The group feels they can play far better, with a repertoire closer to hard rock that could really make the difference compared to Johansen and his junkie cohorts.

March 1973. Kiss enter Electric Lady recording studios with producer Eddie Kramer, who had already worked as a sound engineer with Jimi Hendrix, Humble Pie and Led Zeppelin. After striking out with Cbs, manager Ron Johnsen needs a convincing demotape to draw the interest of record labels. That's why he puts his full trust in Kramer, an expert in sounds very close to the heavy metal the band brings to the stage live. Five songs are recorded in one go, like a river in flood captured on a four-track system, holding all the primal energy of the instruments and of Stanley's voice. "Deuce" is the first composition credited to Gene Simmons, a wild rock'n'roll number built on a bassline more or less inspired by the Stones' "Bitch." All the ingredients of the recipe are already there, from Ace's virtuosic hard-rock guitar to Gene's foul-mouthed vocals, driving an unstoppable rhythm fit for partygoers. It's Frehley himself who comes up with the killer riff for "Cold Gin," indebted to Free's "Fire And Water," telling over a tribal beat a desperate story of loneliness and alcoholism. The track showcases Peter Criss's drumming skill, constantly shifting tempos to break up the monotony of bass and guitar all the way to the final wah-wah solo. Kiss are a perfect machine, and they find a chemistry generated by their own ambition.

The supersonic boogie of "Strutter," the first Simmons-Stanley co-write, spins wonderfully in a whirl of pure seventies-style rock dynamism. While "Watching You" brings southern tones into the mix with a Lynyrd Skynyrd-style riff, "Black Diamond" opens with an acoustic refrain carried by the voices of Stanley and Criss, accompanying Frehley's flourishes in the wake of certain electric storms by Neil Young.

Fire!

Once the sessions with Kramer are done, Kiss get in touch, through Paul Stanley, with Keith West, owner of a record shop in Queens, the Music Box. West plays with The Brats, one of the most popular bands on New York's underground-glam circuit, and organizes a "Rock and Roll Party" held monthly at 54 Bleeker Street. West invites the band to open the show, but as soon as he hears the first notes of "Deuce" he realizes immediately that it was a huge mistake. Kiss are a band of professionals, playing with a voracious energy that has nothing to do with the typical approach of scrappy street-level glam bands who perform just for the fun of it. At the end of May, Ron Johnsen lines up a strange gig for the band in the outskirts, in Palisades, a charity event raising funds to save the local library. Also on the bill is the Pat Rebillot Quintet, a jazz group, playing between welcome cocktails in a very formal setting. Then Kiss arrive, to general astonishment, while Paul Stanley grabs the microphone and yells at everyone to start shaking their ass. In front of an audience of seventy-year-olds, the four masked men look like Martians, but they manage to hold the crowd's attention right to the end, proving to themselves that they have an almost magical power over listeners. But the time has now come to catch the attention of industry people, with a few shows between July and August at the famous but faded Hotel Diplomat near Times Square, whose main ballroom had already hosted the New York Dolls. To draw a crowd they again book The Brats alongside The Planets, actually sparking a loud buzz around the city. Simmons takes care of printing a batch of invitations reserved for record labels, listing Kiss as the sole act of the night.

The first night is triumphant, with Simmons finally transforming fully into the monster, moving his head like a giant lizard after watching the film "20 Million Miles To Earth," leaving the far more established Brats to play to a half-empty room.

After seeing Alice Cooper's shock-rock live, Kiss decide to push even harder on stage presence, buying newer and more powerful amplifiers. During their second night at the Diplomat they catch the attention of William Martin Aucoin, Bill to his friends, a native of Ayer, Massachusetts, with a recent past as a television producer at Teletape Productions. A fresh thirty-year-old, Bill is captivated by the band's fierce determination as they search for a manager to land the record deal they so badly want, right after the departure of Lew Linet, who admitted he saw no real future for a genre he considered too derivative. Aucoin proposes to Simmons that they meet in his office after the Diplomat Hotel show, promising the group he can find an interested label in under a month. Openly gay, Aucoin hires his friend Sean Delaney officially as road manager, though in reality he's more of a choreographer, helping Kiss become a single, unified aesthetic entity. Behind it all is the new management company Aucoin founded with his friend and colleague Joyce Biawitz, Rock Steady, entirely focused on promoting Kiss as a theatrical band, far more extreme than the famous Alice Cooper.

The new manager's first move is to keep his promise, contacting Neil Bogart, who is setting up a new label, Casablanca Records, with Warner Brothers backing distribution. As a true branding process begins - from new hair dye to dog collars studded with silver spikes, right up to the enormous platform boots built by an Italian manufacturer in New York - the new management pushes hard on public relations, feeding the public more or less faithful stories about four so-called larger than life characters.

The demo Kiss recorded with Kramer ends up in the hands of producer Kenny Kerner, who brings it to Neil Bogart's office for a group listen with his right-hand man, Richie Wise. The two are captivated by the raw rock'n'roll sound on the cassette and convince Bogart to sign them to the brand-new Casablanca Records. A former singer who crossed over to the other side of the music industry, Neil Bogart had worked at Art Kass's Buddah Records, quickly becoming known as the "king of bubblegum music" thanks to acts like Ohio Express and 1910 Fruitgum Company. Once his run at Buddah ended, Bogart set up the label of his dreams, Casablanca, in September 1973. His stated goal to the Warner Brothers executives - who would handle the records' distribution - is to sign new bands spanning rock'n'roll and hard rock, with a requested budget of 750,000 dollars to get things started. Bogart hears Kiss live for the first time during a showcase specially organized at the LeTang photography studios, and is floored by the power and sheer madness of Simmons and co. "They represented everything I was looking for in a band," he would later say. The four sign their first contract in November 1973, covering a total of three albums, following that unwritten rule that a band collapses after its third commercial flop. Barely enough time for autographs before they're in Bell Sound Studios with the two producers Bogart assigned to Kiss, Kenny Kerner and Richie Wise.

Kerner and Wise's stated goal: faithfully reproduce the live rawness of the demo tape recorded with Kramer, with no frills. Just six days to record and about a week for mixing, to capture that same exciting sound Kiss had been spreading across New York. Yet the two producers still have to find a way to compensate for the fact that none of the four musicians is really a virtuoso on his instrument, even though they're 100% focused on what they're doing: a vibrant rock'n'roll record.

Depicted on the cover as Beatles arrived from some distant, glittery galaxy, the four cut their self-titled debut album, Kiss, just over 35 minutes of music that was revolutionary for its kind. The record naturally includes the earliest battle cries already captured in demo form by the band - from the boogie of "Strutter" to the desperate "Cold Gin" - actually rendered less devastating and more polished by Kerner and Wise's production, as Simmons himself later explained. Still, the new recordings at Bell Sound are a concentrated burst of dynamism and rock fun, starting with the brazen Bolan-esque groove of "Nothin' To Lose". Paul Stanley's rock-star ambitions take a cue from Move and Free, dressing the riffs of "Firehouse" and "Let Me Know" in glitter and sparkle, the latter capped off by Frehley's heavy guitar coda.

Side two of the record opens with the rock'n'roll of "Kissin' Time", a full-volume cover of Bobby Rydell's 1959 classic, pushed by Casablanca purely as a promotional tie-in to the band's name. The collective instrumental groove "Love Theme From Kiss" leads into the excellent, supersonic hard-funk of "100,000 Years", driven by Ace's futuristic guitar.

Hotter Than Hell

While waiting for the debut album's release, Kiss return for two shows at the Coventry Club on December 21 and 22, 1973, fully loaded with new stage effects like a levitating drum kit. Nothing can stop the machine now in motion, except for a phone call to the Casablanca offices from Warner Brothers executives, asking Neil Bogart to convince the band to take the makeup off their faces. The major label is spooked by the declining sales of Alice Cooper's records, but Bill Aucoin backs the group and refuses, gearing up for the big slam on December 31, 1973. Kiss take the stage at New York's Academy of Music alongside Teenage Lust, Iggy & The Stooges and Blue Öyster Cult, the biggest crowd Simmons and co. have ever played to. Not originally on the bill, the band is added at the last minute, the first act to go on without even a soundcheck. All this while jumping from small clubs straight to a former vaudeville theater with a capacity of nearly 5,000, as Gene's long hair catches fire and a young fan gets his face burned by one of his new exploding-powder tricks. The performance shakes everyone present, marking the first appearance of the giant Kiss logo made of wood and coated in silver paint, a new stage idea from Bill Aucoin, who is meanwhile working on a big launch event with the Warner executives. Closed for three years by then, the legendary Fillmore East is chosen as the new location for a showcase, with music journalists, industry people, friends and family all invited.

Released in the US market in February 1974, Kiss struggles to get radio play across America, not helped by lukewarm reviews. The trade press sees the band as a flashy experiment by Neil Bogart, failing to take their music seriously. It becomes clear that Kiss will have to build their empire through live shows, relying on the skilled hands of American Talent International (ATI), one of the hottest booking agencies on the American rock scene. ATI decides to pair the group with other acts it manages directly - Savoy Brown, Manfred Mann's Earth Band, Blue Öyster Cult - booking several dates and billing them as the opening act. But the kind of show Kiss put on, so fierce and over-the-top, doesn't sit well with the other bands at all, who, in a strange twist, end up complaining to ATI because they have to go on after Kiss as headliners. The situation is tricky, since moving the Kiss circus around is expensive, and smaller venues would be needed since the band can't really open for other acts. So the four set off on a very short Canadian tour, filling in for the Michael Quatro Band, with two dates booked in Edmonton and Calgary, both at university venues. Only a few hundred people show up to each show, forcing Simmons to skip the fire tricks due to the cramped spaces. A third date is arranged at the University of Manitoba, while the band's performance airs on the TV show "In Concert", hosted by Dick Clark.

On returning from the Canadian run, Kiss land on the airwaves of New York radio station WNEW, getting spins during well-known DJ Alison Steele's show. Casablanca's top brass, boycotted by a Warner Brothers that despises the band, get in touch with a Nashville radio station, KMAK, weighing the suggestion that Kiss record someone else's song, one with a better shot at breaking into the Top 40 on the AM dial. Neil Bogart pressures the band to record a rock'n'roll version of "Kissing Time", from Bobby Rydell's catalog, even going so far as to threaten to drop Simmons from the label immediately.

Kiss thus go back into the studio with Kerner and Wise, after Bogart promises the track will never be released as a single. Instead, "Kissing Time" is immediately added to the tracklist of the first album, blasted on KMAK, and it actually manages to help boost the record's previously sluggish sales. Bogart goes even further, launching a surreal nationwide radio contest, "The Great Kiss-Off", inviting listeners to come to the grand finale at the Woodfield Mall in Schaumburg, Illinois, and take part in the big challenge: holding the longest kiss. Nothing is said to the band, whose logo ends up plastered on t-shirts, posters and stickers promoting the record and, of course, the new, hated single. Kiss show up for an autograph session on June 8, 1974, finding a sea of couples, topped by the winning pair, Vinnie Toro and Louise Heath, who kept a kiss going for 116 hours. The stunt, however absurd, works brilliantly, with Casablanca ready to pour rivers of money into getting the band's first record into America's major music stores. Drawn in by the success of "The Great Kiss-Off", numerous stores launch local contests inviting customers to dress up as members of the band, driving what in the most basic marketing playbook is called awareness.

After more TV appearances - from the "Mike Douglas Show" to "The Midnight Special" - the band sets off on a long American tour, racking up miles in a station wagon. From the plains of Tennessee to freezing Alaska, Kiss earn less than 800 dollars a night as the opening act, barely enough for gas, food and hotel rooms. On June 12 in Flint, Michigan, the band shares a stage with the New York Dolls for the first time, further honing their stage show of blood, fire and confetti storms.

The first tour wraps up in August at The Village Recorder studios in Los Angeles, chosen by Casablanca so Kerner and Wise can once again work with the band on a second album. The Kiss machine is bleeding money, and something has to break through on the charts, with Warner's pressure weighing entirely on Neil Bogart's shoulders.

Hotter Than Hell would come out toward the end of October 1974, preceded by the single "Let Me Go, Rock 'n' Roll", built on a Paul Stanley riff in the unmistakable style of Chuck Berry. Compared to the debut, the sound is darker, despite another attempt by the two producers to record live in the room to recreate the ferocity of the band's live shows. The opening "Got To Choose", in fact, has a smoother, somewhat plastic-feeling groove, struggling to take off despite Frehley's obsessive guitar work and the pop choruses. The following "Parasite", on the other hand, reveals an early heavy metal turn, written by Ace, who hands vocal duties to Simmons due to his own underlying insecurity at the mic.

Kiss keep telling unsettling stories, like the one about the relationship between a ninety-year-old man and a sixteen-year-old girl, in their first power-pop-flavored ballad, "Goin' Blind". Shaped by Free, Stanley pays tribute to the hit "All Right Now" with the not-all-that-original reworking "Hotter Than Hell", while Simmons dusts off the sound of the debut album on the whirlwind "All The Way".

Broadly speaking, the record feels like a collection of B-sides, to the point that "Watchin' You", already recorded with Kramer, gets dusted off again. There are, however, some top-notch numbers, from the punk-metal hybrid "Comin' Home" to "Strange Ways", which unleashes one of Frehley's finest solos.

If you drive us wild, we'll drive you wild

If the commercial results of Hotter Than Hell fail to satisfy Bogart and Warner – stalling at #100 on the US Top 200 – the Kiss live machine keeps rolling unstoppably, conquering Atlanta with a run of shows at Alex Cooley's Electric Ballroom. Casablanca keeps pushing for a third record, desperately hunting for a hit that can carry the band, but there's not enough budget left to work again with Kerner and Wise. It's Neil Bogart himself who takes the producer's chair for the follow-up, Dressed To Kill, recorded quickly at Electric Lady Studios in New York in February 1975.

Starting with the supersonic rock'n'roll of "Room Service", the album is cut at a far more electrifying pace than the measured, dark Hotter Than Hell. Alongside Kiss themselves, Bogart has no time left to waste and decides to go all-in on replicating the incendiary sound the band delivers live, the one that's driving their fanbase to swell across the whole of the United States. From "Two Timer" to "Ladies In Waiting", the album is made up of lean, stripped-down tracks – no more than 30 minutes in total – built entirely around obsessive bass-and-guitar grooves onto which catchy melodies are hooked. Dressed To Kill is, for this reason, the record that forges the band's sound, made more accessible than the raw abrasiveness of the debut, yet more energetic and rock'n'roll than its successor.

There's more room here for the Frehley-Criss duo on the unleashed "Getaway", before the sudden Latin-tinged arpeggio that opens "Rock Bottom", a successful stab at the kind of anthem meant to turn the band into an arena-rock act. Inspired by the Moody Blues' "Question", the energetic "C'mon And Love Me" shrewdly courts the female audience with its blend of rock riffs and doubled falsetto harmonies. The record also nods to fifties sounds ("Anything For My Baby"), digging up the stuttering hard-rock number "She" from the earliest Wicked Lester repertoire – a great showcase for Frehley's call-and-response playing, and especially for the closing section inspired by the Doors' "Five To One".

Encouraged by Bogart, Kiss finally land the knockout blow, managing to craft one of the most irresistible party songs in history, "Rock And Roll All Nite", which effectively owes a debt to Slade's "Mama Weer All Crazee Now", while still being stamped with its own brash, devilish personality. The track is, to all intents and purposes, the anthem Bogart had been obsessively chasing, released as a single in April 1975 and stalling at #69 – certainly a better result than "Kissing Time", written for the kissing contest. It could have been another flop for Casablanca, but Dressed To Kill allows Kiss to climb the charts, from #100 up to #32 on the US Billboard 200.

On March 19, 1975 the "Dressed To Kill Tour" kicks off, starting at the Roxy Theater in Northampton, Pennsylvania and wrapping up in August in Indianapolis, alongside bands like Rush, ZZ Top, Black Sabbath and Uriah Heep. In September, in Tennessee, Kiss share the stage with their beloved Slade, at the time one of the leading bands on the global glam scene, but above all one of the biggest inspirations for Simmons and co., who have been trying precisely to Americanize the Black Country group's sound.

A new tour has just gotten underway, in support of Alive!, the first double live album, released only shortly before by Casablanca, having captured several of the band's shows live between May and July. The title is itself a tribute to Slade, to their 1972 record "Slade Alive!", with the explicit aim of finally putting out an album that truly captures the four musicians' fiery live sound. Stanley, in fact, is convinced that the commercial flop of the first three albums comes down to too soft an approach in the studio, and that fans go see the band live without then buying the records. It really is the group's last resort, as they have in the meantime collided head-on with Bogart over unpaid royalties from the first three records, after an advance of just 15,000 dollars. Unsure how to proceed, Casablanca agrees to release a live album, deemed cheaper to produce, with support from Bill Aucoin, who has already put up over 300,000 dollars of his own money for the Dressed To Kill tour.

Eddie Kramer is brought back to produce the double album, particularly valued by the band for his work on their very first demo, with the specific goal of recreating the strongest possible sound. Controversy would later arise – Kiss themselves would admit that the double album was heavily doctored in the studio to cover up various problems with instruments and microphones – but Alive! is the watershed album, the one that launches the band toward the top of the American charts.

The "hottest band on Earth" comes roaring onto the scene with the explosive killer riff of "Deuce", genuinely light years removed from the softer version found on the debut album. Frehley's guitar is immediately the star of the show, while Stanley kicks off the ultimate rock'n'roll party before tearing into "Strutter" at full speed. From the pyrotechnic flourishes of "Firehouse" to the obscene brutality of "Nothin' To Lose", Kiss finally manage to impose their own brand of justice on record too. Credit, of course, goes to white-hot performances, breathless shows that hit the listener between the raw punk of "C'mon And Love Me" and the destructive combo of metal and hard rock on "Parasite" and "She".

Accused by some critics of excessive sonic monotony, Alive! is the record that perfectly captures a band bent on attack, utterly convinced of its own powers and refusing to give an inch. It's the sacred fire of rock'n'roll that forges, straight from the underworld, the mile-long version of "100,000 Years", while Stanley whips the crowd into a frenzy before diving without a parachute into "Black Diamond" and "Rock Bottom". Frehley's guitar borders on omnipotence, on his dark gem "Cold Gin" and then on the closing party songs "Rock And Roll All Nite" and "Let Me Go, Rock 'N Roll". A concentrated dose of swagger, speed and killer riffs across just over 70 minutes of pure live fun.

The god of thunder

Released in September 1975, Alive! catapults Kiss toward the top of the American charts, reaching #9 on the Billboard 200. It will stay there for a record-setting total of 110 weeks, while the band has already kicked off a new tour with dates alongside Slade. Sensing the smell of imminent success, Bill Aucoin storms into the Casablanca offices to threaten Bogart over the band's unpaid royalties: Kiss will sign elsewhere. The label is cornered, "forced" to write a check for a full two million dollars to keep the band. While the "Alive Tour" rages on from Knoxville to Springfield, the volatile temperaments of Criss and Frehley cause growing concern for the more focused Simmons and Stanley. Ace in particular sees his drinking problem worsen, having already nearly died crashing his car around Hollywood, naturally after one too many beers. By Aucoin's order, none of the four Kiss members is ever to be photographed in public without makeup, to keep feeding the aura of mystery among an ever-growing audience. When Frehley, bleeding, walks back to his hotel room after the crash, no one actually recognizes him, and he's left to wander around like a zombie. Legend has it that the first photo of Kiss without makeup ever obtained by a fan was taken by a mafia member for the local boss's son, inside a restaurant.

It's a full-blown Kissmania, spreading among young Americans in high schools, infected by the irresistible party-sound and the urge to dress up as The Demon and The Starchild. There's even a first official magazine, "Kisser", kept alive with unwavering passion by the earliest members of the Kiss Army, the famous fan club founded by two teenagers from Indiana, Bill Starkey and Jay Evans. At the start of 1975 the two kids contact the local radio station Wvts, trying to get the band's music heard by all their peers. Turned down by station manager Rich Dickerson, they launch a full-on bombardment campaign under the name Kiss Army, sending letters signed "Bill Starkey – President of the Kiss Army and Jay Evans – Field Marshal". Wvts finally caves in July and starts playing Kiss records, receiving thousands of requests to join the fan club behind the campaign. It's an incredibly powerful promotional push landed for free, and Aucoin is quick to seize on it, asking his agency Howard Marks Inc. to design a logo for the fan club, effectively making it official. At the height of its success, the Kiss Army will grow to over 100,000 members, generating an estimated five thousand dollars a day.

In January 1976, the live version of "Rock And Roll All Nite" jumps to #12 on the Billboard Singles chart, echoing the way Deep Purple's "Smoke On The Water" only became a hit after being included on the live album "Made In Japan". Triumphant, Paul Stanley holds up the band's first gold record in a packed Cobo Hall, in a Detroit that has by now embraced Kiss as local heroes. After years of sweat and melting makeup, the four New Yorkers have finally done it, conquering the United States of America. A shining golden moment, one that leads Aucoin to renegotiate the contract with Casablanca for the next two records, as demanded by Bogart, who still isn't fully convinced: could this be a phenomenon destined to burn out within a couple of years at most? Instead, Kiss are ready to double down on an already juicy stake, hiring Robert "Bob" Alan Ezrin, the Canadian producer who has already worked with Pink Floyd, Lou Reed and, above all, Alice Cooper, by then the longstanding king of Grand Guignol. The band is convinced that Ezrin is the right man to evolve the Kiss sound while preserving their commercial success, bringing him in to work at the New York studios on a batch of songs already prepared in demo form.

But not just any of the best will do: Bob ruthlessly rejects most of the material, reinventing the band's classic sound on Destroyer, released in mid-March 1976. An iron-fisted sergeant, Ezrin immediately realizes the band's instrumental skills are limited, and introduces actual individual music lessons for the four members. If they want to become truly great, Kiss need discipline, as well as new atmospheric effects like the unsettling children's screams that punctuate the menacing heavy metal march of "God Of Thunder". Written by Stanley at a much faster tempo, the track is slowed down and stuffed with effects, with lead vocals handed to the darker-voiced Simmons, and reverse drums played by Criss. The opening of "Great Expectations" reprises Beethoven's "Sonata Pathétique", with a guitar contribution from Dick Wagner, the first outside musician to play on a Kiss record, after having worked (of course) with Reed and Cooper. It's another landmark track, in which the band's fury is tempered by bells and the boy soprano voices of the Brooklyn Boys Chorus.

Treated by the Canadian producer in an almost military fashion, Simmons and co. willingly accept this kind of sonic schooling, eager to record their masterpiece. "Detroit Rock City" is like a rock'n'roll machine gun aimed straight at the listener, its devastating uptempo drive held down by the rhythm section under Frehley's wah-wah flourishes. Inspired by R&B rhythms, "Detroit Rock City" is the anthemic track that shows the band's sudden maturation under Ezrin's guidance, thanks to a darker, deeper sound. But the album is also the big gamble won by Simmons and Stanley, convinced they could combine a more sophisticated approach with the obvious demands of commercial appeal. The result is the perfect sing-along song "King Of The Night Time World", carried by Criss's groove, Frehley's rock'n'roll riff, and a pop chorus that takes no prisoners. "Flaming Youth" is a generational anthem co-written with Ezrin himself, who dares to use a calliope (or steam organ) to give an old-fashioned touch to the song's martial rhythm.

The album is a stunning run of instant classics, from Wagner's ringing guitar on "Sweet Pain" – Ace doesn't take the rejection of his own version very well – to the killer chorus of the new party song "Shout It Out Loud", its title borrowed from a Hollies song, destined to triumph in arenas worldwide. Written by Peter Criss – and initially rejected "because Kiss don't do ballads" – "Beth" is the piano ballad the band's repertoire had been missing, sitting somewhere between Elton John and Rod Stewart, with arrangements by the New York Philharmonic sealing its choral, orchestral approach. The album closes by returning to the tribal rock of "Do You Love Me?", before the atmospheric coda "Rock And Roll Party".

The ultimate meaning of Destroyer lies entirely in its fantastic new cover art, which depicts Kiss not as ordinary hard rockers, but as genuine American superheroes.

See You In Your Dreams

The "Destroyer Tour" kicks off on April 11, 1976 in Fort Wayne, Indiana, later crossing the ocean to the UK, Germany and France, with Scorpions as the opening act. On August 20, at Anaheim Stadium, about 43,000 fans attend, bringing in nearly half a million dollars at the box office. Meanwhile, Peter Criss's romantic ballad "Beth" climbs the American charts as the B-side of "Detroit Rock City", the third single pulled from Destroyer, reaching No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100. The band thus scores its second gold record, despite criticism from many fans who accuse the new album of leaning too heavily on Bob Ezrin and straying too far from the classic Kiss style.

As if to answer back on the field, the band decides to immediately record a new album live in the studio, booking the Star Theatre in Nanuet, New York, with the faithful Eddie Kramer returning to the control room. After their first primetime TV appearance on "The Paul Lynde Halloween Special", in November the band releases Rock And Roll Over, made up mainly of songs written before and during the Destroyer tour. But these are reworkings of demo versions, starting with the ones Simmons brought into the studio, from the energetic Humble Pie-style hard rock of "Calling Dr. Love" to the more classic rock'n'roll groove of "Ladies Room".

Kiss abandon Bob Ezrin's (successful) risk-taking, putting together a more direct but inevitably repetitive album. Still, working with the Canadian producer brought an overall improvement in musicianship, giving Peter Criss more responsibility after the massive success of "Beth". The result is a more conventional number like "Baby Driver", despite the odd choice of recording the drum parts inside a bathroom, linked to the rest of the band via video feed. Stanley gets the job of opening the album with the acoustic intro of "I Want You", which then turns hard'n'heavy over Frehley's killer riff. From the speed of "Take Me" to the Townshend-style attack of "Love 'Em And Leave 'Em", the album gains in immediacy while losing in creativity. "Mr. Speed" returns to bolaniani territory, while "See You In Your Dreams" recreates the spirit of their recent anthems without reaching the heights of Destroyer.

Kiss, however, know how to pull a rabbit out of the hat with the folk-rock ballad "Hard Luck Woman", originally written by Stanley for Rod Stewart and then kept for themselves as an ideal follow-up to "Beth", with Criss's voice indeed sounding remarkably close to that of The Mod. Despite a less-than-thrilling batch of songs, Rock And Roll Over reaches No. 11 on the charts and becomes another platinum record, proof that the band turns everything it touches into gold.

Setting off from Savannah at the end of November, the new American tour holds special meaning for Kiss, who fulfill a lifelong dream: playing at Madison Square Garden in New York. It's the only city left to conquer, after years of grinding it out in small clubs, back when nobody wanted bands with original material. In the spring of 1977 they head out for a Japanese leg, supported by the local rock band Bow Wow. Back from Tokyo, Kiss take about a month off – their first break in four years – before heading back into the studio at Record Plant in New York, again with Kramer producing. Spirits are riding high, since a Gallup poll has just named Kiss "America's most popular band", ahead of Led Zeppelin, Eagles and Aerosmith.

Love Gun comes out in June, preceded by the controversial single "Christine Sixteen", another Simmons story about an older man's infatuation with an underage girl. According to some later statements, the Van Halen brothers reportedly played on the original demo version of the track, an uptempo hard-rock number featuring piano by Kramer. The new album opens with the blistering riff of "I Stole Your Love", written by Stanley in what may be an overly close echo of Deep Purple's "Burn". Singing lead for the first time, Ace Frehley takes on "Shock Me", which closely recalls certain high-voltage Ac/Dc grooves. More worrying, though, is the following "Tomorrow And Tonight", in which Kiss again try the party-song formula, dangerously close to self-parody. Things improve considerably with a return to the darker atmospheres of Destroyer on the heavy-pop groove of "Love Gun", entirely written by Stanley, borrowing some phrasing from Albert King's "The Hunter", later also echoed by Zeppelin on "How Many More Times".

Chosen as the second single, the title track is released with the B-side "Hooligan", written by Peter Criss, while Frehley unleashes the best of his Hendrix-inspired repertoire on the vibrant "Almost Human". The tremulous bass of "Plaster Caster" kicks off a new rock number in the now-classic Kiss style, followed by the cover "Then She Kissed Me", a retitled version of the spectoriana "Then He Kissed Me" (1963).

As with Rock And Roll Over, Love Gun manages to scrape by, offering up tracks that are reasonably fresh but lack real originality, as if the band had already switched to autopilot, confident in its own commercial clout.

In early July, a new tour kicks off from Halifax, Nova Scotia, with Cheap Trick as the regular opening act. Several dates are recorded for the October release of Alive II, originally conceived by Bill Aucoin to document the April concert at Budokan Hall in Tokyo. The band wants the new live album to feature material from their recent releases, leaving out all the early classics that had already filled out the first astonishing volume. The format is still four sides across a double LP, opening with the roar of "Detroit Rock City", which is typically played as the first encore on the Love Gun tour setlist. While it doesn't quite match the wild grandeur of the previous live album, Alive II races along on the collective excitement generated by Kiss shows. From "King Of The Night Time World" to "Ladies Room", the album offers another parade of songs played at full throttle, always with the attitude of a band that wants the world at its feet. It starts with heavy metal guitar blasts ("Makin' Love" and "Love Gun") before moving into incendiary riffs ("Calling Dr. Love" and "Christine Sixteen"), handing the vocal spotlight live for the first time to Ace Frehley on his own "Shock Me".

The band's recent work now allows for gentler interludes, like "Hard Luck Woman" and especially "Beth", greeted by the crowd with the enthusiasm reserved for their biggest songs. Also striking is the version of "God Of Thunder", before the closing party song "Shout It Out Loud".

Alive II is rounded out by a fourth side made up of new material recorded live without an audience at the Capitol Theatre in Passaic, New Jersey. Surprisingly, with little explanation, Ace Frehley is replaced by guitarist Bob Kulick, who is explosive on the heavy riff of "All American Man" and on the Bolan-esque boogie of "Rockin' In The U.S.A.". Kiss veer heavily into Zeppelin-esque territory on "Larger Than Life", while Frehley writes and plays the only track of the batch, the hard-rock "Rocket Ride". Stanley closes things out with the surf-punk-pop of "Any Way You Want It", a cover of British group The Dave Clark Five.

Kiss-mania

Released in the autumn of 1977, Alive II immediately climbs the American charts, eventually selling over 2 million copies. The promotional tour for the double album kicks off in mid-November in Oklahoma City, setting record takings at New York's Madison Square Garden. Kiss even outdo their idols the Beatles when they play 5 consecutive sold-out dates at Tokyo's Budokan. The band is at the peak of its success, to the point that the four members have to hire numerous bodyguards, especially in the southern states, where Christian fanatics accuse them of coming straight from hell. The Alive II tour ends in April 1978, when the first compilation, Double Platinum, is released, snapped up en masse by fans thanks to a dance reworking of "Strutter" and a handful of remixes ("Hard Luck Woman", "Black Diamond", "Deuce").

Bill Aucoin suggests the band take a break, avoiding new albums and tours to focus instead on shooting a TV movie titled "Kiss Meets The Phantom Of The Park", produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions. The plot has Kiss using new superpowers to fight an evil inventor, Abner Devereaux, in order to save a California amusement park from destruction. The film airs on NBC at the end of October, drawing plenty of criticism from fans who aren't keen on its blend of horror and comedy in a (vaguely) Marx Brothers style. Peter Criss himself, already tempted to leave the band due to the sheer stress of constant touring, will later say he "almost went crazy" during filming.

In the spring of 1978, while the film is being shot, no fewer than four solo albums are produced, released on the same day - September 18 - on Casablanca Records while retaining the band's licensing. The idea comes from management and is endorsed by all four members, keen to experiment more freely with their own musical tastes and ease the band's growing internal tensions. For Aucoin, it's obviously also a new commercial strategy, one that feeds the masked-superhero aura that has whipped up such powerful collective hysteria.

Gene Simmons is preceded by the single "Radioactive", which opens with orchestral atmospheres before erupting into a heavy-pop rhythm, featuring Joe Perry on electric guitar. It's one of the record's few hard-rock tracks, alongside "Burning Up With Fever" (with Donna Summer on backing vocals) and the reworking of "See You In Your Dreams", whose previously recorded band version the bassist himself has long considered not up to scratch. A huge Beatles fan, Simmons crafts several pop moods in the most classic Fab Four style, from "See You Tonite" to "Always Near You/Nowhere To Hide". There's even a foray into funky-disco music on "True Confessions" and an orchestral version of "Man Of 1,000 Faces". Utterly embarrassing is the Disney-style finale "When You Wish Upon A Star" from the film "Pinocchio", a baffling choice to close out an album that's otherwise broadly decent.

Kiss fans seem to approve, pushing the album to number 22 on the Billboard chart, the best placing of the four albums released simultaneously.

While Gene Simmons opts for trusted collaborator Sean Delaney behind the desk, Paul Stanley brings in Jeff Glixman, who has already worked with Kansas and Gary Moore. While Simmons favors Beatles-ish pop settings, Stanley sticks with a tried-and-true approach, building on the foundations already laid with the band. Not necessarily a bad thing, since the guitarist and singer has earned a formidable reputation as a writer of hard-rock songs. The acoustic intro that opens the massive new riff of "Tonight You Belong To Me" stands out as one of the album's best moments, alongside the epic "Take Me Away (Together As One)". With Bob Kulick's excellent lead guitar and Carmine Appice (Rod Stewart, Vanilla Fudge) on drums, Stanley revives the Kiss sound with a certain freshness, on the rock'n'roll of "Wouldn't You Like To Know Me" or the stadium-sized explosions of "It's Alright".

Ace Frehley, on the other hand, chooses Eddie Kramer, assembling a far more solid and well-written set of songs. It opens with the most vibrant rock on "Rip It Out", heating things up with the untamed hard-blues of "Speedin' Back To My Baby". Lost to alcohol and drugs, Ace proves he's a genuine musician, beyond the Spaceman mask that has by now pushed him into the background behind the far more imposing figures of The Demon and Starchild. While Simmons and Stanley released albums without taking any real risks, barely clearing the bar of adequacy, Frehley unleashes his full potential, from the Hendrix-like groove of "Snow Blind" to the hit "New York Groove", a cover of English glam band Hello.

Dark gems of hard-rock like "I'm In Need Of Love" suggest that Ace Frehley remains a thoroughly underrated record, its reputation diluted in the public's mind simply by being just one of the four albums Kiss put out in 1978.

A cruel fate, finally, befalls Peter Criss, who delivers the weakest record of the bunch, starting with the bland funky-soul of "I'm Gonna Love You". Incongruous disco-music elements crop up on tracks like "You Matter To Me", while the Bobby Lewis cover "Tossin' And Turnin'" is given a Blues Brothers spin. The rest of the album is utterly forgettable, from the pop languor of "Don't You Let Me Down" to the weak orchestral folk of "Easy Thing".

To capitalize fully on the four simultaneous releases, Casablanca decides to ship a total of 4 million copies to distributors, a move never before attempted on the US record market. Kiss are now on top of the world, adored by fans and ready to get back on the road after exploring their own personal boundaries, all while preserving their anonymity thanks to the masks of characters who have become hard-rock superheroes.

Hard times

At the start of 1979, Kiss find themselves shuttling between Electric Lady Studios and Record Plant in New York to record a new album with Italian-American producer Vini Poncia, who had already worked with Peter Criss on his disastrous self-titled album. Having tasted the freedom of writing separately, the four decide to keep working apart, bringing a range of demo versions to the table, initially placed in the hands of Giorgio Moroder before shifting over to Poncia. The band's new musical direction is in fact aimed at disco-music, centered on the funky groove of "Dirty Livin'", which ends up being the only track from Criss's submissions accepted by Simmons and Stanley. Not only that: "Dirty Livin'" is the only song on which Catman actually plays drums, elsewhere replaced by Anton Fig, who had already worked excellently with Ace Frehley on his solo album. It's an extremely difficult period for the drummer, bloated by alcohol and drugs and often wracked with searing pain in the ligaments of his arms and hands following a car accident. With the rest of the band in agreement, Poncia votes to cut him out of the recording sessions for Dynasty, by now considering him a musician well below acceptable quality standards.

The way is thus clear for the new hit written by Paul Stanley with songwriter Desmond Child, featuring a Motown-style chorus and a dancefloor beat once again destined to top the American charts. The infectious "I Was Made For Lovin' You" climbs to number eleven on the Billboard Hot 100, topping the charts in several countries around the world and selling over a million copies. It's the hip-swinging single that nonetheless drags along a tired album, one publicly derided in later years, first by Simmons and then by Frehley. Sidelining Criss and the new commercial turn effectively split the band, which loses the sacred fire of hard-rock in favor of chasing teenage tastes, as on the soft melodic pop of "Sure Know Something". More aggressive tracks like "Charisma" and "Magic Touch" still hold some interesting ideas, but they're completely watered down in the studio by Poncia's new arrangements. Frehley attempts a last-ditch rescue with the rock'n'roll of "2,000 Man" (a Stones cover) and "Hard Times", which at least preserves something of the band's original spirit.

The "Dynasty Tour" is also nicknamed "The Return Of Kiss," kicking off in Florida on June 15, 1979, with spectacular new laser effects and a rig that literally sends Gene Simmons flying through the air. The disco turn doesn't sit well with fans, who show up in noticeably smaller numbers after the band's previous studio effort. The setlist also includes a few tracks from the 1978 solo albums, while Peter Criss continues to struggle. The group experiences its first real moment of disgrace, culminating in the release of the next album, Unmasked. With Anton Fig now firmly on drums, the album is recorded in early 1980, again with Poncia, who by now is even more deeply embedded in Kiss's internal songwriting dynamics.

Unmasked is an outright disaster, boycotted by the Kiss Army and quickly vanishing from the radar after an unexpected No. 35 chart placement, so much for the Gallup poll and the "most popular band in America." Opening with the riff of "Is That You?" (Gerard McMahon), the album accelerates the band's metamorphosis from heavy band to pop band, stuffed with melodic arrangements tailor-made for teenagers. "Talk To Me" carries faint echoes of the Beach Boys, while the single "Shandi" brings crooner-style tones and orchestral arrangements over grating backing vocals. Tracks like "What Makes The World Go 'Round?" and "She's So European" are written, produced and arranged in the most basic, utterly predictable fashion. Once the standard-bearers of a fun, pedal-to-the-metal hard rock, Kiss have now turned into a boring band - no wonder the diehard fans in the trenches reject it.

Given the commercial flop of Unmasked, Kiss's management wisely decides to skip a new American tour, aside from the opening date in late July, when they play the Palladium in New York after having already filled Madison Square Garden. The new run of shows kicks off in Italy, moving on through Europe and then Australia, with new drummer Eric Carr. Born in the Brooklyn neighborhood on July 12, 1950, Paul Charles Caravello had always loved the visual arts, first as a comic-book artist and later as a photographer. In 1964, like so many others, he was struck by the Beatles on "The Ed Sullivan Show," falling for Ringo Starr so hard that he built himself a makeshift drum kit to play alone in his room. After joining the Allures to try out a mix of Latin rhythms and Beatles-esque sounds, Caravello moved on to the Cellarmen to get some practice on electric bass as well. Having developed a passion for the heavier sounds of Cream and Jimi Hendrix, he spent several years with mixed fortunes, his longest stint being with the group Mother Nature-Father Time, moving between disco, funk and soul. Caravello was on the verge of giving up on music for good when he sent Kiss a tape after Peter Criss's departure, featuring his own sung version of the new single "Shandi." Simmons and Stanley are struck by the drummer's style, which leans more toward hard music than the old Catman's did. During the audition, he gets several records autographed, just in case he's turned down. Instead, the band is thrilled, won over also by the fact that Caravello is completely unknown to the general public, meaning the fourth newly added member can remain entirely anonymous. In the press release issued by management, Eric Carr's age is shaved by three years, while the drummer himself is described as "a young Kiss fan who joined the band." Having found his stage name, Carr now needs to come up with his own makeup, a fantastical character to play. The choice falls on The Fox, after The Hawk is scrapped for being too complicated to pull off as a mask, just days before the debut at New York's Palladium.

To Hell and Back

The Unmasked tour wraps up on December 3, 1980, in Auckland, where the band's fans prove more forgiving toward the recent records, guaranteeing a sold-out show. Several dates are canceled, though, both due to the wait for the new drummer and poor ticket sales for some European shows. At the start of the new year, Kiss are firmly determined to win back their massive American following, ditching the controversial Vini Poncia to work once again with Bob Ezrin. In a burst of creativity, Gene Simmons wants to develop his own concept-album idea, centered on the story of a boy (The Boy) who is instructed and trained by a council of wise elders belonging to the mysterious Order of the Rose. Initially fearful, the boy is guided by the sage Morpheus toward the full maturity needed to fight evil. Simmons is convinced the record will allow Kiss to be reborn on the American market, thanks to an approach closer to that of Destroyer. Frehley is far less convinced, unable to stomach Ezrin's drastic methods, not least because he's in the grip of a serious cocaine addiction at the time. Carr's own style doesn't sit well with the Canadian producer either, who even goes so far as to replace him on some tracks during recording. The sessions at various studios - including Ezrin's own in Toronto - are kept almost entirely under wraps, while Simmons is in talks for a film adaptation of the album. The American Symphony Orchestra is brought in, under the prestigious direction of Michael Kamen, to the growing frustration of Ace, who would rather go back to a leaner, more decisive rock sound.

It seems the band is about to drop a surprise masterpiece, but when Music From "The Elder" comes out on November 10, 1981, what follows is an epic crash. From the opening "Fanfare" onward - an intro caught between fairy-tale classicism and medieval tones - the album reaches extreme heights of pretentiousness, even as it shows flashes of creativity, such as the riff of the following "Just A Boy," though that too is loaded down with arrangements straddling thirteenth-century folk and falsetto harmonies.

It's a fiercely divisive record, savaged by critics as soon as it comes out and even branded "one of the worst albums of all time." Somewhat reassessed over the years, the album is marred by an out-of-place progressive streak, as in the tedious orchestral sweep of "Odyssey" - written by songwriter Tony Powers - or the fairy-tale, medieval-leaning march of "Under The Rose." More intriguing is the metal riff of "Only You," featuring new drummer Eric Carr, and the syncopated rock drive of "Dark Light," sung by Frehley after Anton Fig and Lou Reed's involvement in the songwriting. But the saccharine synth-pop of "A World Without Heroes" borders on embarrassing, only to be somewhat redeemed at the last minute by the heavy fury of "The Oath." Simmons himself will famously declare: "As a Kiss album, I give it a zero. As a Genesis album, I give it a two." A comment that sums up the band's predicament rather well, unable as they are to pull themselves out of the quicksand of their own creativity.

Despite the record's resounding failure, Bill Aucoin has a hefty budget ready for a tour, while a so-called development hell sinks the long-desired film adaptation. But the reaction from critics and fans tips the scales toward cancellation, leaving Kiss with only a handful of promotional TV appearances in early 1982. As Music From "The Elder" quickly disappears from the charts, the label Phonogram - Casablanca's parent company - asks the group to record a few new tracks for the compilation Killers, due out in June. Naturally, Kiss have to abandon their latest sonic ambitions and go back to classic, powerful hard rock, with help from outside musicians like Mikel Japp and an unknown named Bryan Adams. On guitar is old acquaintance Bob Kulick, since Ace is by now virtually out of the group following artistic disagreements. Phonogram initially decides to release the record only abroad, including precisely four previously unreleased tracks meant to tell the world that Kiss are back to their usual sound. There's the arena-rock of "I'm A Legend Tonight," the pleasant return to rock'n'roll of "Down On Your Knees," and Stanley's new epic number, "Nowhere To Run." Closing out the new cycle is the excellent rhythm section of "Partners In Crime," proof that Carr himself is far more at ease in this style - as, for that matter, is the whole band.

With no shows on the calendar, the group holes up over the summer at Record Plant studios with producer Michael James Jackson, intent on continuing down the back-to-basics path charted by Killers. The recording sessions for the follow-up, Creatures Of The Night, are thrown into turmoil, however, by the premature death of Neil Bogart, from cancer diagnosed in 1981. On the album cover is Frehley's masked face, but the guitar parts are actually played by Vincent John Cusano, who is by now effectively the band's new guitarist.

Born on August 6, 1952, Cusano hails from Bridgeport, Connecticut, from a family of Italian descent. He started playing guitar as a child, developing a love for bluegrass and rock'n'roll, and joined the Treasure alongside Felix Cavaliere (The Rascals). After releasing a debut album in 1977, Vincent moved to Los Angeles to work as a composer for hugely successful TV shows like "Happy Days." It's Adam Mitchell who introduces him to Simmons and Stanley, who appreciate his proactive attitude after the Criss and Frehley episodes. His stage name will be Vinnie Vincent, taking on the character of The Ankh Warrior, on Paul's specific instructions, who also designs the makeup.

Released at the end of October, Creatures Of The Night is the album that completely sheds any disco, pop or progressive leanings, attempting to put Kiss back at the center of the American hard'n'heavy scene. The result is surprisingly excellent, starting with the pure heavy metal of the title track, carried throughout by Carr's finally unleashed drumming and Vincent's electric flourishes. Kiss genuinely return to the harder, darker sound of Destroyer on "Saint And Sinner," this time blended perfectly with blues riffs and pop choruses. Compared to their recent efforts, it's a sound reborn from the ashes, moving between the martial stride of "Keep Me Comin'" and the sinister groove of "Rock And Roll Hell." The band's anthemic power returns in full force, as they literally claw their way out of the hell they'd fallen into, thanks to the strength of the new additions. The furious drumming drives the aggressive "Danger," while "I Love It Loud" is the new Aerosmith-style party song. Stanley even nails the new ballad format, keeping the slow-burning "I Still Love You" in line with the overall intensity of the record. There's great promise, too, in the first collaboration between Simmons and Vincent on the blazing "Killer," followed by the cutting rhythm of "War Machine," which closes out an unexpectedly solid album.

Taking Off The Mask

Creatures Of The Night revives Kiss's reputation as a hard rock band, but the record fails to break through on the American charts, settling for a modest No. 45. After Bogart's death, the band leaves Casablanca to sign a multimillion-dollar deal with Polygram, which however insists, as a condition, on Ace Frehley's involvement. Simmons and Stanley play dirty, announcing the old guitarist for the upcoming tour only to later claim he's unavailable due to an accident. The new guitarist is of course Vinnie "The Wiz" Vincent, kept almost entirely under wraps until the deal with the new major label is signed.

There are high hopes for the new tour, for several reasons. The first has to do with the return to heavy metal, the second with the band's tenth anniversary. Kicking off in Bismarck, North Dakota, it's the first American tour in several years, but the sold-out crowds of old are now a distant memory. The public snubs them, and protests continue in some southern cities over alleged encouragement of Satanism. The one real satisfaction is the show at Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, where on June 18, 1983, nearly 140,000 people turn up - the largest crowd the four have ever played to in ten years of service. The three Brazilian shows that summer are also significant for another reason: they're the last to feature The Demon, Starchild, The Fox and Ankh Warrior on stage, because within a few months an album will come out whose cover will shock the music world.

Right after the Creatures Of The Night tour, Kiss head back into the studio with producer Michael James Jackson, ahead of the September release of Lick It Up, their first on the new Mercury label. Photographed by French artist Bernard Vidal, the four appear on the cover without makeup, officially revealing their real faces after years of official anonymity. Vinnie Vincent is there too, though he's still not formally a member of the band, having yet to sign any legal agreement, reportedly due to a dispute over royalties. Industry insiders grumble, convinced it's a purely commercial move meant to prop up "a band sinking worse than the Titanic."

After already appearing on Mtv without makeup for the very first time, Kiss rode the heavy metal wave on television too, even landing a nomination for best video of the year with the single "All Hell's Breakin' Loose", a mix of hard rock and rap. The band seemed to have officially gotten back on track, putting together another heavy ride, "Exciter", with the now crucial contribution of the new guitarist, who had clearly arrived at just the right moment. The album contains new dark moments ("Not For The Innocent"), while the title track distills a new, macho, tough-guy identity: a perfect marriage of shameless rock'n'roll and an unforgettable chorus. Simmons and Stanley sound right at home over the incendiary riff of the boogie number "Young And Wasted", while Vincent paints heavy rainbows on "Gimme More", in the wake of the sound typical of Motörhead.

The record does, however, fall prey to a few moments that wink a bit too much at plasticky pop ("A Million To One"), overindulging in the same rhythms ("Fits Like A Glove"). Unlike Creatures Of The Night, Lick It Up climbs the charts all the way to number 24, earning the band another platinum record. Considered inferior to its predecessor by Stanley himself, the album owes its success to heavy Mtv rotation and is carried by the band's unmasking, which drew in new crowds of fans who loved harder music.

Back on the road, Kiss set off on a very long tour, beginning in Portugal on October 11, 1983, their first official show without makeup. The reception is excellent, perhaps fueled by rumors of a possible breakup. At the end of the European leg, before the Christmas break, Vinnie Vincent is unexpectedly let go from the band, officially due to "inappropriate behavior". In reality, there had been an irreparable rift with Simmons and Stanley, over issues of pay and allegedly overlong solos, which led to an actual physical confrontation in one of the many dressing rooms. But Kiss have no time to find a new guitarist, so they talk Vinnie into coming back to finish the American leg.

In mid-March, the search for a new member begins, and the choice falls on Mark Leslie Norton, born in February 1956 in California. Later known as Mark St. John, Norton has no professional background, having previously worked as a teacher and then as a guitarist in a cover band called Front Page. Mindful of the Vincent experience, the band's management offers Mark a five-year contract, to work first and foremost on Animalize, produced solely by Paul Stanley in the summer of 1984. The former Starchild, however, ends up leading the group alone, since Simmons suddenly informs him that he doesn't have much time to devote to music, caught up as he is with various commitments as a Hollywood actor. Not entirely surprising, Gene is tired of life with Kiss, lured by various offers to act in films like "Runaway" (with Tom Selleck) and "Wanted: Dead Or Alive". Bassist Jean Beauvoir is thus brought in to replace Simmons on some tracks, while new guitarist Mark St. John turns out to be a domineering character, instantly disliked by the rest of the band. And yet Norton is a virtuoso on his instrument, able to push the sound even faster with two-hundred-mile-an-hour flourishes, as on the opener "I've Had Enough (Into The Fire)". Propelled by the Mtv video, the new hit "Heaven's On Fire" flexes its muscles with a rock'n'roll riff, while "Under The Gun" cruises along on a heavy-pop framework.

Unfortunately for the isolated Stanley, the good stuff ends there. "Burn Bitch Burn" is an almost brazen copy of Spinal Tap, while songs like "While The City Sleeps" are utterly forgettable. From "Get All You Can Take" to "Lonely Is The Hunter", the tracks on Animalize sound excessively similar to those of bands like Def Leppard and Mötley Crüe, betraying a general lack of ideas after two excellent records.

Given this remarkable new commercial success, Animalize is promoted with a very long world tour, starting in the UK at the end of September and ending in America in the spring of 1985. Officially suffering from a rare form of arthritis, Mark St. John is replaced by Bruce Kulick, at first a temporary stand-in and then announced as a full new member of Kiss. The tour is an absolute success, as the new album quickly reaches the milestone of 2 million copies sold, going double platinum.

Brother of his friend Bob, Bruce Howard Kulick was born on December 12, 1953 in New York, joining Kkb as lead guitarist in his early twenties, in the wake of Cream's hard-blues. Three years later he followed his brother Bob onto Meat Loaf's touring band after the release of the debut album "Bat Out Of Hell", later working with Michael Bolton and The Good Rats. After the first three dates of the "Animalize World Tour" he replaces Mark St. John, who a few years later would accuse Kiss of using the arthritis excuse to push him out after just one album together.

No, No, No

Summer 1985. Kiss find themselves back in a New York studio to record Asylum, the first album with new guitarist Bruce Kulick. The single chosen for the now-obligatory Mtv video is "Tears Are Falling", which carries on undeterred down the pop-metal path explored on Animalize. The band keeps on "drawing inspiration" from Spinal Tap on "Uh! All Night", revealing a marked compositional thinness on tracks like "I'm Alive" and "Trial By Fire". The dark fury of Creatures Of The Night has vanished entirely, replaced by a heavy-pop formula tailor-made for radio and stadiums. As proof of a lack of any real daring, decent tracks like "King Of The Mountain" get buried under Aor that borders on the unlistenable.

Asylum nevertheless sells over 500,000 copies, reaching number 22 on the American chart, propping up and keeping alive a band that has, by now, become a mere memory of itself. The credit for this stubborn survival certainly belongs to Paul Stanley, the sole helmsman while Simmons amuses himself in the role of record producer (Plasmatics, E-Z-O).

Having kicked off the obligatory North American tour in November 1985, the band changes managers, hiring consultant Larry Mazur. And the changes don't stop there, because a different kind of record is in the works, one that temporarily cuts Simmons out after a blow-up with a furious Stanley. More room will thus be given to Carr and Kulick, with the help of producer Ron Nevison (Heart, Ozzy Osbourne), who will guide the group from the outside after two self-produced albums.

Crazy Nights is preceded by the modest pop-rock single "Crazy Crazy Nights", surprisingly a hit in the UK, where it climbs all the way to number four. Small consolation, at least from an artistic standpoint: the album turns out to be an absolute disaster, marred by an inexplicable overuse of keyboards and synthesizers. The band keeps copying the sound of Bon Jovi and Def Leppard with zero creative spark, plowing undeterred through fourth-rate hair-metal on tracks like "I'll Fight Hell To Hold You" and "Bang Bang You". While Kulick's guitar tries to provide the right push, "No, No, No" is rendered toothless by Nevison's production work, who fails to replicate the good results he achieved with other bands (Heart chief among them). The result is a very weak record, where metal gives way to more commercial pop ("Hell Or High Water") and, above all, to ineffective layers of keyboards ("My Way").

In mid-November, the new world tour kicks off, with a UK date at the Monsters of Rock Festival at Castle Donington, alongside Guns N' Roses, David Lee Roth, Iron Maiden and Megadeth. Toward the end of 1988, the compilation Smashes, Thrashes & Hits is released, including two new songs written by Stanley with Desmond Child. "Let's Put The X In Sex" and "(You Make Me) Rock Hard" continue along a danceable pop groove driven by Phil Ashley's keyboards, both released as singles complete with Mtv videos.

In February 1989, Paul Stanley decides to perform as a solo artist on a short US tour, presenting audiences with the new single "Hide Your Heart" ahead of the album Hot In The Shade, due out in mid-October. Thanks to Simmons's renewed involvement after his Hollywood ventures, the record tries to realign the band's sound, abandoning the keyboard experiments. The attempt falls flat, despite a less blatantly pop approach. While the power ballad "Forever" climbs all the way to number eight on the Billboard Hot 100 - their best result since "I Was Made For Lovin' You" - the album doesn't stray too far from the tone of their recent output. There are too many filler tracks ("You Love Me To Hate You", "Cadillac Dreams") for an excessive runtime of nearly 60 minutes. The bluesy intro of "Rise To It" morphs into yet another attempt to build a hit out of a hair-metal structure, while tracks like "Read My Body" rehash the Def Leppard playbook far too slavishly. The one ray of light is the muscular, Ac/Dc-style rock'n'roll of "Little Caesar", exceptionally sung by Eric Carr.

As the first rumors of a possible reunion of the original lineup begin to swirl, Kiss take a few extra months to prepare the new tour. It kicks off in the States in March 1990, ending at Madison Square Garden in November. These are the last shows with Eric Carr on drums, who is suddenly struck by a rare form of heart cancer. The Fox undergoes successful surgery in the spring of 1991, returning to the studio with the band to record "God Gave Rock And Roll to You II", on which he limits himself to a vocal part, with substitute Eric Singer behind the kit. Born in May 1958 in Cleveland, Ohio, Eric Doyle Mensinger took up drums at a very young age, inspired by the style of iconic musicians like Keith Moon and John Bonham. The son of a musician, Eric worked for a few years in a musical instrument shop before joining Beau Coup and then Lita Ford's touring band in 1984. The following year he made the big leap, joining Black Sabbath for the album "Seventh Star". After moving on to Gary Moore's band, Singer then chose the metal outfit Badlands, before accompanying Paul Stanley on his brief American tour at the start of 1989.

When the tragic death of Eric Carr is announced to the world on November 24, 1991, the new Kiss drummer makes his debut on the new album Revenge, released in May 1992 with the return of producer Bob Ezrin following the dismal experience of Music From “The Elder”. Dedicated to the memory of The Fox, Revenge is the album that breaks with the pop-metal trend, effectively marking a revenge against a certain sound that Kiss themselves had been pursuing. Simmons and Stanley once again welcome back guitarist Vinnie Vincent – initially repentant for his past behavior, then once more at odds with the two over money – to work on some of the album's key tracks. This fuels the thrash drive of “Unholy”, finally free of any mainstream gloss. From the martial “Heart Of Chrome” to the rocker “I Just Wanna”, Kiss work on new fireworks, offering longtime fans a pleasingly seventies sound on the cover of Argent's “God Gave Rock'n'Roll To You II”.

Ezrin's dark hand thus manages to shape a product worthy of the band's name, one that slows down and powers up (“Take It Off”, “Tough Love”) and even ends up having fun like in the old days (“Spit”). Having returned to focus on the project, Gene Simmons contributes the sturdy rock-blues of “Domino”, while Stanley wins over listeners with his vocal performance on the intimate “Every Time I Look At You”. Closing things out is a tribute to the late Eric Carr with the instrumental “Carr Jam 1981”, sealing the band's best work since Lick It Up.

Unplugged & Reunited

Kicking off on April 23, 1992 in San Francisco, the “Revenge Tour” is the first with new drummer Eric Singer. Despite the excellent sixth-place chart showing of the convincing latest album, Kiss can no longer fill stadiums, forced instead to play considerably smaller clubs. Several dates are even cancelled due to poor ticket sales, while the reckless lifestyles led by Simmons and Stanley result in significant financial losses. Hence the urgent need for a new release on the market: the third installment of the “Alive” series, produced by Eddie Kramer from recent recordings of shows in Cleveland, Indianapolis and Detroit.

On Alive III too, speculation abounds about heavy overdubbing, while the band is greeted with a thunderous ovation on the pounding version of “Creatures Of The Night”. It's the first live album from the non-makeup era, and it obviously can't compare to the first two chapters of the series. The band drifts between past (“Deuce”) and present (“Unholy”, “I Just Wanna”), but despite retaining their trademark aggression, they never manage to rise above business as usual. What's needed here are the old classics, from the disco groove of “I Was Made For Lovin' You” to the collective party of “Rock And Roll All Nite”. Fun fact: Bruce Kulick's solo on the closing “Star Spangled Banner” would later be ranked in the “Top 10 National Anthem Guitar Solos” ahead of Ace Frehley's.

Alive III works commercially, climbing to ninth place on the US charts and earning the band a new gold record. After being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at the end of 1993, Kiss embark on a short Japanese tour and continue the marketing push with the over 400-page tome “KissStory”. In 1995 they reunite with Peter Criss at one of the traditional fan conventions held in Los Angeles, performing “Hard Luck Woman” together. Largely acoustic, the versions played at the Kiss conventions give rise to the idea of an unplugged concert for MTV's famous series. On August 9, 1995, the band enters Sony Music Studios in New York to record the live performance, exceptionally inviting old bandmates Peter Criss and Ace Frehley with Kulick and Singer's blessing. Over a couple of dinners, Simmons and Stanley had in fact spoken openly with Catman and The Spaceman to make sure their problems with alcohol and drugs were now behind them. New bonds form, along with reflections on new generations who had never seen a Kiss show in full makeup and costume.

Kiss Unplugged thus serves as a dress rehearsal for reunion, a celebration of old and new that moves every faction of fans, including the famed Kiss Army. From the muscular electro-acoustic version of “Comin' Home”, the band already seems ready to leave the unmasked era behind, return to its roots with old friends, and hand the Kiss brand over to the history of world music. Rarely acoustic, the sound adapts beautifully on the versions of “Plaster Caster” and especially “Goin' Blind”, before returning to arena-rock territory on “Do You Love Me?”.

The magic of the unplugged format breathes new life into mediocre tracks like the dusty blues of “Domino” and the soul-pop of “Sure Know Something”. Kiss play between intimacy and energy (“Rock Bottom”), giving the ballad “See You Tonight” a Harrison-esque touch, right through to the magical dark version of “I Still Love You”. Then Stanley announces: “we have some family members here tonight”. Greeted by a roar, Ace Frehley and Peter Criss retake the stage for a wild cover of the Rolling Stones' “2,000 Man”, with the drummer once again lending his voice to “Beth”. The band thus returns to past glories, to the lascivious rock'n'roll of “Nothin' To Lose”, before the final party in full Kiss style, with the party-song “Rock And Roll All Nite”, which shows off all its electricity even on acoustic instruments.

The collective energy unleashed by Kiss Unplugged – an excellent fifteenth place on the US charts – gives the band fresh momentum, ready to dust off their now-legendary alien personas from the catacombs. Demon, Starchild, Spaceman and Catman board the USS Intrepid in April 1996 to announce that the original Kiss are back, ready to embark on the massive “Alive/Worldwide Tour”, setting off at the end of June from Detroit and wrapping up over a year later in London, with a total of nearly 200 shows around the world. While getting back into shape to avoid looking too out of condition, Simmons and co. sell out shows almost everywhere, earning a total of around 44 million dollars on the hottest tour of the year.

At the same time, in June, the live compilation You Wanted The Best, You Got the Best!! is released, bringing the masks back to the cover and featuring various tracks taken from Alive and Alive II. It's obviously a commercial move designed to ride the wave of the reunion and ongoing tour, bolstered by a few unreleased tracks such as “Room Service” and “Two Timer”.

We Are One?

At the end of the long world tour with the original lineup, the band is forced to release the album Carnival Of Souls: The Final Sessions, due to the numerous bootlegs that had circulated among fans following recording sessions with Singer and Kulick at Music Grinder in Hollywood between November 1995 and February 1996. It is the last album produced with the band's final unmasked incarnation, shelved by Kiss themselves to make way for the reunion project. The initial idea was certainly a wise one, given that tracks like “Hate” and “Rain” feature slowed-down rhythms in an unusual grunge flavor – a genre Kiss clearly prove unable to pull off, in what's also an extremely long album that only a true fan could stomach.

Energized by the success of the latest tour, Kiss decide to continue with Frehley and Criss in the studio as well. They hire producer Bruce Fairbairn – well known in the industry for the massive success of Bon Jovi's “Slippery When Wet” – to record ten new tracks that would form the first album with the original lineup since Dynasty.

Opened by an unsettling circus march, Psycho Circus attempts to win back old fans, starting with the title track, which achieves great commercial success despite being straightforward mainstream rock. On “Within”, Kulick's power-metal guitar takes center stage – Frehley, in fact, only plays on three tracks, so much for the reunion – while “I Pledge Allegiance To The State Of Rock & Roll” tries to recreate anthem territory with a sound strikingly similar to the Foo Fighters. Better is the hard rock of “Into The Void”, not coincidentally featuring Ace's contribution, while “We Are One” exposes a completely out-of-place melodic pop side. Kiss partially recapture past glories on the choral “You Wanted The Best”, and reunite once more with Bob Ezrin on the orchestral treacle of “I Finally Found My Way”.

The original lineup's return to the studio doesn't sit well with Alice Cooper, who sues Kiss for plagiarizing his “I'm Eighteen” in “Dreamin'”, a case subsequently won by the master of shock-rock.

Released at the end of September, Psycho Circus achieves solid commercial success, reaching the Top 3 in both the US and the UK. Setting off from Los Angeles on October 31, 1998, the tour promoting the album is even more massive, bringing 3-D effects to the stage. Fully aware that the show can't go on much longer, Kiss announce a farewell tour, the “Farewell Tour”, setting off on March 11, 2000 from Phoenix and later extended to a total of 142 dates worldwide.

Simmons and Stanley want to close this chapter of their great story once again at the peak of success, to avoid sinking back down as happened in the Eighties. Ace Frehley has already told the others he'll be out at the end of the tour, to focus on his solo career, while Peter Criss will leave once his contract expires in October, smashing his drum kit at the end of his final American date. Once again the band's apparent inner unity is wrecked by money matters, as Criss is replaced by Eric Singer to finish the last legs in Japan and Australia. For this, the drummer has to take on the guise of Catman, reaffirming the band's by now fully acquired status as a brand. It's no coincidence that shortly afterward they discontinue the most questionable of their merchandise items, an actual coffin decorated with the logo and photos. Rounding things off is Simmons's statement: "I like living, but this makes the alternative pretty good."

End of the Road

In 2002, Kiss perform at the opening ceremony of the Salt Lake City Winter Olympics, with Singer on drums and Frehley on guitar, Spaceman's last appearance with the band. For a private show in Jamaica in March, they hire Tommy Thayer, a Portland native and former member of the cover band Cold Gin. Thayer takes on Ace's character, avoiding the introduction of another mask in order to preserve a sort of "original" line-up.

At the start of 2003, Kiss head to Australia for a new, ambitious project, a live show with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra at Telstra Dome, conducted by Canadian composer David Campbell. Thayer replaces Frehley, while Peter Criss makes a comeback at the organizers' request, since they demand at least three original members of the band. Released on the new label Kiss Records, Kiss Symphony: Alive IV comes out first as a single disc and then as a double, split into three acts spanning over 90 minutes of music. The first act is in electric format, opened by the pyrotechnic versions of the classics "Deuce" and "Strutter". Despite putting in real effort, Thayer plays in an overly straightforward way, as if trying to avoid any personal ambition after the various criticisms fans had leveled at him for usurping Spaceman's role. The album's second act is introduced by the melody of "Beth", with the orchestra members made up for the occasion just like the band members. The setlist is a mix of MTV-style unplugged arrangements and orchestral scores, from the romantic "Forever" to the dark "Goin' Blind", marred by a vocal performance from Simmons that isn't up to par. The third act is effectively an adaptation of the band's explosive sound to symphonic music, starting with "Detroit Rock City" and running all the way to the inevitable "Rock And Roll All Nite".

Despite public statements about the band breaking up, Kiss return to the stage in the course of 2003 on a tour alongside Aerosmith. For the occasion, Simmons tries to convince Frehley to return, but he categorically refuses to rejoin the band. The new run of shows brings in over 60 million dollars, helped along by a special platinum ticket costing around a thousand dollars. Peter Criss's contract expires in March 2004 and isn't renewed, making way for Eric Singer once and for all. The drummer posts a statement full of resentment on his website, over having been pushed out without any kind of negotiation. Thus begins the "Rock The Nation 2004 World Tour", with support from Poison, wrapping up in August with a triumphant sold-out date in Mexico City. Between 2005 and 2007 the band's appearances become considerably rarer, partly due to some health issues affecting Paul Stanley.

Several compilations fill the gap in activity, until the new live album Alive! The Millennium Concert is released toward the end of 2006. The show is actually older, recorded on December 31, 1999 at BC Place Stadium in Vancouver, British Columbia, and includes several songs from the unmasked era ("Heaven's On Fire", "I Love It Loud" and "Lick It Up").

On January 30, 2008, the "Alive 35 World Tour" is announced, a genuine return to the world stage across the United States, Europe and Australia. It kicks off in May in Germany and wraps up in December 2009 in the United States, playing in huge venues in front of nearly 600,000 spectators. The American leg, starting in April 2009, provides the chance to play some songs live from the new album, announced as a surprise by Paul Stanley ten years after their last record, Psycho Circus.

Released in October and produced by Stanley himself with the support of Greg Collins, Sonic Boom aims to be a return to the classic Seventies sound. Indeed, Kiss bring back lyrical and instrumental simplicity on tracks like "Russian Roulette" and "Danger Us", built on basic but effective hard-rock riffs that click on first listen. "Yes I Know (Nobody's Perfect)" is the new Gene Simmons-penned rock'n'roll number, sitting somewhere between "Nothin' To Lose" and "Black Diamond", to the utmost satisfaction of longtime fans.

Despite the backlash over the departures of Criss and Frehley — Thayer and Singer fail to convince as co-writers and singers on "When Lightning Strikes" and "All For The Glory" respectively — Kiss recapture that rudimentary idiocy that made them "the hottest band on the planet". From the martial beat of "Modern Day Delilah" to the anthemic "Never Enough", Sonic Boom is a genuine throwback, perhaps the closest they've come to their classic sound since Love Gun.

Sonic Boom heats up the American charts, launching a new world tour that kicks off in Sheffield, UK, on May 1, 2010. While in Europe, Simmons and Stanley receive news of Bill Aucoin's death from cancer at the age of 66. The US leg begins at the end of July, dubbed "The Hottest Show On Earth Tour", before new recording sessions get underway in April 2011, again with the Stanley-Collins pairing at the helm. Billed by Simmons as a direct, no-frills album, Monster comes out in autumn 2012 on Universal. The record continues the band's recovery of their most classic sound, starting with the raucous boogie of "All For The Love Of Rock & Roll". The a cappella intro of "Eat Your Heart Out" reworks the structure of "Shout It Out Loud" in a different flavor, while "Take Me Down Below" even revives their early macho-tinged sexual fantasies. From the hundred-mile-an-hour rock'n'roll of the single "Hell Or Hallelujah" to the repetitive, obsessive groove of "Freak", Monster is another honest record, with zero creative ambition. No ballads, no keyboards, just fun, unpretentious rock.

The new studio record is taken out on "The Tour", shared with Mötley Crüe between July and October 2012, and later on a much more extensive run, the "Monster World Tour", spanning almost 60 dates between November 2012 and November 2013, featuring the stage presence of a giant robotic spider.

In 2014, Kiss embark on a new tour with Def Leppard, before finally being inducted, after several attempts, into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in April. Simmons would like to perform at the ceremony, but his by-now strained relations with Criss and Frehley prevent it. At the end of the year the band plays nine consecutive nights at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, recording material for the new live album Kiss Rocks Vegas, released two years later. At the start of 2015 comes the unexpected collaboration with j-pop group Momoiro Clover Z, on the single "Yume no Ukiyo ni Saite Mi na", while the RIAA recognizes the band's record of 30 gold albums, more than any other American band in the association's history.

The following year sees the start of the "Freedom To Rock Tour", followed by the "Kissworld Tour" between 2017 and 2018. Simmons talks to the press about the possibility of recording a new album, while Stanley is convinced the band can carry on through live activity alone.

At the end of 2018, following an appearance on the TV show "America's Got Talent", Paul Stanley announces to the world that Kiss will embark on a farewell tour. "This will be our last tour. The biggest and most explosive ever seen. The people who love us will come see us. If you've never seen us live, now's the time. This will be the show."

The "End Of The Road Tour" thus kicks off on January 31, 2019 in Vancouver, allowing the band to rake in an estimated monstrous sum between 150 and 200 million dollars. The first leg is in North America, immediately at the center of furious controversy over the alleged use of lip-syncing to preserve vocal cords, especially Stanley's. After reaching Europe and Japan, the show returns to the States before being halted by the global Covid-19 pandemic in March 2020. The run of shows resumes in summer 2021, while Simmons and Stanley try in vain to convince Frehley to join them for a few songs. The final show of the grueling tour takes place at Madison Square Garden in New York on December 2, 2023, after a full 250 dates and 13 legs.

Kiss's latest marketing move involves a possible virtual-reality avatar tour set to kick off in 2027, following a visionary investment with Industrial Light & Magic and Sweden's Pophouse, which in 2024 bought the band's entire catalog for a reported $300 million. The feeling is that the Kiss story is far from over.

On October 17, 2025, fans were chilled by the news of Ace Frehley's death. In late September he had been forced to cancel a show after a fall at his home in Morristown, New Jersey, and had subsequently been hospitalized.

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This article is an English translation of the original Italian text, published on OndaRock.it. It was translated with the help of artificial intelligence, under the editorial responsibility of OndaRock's editor-in-chief, Claudio Fabretti.

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