Kiss ‘Creatures of the Night’
Album Review by Adam McCann
Mercury/Casablanca Records/1982/Hard Rock/Heavy Metal
By 1982, it had been a tough few years for Kiss, after the pop orientated ‘Unmasked’ and the ludicrous concept album ‘Music from the Elder’ the hottest band in the world suddenly found themselves struggling in a brave new world. Peter Criss was out of the fold replaced by the hard-hitting Eric Carr and Ace Frehley’s fate would be hanging by a thread, a ghost in the machine with Vinnie Vincent waiting in the wings to take his place.
This line-up would release ‘Creatures of the Night’, it would be Kiss’ heaviest album to date and the introduction of both Vincent and Carr can be held accountable for this. Carr was heavy hitting, straight and to the point, his ‘on the beat’ drumming provided a solid backbone for the Kiss of the 80’s, whereas Vincent brought with him a creative sense of writing, giving the Simmons/Stanley partnership a much-needed boost of new blood. It was no secret that Kiss had used outside influences to help write some of their recent work, but with ‘Creatures…’ Kiss brought in professional songwriters such as Jim Vallance and Bryan Adams to tweak their music, the result would transpire into some of Kiss’ best work in years. Tracks such as ‘War Machine’ ‘I Love It Loud’ and the title track are still played today as Kiss staples.
‘Creatures…’ is an album that reinvigorated a band that had lost its way in the late 70’s and early 80’s. Yes, as with every Kiss album, it does have its dull moments, but these are massively overshadowed by some excellent songs. Moreover, it is the more consistent Kiss albums and deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as ‘Destroyer’, ‘Alive’ and ‘Alive II’.
Rating : 80/100
MHF Magazine/Adam McCann
