[By: UNKLE F777 + R Ibanez : a “JOINT effort”]
artwork and (some) photos : R
KISS was still a kick-ass live band when they finally completed their last tour “End of the Road World Tour” in 2023. Their farewell tour grossed millions, ending the legends’ touring career on a HIGH note.
The bottom line: these guys are still reigning champions of hard rock, just check out their still sold-out shows last year till they retired. That’s 50 years of killer rock n’ roll.
Through 20 albums, KISS laid down their ROCK legacy. We take a look at their ’90s output, which we at THC Zine are big fans of and are considered underrated golden classics that are as strong as their other releases. They were also their heaviest.
KISS released 3 studio albums and the popular MTV Unplugged Live album which we will check out by year.
Revenge (1992)
In 1992 KISS released their best ’90s album “Revenge” among the burgeoning alternative, indie, grunge, and extreme metal at the forefront of the heavy music scene. KISS was cool again, even receiving a “Kiss My Ass” tribute CD and Gene praising the generation of 90s metal, hardcore, and alternative rock bands.
Revenge boasts of an excellent production, as well as co-songwriting duties with long-time collaborator Bob Ezrin and guitarist extraordinaire Vinnie Vincent. Quality hard rock/metal/classic rock tunes are the result, including a special reworking of that Argent classic, “God Gave Rock & Roll To You (II)”. KISS totally owned it and made the song more epic, a more fist-in-air-pumping, anthemic, feel-good classic. The rest are great heavy metal rockers with blazing lead solos by Bob Kulick and great drumming by Black Sabbath alumni Eric Singer, plus Stanley & Simmons delivering the goods again.
The album includes a short jam entitled “Eric Carr Jam 1981” in tribute to the late great former KISS drummer. He passed away during the pre-production of Revenge.
Gene Simmons kept himself the most up-to-date musically than all his other bandmates. During this period. He appeared in Guitar World and his music playlists included Helmet, Dinosaur Jr., and The Melvins. Oh, and he hung out and played with the Melvins for a few shows. He even stood in on bass for the band in between bassists.
Here’s a full clip by engineer Billy Anderson on that day he and the Melvins were at an LA show where Gene rehearsed and played with the Melvins live (Billy doesn’t allow linking so just click it) https://youtu.be/uPC0VIK3_Xc
KISS Unplugged (1996)
Kiss Unplugged was the first live record they put out in years that reunited the original lineup for the last five songs. They played the Stones’ cover, “2,000 Man”, “Beth”, “Nothin’ to Lose”, “Rock and Roll All Nite”, and “Got to Choose”.
The decision to contact Frehley and Criss to join them for the finale songs proved that KISS still has worldwide demand. After this record, they reunited the lineup for the 1996–97 Alive/Worldwide Tour.
Unplugged had mixed reviews (mostly critics, huh) but to be fair, after the heaviness and hard rockin’ of Revenge, the acoustic stuff didn’t fly with some fans. But as an acoustic show, it rocked fans hard nonetheless, with classics like “Plaster Caster” and “Do You Love Me?” receiving great reactions alongside newer Revenge-era songs like “Domino” and that ballad “Every Time I Look At You”.
KISS’ loud dynamics and lavish stage shows were trimmed down with just the basic and acoustic guitars, bass, and drums. But the songs worked and had a different energy from their heavier and more bombastic “electric” live versions. “Goin’ Blind” became a more introspective and somber classic, while “Beth” shined with Criss reprising his vocals onstage. Frehley meanwhile owned The Stones cover too, with killer acoustic solos.
Carnival of Souls: The Final Sessions (1997)
After the uproar of the KISS reunion, KISS had no choice but to reunite and tour to rake in the million$$$ in the ’90s era of the band and answer global public demand.
This left the band’s next release, “Carnival of Souls” shelved in favor of the more money-raking old-school lineup. Many people leaked the album, which later forced KISS to give in to public demand again and officially release it as “Carnival of Souls: The Final Sessions”.
COS finds the band at its heaviest, with darker riffs and melodies, compared to the catchy heavy metal and hard rock blend of Revenge, complete with love song ballads, as per the KISS tradition. Toby Wright, co-producer and engineer (Slayer, Alice in Chains, Biohazard, Fear Factory, Soulfly, et al) added to the heavy production.
Shame that they shelved the album initially, as this “long lost” record is a gem. Slower, heavier, and more pissed off than Revenge, the album proved that the band can change and experiment with heavier material and succeed somewhat.
The album alienated many KISS fans, while those who liked it heavier with dirtier production loved the album. The first three slower and heavier tunes, “Hate”, “Rain”, and “Master and Slave” proved that KISS could change around their rockin’ and partyin’ styles and get more introspective and a little self-loathing and serious. Even the ballad “I Will Be There” reflects some of this.
Elsewhere, some stoned psychedelic touches appear on “Seduction of the Innocent”, with its hazy spacey verse vibes and wah’ed-out solos. Bruce Kulick does a decent take on lead vocals on the last song, “I Walk Alone”.
Psycho Circus (1998)
Although the original lineup toured from 1996 to 1997, some of their old conflicts resurfaced. There was also some disconnect during the writing and preproduction. Frehley and Criss have been gone for a long time, and they’ve developed their own songwriting and recording methods. This made the last 90s album and the last with the original lineup somewhat difficult.
Frehley only played on two songs, “Into the Void” and “You Wanted The Best”. Criss only played on the former, as well. However, all members sang lead throughout the album, with “You Wanted The Best” having all four of them.
Psycho Circus was a mix of the 90s KISS sound, the more melodic traditional KISS sound, and some of the spark of the original lineup, despite limited instrumental input from Ace and Peter. The songs aren’t as popular or as heavy as the previous two albums, but it had rocking moments. However, many critics wrote it off, while fans, despite mixed reactions, still snapped it up. It was the last decent album of the OG lineup and the real end of an era.
Stanley and Simmons continued on by bringing back Eric Singer on drums, and enlisting Tommy Thayer on lead guitar (he worked with KISS on Carnival of Souls) effectively replacing Criss and Frehley.
Towards Harmonious Civilization Zine 
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