Creatures of the Night
- For other uses of this phrase, see Creature of the night
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Creatures of the Night is a 1982 album from American hard rock band Kiss. It is the band's 14th studio album and the last for Casablanca Records, the only label the group had ever recorded for up to that point. The album was also dedicated to the memory of Casablanca founder and early Kiss supporter Neil Bogart, who had died of cancer during the recording sessions.
The album represented a conscious effort on Kiss's part to return to the style of hard rock that had helped them achieve commercial success in the 1970s. That success had been in decline since 1979's Dynasty and 1980's Unmasked, both decidedly pop-oriented efforts. Both albums, although relative commercial successes, had completely alienated Kiss's original rock-based "KISS Army" fan base, and Music from "The Elder", a concept album in 1981, sealed the deal. By 1981, most original KISS fans had abandoned the group in disgust.
Creatures of the Night was certified Gold on May 9, 1994, when it sold 500,000 copies.
The album
Background
By 1982, Kiss' popularity in the US had plummeted. This was due partly to the changing landscape of popular music, but also due to the fact that Kiss had strayed from the hard rock style that had made them popular in the first place. 1979's Dynasty, while commercially successful, alienated many fans with the disco-flavored track "I Was Made For Lovin' You." 1980s Unmasked was a pure pop album, and their first album that failed to achieve platinum status since 1975s Dressed to Kill. The band did not even tour the US behind the album, and was soon faced with its first lineup change - founding member Peter Criss, who had not participated in any of the Unmasked recording sessions, officially left Kiss in 1980. He was replaced by Eric Carr, a drummer much more in the mold of John Bonham than Criss.
Fan hopes were raised in late 1980 when Kiss announced that they were going to record their heaviest record yet. Instead, however, the band released Music From "The Elder" in late 1981, a concept album originally intended to complement a movie called The Elder that was ultimately neither conceived, nor filmed, nor released. The album was storyline-based and had ballads, a short orchestral piece, and lyrical themes more in common with bands like Rush and Yes than with Kiss. The album failed to achieve gold status, and, faced with the double displeasure of having cancelled their United States Unmasked tour just a short time before, the band again cancelled their planned tour for Elder. In addition to this situation, the final original member other than Simmons and Stanley, member Ace Frehley, soon left the band after expressing his displeasure over the path the band had chosen — and after having begun to drift into heavy alcoholism.
Kiss' label situation had changed as well. Casablanca Records founder Neil Bogart had sold the label to its distributor, PolyGram, and went on to briefly form The Boardwalk Recording Company before being diagnosed with (and later succumbing to) cancer. Using a clause in their Casablanca contract that gave the band an option to leave the label if Bogart did, Kiss became free agents and signed a multi-million-dollar deal with Mercury Records. Ironically, Mercury - a label also owned by PolyGram - reverted the band back to their "old" label, though in name only.
After the disastrous failure of "The Elder," Kiss knew it needed to deliver on their earlier promise of a heavy record if they were to continue as a band. The first key ingredient was songwriter/guitarist Vincent Cusano, with whom the band had recently begun writing and recording. Cusano brought a heavier style of playing to the group, and was working with Kiss to record demos but was not a member of the band.
When recording sessions for Creatures of the Night began in July 1982, Kiss was essentially a trio. Frehley still made appearances with the band but had essentially ended his musical involvement with Kiss. Frehley looked completely out of sorts in promotional appearances for the album — in cases where the band was lip synching to recorded tracks, it is obvious that he did not know the material. It was only after the album was released and a short tour of Europe was completed that Frehley officially left Kiss. The lead-guitar replacement for Frehley for the Creatures tour in the U.S. was Cusano, who by then had taken the stage name of Vinnie Vincent and adopted "Ankh Warrior makeup.
Musically, Creatures of the Night was the band's heaviest recording since Destroyer in 1976, and was matched later only by Revenge in 1992. The progressive rock stylings of Music From "The Elder" and the pop of Dynasty and Unmasked were completely absent from Creatures of the Night -- which was, of course, the point. In its place was a sound that was as close to true heavy metal as the band had ever achieved up to that point, a sound that was matched later only by 1992's Revenge — and even then, it wasn't quite the same. "I Still Love You," the only ballad on Creatures, was still heavier and darker than any ballad Kiss had released in earlier years. The production values contributed to the heaviness - in particular, the drum sound was louder and heavier than on any previous Kiss album, and is still considered by critics to be one of the heaviest, darkest drum sounds on any rock album.
Creatures of the Night is the first Kiss album to have all lead vocal duties handled by either Gene Simmons or Paul Stanley exclusively. All previous studio releases, solo albums notwithstanding, contained at least one song with lead vocals by another band member.
The band released a video for "I Love It Loud," which received moderate airplay on MTV. In it was a stage setup that featured Eric Carr's drum kit as a giant, metallic tank (with an exploding turret). Flames and explosions were also in abundance, as Kiss attempted to produce a video that reflected the music on Creatures of the Night. Although Frehley had not played on the album, he did appear in the video as the rhythm guitarist, albeit Stanley is shown playing Cusano's seven-note solo.
Despite positive reviews, Creatures of the Night did not return the band to the commercial standing they had held five years previous. Although the album charted higher than "The Elder" (#45), it also failed to achieve gold status (until 1994). Even more dramatically, the tour that followed, the band's first US tour since Kiss Unmasked was essentially a flop -- cancelled shows and half-full (at most) arenas were the rule, not the exception. In later years, Kiss fans have come to regard Creatures of the Night as one of the band's best albums, matched only by 1976's Destroyer and 1992's Revenge. However, it is clear that multiple shifts in the band's lineup, image and musical styles from 1979 through 1981 had done severe damage. As a result, though musically rich, Creatures of the Night is still one of the major commercial disappointments for Kiss.
Album notes
- Three different covers of this album exist—The 1982 original issue, the 1985 reissue (featuring Bruce Kulick and the band without makeup), and the 1997 remastered version (same cover as the original).
- From 1995 to 1999, Extreme Championship Wrestling's Tazz used "War Machine" as his theme music. Today, in World Wrestling Entertainment's new version of ECW, Tazz uses an instrumental version with his speaking over the music.
Track listing
- "Creatures of the Night" (Paul Stanley, Adam Mitchell) – 4:01
- Lead vocals - Paul Stanley
- "Saint And Sinner" (Gene Simmons, Mikel Japp) – 4:50
- Lead vocals - Gene Simmons
- "Keep Me Comin'" (Stanley, Mitchell) – 4:00
- Lead vocals - Paul Stanley
- "Rock and Roll Hell" (Simmons, Bryan Adams, Jim Vallance) – 4:08
- Lead vocals - Gene Simmons
- "Danger" (Stanley, Mitchell) – 3:55
- Lead vocals - Paul Stanley
- "I Love It Loud" (Simmons, Vincent Cusano) – 4:12
- Lead vocals - Gene Simmons
- "I Still Love You" (Stanley, Cusano) – 6:06
- Lead vocals - Paul Stanley
- "Killer" (Simmons, Cusano) – 3:19
- Lead vocals - Gene Simmons
- "War Machine" (Simmons, Adams, Vallance) – 4:13
- Lead vocals - Gene Simmons
Personnel
- Gene Simmons - Bass guitar, lead vocals, backing vocals; rhythm guitar on 9.
- Paul Stanley - rhythm guitar, lead vocals, backing vocals
- Ace Frehley - credited Lead guitar; not actual participant
- Eric Carr - drums; Bass guitar on 7; backing vocals.
Uncredited musicians
- Vincent Cusano - Lead guitar tracks 2, 3, 8, 9; Rhythm guitar; Backing vocals.
- Bob Kulick - Lead guitar and rhythm guitar on track 5.
- Robben Ford - Lead guitar on tracks 4 & 7.
- Adam Mitchell - Rhythm guitar on track 1.
- Steve Farris - Guitar solo on track 1.
- Jimmy Haslip - Bass guitar on track 5.
Charts
Album - Billboard (North America)
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1983 | Pop Albums | 45 |
Singles - Billboard (United States)
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | "I Love It Loud" | Pop Singles | 102 |
Singles - Billboard (Austria)
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | "I Love It Loud" | Pop Singles | 76 |
Singles - Billboard (United Kingdom)
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | "Creatures Of The Night" | Pop Singles | 34 |
