True, they look funny and I imagine they are very entertaining live, as is Marilyn Manson. But musically?

They've certainly had their good moment and just plain shit moments (too many to mention) but you gotta respect their place in the history of rock n roll. They've spawned lots of kids to start their own bands, that many ended up being way better musicians than thier heros every were. They were just the coolest mo-fos of the 70's when I was a little bastard in elementary and Jr High!!! KISS was great when I was young but lost a lot of appeal to me when my musical tastes expanded into different styles of rock (metal, prog, experimental...)
I have almost all of their cds but usually only listen to them when I'm feeling nostalgic. It's funny because my favorite KISS album is THE ELDER which most real fans say is their worst.

Ya gotta give credit where credit is due and KISS has certainly earned it for writting some of the most simple songs that rocked the world and created millions of fans and gave birth to thousands of acts. And, lyrics aside, they wrote some cool riffs.

KISS is to hard rock, what the RAMONES are to Punk Pop.

However, I am slightly disappointed that no one went 'WTF??? KISS RULES MOTHERFUCKER!!!!' and so on. I guess I shall have to go elsewhere.

Now, Pantera. ?.

"I want to FIX what the hell is wrong with music today!"

Says the man who toured consistently with crappy Nu-Metal bands, and has always dabbled with whatever was 'cool' at the time. How many bloody bands do you need!? Fuck you.

quote:

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Originally posted by Emlyn K Sikorsky:
One should change one's name often, it is good for the soul if not for tax reasons.

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Obviously we all know about their stage show, but they're actually quite capable songwriters considering their musical shortcomings.

Anyways, I always had a soft spot for 'em, no matter how fruity they got in the 80's (except the Crazy Nights album, even i have my limits). I guess the peak of my appreciation of KISS was around 1992-1993, when they released the Revenge album, which was by all accounts one of their finest releases ever. I finally saw them live in august 1996 in Montreal during the first run of the reunion tour. There are very few words to describe that experience, how fucking cool it was. But in a sense, that show also marked an end. I more or less closed the book on KISS that night, as it "this wont get any better than it is now". I didnt care about anything that they've done since, and as far as i know, they shouldve quit right after that 96/97 reunion. Now they're on their what, 7th farewell tour? Urgh.

Some favorites?
Hotter Than Hell (1974): raw, crappy production, and heavy. Love it.

Alive! (1975): Whether it was actually live or completely re-recorded in a studio, we'll never know, but that it made you feel like you were there. Very few other live records did.

Rock N Roll Over (1976): Again, raw. Nothing wrong with this one.

Dynasty (1979): Disco KISS, somewhat. My first rock album ever. 24 years later i'm still not bored with it. It really stood out next to my Disney records. Hehe.

Music From The Elder (1981): Huge commercial failure, great record. Highly underrated also. It failed simply because they tried to be something they were not, but it's by no means a bad album. Possibly their most intelligent record.

Creatures of the Night (1982): One of the heaviest they've ever done, great songs on there.

Lick It Up (1983): Almost exactly the same record as Creatures, minus the makeup. I never quite understood why people tend to say Creatures is the heaviest, while this one has the same lineup, same producer, same studio, you name it. Lick it Up rocks harder, i think. Plus it features the heaviest KISS song ever, "Not For The Innocent".

Asylum (1985): Most of it is completely lame, but Stanley's songs are good. I like cheese, what can i say.

Revenge (1992): Their finest ever.

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Originally posted by LEGION:
Back in the 70's growing up, all of my friends were getting into this "rock sensation" called Kiss...I, on the other hand, grew up on the Beatles.

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Kiss is cheesy lyrics, catchy hooks, comic book imagery (which is what first sold nme at the age of 7) and sex (which went right over my head at the age of seven. I wondered why my Dad rolled his eyes as his little boy sang 'Love Gun' to his grandparents. ha ha

Never got too into Judas Priest, whom I've always found to be rather boring... Although, for some reason I continue to buy JP records all the time!? Some part of me feels like they are essential and that I am missing something about the music. Keep waiting for that one to 'snap'.

Then I stayed the night at Grammas house one time. She had cable. Kiss Meets The Phantom Of The Whatever was on TV. I thought it was awesome. The concert part that is. The rest was dumb.

I forgot all about Kiss until I started really getting into music around the age of 12. They were "cool", but I didn't own any of their albums.

To this day I have never bought a Kiss album. I have Hotter Than Hell, Destroyer, Lick It Up, Animalize and used to own Alive, Love Gun and the Gene Simmons solo thing. I got them all for free.

Once music became my primary obsession in life (age 13 until...well it still is), Kiss has been somewhat of a problem for me. I had a short period where I thought I liked them, but I was just saying I did coz...well, they were Kiss dammit! I soon disloged my head from my ass and began to make my own decisions regarding what music and stuff I enjoyed. After several years and a serious attempt to get into them...I just couldn't. They were not for me.

My final conclusion? I think they stink and that's all there is to it. I tried and THEY failed. All show and no go makes Kiss a dull band. BOOORIINNGGG. Overrated is an appropriate word.

If you like them, fine. I don't care. You probably don't like stuff I like, I'm not gonna lose sleep over it. At least it's rock music and not hip hop or some shit. I'll give ya that.

Sorry for pissing all over Kiss if you're a fan...I'm in a bad mood.

Judas Priest is the greatest Heavy Metal band in the history of everything. Period.