[OT]How many of you like the band KISS?

[JohnBrown]

Well, their music might not be the greatest ever recorded, but it is fun. They also put on one heck of a show. Dollar for dollar their show is always the best value for my entertainment dollar. With cost of ticket prices these days, there had be a little spectacle with the music.

I have seen them eight times (loved every show – even during the 80’s). I saw them about 2 years ago, 8th row center, and by the end of the night I was thigh-deep in confetti. They were putting on great "shows" years before bands such as U2 and still do it 100 times better (that is not a knock on U2 – a great band live as well). With the possible exception of Alice Cooper in his hay-day, it is hard to top KISS as far as their live show is concerned.

As their intro goes:

“You wanted the best…You got the best…KISS!!!!!!”

 

[SeRiAlExPeRiMeNtS]

One more om the hate side...

 

[Skullfyre]

*is a major KISS Fan*

 

[SHARK]

Greetings!

I started listening to KISS from way back in the day. I've seen them numerous times, and I own just about all of their albums, including that ancient, fabled material called vinyl. KISS rocks baby! Detroit Rock City, cranked, is just awesome! A great song to wake up to in the morning, or go out to at night! Well, Dr. Love is good, and of course Love Gun. Black Diamond is sweet. God of Thunder, Hotter Than Hell, Rock'in in The USA, all great stuff. Lick It Up as an album had some excellent stuff as well, and Revenge is great too! KISS fan forever!

Semper Fidelis,

SHARK

 

[Dark Jezter]

I'm a big KISS fan. I own several of their albums, as well as the DVD of the movie "Detroit Rock City." I also have "KISS: The Second Coming" on VHS, which was a documentry about how the original members of the band got back together. A little more than two years ago, I saw KISS in concert, and it was the most impressive rock concert I've ever been to. Those guys really know how to put on a show.

 

[Turlogh]

Put me down as a Kiss fan. They're what Rock and Roll is all about- fun, parties, sex and money.

 

[jollyninja]

i like them enough that i read gene's book. they started sucking shortly after i was born. sorry, i didn't mean to make kiss suck. their debut album is the best one. black diamond is the greatest song that existed before me.

 

[Moulin Rogue]

I have all their albums except two or three. I've pretty much had it with the stupid events of the past couple years such as Peter Criss and Ace Frehley being replaced by two other guys.... wearing ACE and PETER'S makeup! Plus Gene's merchandising got really dumb again... a friggin' KISS Kasket? Gene is really, really greedy and arrogant, seeming to openly flaunt that he uses the KISS name purely to make money now.

And now the good - I saw them in '98 and they put on THE live show with the explosions and the fire and the whole thing. They are arena rock entertainment, pure and simple, and I enjoy it on that level, the same way a lot of you enjoy summer action movies with bad dialogue and lots of stuff blowing up in cool ways. We can't be thinking hard all the time, now.

My favourite KISS albums:

Hotter Than Hell ('74) - sludgy, garage-y rock, the party attitude is there in places but this album is quite heavy for its time. You can kinda hear how some Seattle grunge bands grew up listening to KISS.

Alive ('75) - proof that KISS was in their element live. Peter Criss is often slagged as a bad drummer but I think he was good on the early stuff, check out his work on "Parasite"! If you could only have one KISS album...

Rock and Roll Over ('76) - Lots of (IMO) underrated KISS songs like "Take Me", "Mr. Speed" and "Baby Driver". Love the production job on this one too. The last album before Peter Criss' drumming skills pretty much tanked due to coke.

Ace Frehley solo ('78) - the solo albums were mostly bloated and self-indulgent, but Ace's just had an extra fire and focus to it, like he really needed to get this out and made a strong effort. Nothing great in the lyrics or vocals to be sure, this is just good hooky hard rock, maybe backed by a high Ace Charisma roll or something.

Creatures of the Night ('82) - after the Elder bombed, the band went back to their hard rocking roots. This is VERY heavy for KISS and quite dark in mood for them too - if they weren't metal here, they never were. Eric Carr's drums sound like CANNONS. Too bad it bombed as well.

 

[Eternalknight]

I am 21, and I have been a fan of KISS since Revenge (1992). I have only seen one live concert of theirs (the Farewell tour in Melbourne on the 4th of April last year) but it is something I will never forget. What a show!

You guys are right about their best stuff being the early years, but they had a few good songs during the 80's (Lick it up, Heaven's on Fire, Tears are falling...).

Favourite songs would have to be Psycho Circus, Detroit Rock City, God of Thunder, Creatures of the Night, War Machine and, of course, Rock and Rol All Nite.

If I could recommend two albums to people, they would have to be Destroyer and Alive II.

As for the debate with my friend, looks like we are about even.