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After the failed project "Music from the Elder," Kiss attempted to regain their composure (and to reclaim some of the lost credibility, truth be told, already from the times of "Love Gun") with "Creatures of the Night," an album with heavy metal sounds which represents a novelty for the band, previously engaged with the usual stagnant hard rock or worse, disco-pop music.
The title track, which opens the album, is a statement of intent: enormously pumped-up drums (the intro is simply devastating) and metallic riffs create a sound never so powerful in the Kiss household; convincing performance by the Starchild, determined like never before (nothing like "I Was Made for Lovin' You" and company). The following tracks like "Saint and Sinner", "Danger" (explosive!), "Keep Me Comin" (with its rowdy, redundant chorus) all continue solid and powerful without giving the listener a moment of respite. There is also room for the classic stadium hit, such as "I Love It Loud" (supported by Eric Carr's powerful drum barrages, a constant in this album) which perhaps aims to be the new "Rock and Roll All Nite." But the emotional heart of the album is undoubtedly "I Still Love You," a tragic chronicle of a finished love, where the star here is beyond par: excellent singing, almost whispered in the verses, angry in the refrains, with instruments held back with difficulty, and desperate yet resigned in the chorus. Then there's Vinnie Vincent's solo, beautiful, spot-on, and full of emotion that releases some of the tension that was building up second by second; probably this is the definitive ballad for Kiss as well as one of their best songs ever. The album continues with "Killer" a nice piece with a simple and effective riff by Vincent, more of a good filler that soon makes way for the last cannon shot that closes the album as best as possible: "War Machine", simply devastating as the title suggests. An overwhelming monolithic block, with "hard" riffs (Hetfieldgod teaches) and raw (turning up the volume here is a must), which reminds me of a "God of Thunder" to the nth degree: perhaps my absolute favorite Kiss song.
Ultimately an excellent album then (the last noteworthy one before the dull Hair Metal period) which, strangely, was not met with much enthusiasm by the American public; conversely, the tour was a great success, especially in South America where Kiss performed in front of huge audiences (like the spectacular setting of 200,000 spectators at Rock in Rio). One singular note, however, must be made, paradoxically, about the production: despite the nearly perfect drum sound and the overall sound being more powerful than previous albums, more should have been done for the guitar sound, which in some instances were not exactly well highlighted, and perhaps the two "heads" of the band (Stanley-Simmons) should have given a bit more freedom to Vinnie Vincent, a true Guitar Hero whose potential remained unexpressed during his tenure with the band.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
02 Saint and Sinner (04:50)
I'm getting off this carousel, you can do as you please, you can go to hell
You put my back against the wall
Well I'm not gonna fall on my knees, no not at all
So you're a saint, I'm a sinner, but deuces are wild
Better wake up, it's break up, I ain't got the time
So (baby) you can kiss my heart bye bye
Next to you I feel I'm all alone, love's turned to stone, ooh yeah
Cross my heart and hope to cry, well I'm not gonna die
Without you it's aces high
So you're a saint, I'm a sinner, but deuces are wild
Better wake up, it's break up, I ain't got the time
So (baby) you can kiss my heart bye bye
Bye bye babe
Kiss my heart bye bye, you missed my heart this time around
Kiss my heart bye bye, and I don't need no one at all, no!
There's no right and there's no wrong, I'm moving on
I'll go it alone, because love's turned to stone
So you're a saint, I'm a sinner, but deuces are wild
Better wake up, it's break up, I ain't got the time
So (baby) you can kiss my heart bye bye
So bye bye babe, bye bye babe
No I'm not gonna die, cross my heart and hope to cry
No no no no I'm not gonna die, so bye bye bye babe
Well I'm not gonna die without you babe
No I'm not gonna die
05 Danger (03:56)
In the night I will be waitin'
Ready to go, soon as the daylight is fadin'
In the night my heart is beating
Out of control, can't stop the way that I'm feeling
I wanna know how far to go, takin' my life in my hands
Out on my own, fighting alone, call me the desperate man
Danger, danger, give me danger, danger
Give me measures of pleasure and pain, boiling the blood in my veins
Danger, danger, give me danger, danger
Give me nothing to stand in my way, I'll make the best of my days
In the night, oh, I can feel it
Time slips away, if I can't pay I will steal it
In the night I will be screamin'
Hour by hour livin' the life that I'm dreamin'
Under the gun, I'll be the one, walking the edge of the knife
Taking the best, leaving the rest, I'm gonna run for my life
Danger, danger, give me danger, danger
Give me measures of pleasure and pain, boiling the blood in my veins
Danger, danger, give me danger, danger
Give me nothing to stand in my way, I'll make the best of my days
I wanna know how far to go, takin' my life in my hands
Out on my own, fighting alone, call me the desperate man
Danger, danger, give me danger, danger
Give me fires that endlessly burn, I've passed the point of return
Danger, danger, danger, danger, danger, danger
08 Killer (03:20)
Her love is a gun, her love is a blade, she's a killer
Bitch is insane, she deals in pain, she's a killer
Ooh, she'll cut you clean, then she'll watch you bleed
So obscene, she's what I need, she loves to hear me scream
Black lace, stiletto heels, she's a killer
Crack the whip, submission trip, she's a killer
Ooh, cat in heat, mistress of deceit
Nerves of steel, her next meal, she's searching for the meat
She's a killer, stone cold killer, killer, stone cold killer
Watch out for your jugular vein, she's a killer
Animal with a twisted brain, she's a killer
Ooh, she guarantees you'll suffer with desire
Wicked queen, night machine, she'll make you walk through fire
Killer, run for your life, killer, will she bite
Killer, run for your life, killer, will she bite, suck your blood tonight
Killer, stone cold killer, she's a killer, stone cold killer
Killer, stone cold killer, she's a killer, stone cold killer
She's a killer, she's a killer, stone cold killer
She's a killer, stone cold killer, she's a killer
09 War Machine (04:13)
Wanna bite the band that feeds me
Wanna turn the tides
Set the demons free and watch 'em fly
Strike down the one who leads me
I'm gonna take his place
Gonna vindicate the human race
Better watch out
'Cause I'm a war machine
Better watch out
'Cause I'm a war machine
Take the reins of power and seize them
Draw the battle lines
Armageddon's just a matter of time
Tear down the voice of reason
Let the arrows fly
Your freedom's just a state of mind, yeah
Better watch out
'Cause I'm a war machine
You better watch out
'Cause I'm a war machine, yeah
You better watch out
'Cause I'm a war machine
You better watch out
'Cause I'm a war machine
Better watch out
'Cause I'm a war machine
I'm a war machine
I'm a war machine....
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By HetfieldGod
This album is a MUST-HAVE!!!
"I Love It Loud" needs no introduction: one of the best and hardest tracks by Kiss.
