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Rating: We are in 1981, and the band known for their famous live performances and brilliant successes seems to be experiencing a period of crisis (in terms of sales). The previous album, "Unmasked," didn't have great success, mainly due to the misunderstanding of the name: most fans thought they had removed their makeup.
"Music From “The Elder”" is the first album featuring Eric Carr, an excellent Italian-American drummer (his real name is Paul Caravello), alongside historical members Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, and Ace Frehley. This concept album was born from the idea of Gene Simmons, who conceived a story of a race of immortal beings observing humans.
The Elder is a complicated album, but a masterpiece, where metal and progressive blend to create sensational pieces: the legendary Kiss show what they are capable of!
The album opens, after a little brass intro titled “Fanfare”, with “Just A Boy”, very melodic, where Paul Stanley's fantastic voice stands out, reaching the highest notes. “Odyssey” is an intense piece, full of tension, where the instruments are accompanied by the American symphony orchestra and a piano that opens and closes the piece, and whose bridge seems almost psychedelic. “Only You” is a metal piece, starting with a guitar, whose sound is very acidic and metallic. This is the first piece at the beginning of the album where the lead vocal is Gene Simmons, who gives his best throughout the album. Immediately after, “Under The Rose” follows, another magnificent piece, made majestic and imperial by the male choirs of the “St. Roberts Choir”, and by the wonderful riff that follows the chorus. Follows “Dark Light”, written and sung by Ace Frehley, which starts with a timid guitar, until it explodes in a metallic riff. Ace's voice asserts itself once again: it's a pity that he hasn't sung many throughout the discography. Notable is also the guitar solo. But it is “A World Without Heroes” (written by Gene Simmons along with Lou Reed) that is the true masterpiece of the disc, a quiet song that serves as a break, where Gene Simmons's voice is warm and emotional, accompanied by violins, giving that touching melancholic touch. “The Oath”, is another metal piece, but with noticeable progressive nuances, especially in the choruses; furthermore, the lyrics are a masterpiece. “Mr. Blackwell”, (another piece signed Simmons-Reed) is perhaps the most enigmatic song on the album, and in some parts the heaviest. “Escape From The Island” is the instrumental of the album, a sweeping musical ensemble in prog-metal style, characterized by powerful breaks and notable guitar virtuosity. “I”, instead, is the closing of the album, a true masterpiece, with powerful choral and melodic choruses. This was the only song to enjoy moderate success, even reaching the top ten in Italy, and was performed at the Sanremo festival, with a live connection from America.
Unfortunately, "Music From “The Elder”" was a complete failure, the least sold album in Kiss's history, and even today the most underrated.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
02 Just a Boy (02:37)
Who steers the ship through the stormy sea
If hope is lost then so are we
While some eyes search for one to guide us
Some are staring at me
But I'm no hero
Though I wish I could be
For I am just a boy,
Too young to be sailing
I am just a boy,
And my future is unveiling
And I'm so frightened of failing
While some eyes search for one to guide us
Some are staring at me
But I'm no hero
Though I wish I could be
For I am just a boy,
Too young to be sailing
I am just a boy,
And my future is unveiling
And I'm so frightened of failing
03 Odyssey (05:29)
From a far off galaxy, I hear you calling me
we are on an odyssey
Through the realms of time and space
In that enchanted place
You and I come face to face
Once upon not yet, long ago someday
Countless times we've met, met along the way
Through the luminescent night
On beams of neon light
You and I in wing-ged flight
As we cross the starry sea, powered by what we see
Now and then, the victory
Once upon not yet, long ago someday
Countless times we've met, met along the way
There's a child in a sundress
Looking at a rainy sky
There's a place in the desert
Where an ocean once danced by
There's a song in the silence
Weaving in and out of time
We are notes in the music
Searching for remembered rhyme
On a mountain high somewhere
Where only heroes dare
Stand the stallion and the mare
We have been and we shall be each other's destiny
One another's odyssey
Once upon not yet, long ago someday
Countless times we've met, met along the way
We've met along the way....
We've met along the way
05 Under the Rose (04:48)
Though you may be pure of heart
And free of sin
And though you have been chosen
To begin
And yet you must be worthy of
The prophecy
But seek and you shall find
Your destiny
Loneliness will haunt you
Will you sacrifice?
Do you take the oath
Will you live your life
Under the rose
The more you hurt the less you feel
The pain
And the more you change, the more you stay
The same
But now before you lies the quest
At hand
And from this boy you may become
A man
Do you understand
Will you sacrifice?
Do you take the oath
Will you live your life
Under the rose
Loneliness will haunt you
Will you sacrifice?
Do you take the oath
Will you live your life
Under the rose
06 Dark Light (04:13)
LOOK OUT, Cause there's something wrong
And you don't know what it is
WATCH OUT, Or it's Sodom and Gommorah
The malevolent order
RIGHT NOW, Before it's much too late
Before it's much too late
A dark light---A darkness never ending
A dark light---The devil gets his due
A dark night---Is everywhere descending
A dark light---Is coming for you
NOW LOOK UP, Well the skies are black
And they're getting darker all the time
WATCH OUT, For the things that you believe in
You're gonna be attacked,
and you won't know what it is
WISE UP, You better watch your step
You better watch your step
A dark light---A darkness never ending
A dark light---Of perversion and hate
A dark night---Is everywhere descending
A dark light---There's no time to wait
LOOK OUT, For the death of love
There will be no more love
WATCH OUT, It's yourself that you are fooling
Who do you think you're fooling
SHOUT IT OUT, It's a terrible thing
Such a terrible thing
A dark light---A darkness never ending
A dark light---The sun is turning cool
A dark night---Is everywhere descending
A dark light---Is shining at you
Dark light, Dark light
Is shining at you, Dark light
08 The Oath (04:32)
Like a blade of a sword I am forged in flame
Fiery hot
Tempered steel fire-bright to the night I take
I fear not
Now compelled by something I cannot see
I go forth surrendering to history
Your glory, I swear I ride for thee
Your power, I trust it rides with me
Your servant, I am and ever shall I be
Through a dream
I have a come to an ancient door
Lost in the mist
I have been there a hundred times or more
Pounding my fists
Now inside, the fire of the ancient burns
A boy goes in and suddenly a man returns
I gave my word and gained a key
I gave my heart and set it free
There's no turning back from this odyssey
Because I feel so alive suddenly
And I wonder, is this really me?
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