That's Carnival of Souls for me in a nutshell. And even more specifically Paul's contributions to it. I don't want to get into a boring cataloguing of my record collection. This is one of KISS's 'cred' albums and I'm already bored and don't want to play along with the fan narrative. If the line needs to be drawn, you're a bigger fan than me. That prize and a nickel will get you a cup of coffee. Enjoy. Gene's songs are generally okay but it becomes 'enough already' and Paul's just lost. And "this KISS album would be better with more Bruce Kulick co-writes" has never been spoken by anyone ever. When you go to a guy and ask him to help you make another bands' album, that's a dicey proposition. But like Quagmire says, I could forgive ALL of it if I liked the songs. Hate. This is a solid song and a good start to the album. The palm muted part reminds me a lot of the crawling riff in For Whom the Bell Tolls by Metallica but probably just because of the palm muting itself. I guess there isn't really much to say beyond liking the song. I don't think it's some wildly inventive tune or anything it's just solid. And the guitar solo?? This is like something for people who think Slayer guitar solos are too melodic.
You mentioned a criticism people have and I merely pointed out that one of the people involved in creating the album has said the same. That's all. I didn't say anything about not putting effort into it.
One other thing I forgot to mention. If Paul had really felt that way at the time, he would have (at best) not praised it so enthusiastically, or (at worst) really started to distance himself from it at the time of the reunion. What better time to say something like "we were trying hard to deliver music in today's climate, when all along this [the reunion in makeup] is what were were born to do! This is the real KISS!" Can't you just hear Paul saying that? If ever there was a time to diss the record, it was then, when the world was caught up in 70's KISS nostalgia. It was the least opportune time to be giving props to an album that wasn't even destined to see the light of day at that point. I don't buy it. He was proud of the album, even if he truly did feel it wasn't the best choice for a direction for them at that point (which I can believe). Had the record met with a reasonable amount of success, I don't think he'd bad mouth it.
It's cool. I guess my point is, I think very few KISS fans actually agree with Paul and Gene on all of the things that those two praise, as well as all of the things they criticize. Those guys have their own agenda, and their assessment of their own work is subject to change depending on the year and the audience. I still love them, though!
I also forgot Gene, Paul and Bruce did a two week radio promo tour for COS. Singer declined to participate.
HATE Gene is coming on strong right out of the gate. This is a powerful song that asks some tough questions. If Man was created in God's image, does God "hate"? That's not what we're taught. How can we come to grips with the evil in the world if God is supposed to be directing and influencing our lives? There are allusions to the Nazi atrocities of WWII, and questions as to whether Man really learned anything from those horrors. "All you martyrs and saviours, Go through the same door" is probably one of Gene's best lyrics ever. And this song rumbles like a freight train going downhill. Eric's playing is fantastic, and the bass and guitars just sound menacing! The solo is outstanding. This is grade "A" work and an excellent start to the album. 9.5/10
Gene and Paul did? I don't remember that. I thought only Bruce did any promotional work on behalf of this album? I knew Eric had declined.
Hate Not tooooo much of a song here. I get why they opened with it - it sets a tone musically, sonically and vibe-wise. HAAAATE! Is What I Am! Not exactly Dr. Love or Room Service now, is it? The riffage is attention grabbing and Gene's vocals and first verse do the same... but... not much melody. Getting back to Unplugged for a sec: I agree with the sentiment that there are plenty of other KISS songs that would thrive in that setting. Plenty. There are simply tons of KISS songs that have very strong hooks and melodic lines that would work.
They would never do it because it was an instrumental, but imagine if they had done a dope (no pun intended) all-acoustic version of "Fractured Mirror"? Ace, Paul, and Bruce all on guitar a la Robert Fripp's League of Crafty Guitarists, and Peter and Eric on dual percussion!
I remember hearing some interviews (couldn't find any on Youtube) and they were proud of the album at the time.
CARNIVAL OF SOULS I haven't watched the VHS in close to 20 years, but I seem to remember Gene mentioning this album towards the end of the Kiss My Azz home video, saying, "We're working on an album now, and here's a sneak peak of the artwork," and showing something along these lines: So they had the idea for the artwork (and probable generally heavy/gloomy/grunge musical direction) as early as late '94. Anyway... I remember reading about the bootleg in late '96, the very first time I ever got online and started looking for some KISS-related stuff. The guy basically had one sentence for each song..."This is a good Gene song, but even darker than his other stuff." "This is a good Paul song, but darker than what we're used to." I remember "Rain" was spelled as "Reign" (which intrigued me) and "Master & Slave" was listed as "Tell Me." So in late '97, when it was announced they were releasing this album to beat the bootleggers, I was intrigued. IIRC it came out around Halloween (what is it with KISS and Halloween!?!) to no fanfare and a no-frills shot of the band. And even though I was never a big "grunge" fan, I liked Carnival of Souls a lot! Their most polarizing album since The Elder, but heck, to me, their best since Creatures! (I eventually printed out my own CD-sized insert of the artwork above to use as my custom cover in the jewel case over top the actual booklet, and it looks so dark and evil and when I take it off the shelf and imagine that it was the "real" cover). HATE This, to me, is the natural progression of "Unholy" and, like all good KISS openers, sets a vibe for the rest of the album. Once again, they've got an opening song from Gene, obviously hoping that lightning would strike twice, although it wasn't to be for a variety of reasons. The palm muted riff is somewhat generic Dropped D stuff, but everyone's delivery is intense. Not my favorite song on the album by a long shot, but I like it better than its direct ancestor, "Unholy."
The grown up lyrics came from my vocabulary coach @npgchris ! Just thought I'd throw that out there in case he was too diffident to take credit!
Whoooooooooooaaa, hold on amigo...Weren't you one of the prime defenders when some of us were calling them (Paul) out on his especially juvenile lyrical content?? "Lyrics shouldn't matter for KISS. Who listens to KISS for the lyrics?" What am I missing here?? Now you're going to post lyrics to this album because the lyrics are important? Where am I getting this wrong, Chris?
Man oh man, I despair that I am ever going to get caught up again so here are my quick hits - nowhere near as developed as I'd intended - for the remainder of Revenge: EVERY TIME I SKIP PAST YOU The Ezrin formula called for a "Beth," Dick Wagner and all, on an album that would have been better served having "God Gave" as the closest thing to a ballad. I know there was a lot of back & forth as to what was a more "genuine" ballad, this or "Forever." I think YMMV depending on what aspects are especially important to you. Certainly Paul seems more "emotionally committed" to the vocal performance on this, but there are some annoying areas of over-singing that undercut the whole. And it's SO long. This song could have lost at least a minute and been good enough. "Forever," naff drum tone and all, gets in, nails you with a great chorus and a superlative solo (played by an actual member of KISS), and gets out. This song takes its own sweet time. Not in a good way. PARALYZED I apologize if I missed anyone bringing this up, but: Is this a genuine, bona fide KISS midlife crisis song? There's a lot of stuff about being numb, checked out, waiting on a heart attack - real fatalistic stuff from Gene, even more so in light of being a new father around this time. As such, it is very interesting, topic-wise. Singer lays down a real nice groove with a cool stutter-step breakdown - almost a "heartbeat-skipping" sound, which ties in well with the lyrics. And, for the life of me, this is about as close to an Ace Frehley solo as Bruce ever delivered. This song is more than "alright," it's flipping great. For me it saves side two. I JUST WANNA The song "Summertime Blues" and Eddie Cochran were not on my radar until many years later when my KISS fandom was dormant, so I never made the connection. But good lord. How embarrassingly obvious. This song is positively threadbare. The patented Bob Ezrin bells-and-whistles break is resolutely out of place and feels tacked on. This was the nadir of Paul singles. Bruce does some nice playing, but Singer goes to the well one too many times with the snare/tom roll fills, which already had their quota by "Domino." CARR JAM '81 There are a number of odd things about ending the album this way. First, it's a jam based around another song that was recorded by an ex-member - and, in fact, the original member was erased from the jam. But for all the years of loyalty - through mediocre material and getting the short end of the stick in the mix - this is a fitting "twenty-one drum" salute to the greatness of Eric Carr. You hear a lot of the trademark elements of his solos throughout the Eighties with the benefit of a great isolated mix. If anyone deserved a curtain call like this, he did. Kudos to Gene and Paul for deviating from conventions to give him his due. As an album, this really fell off for me after "Domino." I'm pretty firmly in the "OK album that sounds great" camp. Gene brought his A-/B+ game and Paul brought his high C game. Bruce finally got his chance to really shine without having to pay lip service to the speed-riff purveyors of the Eighties.
Ace plays on 3 of the songs on that album: Ace Frehley – lead guitar on "Bad Attitude", "Walk the Line" and "Blue Moon over Brooklyn" Cat 1 (album) - Wikipedia I can't say it enough times - those KISSFAQ digital booklets are da bomb! I've heard this sentiment expressed before - is it because people think it's just a PR/marketing construct? What other genre names for music are just PR/marketing poppycock?
Someone somewhere said it before me, but it fits quite nicely. Since people were criticizing a guy in his 40's writing about the strip club on the last album, you'd think they'd applaud the change in direction on the next record, right?
What else would Paul say after just completing a new album?? Maybe he liked it at the time but in retrospect it sounded forced to him. He may not have been lying in either instance but, you know, KISS is nothing if not marketing experts.
I could very well be guilty of such a stance on a song or two; I honestly don't remember. But I guarantee you there are tons of criticisms from me in this thread on KISS' lyrics. Quite a few. And I've been pointing to this album as a lyrical bright spot for them since pretty much the beginning of this thread. But if I'm coming across as hypocritical, I'd sure like to know what song or songs you are referencing. I'm sure there was a context there, as I've been pretty hard on many of their lyrics.
Agreed. But if you saw some of the interviews I'm referring to, there really wasn't any need for him to bring up the album. His pride in it seemed genuine. If ever there was a perfect time to criticize or distance himself from it, it was then. The world could have given two sh##s for a heavy KISS album from the non-makeup version of the band at that point in time. It was all about the reunion, and the hype that went along with it.
Just the title alone isn't Kiss. Hate is not in their vocabulary for song titles and suddenly there it is when everyone else who is in the charts is using it. I understand them stepping into this arena but they lose themselves. That's why they fail at all of this; they lose themselves to what they are trying to copy. If you choose to lose yourself that says you don't feel you as you are have anything significant to offer. That's what's so obvious when they jump on any bandwagon. You can be influenced by what's going on and keep yourself in the mix. That's the best way to really make it yours. The fact that they dropped that sound after Psycho Circus says it all; it was just another hat. If they got a hit out of it they probably would've tried more though you could say they never tried Beth again...or did they (Forever)?
