martindavey87 Impressively released barely three months after their debut, Kiss are back with their second album, ‘Hotter Than Hell’. While I admire a lot of these early rock bands from back in the day for their non-stop work ethic which saw them chug out so many releases in such a short space of time, the end result is usually average at best.

Take Kiss’ early days, for example. Mediocre, sleazy rock ‘n’ roll, at its very finest. I guess. I didn’t really enjoy the bands self-titled debut, and this certainly isn’t any better. From the rather dreary riffs to the forgettable lyrics, the only real shining quality about this album is the apparent chemistry amongst the band members, in particular, guitarists Paul Stanley and Ace Frehley. While it’s nothing remarkable by today’s standards, there’s definitely a synergy between the two, and if nothing else, it’s reassuring to know that these guys will go on to release much better material in the future.

‘Got to Choose’ and ‘Parasite’ are the only two songs I’d even consider passable, and the latter is mostly thanks to Anthrax’s cover of it. There’s a couple of decent guitar solos, but not decent enough that I remember which song I heard them in, and I have no desire to go looking for them.

While Kiss’ early works probably fare better if you were around in the 70’s, or you were exposed to it at an early age, to me, ‘Hotter Than Hell’, much like its predecessor, is a fairly rubbish album. It lacks the energy and bombast of later efforts, and just tends to drag along boringly with no real passion. Mercifully, it’s barely half an hour long.

martindavey87 It's crazy to believe that this uninspiring release would spawn one of the most iconic and legendary rock bands in history. Though, what Kiss would lack in memorable hits they certainly made up for in marketability. Admittedly, I've always had a soft spot for the band. In fact, it was their 'Destroyer' album that changed the life of 12 year-old me back in 1999 when it introduced me to rock music. So going back to the bands early albums has sadly failed to live up to expectations.

Not that there really were any expectations to begin with, mind you. Kiss have always had a penchant for dumb, womanizing, sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll anthems, but their biggest trait has always been their image and their ability to sell products. Especially when their early albums were as lacklustre as this one.

Featuring ten tracks that top in at 35 minutes, 'Kiss' is a very raw release that is very straight forward and to the point. Songs about women, partying, drinking and more partying is the name of the game, but none of these songs are as noteworthy as the groups later material.

If I had to be generous, 'Strutter', 'Cold Gin' and 'Let Me Know' are alright, but pale in comparison to albums like 'Destroyer', 'Love Gun' and 'Creatures of the Night', and considering a lot of the other rock bands that were around in 1974, it's not hard to imagine where this band would be right now if not for their iconic face paint and stage shows.

Still, it's Kiss. How can you be mad at them?

Warthur Revenge: the term implies a settling of old scores, and that's pretty much exactly what this is. Not only does it have the band reuniting with Bob Ezrin for the first time since the disaster of Music From "The Elder", but it also has them tossing the glam metal style they'd adopted for the past few albums in favour of cooking up an updated take on their original hard rock style.

The end result is a solid Kiss album of the old school, emerging well after anyone expected them to be able to churn out such a thing and benefiting greatly from Ezrin's hand in the production. Exorcising the ghosts of The Elder for good, Ezrin and Kiss make the feel good rock and roll album everyone was hoping they would make when they first hooked up together, with their cover of Argent's God Gave Rock 'n' Roll To You being justifiably iconic.

martindavey87 This is the album that changed my life.

I remember back in 1999, at the age of 12, I was watching a World Championship Wrestling show, when they had Kiss perform live. At the time I had never heard of Kiss, or listened to any rock music for that matter, but what I heard that night changed me forever.

Random fact: This was WCW's lowest-rated segment ever. I guess wrestling fans in 1999 just weren't into Kiss.

After falling in love with the song ‘God of Thunder’, I set out to buy my first Kiss album. I remember after I bought it seeing my parents shock at what I’d purchased, and them ‘warning me’ about it. "Oh, I don’t think you’ll like that, that’s rock music, very heavy stuff". Feeling slightly embarrassed I shrugged it off, claiming how much I loved Kiss, even though I only knew one of their songs. I was feeling sillier and sillier with each moment.

Thankfully my parent’s concerns were wasted, as I instantly fell in love with the album; ‘Destroyer’.

Before hearing this record the only music I was exposed to was whatever mainstream pop was on the radio. ‘Destroyer’ opened me up to the heavier side of music, and eventually led me to finding some of my favorite bands such as Dream Theater, Symphony X and Savatage. I sometimes wonder what I could be listening to right now if I had never come across this little gem. Or if I'd even be as passionate about music as I am.

As for the music itself, well, it’s a Kiss album. What do you expect? It's radio-friendly(ish) rock music covering all the cliché topics: partying, women, sex, partying, drugs and partying. It's all there. And if you're new to Kiss, you may as well start off with one of their best albums, with tracks such as ‘God of Thunder’, ‘Shout It Out Loud’ and ‘Beth’ being firm crowd pleasers. And then there is also possibly the greatest Kiss song of them all, ‘Detroit Rock City’.

Overall these songs are all great rockers from "back in the day", but since my musical taste has moved on greatly since the time I was first exposed to this band, it is mostly nostalgia that prevents these songs from dropping off my musical radar. I give this album a good four stars, but the fact that this was such a life-changer for me may have something to do with it.

And hey, we all have our guilty pleasures, right?

Like this review? Please check out my Facebook page @ facebook.com/martindavey87

mbs5150 Throughout their career KISS has made their share of live albums and have been ridiculed by rumors of not being completely live recordings and for KISS this fact has been proven to be true by their own admissions however any artist who says that their concert recordings are completely live without having to correct a few things here and there are in fact liars but with KISS they are examined even closer as their act is more about what you see and feel rather than what you hear. My first listen to KISS was from their first concert album ALIVE (1975) and that album rings true with my previous statement,and that it did and with ALIVE 2 (1977) it too made you feel you were a part of the show even though it too was not totally the complete show from beginning to end as they wanted the music to reflect off the most recent studio albums (Destroyer,Rock And Roll Over,Love Gun) and not repeat the songs off ALIVE, but also the sound seemed much more polished than its predecessor but it still gave you the feeling of being a part of the show even if you were not actually there and that theme has carried them through decade after decade so when a big event not just for the group but for everybody and everyone who is living,it seemed appropriate for KISS to once again take advantage of this and use it to their favor, thus came KISS ALIVE THE MILLENNIUM CONCERT recorded at Vancouver's B.C. Place on December 31st 1999 in front of another packed audience of KISS ARMY fanatics, to be a part of this actual show then be able to hear it was an experience more so for my own ego as i would be able to tell what was fixed and what was actually live. First, I just want to say that this is the way I want to remember the band as and not the way they are now (not with Tommy and Eric wearing Ace and Peter's characters) this was the group that started it all and this album does that and more,from the opening track of Psycho Circus to the last explosion of Rock and Roll All Night and everything in between, this album does what its supposed to do and then some. Now, to be honest from someone who was at this show there was some things that were fixed due to mechanical problems with equipment and stage effects and some of Paul's vocals and Peter's were redone here and there but no artist is going to leave those in and put it out for the fans to buy, that would be suicide, so in the end this album does what its supposed to do and that is to make the listener feel as if they are right in the middle of a concert and as Paul Stanley said before "you don't just listen with your ears, you do with your eyes as well" Also, the credits on this page says Eric Singer and Tommy Thayer are on this one...that is WRONG!!! its ACE & PETER!!!!

Kingcrimsonprog Kiss’s Symphony: Alive IV DVD was recorded back in 2003 in Melbourne, Australia, with David Campbell conducting the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. The band consists of stalwart members Gene Simmons and Paul Stanely as well as origional drummer Peter Criss and ‘new’ guitarist Tommy Thayer in place of Ace Frehly, all back in make up and costumes.

The concert is split into three sections, one with just the band playing up tempo rock songs, one with the band and a string section playing ballads and another with the band as well as the complete symphony orchestra playing hits and rock songs. There are all sorts of explosions, pyro, band members flying on wires, fake blood, special lighting and big screens making the whole thing as interesting to watch as you’d expect from Kiss and this is in addition to the whole orchestra made-up in Kiss style make up.

As a concert; this is a great success, vastly entertaining, visually stunning, well performed and great sounding. The DVD is let down largely however by a crazy and over enthusiastic editing job that flits hyper-actively around, concentrating on all the right things and rarely settling long enough for you to get into anything. I can understand how the makers wanted to convey the excitement and scale of this special concert, and wanted to keep your attention but in my opinion things have been taken too far. After all, as a home viewer most people will want to watch the band play live, not the audience members dancing or jiggling their chests.

If you can get over this larger problem as well as any personal problems you may have with track listing or general cheesiness (people have complained on various levels including Paul Stanley’s dialogue, the more syrupy songs like ‘Shandi,’ or with the orchestra being painted up etc) then you will find a fantastic DVD that is a lot of fun to watch.

In addition to the concert, there is a fairly substantial, but not astounding, making-of documentary covering the origins, practices and build up to the concert.

Newcomers or people who actively dislike mixtures of rock and orchestras may be better suited checking out the fantastic Rock The Nation or Kissology Vol. 1 DVDs; however overall, Kiss Symphony: Alive IV is a very good product, hampered by odd editing choices, but ultimately worth the time and money of most Kiss fans.

Kingcrimsonprog Kiss have a lot of DVDs on the market, all of varying quality and taken from all different eras of the band’s career. 2005′s Rock The Nation DVD is taken from their successful 2004 Rock The Nation Tour which sees the band, now with Eric Singer and Tommy Thayer in the line up (as on their following ‘Sonic Boom,’ and ‘Monster,’ studio albums) replacing Peter Criss and Ace Frehly on drums and guitar after a classic-line-up reunion.

The band absolutely deliver in terms of performance, the songs are delivered in an absolutely professional and yet energetic fashion, with a set list that concentrates primarily on rock songs from the 70s as opposed to focusing more on ballads and later material. If you like Kiss mostly for their rock songs from the 70s, then pick up a copy of this DVD right away, but if you only like their 80s output then their are other Kiss DVDs out their which will serve you better.

As a DVD, Rock The Nation is excellent; with fantastic sound and mixing, as well as great camera work and editing (as opposed to the over-edited Symphony DVD) and it is really one of, if not the best looking and sounding DVDs Kiss have released.

Classics like ‘Deuce,’ ‘Shout It Out Loud,’ ‘Love Gun,’ and ‘Detroit Rock City,’ are all in evidence, as well as a few choices you wouldn’t expect like ‘Unholy,’ and ‘War Machine,’ both of which are fantastic additions. Of course you get all the pyro, smoke bombs, make up, fake blood, big screens and flying band members that make Kiss so entertaining live and Paul Stanley is very communicative with the crowd, helping the band to come across like they really appreciate being up there on stage.

In terms of extras; There is a multi-angle feature called Kiss Power Vision, where you can choose which band member you want to see, which can interrupt the screen with picture in picture scenarios, but it can be turned off. Also there is a behind the scenes documentary and set of interviews, but rather than be accessible as a complete feature separately, it is inter-cut with the main concert every few songs or so.

If these two special features potentially interrupting a complete concert don’t sound like they’d annoy you, if you like Tommy Thayer and Eric Singer in the band and if you like the track listing (They can’t play every song you like on every DVD) then get yourself a copy of Rock The Nation, otherwise content yourself with one of the many other Kiss DVDs on the market, such as Kissology Volume 1.