KISS - KILLERS

The year was 1982. Joan Jett and Survivor were battling it out for top spots on the Billboard charts while KISS remained a small blimp on the radar of the record buying public. After the strange and unsuccessful release of THE ELDER kids where not only questioning the whereabouts of KISS they were also asking themselves ‘who cares?’. Sadly, in 1982 no one did. Not even the three remaining original KISS members.
It was no secret that Ace was disgusted with the concept of THE ELDER from day one. Initially refusing to take part in the project Ace recorded most of his tracks at his home studio. Clearly, this is not a successful recipe for a healthy band so in true KISS fashion, lips were sealed, photos were doctored, and the reality that the boat was sinking was kept well hidden from the public eye.
If it had once appeared to be a cool thing to be a member of KISS it suddenly appeared to be nothing more than a headache. The trademark makeup that had once set them apart from the pack now served as the noose threatening to do them in. Pending lawsuits over record company contracts, unmotivated musicians, and managers eyeballing other projects only added to the cluster that had once been the biggest band in the world. The 1980’s were not looking good for KISS. The magic was gone and in its place utter confusion.
Adding to the confusion, KISS’ contractual agreement with Phonogram demanded that KISS release a compilation record. The result, 1982’s KISS – KILLERS, a mixed bag of old and new unreleased material that if anything left KISS fans scratching their heads in wonder.
If MUSIC FROM THE ELDER was the left turn that caused KISS to lose their way in the first place, the new tracks recorded for KILLERS signified that at least KISS had found the map and could see the road leading home. From the title, to the album cover photo, to the songs themselves…KILLERS seems out of place. At the time this was a sensation KISS and its followers were use to.
Michael James Jackson was enlisted as producer in an attempt to bring KISS back to their metal roots. The most obvious ingredient added to the mix by Jackson was the addition of guest songwriters, Adam Mitchell and Bryan Adams. This by and large was a formula strange to the KISS camp, however an effective tool used by Stanley and Simmons, adding a breathe of fresh air into the sometimes narrow minded KISS song ideas.
To the U.S. buying public KILLERS is interesting to say the least. The album wreaks of a rarity. Had a KISS loving youngster only had their albums to serve as their visual outlet for the band they would have been dumbfounded by the super groups’ transformation. Gone were the brightly colored flowing capes of the UNMASKED era and in its place were four members of KISS with cropped haircuts and toned down stage outfits. KISS appeared more ‘beyond Thunderdome’ than ‘other worldly’.
Had the image of the new KISS not frightened listeners enough, the mediocre hard rock tracks of the album would more than likely do them in. A definite notch above THE ELDER, tracks like "Down On Your Knees" and "Nowhere To Run" show that Stanley could clearly see the target in which he was aiming, however his focus may have been a little rusty. During the same year that metal acts like Judas Priest were "Screaming For Vengeance" the freshly pressed KISS tracks sounded as lame as could be. By 1982, music fans were either synthesizer freaks or hell bent for leather…there was no middle ground. Momentarily, the middle ground was where KISS stood. Shaky, alone, and with no one to blame but themselves.
KILLERS is an odd gem, nothing that would be considered a diamond in the rough, but nothing to discard either. It is a unique snapshot of the band during a very unsettling year and a chance to see the former beast of rock and roll scrape and claw their way back to the top of the hard rock jungle. The musical climate had changed with record speed between 1978 and 1982 and KISS had taken the brunt of the blows, sending them further into the darkness. Thankfully within the year KISS would emerge darker and heavier than ever.

KISS - MUSIC FROM THE ELDER

Some fans love it…others hate it. Some preach the praise of the gospel while others dismiss it. KISS’ first release featuring a new member and brand new look (although visually no one noticed the change thanks to the albums packaging) quite possibly is most misunderstood album in the KISS catalog and by far the least successful. MUSIC FROM THE ELDER proved to be KISS’ first attempt at writing a concept album and nearly put the final nail in the KISS ‘makeup years’ coffin. How KISS bounced back from this left turn is beyond me? Whichever side of the fence you sit on, good or bad, tolerable or horrible, a disk that is played often or one that makes for a nice drink coaster, it’s safe to say that MUSIC FROM THE ELDER is an acquired taste. You simply don’t get it with one listen and because of that you may just find yourself growing to love it over the years.
MUSIC FROM THE ELDER was the first KISS album I purchased, listened to once, and shelved away without blinking an eye. I was seventeen years old and not ready to accept the fact that the band I loved for all the ‘right’ reasons was now headed in all the ‘wrong’ directions. I thought it was horrible. It sounded completely foreign. It didn’t feel like KISS, it was produced by Bob Ezrin (not a plus in my book) and the packaging was bland. Quite frankly nothing got my rocks off.
I went into the purchase knowing it was a ‘concept’ album and having been an off again, on again fan of Pink Floyd’s THE WALL, I was ready to accept a concept album from KISS (even if half heatedly), but c’mon???…if this was a concept album…the concept was plain ol’ crap. Bare in mind, this is all coming from the mind of a seventeen year old kid who would rather stay locked up in his room at night getting out his frustrations to the strains of "Rock And Roll Hell". To be completely honest MUSIC FROM THE ELDER more than likely sat on my CD shelf for a good four years before I eventually gave it a chance. That chance was given to me by my good old friends at T&T Variety.
By the time I was in my second year of college I was even more of a nerd than I was in high school. While my peers moved on with their lives, growing in maturity, music and lifestyle, I (for reasons beyond my knowledge) stayed locked in this late 80’s time warp. I guess it had a lot to do with not liking the new musical shift and hating ‘grunge’ bands with a passion. So, while most people were listening to Pearl Jam and pondering ‘real’ music I was still listening to KISS and hoping that the rumors of these ‘so called’ "KISS Conventions" would really come true. In the midst of my constant day dreaming the shop keep of T&T left a message for me that he had a KISS album "from the 80’s", as he put it and that it had a "really nice clear plastic liner inside". I couldn’t quite fathom what he was talking about so one snowy Tuesday afternoon I made the trip downtown to investigate.
Low and behold it was an LP version of MUSIC FROM THE ELDER. The asking price was $30.00 and since I never thought I would actually find another copy of this record again especially in the shape it was in I fell for it and handed over my cash.
Back at home, snowbound in my room with nothing to do the album grew on me. I don’t know if it was just the right time or if the mood was right or if I had finally ‘grown up’ enough to open my ears a little more…but something clicked. There in the darkness of the bedroom where I had discovered and studied every musical fascination I had ever had from Motley Crue to Quiet Riot to KISS the album sunk into my bones, creating a deep respect that remains to this day.
I would never claim that I love MUSIC FROM THE ELDER, however I would say that I truly do like some of the songs. "Only You" is a classy, classy song. "A World Without Heroes" and "Mr. Blackwell" are pretty neat in that Gene Simmons ‘Demon’ sort of way and "I"…well, I don’t think you could ask for a more unique closing number to this KISS record.
Something weird happened back then listening to that record all alone in my room. Something that I still feel shivers of every now and then today. That unique feeling that what you are taking part of is ‘all yours’.
I still get that choked up nostalgic feeling listening to the album or staring at the brown gatefold cover. It’s probably due in part to the fact that MUSIC FROM THE ELDER is an album that doesn’t enter my play list that often but certainly has a place in the play list of my favorite KISS memories. Rediscovering something you once proclaimed as ‘crap’ and realizing there may just be a little ‘magic’ hidden inside THE ELDER.