Killers (Kiss-Album)

Occupation

Killers is the second compilation album by the American hard rock band Kiss, released in 1982. It contains eight songs Best of four new tracks. This LP represents a turning point in the history of music the group

Genesis

Classification in the musical background

→ Main article: Kiss ( discography )

With the album Kiss Dynasty gave way first time in 1979 on its original line. Because of this and the following album Unmasked, published in 1980 were marked by the strong at the time, the music industry largely dominant disco wave in the late 1970s. This intermediate phase lasted about two years and in 1981 became replaced by a one-year phase, which is considered as a musical disaster. In that year the group introduced the concept album Music from the Elder, which represented a kind of fantasy rock and on the fanfares and symphonic orchestra music played an important role. Although the album received good reviews, but the music had so far removed from the original Kiss sound that the album in the constituency is considered to be low and was a commercial failure.

These two intermediate phases followed in 1982 musically radical and thoroughgoing change of direction towards the original Hard Rock. The 1982 appeared mixture of compilation and album Killers interpreted this to already. The material used there for the four new songs had the band members Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons at the same time written with the material for the book published in the same year following album Creatures of the Night, with which Kiss reported back with loud, rhythmic, bass and gitarredominiertem Hard Rock. The Killers album was officially released only outside the United States, but came back as an import in the United States.

Formation and result

Singer and rhythm guitarist Paul Stanley commented on emergence and result like this: "We tried, according to rediscover The Elder ' our balance and our reason. We had arrived at an interesting point. We were preparing for, Creatures '. The material of, Killers ' we saw this as a warm- up, because we decided that we will regain our true power and wanted to become to what had spotted us earlier. [ ... ] The album came after, The Elder ' out and it came to us through its failure before as if Mike Tyson us personally ko beaten. That's why it took a while until we removed the cobwebs in our minds and began to write new songs. When we wrote the first new songs, we felt like we won slowly ground under their feet. [ ... ] All, Killers ' sounded confused, but at least it was a good attempt, The Elder ' to leave behind and to put an end to the excesses of the lethargic and arrogant becoming rock stars. "

Studio guitarist Bob Kulick, brother of the later Kiss lead guitarist Bruce Kulick, analyzes the result: " Michael ( James Jackson) was something like a referee in the album, because Paul and Gene did not seem to come to an agreement which direction taken the band should. That was nothing new in them, but if you just produced an album, something will eventually stressful. [ ... ] Killers ' and ' Creatures ' emerged more or less at the same time. [ ...] I would have wished that it would get the same sound as, Creatures '. "

Producer Michael James Jackson describes the origin and result of the production as follows: " We got by, The Elder ' know. At that time it seemed to me that, as if they were in relation to the music really mess. Kiss had previously been so successful that they, and above all genes must have been very disappointed, as 'The Elder ' was suddenly no longer taken as benevolent as the previous albums. It seemed also as if her career stalled. At that time most of the major rock ' n' roll bands oriented more melodic songs. I wanted to help them solve the problem, trying to get them to old habits, that is, to take on the attitude and performance more on melody and the songs to focus on yourself. While it had never been done to copy the amazing theatrical live performance of Kiss, it became clear that it was time to take a completely different album. [ ...] I think they were they wanted to really try other alternatives, because it was them aware that the tried and true recipe for success of Kiss did not work anymore. [...] We all tried to build something, and were determined to take the band back to their own identity and capture their true spirit. During the recording, Killers ' we started at the same time still working on the, Creatures' LP. [ ...] I wanted to help them to get back to where they had been earlier on my part. With ' Killers ' was the beginning, but I think they only with, Creatures, it ' really make it. "

Title list

Chart success

In Norway, the album came with a 6th place in the top ten. On 14th it was in Austria. No. 21 reached the LP in Australia and number 28 in Germany. Comparatively knocked off the album in Sweden was at number 41 and in the UK with 42nd place in the U.S. it did not reached the charts.

Extractions were not provided. None of the four new songs I'm a Legend Tonight, Down on Your Knees, Nowhere to Run and Partners In Crime reached nationally or internationally in the charts.

Reviews

  • Bravo said in 1982: "Before Gene, Paul, Ace and Eric actually come up with the second part of [ ... ] Lang hamlet, The Elder ', they seem to have perhaps confused inserted by the reaction of many of their old fans again a pause. The music break is filled with a collection of great hits that has the pleasant side effect that it can once again be alive the big old kiss- times. [ ... ] Give credit where credit have also mixed the rock monsters a few recent Fetzer, who had not been previously released under their old exploits. "
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