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John was forced to leave the band after being diagnosed with “Reactive Arthritis”. MTV helped the band reach that very same audience with videos for songs “Tears Are Falling”, “Who Wants To Be Lonely” and the overtly sexual “Uh! All Night” Asylum reached Gold in sales status and helped maintain their presence as a band that still had something to prove in the 80s.Īnimalize was the only album to feature Mark St. The album cover was bold and colorful reflecting the glam metal, big hair, and makeup that was consuming the rock scene at that time.
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# 4 Asylum (1985)Īsylum was the first album to feature Bruce Kulick as lead guitarist. Actually, “Crazy Nights” was the biggest selling KISS album of the 1980s, but not necessarily the most popular. However, KISS managed to make it to #18 on the Billboard charts and it achieved Platinum sales status. Fans were divided on this album because of the change in direction. While the band still rocked, it did soften their sound somewhat. KISS went in a more keyboard-driven direction on this album. During this time period, Gene Simmons was busy working on becoming a Hollywood actor on the side and it took him away from working with the band a little more. Glam metal was king in 1987 and KISS was listening and paying attention. Future KISS guitarist Tommy Thayer (Black N’ Blue) co-wrote two of the songs, “The Street Giveth and the Street Taketh Away” and “Betrayed” even though Bruce Kulick handled the main guitar duties on Hot In The Shade. Most fans felt that it was a step in the right direction overall with fewer keyboards and heavier rocking songs with “Forever” being the exception. Despite the success of “Forever” the album only reached Gold in sales. The ballad “Forever” was actually written by Paul Stanley and Michael Bolton and made it all the way to #8 on the singles charts in 1989. This album would feature KISS’s biggest hit single during their time period without makeup. Previously recorded material by Carr would turn up on the Revenge album later. Hot In The Shade would be the last album to feature Eric Carr while he was alive. A lot of fans seemed to find the output of KISS as being boring and repetitive by the beginning of the 80s. Surprisingly, it would get even worse with their next album. By this point, the novelty of KISS and the image had worn off and the bands’ sales were starting to decline. Unmasked reached Gold in album sales but didn’t make it to Platinum status. # 7 Unmasked (1980)ĭrummer Peter Criss didn’t play on this album by KISS and the album was recorded with Anton Fig who would later play on the debut album by Frehley’s Comet and be part of the in-house band on David Letterman. Luckily, KISS didn’t sit on their hands for very long and returned with one of the best albums of their career. There are actually some music critics who rank this album among the worst albums ever released by a major band.
BEST 80S METAL ALBUMS MOVIE
Initially, there was supposed to be a matching movie that was never filmed and this probably lead to this album seeming even weirder. The album was an attempt at a concept album. This was the last album to feature Ace Frehley and the first to feature drummer Eric Carr. The sales for this album were so disappointing that KISS didn’t even tour upon its release. The results were less than stellar when fans and critics heard it. Released in 1981, KISS tried to create something different. So keep scrolling to find out which album from the 80s made our # 1 spot. These albums cover a lot of territory including the albums that most likely saved and re-invigorated their career as well as the ones that almost ended the bands’ career altogether. KISS released 8 studio albums during the 1980s.