Published on Nov 6, 2000
KISS was riding high when
Animalize came out in 1984. They had just unmasked for the
Lick It Up CD, experienced some commercial success with
“Lick It Up” and “All Hell’s Breaking Loose.” It made sense to
follow up
Lick It Up with another strong release.
And that’s what
Animalize is: a very strong release. Starting out with “I’ve
Had Enough (Into The Fire)” guitarist/vocalist Paul Stanley takes
over with a strong anthem. Following that track comes the main
single from this release, “Heaven’s On Fire.” The charismatic
performance by Stanley once again shines. And according to
Kiss Online, this is the only track from the post-Peter
Criss/Ace Frehley era making its way onto the still unreleased
Alive IV.
And then we get to the KISS theory part of this review. My
theory with KISS is that Paul Stanley writes songs that he knows
are going to appeal to the mainstream, while the songs that bassist
Gene Simmons writes focus primarily on being darker and, musically,
heavier. Drummer Eric Carr seemed to pick up on this, at least
subconsciously, because his drumming always seems more adventurous
on songs that Simmons wrote.
I offer “Boomerang” from
Hot In The Shade and “Exciter” from
Lick It Up as illustration of what I’m trying to get across.
His songs are usually darker themed, such as with “Burn Bitch
Burn.” There is also the ever-elusive female subject in Simmons’s
songs to which he talks remarkably dirty such as the classic line,
“Ooh baby, I wanna put my log in your fireplace / Maybe baby, you
wanna get played.” Gee, what does Simmons have on his mind?
An exception to the KISS theory I mentioned before is “Under The
Gun,” which Stanley co-wrote with drummer Eric Carr and Desmond
Child. Child is given songwriting credit on three of the nine
tracks here. On “Gun,” Carr hammers away on his drums like a
machine gun. It is one of my favorite songs he played on.
“Thrills In The Night” follows. This was the other single KISS
released and while the video showed up a few times, “Heaven’s On
Fire” is what this release will always be known for. It’s a good
song and features some good guitar work from Mark St. John.
WHO? Yes, after Vinnie Vincent left after
Lick It Up, guitarist Mark St. John joined the band. He left
the band after this release due to health reasons. That is really
unfortunate, because on “While The City Sleeps” and “Lonely Is The
Hunter” (curiously, both Simmons tracks), S. John shows some real
skill. The release ends with a filler track called “Murder In High
Heels.”
In general, this release isn’t all that strong. It has good
trademark moments and with “Heaven’s On Fire” being included on the
upcoming
Alive IV, this release’s sales are likely to see a surge in
interest, depending on how the original lineup handles a newer
song. (One side comment regarding
Alive IV: I wish they would have tried “Unholy” from
Revenge, which is one riff that guitarist Ace Frehley would
have ruled on!)