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I was like "Oh wow. Kiss is heavy now."

At that point a lot of bands were going in that direction--Motley, Priest, etc--so it wasn't all that jarring.

I though about buying the tape, even. Big deal.

I thought it was great. Gene was saying on Headbanger's Ball that their last albums were Pop crap. I wasn't aware that Gene will say whatever to promote since I didn't grow up a big fan. I ended up trading the CD.

Thought it was cool
Bought the cd from Columbia house lol

Liked it enough to keep it

I thought it was awesome and still do. Definitely heavier than the hair metal bandwagoning they had been putting out from LIU through HITS, but it's still distinctly KISS.

Loved it. Didn't really care that it was "heavy". it was just a really good song

I discovered Kiss albums in a pretty much random order.

First time I heard Unhooolayyy I thought "I dunno what all the fuss is about over there on Sludge, it's just a decent song, nothing more, nothing less..."

#MuchAdoAboutNothing

I remember the exact day a buddy of mine and l, pretty sure we were sophomores in high school, bought a copy after gabbing a sub sandwich and going to my parents house to listen to it on their Bose stereo. I did not like Unholy at all. I didn’t like the new KISS image they were presenting, all dark and sinister. I was programmed to like flashy, mid to late 80’s KISS and in my mind, seeing the Shade tour come though ND 2 years prior, Revenge was a total about face turn to something trying way too hard.

They looked hard as fuck in those leather dusters!

I was 13, 1997 or so, and thought it was badass. Still do, honestly.

Brainy Lane wrote: ↑Sun Apr 21, 2024 8:35 am Thought it was cool
Bought the cd from Columbia house lol

Liked it enough to keep it

That was me too. Getting it from Columbia House around April 1993. Never heard Kiss before. I had gotten this History of Metal edition of Metal Edge I think it was and just started buying albums based on the pictures and write-ups in there. I was really blown away by Unholy. Never heard anything like it. At that point I mainly knew Metallica, Megadeth, Guns N Roses, Psycho City, Nirvana and the other big Grunge bands, Pyromania through Adrenalize, and Number Of The Beast.

Chip Z'Hoy wrote: ↑Sun Apr 21, 2024 1:52 pm They looked hard as fuck in those leather dusters!

Like Columbine school students.

daveg wrote: ↑Sun Apr 21, 2024 9:10 am Loved it. Didn't really care that it was "heavy". it was just a really good song

Same here.

Didn’t like the video but loved the guitar riff!

It’s a strong record. The songs fit well together. Love the production and overall vibe.

I think I saw it first on Headbanger's Ball.

I hadn't bought a KISS album since "Lick it Up", but I went out and bought Revenge a couple of days later.

Turned out that the rest of the album was a bit of a letdown.

I thought it was great and that they finally got their heads on straight and could possibly have a killer album after a string of duds. I was wrong. Turned out to be an album full of 80s kiss sounding rejects.

JamesHetfieldsAcneScars wrote: ↑Sun Apr 21, 2024 8:04 pm I thought it was great and that they finally got their heads on straight and could possibly have a killer album after a string of duds. I was wrong. Turned out to be an album full of 80s kiss sounding rejects.

Yeah, basically there was Unholy and then a shitload of songs by Paul who was still in Crazy Nights mode.
And the other Gene songs were just as average as his 80's output.

I thought it was meh. It grew on me though.

El Vampiro Blanco wrote: ↑Mon Apr 22, 2024 2:26 am

JamesHetfieldsAcneScars wrote: ↑Sun Apr 21, 2024 8:04 pm I thought it was great and that they finally got their heads on straight and could possibly have a killer album after a string of duds. I was wrong. Turned out to be an album full of 80s kiss sounding rejects.

Yeah, basically there was Unholy and then a shitload of songs by Paul who was still in Crazy Nights mode.
And the other Gene songs were just as average as his 80's output.

This.

All it took was a badass opening song and a bunch of photos of them in dusters to convince everyone they were tough and rocking. People still consider Revenge heavy and a "return to form", even though it isnt, and it's all filler, except Unholy.

I watched the Headbanger's Ball where they debuted it. I was impressed. I loved the breakdown before the solo! However, I was kind of distracted because in 5 days I was going to my first concert ever. It was Black album Metallica. I'd been waiting my whole life to go to a show and at 15 my parents finally let me.

Back to the topic. I was happy with the song and was impressed with Kiss at least saying that they were getting heavier. I've always appreciated bands that are commercially successful going heavier as it isn't the best move commercially. It shows that they don't care about numbers or the money man...they're in it for the music.

HueyRamone wrote: ↑Mon Apr 22, 2024 8:18 am

El Vampiro Blanco wrote: ↑Mon Apr 22, 2024 2:26 am

JamesHetfieldsAcneScars wrote: ↑Sun Apr 21, 2024 8:04 pm I thought it was great and that they finally got their heads on straight and could possibly have a killer album after a string of duds. I was wrong. Turned out to be an album full of 80s kiss sounding rejects.

Yeah, basically there was Unholy and then a shitload of songs by Paul who was still in Crazy Nights mode.
And the other Gene songs were just as average as his 80's output.

This.

All it took was a badass opening song and a bunch of photos of them in dusters to convince everyone they were tough and rocking. People still consider Revenge heavy and a "return to form", even though it isnt, and it's all filler, except Unholy.

Yep. Unholy was badass, I remember taping the video; my friends and I sharing the VHS back and forth because we loved it so much. Then Revenge comes out and 'Take It Off' is track 2 and we are right back to shitty 80's KISS.

Cartoon heavy...

Bad ass!!!, and I really like the whole Revenge album (in my top 5 KISS albums). I fucking can't stand "Domino", but IMO, Gene's other songs on Revenge are a huge improvement over his 80's output (which I know still isn't saying much....). I would gone with "Take It Off" as the 2nd single (with a video full of hot chicks stripping), and then "Spit".

Darrien wrote: ↑Tue Apr 23, 2024 7:39 am Yep. Unholy was badass, I remember taping the video; my friends and I sharing the VHS back and forth because we loved it so much. Then Revenge comes out and 'Take It Off' is track 2 and we are right back to shitty 80's KISS.

I don't know... I think songs like Take it Off and Heart of Chrome ARE Paul being "heavy" and gritty compared to Turn on the Night and Let's Put the X in Sex!!!

The Carnival of Souls album showed that that was not his forte!

I thought that they were trying too hard, as usual,
& that it sucked.

DonJuanDeMarco wrote: ↑Tue Apr 23, 2024 2:02 pm

Darrien wrote: ↑Tue Apr 23, 2024 7:39 am Yep. Unholy was badass, I remember taping the video; my friends and I sharing the VHS back and forth because we loved it so much. Then Revenge comes out and 'Take It Off' is track 2 and we are right back to shitty 80's KISS.

I don't know... I think songs like Take it Off and Heart of Chrome ARE Paul being "heavy" and gritty compared to Turn on the Night and Let's Put the X in Sex!!!

The Carnival of Souls album showed that that was not his forte!

I think the last time Paul was heavy and gritty was on Lick it Up and that might have been mostly because of Vinnie Vincent....

The Demon is back.

Jason Jennifer Leigh wrote: ↑Wed Apr 24, 2024 1:55 pm The Demon is back.

Thought the same when I saw this on Hit Parader

I liked it. At the time I was purchasing kiss albums frequently. This was around the year 2000. So it didn't stand out that much just due to the sheer quantity of new (for me) Kiss music I was listening to at the time.

Thought revenge was decent but uneven. One of their most overrated albums imo.

I think heart of chrome is an overlooked song. The best song on the album along with unholy.

I was all like: "Oh hey, that band that I thought was goofy when I was a child is trend-jumping again...I guess disco and hair metal must be done."

Sleek wrote: ↑Wed Apr 24, 2024 4:35 pm I was all like: "Oh hey, that band that I thought was goofy when I was a child is trend-jumping again...I guess disco and hair metal must be done."

Was it one of the KISS songs you used to play in your band?

Which band???