Gene’s vibe on this record was totally spot on with Paul being very careful not to try to ‘oversell’ his performance on his vocals. And well, Bruce is just Bruce 😎
If you got the best tracks from Revenge and Creatures of the night and throw in the two best Hot in the Shade tracks ( Forever and Hide your heart) and two or three lick it up tracks you will have the perfect album.
For the sound of 'Revenge' it was genuinely monumental as it was sonically better than the previous KISS studio outings (since Crazy Nights anyways). I don't give Ezrin full-credit as the Gene and Paul Show admittedly were fully committed back into the heavier sound of KISS. Good ol' Vinnie got some street-cred in the early 90s for writing songs which appeared on Revenge, but that was it. The KISS company has their own take on those past days as now it is all fodder of Kisstory. Bruce gave us an anthemic take on the 'Star Bangled Banner' on Alive 3 shortly after.
Thanks for sharing this one. This LP, and Hot in the Shade, made me notice the band and fall in love with them all over again. I actually went to Detroit and saw KISS live for each of these albums. I know Unholy is the heaviest track on Revenge and Bruce Kulick absolutely proved himself as the right choice for the band. It is a shame how he was treated after the farewell tour in 2000. He should still be, IMO, with the band or should have been invited to do something with them on The End of The Road tour. I mean my God he was only in the group for 12 years. Give him a little bit more credit. To me it seemed like his playing and solos got stronger with each album.😮
I'm so glad to see Revenge getting some love recently! It's unbelievable how many people call it overrated. The fact that so many people now call it overrated is starting to contradict that since so many people call it overrated. It's not as good as Lick It Up and even Asylum for me, but it's still a fantastic album. And it's such an important album for that band for so many reasons. P.S. I also like I Just Wanna
Glad to hear all the praise for Bruce. I always thought he was a great player and a good fit for the band. Ace is my all time favorite member but not a killer player although when he did get a song on the album it was always one of the best ones on the album. Vinnie was a song writing machine in this band but. He was fast but had no melody or phrasing. Mark was a good player but not a great writer. Bruce could be flashy when allowed to but was able to actually play thing that sounded write for the songs. Bruce played all the solos that he did not write fairly faithfully to the originals. Always know what was the write thing to do. I was born the same month and year as the first Kiss album cane out so I was still in grade school when Bruce joined so he influenced me as much as Ace. I still have my VHS copy of Bruce's Hot Licks instructional video.
Again I agree with everything you said and I'm a guy and I love I just wanna. This album restored my faith in kiss it is one of my favorites. It's definitely top 5 for sure. Also I saw this tour in Boston at the old garden. Not a very good attendance for that show literally the balconies were empty and the floor was ¾ full. My friend and I went over to stage left and got in the 1st row of the balcony (we had cheap nosebleed tix so no way we we getting on the floor) we were the only people in the whole section we went crazy the whole time and gene got up on the ramp and pointed at us and gave us a thumbs up Very cool.
Everytime I look at you is difficult from me. I don't think the Song sucks, but I can't give it more than 2 Stars. I don't know why, this Song just never took of for me. But I love God gave Rock n Roll to you too.
BTW, I absolutely love “I Just Wanna”! So no, you’re NOT the only man to dig that song! lol My stripper girlfriend at the time danced to this song back in the day! lol
A couple of things regarding this. First of all, who told you that Vinnie Vincent plays the opening to "Unholly"? I don't recall having heard this before and I know various people in the music industry, including Bruce Kulick, then again, I've never asked this question. Personally I find it hard to believe, but I'll try and find out and let you know. Second thing is, I agree with you about people who use the term over rated. Basically what that says is something's regarded by the majourity to be great, therefore it is great, but the ones that don't agree with the marjourity say it's "over rated", thus trying to make it sound like they are right and everyone else is wrong. In reality there is no such thing as "over rated" or "under rated", except in the mind of the person that doesn't agree with the majourity. Like you, I dismiss anyone that uses this term of having any knowledge of what they're talking about. Great review by the way.
Wait, did I say Vinnie played anything on the album?? I sure don't remember ever thinking that. 🤔 Also, did I just read that correctly?? Did you just say you know Bruce Kulick???
@@HARDROCKreverie go to point 12:21 of your video "Vinnie Vincent plays the guitar intro on "Unholly", then there's a photo of a guy throwing up. I probably exagerated the knowing Bruce thing, I met him once and we kept in touch for some years. Haven't comunicated for some time now, but he's the most approchable rock star person I've met, with the possible exception of the late Christine McVie. I did a little research after hearing your comment and found this: "It has been said by many KISS insiders that the amplifier feedback at the beginning of the album version of "Unholy" is from Vinnie Vincent". I'm still not convinced, but have to admit, I don't know.
@@ozzycastalotovich2249 well first, I'm going to go ahead and say "keeping in touch for a few years" is pretty freaking awesome! 👍 Second, I'm not finding the source I think I may have gotten that from when I was researching for this review. But if the info made it all the way into the video, you can rest assured I did see it somewhere I considered pretty reliable at the time. If I can find that again I will definitely let you know where it was. Sorry.
@@HARDROCKreverie No problem. The blurb I copied and pasted in my previous reply is from good old Wikipedia, searching "Unholy, (Kiss song)". Maybe that's what you found when doing your research.
A much needed tonic after the last handful of albums, which suck, in case anyone didn't know. I didn't know there were people who thought Revenge was overrated. I guess there's an opinion for everyone. It's probably underrated, though in truth I've run into plenty of people who have it toward the top of their lists. It's a good thing they read the room and put out something that could keep up with the times, another stinker in the early 90's might have finished them.
I was with you on most of it, but damn did you lose me with Paralyze. You NOT getting Paralyze does to me, what people NOT getting Revenge does to you. It's a baffling mystery.
The most overrated album in the entire KISS catalogue. It has one kick ass song , the awesome Unholy and I like Carr Jam 1981 but the rest isn't all that great. The Elder , Carnival Of Souls and Psycho Circus are all better albums.
