My favorite KISS album of all time is…
I am a lifelong Kiss fan, guilty of admiring a Heavy Metal band that has influenced the genre of Metal both musically, theatrically and of course… commercially. Out of the entire Kiss catalog of Heavy Metal, there has to be my favorite album of all time… my choice of favorite Kiss album seems to change yearly. (Oh well, that is my Metal dilemma I have to live with). As of today, Sunday, July 26, 2009, my favorite Kiss album of all time is “Creatures Of The Night”, (released in 1982). This Kiss album came out after “The Elder” album, making for quite the triumphant, Heavy Metal return. When I first heard the song “I Love It Loud”, man, was I ever psyched out of my Metal mind! I was serving time in High School when this album released, having this Kiss song to play loud back then was true innocent rebellion. Playing this song and the entire “Creatures Of The Night” album loud today, well, is just because I want to and can. (No more rebellion is left in my system… I think).
In my Metal opinion, this Kiss album is arguably their heaviest studio album ever created. (The live albums are darned heavy too, however, I am comparing the studio albums). “War Machine” is definitely my favorite song off of this prestigious album. Gene Simmons on lead vocals is classic – I can hear the anger flow from his voice and the lyrics only add credence to this interpretation. “Danger” is one tough and heavy Kiss song that Paul Stanley sings lead vocals on. For a Paul Stanley sung tune, this is as fast and furious as it ever gets. “Saint and Sinner” is a bass lovers dream of a Heavy Metal song, with Gene Simmons giving what I consider, one of his best lead vocal efforts ever. “Creatures Of The Night” is melodic as it is heavy, a Kiss song that without hesitation, is my favorite Paul Stanley – on lead vocals, song. I say this until it hurts, that I have never been the biggest fan of ballads in Heavy Metal. There are always my exceptions to this personal rule. “I Still Love You” is one damned cool and heavy ballad that Paul Stanley sings. Paul Stanley turns some sappy lyrics into a song that I can still crank up, to this day.
“Keep Me Comin'” is the one song off of this album that I have liked the least. This song is not terrible, I won’t skip over it while playing the entire album… yet it never seemed to get my Metal adrenaline perking over the years. “Rock and Roll Hell” and “Killer” round out the rest of the songs from “Creatures Of The Night”, making for nine Kiss songs total, that are now considered by me, vintage Kiss. Metal truth be told, if you are embarking on building your first Kiss music collection, making “Creatures Of The Night” your initial purchase is a profoundly wise choice. The overall Heavy Metal power is in my Metal mind, abundant on this album.
As a side note, the articles and stories I have read and/or heard over the years is that both Ace Frehley and Vinnie Vincent receive guitar credit for this album. Frankly, it does not stir me either way, as to who actually played lead guitar and on which songs, this album is too great for such controversy to hinder the end result. Whichever guitarist did play, they played excellent. Ace Frehley does appear on the front cover of the album, therefore I shall close my eyes each time I listen to this album and picture Space Ace as the lead axe man. The late Eric Carr played some top notch and cool Heavy Metal drums for Kiss… the proof is in the music found on this album. I always considered “Creatures Of The Night” to be the Kiss album that launched them into the decade of the ’80’s. This is an album that will launch any new fan into a believer.
Metal Odyssey > Heavy Metal Music Blog 
March 16, 2010 at 3:22 pm
I really believe that if KISS would have taken off the makeup on this release as oppossed to the next release (Lick It Up), this would be considered, by the masses, the greatest KISS album of all time. It would have gone Platinum instead of just Gold and it ceratinly is one of the heaviest records of their carrer. When I saw them on the “Revenge” tour, they opened with “Creatures of The Night” and it slammed. This album is just top shelf. The aforementioned title track, along with “War Machine”, “I Love It Loud”, and “I Still Love You” are favorites LIVE. The song writing is much improved and the aggression is undeniable (both due to the presence of Vinnie Vincent). \m/
April 9, 2010 at 11:37 am
>if KISS would have taken off the makeup on this release
I’m sure you know, but…although (as you said) “Lick It Up” is their first “no make up” album, “Creatures Of The Night” was re-released with a second “no make up” cover (with Bruce Kulick pictured instead of Vinnie Vincent).
April 9, 2010 at 11:40 am
(And I’m glad they released this album with make-up on…this is one of their best album cover artwork, in my opinion.)
April 9, 2010 at 2:25 pm
It made absolutely, positively, no Metal sense to me, as to why an “alternate” cover was used for “Creatures Of The Night”. Man, as I swear by this comment: “If it ain’t broke, ain’t no use fixing”.
I never bought the “alternate” cover of this album… and never will!
I just really appreciate the totality of songs on this album so much!! Using that “shade” of blue over this album photo of KISS is artistic genius. Your album cover appreciation makes sense to me!
April 10, 2010 at 6:06 am
>I never bought the “alternate” cover of this album… and never will!
Well, even though it has the same songs as the first release, I had to buy both versions…to keep my KISS CD collection “complete”.
April 10, 2010 at 9:06 am
Man, you had to go and use the word “complete”! Now, if I do see it on vinyl or CD, (during one of my Metal hunts), I’ll now buy it… only it has to be priced “cheap”.
I always had the “attitude” about record companies releasing “alternate” versions of album covers… I always feel it’s all about the $$$.
Your way with words has made me recant my steadfast stance of “never buying it”.
That magic word “complete” you used was the Metal reality check I needed for being a KISS fan.
Thanks for making me look at it from a different angle!
April 10, 2010 at 10:17 am
Well, no one would fault you for not buying it.
Many artists have countless compilation albums…even a diehard fan doesn’t “need” multiple copies of the same songs. 😉
I wish they at least included one new song on the re-release of “Creatures Of The Night” to make it more worth buying…especially with the inferior cover art!
April 10, 2010 at 10:21 am
(BTW, just my opinion, but I think you should include a photo of the “unmasked” Creatures Of The Night album cover next to the original cover at the bottom of this post.
Since the album does have two completely different official covers.
July 15, 2011 at 10:04 pm
Great album, but my fav is Dressed To Kill, it has “She” on it.