Kissening Post: Kiss – Hotter Than Hell

Kiss – Hotter Than Hell – 1974

Two albums in one year! 74 was a great year in this regard. Queen also put out Queen II AND Sheer Heart Attack. It was a heady time for Rock. Bands just couldn’t be contained.
From the first strains of the opening track we can tell that something is….different. This album is muddier. Darker in tones, yes, but also, where the first album shimmered and gleamed this one sounds like it was recorded in a wind-tunnel. But that is redeemed by the sheer riffosity of Parasite the second brilliant Ace Frehley track in a row (he wrote Cold Gin on the previous record) and the sheer weird-dark metal “Goin’ Blind”. A song, after some research, I’ve learned is about a love affair between a 93 year old and 16 year old.
I found myself bored during the rote blues-title track and songs like Mainline sound like 2nd rate Cheap Trick, but you can’t go wrong with a true breaker like Let Me Go, Rock ‘N Roll.

Grade B
A Side: Let Me Go Rock ‘N Roll
BlindSide: Parasite, Goin’ Blind,