Creatures of the Night
Encyclopedia
Creatures of the Night is the tenth studio album
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...

 by Kiss
KISS (band)
Kiss is an American rock band formed in New York City in January 1973. Well-known for its members' face paint and flamboyant stage outfits, the group rose to prominence in the mid to late 1970s on the basis of their elaborate live performances, which featured fire breathing, blood spitting,...

. It is the band's last album for Casablanca Records
Casablanca Records
Casablanca Records was an American record label started by Neil Bogart, who partnered with Cecil Holmes, Larry Harris, and Buck Reingold in 1973, and based in Los Angeles. The label was formed after all of them had left Buddah Records and secured financing by Warner Bros. Records to start the venture...

, the only label the group had ever recorded for up to that point. The album was dedicated to the memory of Casablanca founder and early Kiss supporter Neil Bogart
Neil Bogart
Neil Bogart was an American record executive. He is perhaps best known as the founder of Casablanca Records, with Peter Guber....

, who had died of cancer during the recording sessions.

The album represented a conscious effort on Kiss's part to return to the style of hard rock
Hard rock
Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...

 that had helped them achieve commercial success with Destroyer and Love Gun
Love Gun
Love Gun is the sixth studio album by American hard rock band Kiss. It was certified platinum on June 30, 1977, just two weeks after the album's release....

. Their pop-oriented albums, Dynasty and Unmasked, had started a decline in popularity that bottomed out with 1981's Music from "The Elder". By 1982 Kiss knew it needed to deliver on their earlier 1980-81 promise of a heavy record, which they had failed to deliver, if they were to continue as a band.

The first key ingredient was songwriter/guitarist Vinnie Vincent
Vinnie Vincent
Vincent John Cusano, better known as Vinnie Vincent, is an American guitarist from Bridgeport, Connecticut and songwriter known for his brief membership in the band Kiss.-Replacing Ace Frehley in Kiss:...

, with whom the band had recently begun writing and recording, and was soon to replace Ace Frehley
Ace Frehley
Paul Daniel "Ace" Frehley is an American musician best known as the lead guitarist of the rock band Kiss. He took on the persona of the "Spaceman" or "Space Ace" when the band adopted costumes and theatrics...

 as the band's new lead guitarist. Frehley did not perform on Creatures even though his face (for contractual reasons) was still featured on the album cover; thus this was Vincent's first album with the band. On the tour, Vincent was introduced with the Egyptian
Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...

 Ankh
Ankh
The ankh , also known as key of life, the key of the Nile or crux ansata, was the ancient Egyptian hieroglyphic character that read "eternal life", a triliteral sign for the consonants ʻ-n-ḫ...

 makeup. (The band later re-released the album in their non-makeup era with a cover featuring Gene Simmons
Gene Simmons
Gene Simmons is an Israeli-American entrepreneur, singer-songwriter, actor, and rock bassist. Known as "The Demon", he is the bassist/vocalist of Kiss, a hard rock band he co-founded in the early 1970s.-Early life:...

, Stanley, Eric Carr
Eric Carr
Paul Charles Caravello , also known as Eric Carr, was an American musician, best known as drummer for the rock band Kiss. Caravello was selected as the new Kiss drummer after Peter Criss left in 1980...

, and then-current guitarist Bruce Kulick
Bruce Kulick
Bruce Howard Kulick is an American guitarist, musician and a member of the band Grand Funk Railroad. Previously, Kulick had been a longtime member of the band Kiss....

).

Creatures of the Night was certified Gold
Music recording sales certification
Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,...

 by the RIAA
Recording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States...

 on May 9, 1994.

Album background

By 1982, Kiss' popularity in the US had plummeted. This was due partly to the changing landscape of popular music, but also due to the fact that Kiss had strayed from the hard rock style that had made them popular in the first place. 1979's Dynasty, while commercially successful, alienated many fans with the disco
Disco
Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...

-flavored track "I Was Made For Lovin' You
I Was Made For Lovin' You
I Was Made for Lovin' You" is a song by American hard rock band Kiss, originally released on their 1979 album Dynasty. It was released as the A-side of their first single from the album. It was the band's second Gold single, selling over 1 million copies. The single was certified Platinum in the...

". 1980's Unmasked fell still further into the 'pop' category and was their first not to achieve platinum status since 1975's Dressed to Kill
Dressed to Kill (album)
Dressed to Kill is the third studio album from American hard rock band Kiss. It is unique for having been produced by Casablanca Records president Neil Bogart, as the financial situation of the label at the time did not allow the hiring of a professional producer."C'mon and Love Me" and "Rock and...

. The band did not even tour the US behind the album, and was soon faced with its first lineup change - founding member Peter Criss
Peter Criss
George Peter John Criscuola , better known as Peter Criss, is an American drummer and singer, best known as the original drummer for the rock band Kiss...

, who had not participated in any of the Unmasked recording sessions, officially left Kiss in 1980. He was replaced by Carr, a drummer much more in the mold of John Bonham
John Bonham
John Henry Bonham was an English musician and songwriter, best known as the drummer of Led Zeppelin. Bonham was esteemed for his speed, power, fast right foot, distinctive sound, and "feel" for the groove...

 than Criss.

Fan hopes were raised in late 1980 when Kiss announced that they were going to record their heaviest record yet. However, the band released Music from "The Elder" in late 1981, a concept album originally intended to complement a film called The Elder that was ultimately never filmed. The album was storyline-based and had ballads, a short orchestral piece, and lyrical themes more in common with bands like Rush
Rush (band)
Rush is a Canadian rock band formed in August 1968, in the Willowdale neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario. The band is composed of bassist, keyboardist, and lead vocalist Geddy Lee, guitarist Alex Lifeson, and drummer and lyricist Neil Peart...

 and Yes
Yes (band)
Yes are an English rock band who achieved worldwide success with their progressive, art, and symphonic style of rock music. Regarded as one of the pioneers of the progressive genre, Yes are known for their lengthy songs, mystical lyrics, elaborate album art, and live stage sets...

 than with Kiss. The album failed to achieve gold status and, having cancelled their US Unmasked tour just a short time before, the band cancelled their planned tour for Elder. Furthermore, Frehley soon left the band, expressing his displeasure over the path the band had chosen and having begun to drift into heavy alcoholism
Alcoholism
Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...

.

Kiss' label situation had changed as well. Casablanca Records founder Neil Bogart
Neil Bogart
Neil Bogart was an American record executive. He is perhaps best known as the founder of Casablanca Records, with Peter Guber....

 had sold the label to its distributor, PolyGram, and went on to briefly form The Boardwalk Recording Company before being diagnosed with (and later succumbing to) cancer. Using a clause in their Casablanca contract that gave the band an option to leave the label if Bogart did, Kiss became free agents and signed a multi-million-dollar deal with Mercury Records
Mercury Records
Mercury Records is a record label operating as a standalone company in the UK and as part of the Island Def Jam Motown Music Group in the US; both are subsidiaries of Universal Music Group. There is also a Mercury Records in Australia, which is a local artist and repertoire division of Universal...

. Ironically, Mercury, a label also owned by PolyGram, reverted the band back to their "old" label, though in name only.

Before working on the album, Eddie Van Halen
Eddie Van Halen
Edward Lodewijk "Eddie" Van Halen is a Dutch-American guitarist, keyboardist, songwriter and producer, best known as the lead guitarist and co-founder of the hard rock band Van Halen, inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame...

, who by then was not getting along with his bandmate in Van Halen
Van Halen
Van Halen is an American hard rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. The band has enjoyed success since the release of its debut album, Van Halen, . As of 2007 Van Halen has sold 80 million albums worldwide and has had the most #1 hits on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart...

, David Lee Roth
David Lee Roth
David Lee Roth is an American rock vocalist, songwriter, actor, author, and former radio personality. Roth was ranked nineteenth by Hit Parader on their list of the 100 Greatest Heavy Metal Singers of All Time....

, wanted to join the band, replacing Frehley on guitar. Simmons and Alex Van Halen
Alex Van Halen
Alexander Arthur "Alex" Van Halen is a Dutch-born American musician, best known as the drummer and co-founder of the hard rock band Van Halen. Originally, his brother Eddie had taken lessons for drums, while Alex practiced guitar...

 persuaded Eddie to remain in Van Halen.

When recording sessions for Creatures of the Night began in July 1982, Kiss was essentially a trio. Frehley still made appearances with the band but had ended his musical involvement with Kiss. Frehley looked completely out of sorts in promotional appearances for the album — in cases where the band was lip synching to recorded tracks, it is obvious that he did not know the material. It was only after the album was released and a short promotional tour of Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

 was completed that Frehley officially left Kiss. The lead-guitar replacement for Frehley for the Creatures tour in the US was Cusano, who by then had taken the stage name of Vinnie Vincent and adopted "Ankh
Ankh
The ankh , also known as key of life, the key of the Nile or crux ansata, was the ancient Egyptian hieroglyphic character that read "eternal life", a triliteral sign for the consonants ʻ-n-ḫ...

 Warrior" makeup.

Musically, Creatures of the Night was the band's heaviest recording since 1977's Love Gun, and was matched later only by Revenge
Revenge (KISS album)
Revenge is the 16th studio album by American heavy metal band Kiss, released on May 19, 1992. It was the band's first album after the death of long-time drummer Eric Carr in November 1991. His replacement, Eric Singer, had played with Black Sabbath, Brian May, Alice Cooper and even Paul Stanley,...

 in 1992 and Carnival of Souls: The Final Sessions
Carnival of Souls: The Final Sessions
-Personnel:*Paul Stanley - rhythm guitar, vocals*Gene Simmons - bass guitar, vocals*Bruce Kulick - lead guitar, vocals*Eric Singer - drums, percussion, backing vocals-Charts:Album - Billboard...

 in 1997. The progressive rock stylings of Music From "The Elder" and the pop of Dynasty and Unmasked were completely absent from Creatures of the Night – which was, of course, the point. "I Still Love You", the only ballad on Creatures, was still heavier and darker than any ballad Kiss had released in earlier years. The production values contributed to the heaviness - in particular, the drum sound was louder and heavier than on any previous Kiss album.

Creatures of the Night is the first Kiss album to have all lead vocal duties handled by either Simmons or Stanley exclusively. All previous studio releases, aside from the solo albums, contained at least one song with lead vocals by another band member.

The band released a video for "I Love It Loud
I Love It Loud
"I Love It Loud" is a song by the American rock band Kiss, released on their 1982 album Creatures of the Night. The song was written by bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons and guitarist Vincent Cusano, although some versions of the album mistakenly credit the song as written by Paul Stanley and Cusano...

", which received moderate airplay on MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....

. In it was a stage setup that featured Carr's drum kit
Drum kit
A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....

 as a giant, metallic tank (with an exploding turret). Flames and explosions were also in abundance, as Kiss attempted to produce a video that reflected the music on Creatures of the Night. Although Frehley had not played on the album, he did appear in the video as the rhythm guitarist, with Stanley shown playing the seven-note solo.

Despite positive reviews, Creatures of the Night did not return the band to the commercial standing they had held five years previous. Although the album charted higher than The Elder (#45 compared to The Elders #75), it would not attain gold status until 1994. Even more dramatically, the US tour that followed, the band's first since Dynasty, was essentially a flop – cancelled shows and, at-best, half-full arena
Arena
An arena is an enclosed area, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theater, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectators. The key feature of an arena is that the event space is the...

s were the rule, not the exception. In later years, Kiss fans and researchers have come to regard Creatures of the Night as one of the band's best albums, matched only by 1976's Destroyer. However, it is clear that multiple shifts in the band's lineup, image and musical styles from 1979 through 1981 had done severe damage. As a result, though musically rich, Creatures of the Night is still one of the major commercial disappointments for Kiss.

Album cover

Three different covers of this album exist: the 1982 original issue, the 1985 reissue (featuring Bruce Kulick, who was not a member of the band for Creatures of the Night, and the rest of the band without makeup), and the 1997 remastered version (same photo as the original, but with minor variations in the logo and lettering). However the differences don't end there: on the 1985 non-make up release the song, "Creatures of the Night" is remixed, and "Saint and Sinner" and "Killer" are interchanged from side to side with each other. The bootlegged Vinnie Vincent cover has not been released on CD, but a extra rare Vinnie Vincent cover has been called Hiding From Tomorrow.

There is also a bootlegged LP which shows up on ebay from time to time which states to be a Brazilian Promo version with Vincent in makeup airbrushed over Frehley. Initially this copy fetched upwards of several thousands of dollars but it is nothing more than a common bootleg.

Legacy

Kiss eventually incorporated "I Love It Loud", "Creatures of the Night
Creatures of the Night (song)
"Creatures of the Night" is a song by the American hard rock band Kiss, released as the first single from their 1982 self-titled album "Creatures of the Night". It was only released in the UK where it reached #34. The song was written by Paul Stanley and Adam Mitchell in Mitchell's kitchen...

", "I Still Love You", and "War Machine" into permanent rotation on their various tours, particularly during the tour for Revenge
Revenge (KISS album)
Revenge is the 16th studio album by American heavy metal band Kiss, released on May 19, 1992. It was the band's first album after the death of long-time drummer Eric Carr in November 1991. His replacement, Eric Singer, had played with Black Sabbath, Brian May, Alice Cooper and even Paul Stanley,...

 in 1992 out of which came Alive III
Alive III
"Take It Off" originally was a bonus track on the Japanese, European and South American CD releases and the US vinyl release only, being placed between "Forever" and "I Love It Loud"...

.

Kerrang!
Kerrang!
Kerrang! is a UK-based magazine devoted to rock music published by Bauer Media Group. It was first published on June 6, 1981 as a one-off supplement in the Sounds newspaper...

 listed Creatures of the Night at number 5 on its list of best hard rock albums in 1982.The album was placed at number 5 on Guitar World
Guitar World
Guitar World is a monthly music magazine devoted to guitarists. It contains original interviews, album and gear reviews and guitar and bass tablature of approximately five songs each month. The magazine is published 13 times per year...

's Readers Poll of the Top 10 Guitar Albums of 1982.

Production error

Some of the earliest pressings of the album mistakenly contained one full side of John Cougar's American Fool
American Fool
American Fool is the sixth album by John Mellencamp, released under the stage name John Cougar in 1982. This was Mellencamp's last album to be released under the name John Cougar. His next album, Uh-Huh, would be released under the name John Cougar Mellencamp. The album was Mellencamp's commercial...

. Both Kiss and Cougar were under the umbrella of Mercury Records at the time. Today, those mistake albums are highly sought after by Kiss collectors.

Track listing

  • Note: On the 1985 re-release of the album track 2 and 8 were switched. Also, for the 1985 reissue producer Dave Wittman remixed three tracks, "Creatures of the Night", "I Love It Loud" and "War Machine".

Personnel

  • Paul Stanley
    Paul Stanley
    Stanley Harvey Eisen , better known by his stage name Paul Stanley, is an American hard rock guitarist, singer, musician, painter and songwriter best known for being the rhythm guitarist and primary lead vocalist of the rock band Kiss. He is the writer or co-writer of many of the band's...

     – rhythm guitar
    Rhythm guitar
    Rhythm guitar is a technique and rôle that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with singers or other instruments; and to provide all or part of the harmony, ie. the chords, where a chord is a group of notes played together...

    , vocals
  • Gene Simmons
    Gene Simmons
    Gene Simmons is an Israeli-American entrepreneur, singer-songwriter, actor, and rock bassist. Known as "The Demon", he is the bassist/vocalist of Kiss, a hard rock band he co-founded in the early 1970s.-Early life:...

     – bass guitar
    Bass guitar
    The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....

    , vocals, rhythm guitar on "War Machine"
  • Ace Frehley
    Ace Frehley
    Paul Daniel "Ace" Frehley is an American musician best known as the lead guitarist of the rock band Kiss. He took on the persona of the "Spaceman" or "Space Ace" when the band adopted costumes and theatrics...

     – lead guitar
    Lead guitar
    Lead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure...

    (credit only)
  • Eric Carr
    Eric Carr
    Paul Charles Caravello , also known as Eric Carr, was an American musician, best known as drummer for the rock band Kiss. Caravello was selected as the new Kiss drummer after Peter Criss left in 1980...

     – drums
    Drum kit
    A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....

    , percussion
    Percussion instrument
    A percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...

    , backing vocals, bass guitar on "I Still Love You"

Uncredited musicians

  • Vinnie Vincent
    Vinnie Vincent
    Vincent John Cusano, better known as Vinnie Vincent, is an American guitarist from Bridgeport, Connecticut and songwriter known for his brief membership in the band Kiss.-Replacing Ace Frehley in Kiss:...

     – lead guitar
    Lead guitar
    Lead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure...

    , backing vocals on "Saint and Sinner", "Keep Me Comin'", "I Love It Loud", "Killer", and "War Machine"
  • Bob Kulick
    Bob Kulick
    Bob Kulick is an American guitarist and Grammy Award-winning record producer, best known for his studio work with Kiss. He was born in Brooklyn, New York, and is the older brother of former Kiss lead guitarist Bruce Kulick, whom he suggested Kiss hire....

     – lead guitar on "Danger"
  • Robben Ford
    Robben Ford
    Robben Ford is an American blues, jazz and rock guitarist.-Biography:Ford was born in Woodlake, California, United States, but raised in Ukiah, California, and began playing the saxophone at age 10, picking up the guitar at age 13...

     – lead guitar on "Rock and Roll Hell" and "I Still Love You"
  • Steve Farris – lead guitar on "Creatures of the Night"
  • Mike Porcaro
    Mike Porcaro
    Mike Porcaro is best noted as the bass player in the Grammy Award winning band, Toto.He is the middle brother of Toto members Jeff Porcaro and Steve Porcaro...

     - bass guitar on "Creatures of the Night"
  • Jimmy Haslip
    Jimmy Haslip
    Jimmy Haslip is an American electric bass player and record producer best known as a founding and current member of the pioneering fusion group Yellowjackets...

     – bass guitar on "Danger"

Charts

Album
Chart (1982) Peak
position
UK Albums Chart
UK Albums Chart
The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...

22
Chart (1983) Peak
position
US Billboard Pop Albums 45

Singles - Billboard (United States)
Year Single Chart Position
1983 "I Love It Loud
I Love It Loud
"I Love It Loud" is a song by the American rock band Kiss, released on their 1982 album Creatures of the Night. The song was written by bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons and guitarist Vincent Cusano, although some versions of the album mistakenly credit the song as written by Paul Stanley and Cusano...

"
Mainstream Rock Tracks
Mainstream Rock Tracks
Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks is a ranking in Billboard magazine of the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations, a category that includes stations that play primarily rock music. Modern rock tracks are counted in the Alternative Songs chart.This chart began with the March 21, 1981, issue...

22


Singles - Austrian charts (Austria)
Year Single Chart Position
1982 "I Love It Loud
I Love It Loud
"I Love It Loud" is a song by the American rock band Kiss, released on their 1982 album Creatures of the Night. The song was written by bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons and guitarist Vincent Cusano, although some versions of the album mistakenly credit the song as written by Paul Stanley and Cusano...

"
Pop Singles 76


Singles - UK Albums Chart
UK Albums Chart
The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...

(United Kingdom)
Year Single Chart Position
1982 "Creatures of the Night" Pop Singles 34

Certifications

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