I just got into KISS. . .

I went old school and bought sabbath's heaven and hell and kiss' destroyer a week ago. the latter really blew me away. its my first musical taste of the band (though i always knew who they were) and i really loved it.

so for all the kiss diehards out there, if i wanna get into the kissteria, which album/dvd do i listen to after destroyer?

While I enjoy all (yes, ALL) of their albums, I'm just gonna cut it down to what I feel are the essentials must haves:

70s (start here!):
self-titled
Dressed to Kill
Rock and Roll Over
Love Gun
Alive

80s:
Creatures of the Night
Lick It Up
Music From the Elder (a strange concept album that didn't sound like KISS and bombed upon release with sales and critics, but it has since become hugely popular amongst KISS fans)

90s:
Revenge

If you become a KISS freak and completist, definitely pick up the rest, I wouldn't say they have a single "bad" album. There's more than enough songs on every release to make it worth the buy. I also recommend picking up the Paul Stanley & Ace Frehley albums that were released under the KISS banner-- Ace is great hard rock and Paul is great rock/pop.

For now though, as not to sway your opinion of the band, I'd say stay away from Dynasty, Unmasked, and Carnival of Souls, as they really do not represent the band too well (disco/pop rock & alternative metal didn't fit them).

As far as DVDs go, you'd probably do good to check out their Kissologies, but that may be too much too soon for someone who is just getting into them. The Rock the Nation & Symphony DVDs that came out in the last few years are great concerts though.

See the Kiss forum.

Eyesore wrote:

See the Kiss forum.

Start with the 70's material, and if you can like the "disco" era try the 80's hair era and then the 90's grunge era!!!!

Their best album as a sampler:
KISS - Alive!

After that you can't go wrong with any of their 70's albums:
Kiss
Dressed to Kill
Hotter than Hell
Rock and Roll Over
Love Gun
Alive II

80:
Creatures of the Night
Lick It Up
Asylum
Animalize

DVDs:
Kiss - Kissology - Vol.. 1 (1974 - 1977)

The next Kiss album that I'd recommend you buy (and then listen to) is Creatures of the Night, which is my favorite Kiss LP and arguably their hardest rocking release up until that point (1982). Standout selections on it, for me, include the title track ("Creatures of the Night"), "I Love it Loud," and "War Machine," though really every song on the album is worthwhile.

And if you liked the Destroyer ballad "Beth," then I might also recommend Peter Criss's solo album to you, in which many songs are reminiscent of that track, even though that record was a rather drastic depature from the more standard Kiss fare at the time, with songs that exhibited influences from disco, 50s rock 'n roll, and commercial radio-friendly ballads.

Ugh! Please don't start off a KISS collection with any Peter Criss solo album. Even the most die-hard of KISS fans, myself included, do not find much to enjoy about Criss' solo stuff.

It seems like the other guys have handled the suggestions pretty well so I'll just say "Welcome to the KISS Army"

I'm in the KISS Army Reserve.

70s:
-KISS
-Dressed To Kill
-Alive! (If you want you can buy Alive! 1975-2000. All the Alive are in plus a concert from '00)
-Rock And Roll Over
-Love Gun
-Ace Frehley
-Paul Stanley

80s:
-Unmasked (If you really love the band like me)
-(Music From) The Elder (Same. It's really different but good)
-Killer (Compilation with 4 new songs)
-Creatures Of The Night (The Heaviest)
-Lick It Up

90s:
-Revenge
-Unplugged

DVDs:

KISSology Vol.1,2 (the Vol.3 is coming out on december 18th)
KISS : X-treme close-up/Konfidential (I think you can have them on the same DVD)

Don't buy KISS Symphony and Rock The Nation Live!

I happen to really like PETER CRISS solo stuff.....

MetalGuy71 wrote:

I'm in the KISS Army Reserve.

I think I might be the only guy to like Crazy Nights

SoldierUnderCommand wrote:

I think I might be the only guy to like Crazy Nights

No way, dude. I admit, when I first heard it, I was disappointed, but it's solid stuff. 'No No No' is a great tune!

i might ask for some kiss albums for christmas as i like kiss but have no albums of theirs

TheGooch wrote:

i might ask for some kiss albums for christmas as i like kiss but have no albums of theirs

recomended albums for you are visible up

My favorites are the 80's albums. I think its because of my age. I think KISS were a great live act in the seventies. Second only to the Coop', but the music was pretty average for most of the 70's albums. (this is just my opinion!)

Creatures of the Night, Animalize, Asylum. Those are my personal favorites.