Main menu
Fretplay home Submit tabs

Kiss
Kiss tabs Kiss discography

Channels
Guitar channel Bass channel Guitar videos Reviews

Message Forum
Guitar forum Bass forum Bands and artists Promote your band Recent discussions All categories

Fretplay.com

Kiss guitar tabs

CD reviews

Revenge

Kiss - Revenge Audio CD

A fair review of the Kiss "Revenge" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Kiss reviews here, or go back to the Kiss tabs.

Band: Kiss
Title: Revenge
Rating:

Release Date: 1992-05-19
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Unholy 2: Take It Off 3: Tough Love 4: Spit 5: God Gave Rock & Roll to You II 6: Domino 7: Heart of Chrome 8: Thou Shalt Not 9: Every Time I Look at You 10: Paralyzed 11: I Just Wanna 12: Carr Jam 1981

The KISS Attitude
By all means. . this is my favorite KISS album. Nothing else comes close to this masterpiece in their entire catalog. This album really brings to life what KISS as a band conveys each and everytime you think about them. This is an album without makeup. . . so don't be misled, however I don't believe that any makeup album can stand toe to toe with this one.

UNHOLY- Strong catchy riff with excellent vocals by Gene Simmons. The lyrics have a dark feel to them kind of on the same terms of "War Machine" and "God of Thunder"

TAKE IT OFF- Just a gritty KISSlike attitude and feel. Paul Stanley delivers catchy lines of both sleaze and sophistication.

TOUGH LOVE- Basic rock and roll tune. Another song that is sung by Paul, and drives home the sexual innuendo that KISS has portrayed their entire career.

SPIT- This has a nice shuffle riff with accapella vocals to start off with. Gene sings the verses and shares the chorus with Paul. Bruce Kulick absolutley nails the guitar solo on this one.

GOD GAVE ROCK AND ROLL TO YOU II- Another great rock anthem that KISS is known for. Paul Stanley demands your attention with the speech toward the ending of this track.

DOMINO- Very bluezy feel. Nice riff followed by tongue-in-cheek lyrics.

HEART OF CHROME- Solid track about love gone wrong. . . Paul really hits the mark vocally.

THOU SHALT NOT- Gene's own little biography. . . genuine balls to the wall lyrics.

EVERYTIME I LOOK AT YOU- The power ballad sung by Paul (who else?) I believe that this song is the best ballad the band has ever done. It has a dynamic quality that is predacessors (REASON TO LIVE, FOREVER, BETH) fail to accomplish.

PARALYZED- I love this song. . . it has a real almost metal sound quite like UNHOLY. Outstanding vocal delivery by Gene as well.

I JUST WANNA- If I had to put together a list of my favorite KISS songs. . . this would be at the top. From start to finish, this song kicks your ass like nobody's business. It's simple, and it knocks your teeth down your throat. Paul brings his best to the table with this one.

CARR JAM 1981- This was a drum solo song recorded by the band in 1981. Bruce Kulick lays down the lead guitar licks. Just a simple reminder that nobody could touch Eric Carr on the drums. . . period!.

BEST non make-up KiSS album
Also included is a Eric Carr drum solo recorded yeears earlier as a tribute to him. After they got metal out of their system, they returned to ROCK and Roll!
This album is very good, track by track, very well done.
Most non make-up KiSS albums had a few great songs in them and the rest were just "filler" songs, not the case here, a very well done album that stands up as on the best KiSS albums.

Boom! track by track review of Revenge

released May 1992. Produced by Bob Ezrin.
1st Kiss record with the great Eric Singer on drums.
1. Unholy: The beast is back! Gene tears it up, and Revenge starts off with a bang, or more like an explosion. Co-written by Vinnie Vincent, "Unholy" is a sharp return to form, What form? Good songwriting! A pounding rhythm, awesome lead guitar from Bruce Kulick, and finally, a hard rocking Kiss, a true classic. If you liked "War Machine", from the Creatures Of The Night album, then this is right up your alley.
2. Take It Off: Oh boy, here we go. Paul takes a musically strong and catchy track (co-written by Kane Roberts), and puts some forced, cliche'd lyrics over it, although the chorus is pretty sweet. But Paul trying to copy Motley Crue's "Girls, Girls, Girls" idea is not a good thing. Great riffs, I'll give it that.
3. Tough Love: Pretty good hard rocker with an intense Paul Stanley vocal, and some killer Bruce Kulick guitar work. The shouting chant chorus is dopey and over-stuffed.
4. Spit: Gene lets it rip here with a typically catchy, fun and down & dirty rocker. Cool arrangement with Paul and Gene trading off vocals and a terrific solo by Kulick. Yes, the lyrics get a bit into Spinal Tap teritory, but that's nitpicking isn't it? Great song. Worth mentioning- one of the main riffs in the start/stop section reminds me of a bit of Jethro Tull's "Hymn 49". Right on.
5. God Gave Rock & Roll To You: Brilliant song musically speaking (an Argent tune re-worked by Kiss), but this slow " epic ballad-anthem" arrangement slows down the momentum and feels out of place. Would have loved to hear this done up with a Ramones style, up tempo arrangement. Oh well.
6. Domino: Right on. This rocks. A straight forward, catchy hard rock song by Gene with some ZZ Top vibes going on, funny lyrics, and more great guitar stuff, in the Dressed To Kill spirit. A Kiss classic.
7. Heart Of Chrome: "Tough Love" part II, only better, slightly. Angry Paul vocal,(w/ lyrics from Vinnie Vincent) but this has a good, creative arrangement and, again, awesome Bruce Kulick guitar playing. Good song.
8. Thou Shalt Not: Gene takes Revenge! Solid, mid-uptempo stomper that spits and screams at the preacher man. Classic Kiss. They should have played this live, it's a lost gem.
9. Everytime I Look At You: Horrible ballad. Totally out of place on this record. Talk about a buzz kill. Lyrics are especially cringe worthy. A misfire.
10. Paralyzed: Starts with a farting sound bass line from Gene. Heavy rock and spaced-out, a Gene/Ezrin tune that is just what this record needs after that weak ballad nonsense. Weird lyrics that are out of nowhere, but that's why it works. This would fit right in, on the "Hotter Than Hell" album or maybe "Carnival Of Souls". Great song, another lost gem.
11. I Just Wanna: Good up-tempo hard rock anthem, with stupid but fun lyrics. It sounded much better live, than the studio version. 2nd single from the album, again, co-written by Vinnie Vincent.
12. Carr Jam '91: A tribute to the legendary "Fox", Eric Carr. Awesome drum solo from '81, remixed and cleaned up to the Ace Frehley/Eric Carr tune "Breakout". Powerful reminder on how great and dynamic a drummer Eric Carr was.
summary:
Album would have better cut down to 10 tracks. Omit "God Gave", "Every Time. . . ", and Revenge would have been a 5 star masterpiece. As it is, it's one of the best later period Kiss albums, with a couple clunkers. Yes, it's clear that I prefer Gene's tunes over Paul's on Revenge. Just my opinion. Gene's songs are better, and not as worked over or stuffy as Paul's. Gene's tracks seem more natural, more rockin' and rollin', and straight forward. (i. e. "Domino"),etc. .

REVENGE
unholy,domino, paralyzed,take it off, i just wanna and thou shalt not, all top notch. the best non make up line up release.

Good but not a classic
First of all, I'm not sure about Bob Ezrin's involvement this time around, I much rather what he did to Destroyer or The Elder. Revenge is a good album with some great songs but something doesn't sound quite right to my ears. Many of the heavy songs have a funny slow part in the middle and to me it sounds pretty bad. That's just not Kiss. Also I've come to hate I Just Wanna, such a silly song. . . Apart from all that, one can find good stuff with Unholy being my favourite as I rate Gene higher than Paul on this album.

You can see a complete list of all Kiss discography, or go back to the Kiss tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.