Creatures Of The Night

Their backs against the wall after the disastrous rock opera Music from “The Elder” and down to half-strength from their original superhero team — Ace Frehley is credited but didn’t play a note — KISS finally lived up to their looks and put out an honest-to-thunder-god metal album (well, by 1982 American major label standards). Vinnie Vincent and Eric Carr may not have been the Cat or the Spaceman but they sure could play. Some of their heaviest anthems (the title track, “I Love It Loud,” “War Machine”), their most dirge-like ballad (“I Still Love You”), and a Bryan Adams cowriting credit on “Rock ‘n’ Roll Hell” make this their strongest post-1977 album… and some might argue it’s better than their a lot of their pre-1977 output as well.