After five years adrift, and now down two original members (despite what the cover art shows), Kiss founders Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons somehow made a resounding creative comeback with 1982's 'Creatures of the Night.'
The album might very well be the band's heaviest ever, and without a doubt that's true for the drum tracks, which sound almost literally like battleship cannons going off in your head.
But what really makes the record so special is the sophisticated and yet totally accessible songwriting. Gene Simmons addresses the issues facing the band directly in epic tracks like the lurching 'Rock and Roll Hell' and the Ace Frehley kiss-off 'Saint and Sinner.'
He also proves he can still write simpler and extremely catchy anthems such as 'War Machine' and longtime concert fav 'I Love It Loud.' Paul Stanley nearly matches him pound-for-pound with the propulsive title track, the perfectly raunchy 'Keep Me Comin'' and the yearning, not-soft at all ballad 'I Still Love You.'
Finally, Kiss returned to hard rock, and it was/is glorious. The only question left to answer is -- which 'Creatures of the Night' song do you think is best?