50 Years Ago: Kiss Just Misses Breakthrough on ‘Hotter Than Hell’

Kiss seemed poised for something bigger with the Oct. 22, 1974, release of Hotter Than Hell, the sophomore album from New York’s outrageously costumed and face-painted hard rockers.

Still a relatively unknown proposition at the time, Kiss had unveiled their eponymous debut only six months earlier – but its modest sales hardly suggested the decades of successes to come. Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Ace Frehley and Peter Criss had yet to convince either consumers and the rock establishment that their striking image and powerful sound was more than a passing novelty.

Hotter than Hell would be their vehicle. Or would it?

Right from the start, the album’s recording was marked by difficulties. Most were centered on the band’s relocation to Los Angeles, where the production team of Kenny Kerner and Richie Wise (also responsible for Kiss’ first album) was then based. They were still coming to grips with the equipment at Village Recorders, if the famously lacking production on Hotter than Hell was any indication.

"We hoped to remedy the sonic deficiencies we found in the first album," Stanley explained in Kiss: Behind the Mask. "We were never as rock 'n' roll-y or good-timey as we sounded on that album. We were much heavier live. So, [for Hotter Than Hell], we tried to capture sonically how we sounded live. Unfortunately, the people that we were working with might not have been the right people to be doing it with."

To make matters worse, Stanley’s guitar was stolen on their first day in town and Kiss’ label was too busy trying to stay in business to offer much hand-holding.

Still, none of that deterred them from completing several bona fide future classics like "Got to Choose," "Let Me Go, Rock ’n’ Roll" and the title cut – the latter of which went on to enjoy years of fan acclaim in concert. Other Hotter Than Hell notables included Simmons’ lecherous love song "Goin' Blind," as well as "Watchin' You" and the Criss-sung "Mainline."

Listen to Kiss' 'Hotter Than Hell'

How Label Issues Hampered Kiss' 'Hotter Than Hell'

There were also three songwriting contributions from Frehley ("Parasite," "Strange Ways" and, with Stanley, "Comin’ Home"), though Kiss' lead guitarist still lacked the confidence to sing on any of them just yet. "I wasn't ready for it at the time," Frehley later admitted to UCR. "I was insecure about my singing voice. When I recorded my first lead vocal [on 1977's "Shock Me"], I recorded it singing on my back, with the lights down in the studio."

Meanwhile, the album art for Hotter Than Hell would become among the most iconic of Kiss’ career – and that's no small feat in such a large and visually arresting catalog. The front boasted a comic book-style design inspired by Japanese manga, while the provocative rear sleeve glamour shots were taken by noted photographer Norman Seeff.

Unfortunately, Casablanca Records had become all but paralyzed after cutting ties with distributor Warner Bros. The label could provide little marketing support beyond a token radio promotion campaign and a television ad. At this point, even shipping albums to record stores was a major challenge.

The new LP saw paltry sales throughout the winter of 1974-75 so Kiss cut short the Hotter than Hell tour so they could quickly cut the follow-up Dressed to Kill. (That project would also be properly distributed by Casablanca's new partner, Polygram.) Their well-deserved commercial breakthrough would have to wait until the release of Kiss' double-album concert triumph Alive! in 1975, when a broader marketplace finally got to hear many of these songs.