Despite coming off a monster ballad with
Hot in the Shade
's
Michael Bolton
-penned
"Forever,"
Kiss
was plagued by financial instability due to
Simmons
and
Stanley
's extravagance; worse, drummer
Eric Carr
succumbed to cancer in November 1991. But even with the grunge movement in full effect,
was luckily recognized as a major influence on everyone from
Trent Reznor
to
Lenny Kravitz
-- their '70s legacy intact despite the band's often dubious choices in the '80s. And even though they, too, were on the brink of commercial extinction, being savvy businessmen first and foremost,
Gene Simmons
Paul Stanley
fully understood the lay of the land. Not only did they need to make a definitive record, they needed to completely re-invent themselves, visually and sonically. The first step was to secure hard rock veteran
Eric Singer
to fill
Carr
's shoes; next, the band rekindled its relationship with producer
Bob Ezrin
. Again, never ones to ignore lucrative business opportunities,
swallowed their pride and rejoined forces with former bandmate
Vinnie Vincent
. Together, they co-wrote
Revenge
's three centerpieces --
"Unholy,"
"I Just Wanna,"
"Heart of Chrome."
Bringing
Vincent
back to the
fold ultimately proves to be the album's coup de grace. Some of the cuts are excellent, delivered with conviction and panache, but for all the hype, the album is also tainted with filler. On the up tip,
Ezrin
's mongo-enormous production galvanizes the
sound, making it fresh again. The band's promotional efforts would help propel the album's first-week sales sky high, culminating with a Top Ten
Billboard
chart entry, but indifference once again plagued the ensuing arena tour. ~ John Franck