Mercury Records - 1992
8.5/10
Following a plethora of ‘80s glam albums that required the listener to search for the good tracks, Kiss returned after a couple years without an album to bring a second reinvention. Not only is this the most refined album since Creatures Of The Night, but also the heaviest. It’s not exactly metal (or grunge), yet the 1990s saw the band blend into the grungier scene by adding new distortions, thunderous layers, and song structures we haven’t heard from them before. Revenge also sees the first lineup change in over half a decade, with Eric Singer replacing the late Eric Carr, a drummer who has appeared on ‘80s Black Sabbath albums.
A fitting title, this new, raw energy acts as the revival that Hot In The Shade should have been. Despite there still being some usual silliness to overlook, much of this album feels extremely focused. Opener “Unholy” might seem misleading, since this song is so ferocious, more so than anything else. But it’s an incredible energetic blast, letting Gene exercise a vocal rasp he hasn’t tampered with before over crushing riffs. Others like “Thou Shalt Not” and “Tough Love” feature a similar edge, being pretty riff oriented with strong choruses that trail minor keys.
Revenge doesn’t put all of its eggs in that basket, though. Softer tunes do make an appearance, with the ballad “Every Time I Look At You” feeling like “Forever Part. 2.” This is a strong number, however it doesn’t come close to the latter. The reworked semi-cover “God Gave Rock ‘N Roll To You II” is also a neat tune for what it is. Vocal tradeoff with uplifting chops brings what could have been a disaster to a fun front, and really, the fact that both of these songs felt organic with everything else speaks volumes about the record’s focus.
The rest of our experience is all about extracting the better attempts at blending these strokes with typical Kiss antics. “Domino,” while it aged somewhat poorly, has some serious groove that I can’t help but move to, and “I Just Wanna” is a tongue-in-cheek play on words that’s far better than it should be. Both of these tunes rely heavily on the catchy element without feeling too forced. Others like “Spit” and “Take It Off” lean into the goofier aspects a little too hard, but calling either of them bad wouldn’t feel accurate. Again, the fact that this all flows organically makes it easy to overlook.
The early ‘90s would often see a ‘70s rock band reach their final worthwhile efforts. While there’s still strong enough material from Gene and co. following this release, nothing moving forward reaches this potential again, so they’re hardly an exception. It may not be on the same level as their prior reinvention, but perhaps taking a few years off served the band well. If there’s only one record you listen to following Lick It Up, I say let it be this one.
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