(TheBRHM.com) In the late 1990s, I wasn’t familiar with Kiss at all. Sure, I most likely heard some of their hit tunes in commercials or films but I didn’t actually match them with those songs. It wouldn’t be until the release of the Psycho Circus comic book from Image Comics and the debut of The Demon in World Championship Wrestling.
Kiss and 90s Promotion
The poorly executed crossover of Kiss and pro-wrestling will be looked at later but we’re looking at the album that followed the comic: Psycho Circus. Kiss fans would be familiar with the comic and action figures handled by Image Comics and Todd McFarlane. It was when I noticed the different personas of the band.
It was mentioned in the comics that they were one of the most well-known bands in the world—it probably said “the universe”. Before that, I picked up the comic because I saw it mentioned in an ad in Curse of Spawn comic for the Kiss action figures. I figured they were more in Image Comics’ roster of dark, grittier superheroes.
While Kiss was always good at promoting themselves—or rather they’ve always had a good PR team—it was interesting to look back on how they promoted the band throughout the decades. There were no Kiss cartoons in the 90s, you could see them in one of those episodes of Scooby Doo with celebrities in them, and there were bands more relevant to the times around.
However, they managed to snatch up some gold records in another decade. Let’s take a look at Psycho Circus and see what were the bangers.
A Strong Opener and a Few Kiss Ballads
The opening track often sets the pace for the album but on occasion, it can surprise you and turn out to be unlike anything else on the album. In the case of Psycho Circus, the titular track kind of sets the pace. There’s a mix of tempos and sounds on this release but you have some that follow along the same lines as the opener.
Actually, there are several on the album and I wish the entire album was just that. Simply a bunch of hard rockers and heavy songs. Of course, Kiss can craft a good ballad and have several in their arsenal. We’ll get into the bangers but we’ve got to discuss these ballads—or ballad-adjacent songs.
“We Are One” and “I Finally Found My Way” are slower tunes with good placement on the album. I’m not a fan of ballads or most slow tunes but they’re not in odd places in the track list or even worse: stacked. If they had both followed “Within” on the A-side, I probably would’ve been turned off on the album. No one wants to will themselves through an album to give it a fair listen.
Then again, if those three songs all followed each other, the rest of the album would’ve been a fun ride!
Psycho Circus: The Bangers
I couldn’t tell you how I interpreted Psycho Circus the first time I heard it. Now, the title song I always enjoyed. I remember the video being pretty cool at the time and listening to the opener—the first banger of the album—really took me back. Again, I wanted the entire album to be this.
Having gave it a listen decades later and I found it to be an enjoyable album for the most part. “I Pledge Alliance to Rock & Roll” is a fun rock semi-anthem. I say “semi-anthem” in that it’s supposed to be an anthem track but lacks the punch of “You Wanted the Best” and “Raise Your Glasses”.
The other bangers vary between your heavy tracks like “Into the Void” and “Journey of 1,000 Years” and your hard rockers of “Psycho Circus”, “I Pledge Alliance to Rock & Roll”, “You Wanted the Best”, and “Dreamin’”. I’d say Kiss could’ve done two albums in both musical directions and it would’ve been a blast. I can’t say it’s the best Kiss album or the greatest Kiss album but it is the Kiss album I enjoyed throughout the most. If you’ve heard the band or their hard rock contemporaries, you’ve heard a lot of Psycho Circus but it’s all put together very well on this release.
Staff Writer; James “Metal” Swift Jr.
This talented writer is also a podcast host, and comic book fan who loves all things old school. One may also find him on Twitter at; metalswift.