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Animalize

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 201.17.74.209 (talk) at 08:15, 27 March 2023 (+Source. Release date via FMQB magazine. It was released on September 17, 1984 (Friday). RIAA says 1 September (Saturday)... no LP releases on Saturdays anyway). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Animalize
Studio album by
Kiss
ReleasedSeptember 17, 1984 (1984-09-17)[1]
RecordedMay–July 1984
StudioRight Track Recording, New York City
GenreGlam metal[2][3]
Length35:42
LabelMercury
ProducerPaul Stanley
Kiss chronology
Lick It Up
(1983) 		Animalize
(1984) 		Asylum
(1985)
Singles from Animalize
  1. "Heaven's on Fire"
    Released: September 19, 1984
  2. "Thrills in the Night"
    Released: January 13, 1985
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal8/10[4]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[5]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[6]

Animalize is the twelfth studio album by American rock band Kiss. It was released on September 17, 1984,[1] by Mercury Records. The album marked the only appearance by lead guitarist Mark St. John, who replaced Vinnie Vincent in April 1984.

Background

At the time of the record's release, Gene Simmons was pursuing a career in acting. Paul Stanley was thus primarily in charge of the album's production and direction.[7]

New guitarist Mark St. John stated that when recording the album, he had utilized his Rockman gear and that heavy equalization was used to take the "Boston" sound out of the recording.[citation needed]

St. John was forced to temporarily leave Kiss before the subsequent tour after being diagnosed with reactive arthritis. While he accompanied the group on tour and convalesced, the group hired Bruce Kulick as a temporary replacement. Kulick gelled with the band's personalities and playing styles better than St. John; by November 1984, St. John was fired and replaced by Kulick permanently, making him the third lead guitarist to exit the group in two years.

When asked what "animalize" meant, Stanley said that people were starting to become more like computers and that "making music by pressing buttons" was no fun.[citation needed]

Reception

Commercial

In a continuation of Kiss' commercial resurgence which had begun with 1983's Lick It Up, Animalize was certified platinum by the RIAA. It was the biggest-selling Kiss album since 1979's Dynasty.[citation needed]

"Heaven's on Fire" became the biggest hit from the album (as well as one of the only songs to survive on the band's live setlist after the '80s), and its music video received heavy MTV rotation. It is also the only music video appearance of Mark St. John.[citation needed]

Critical

Critics and longtime fans, however, criticized the band's continued move towards a glam metal style on Animalize. Simmons fell into increasing conflict with his bandmates during this period for a variety of reasons. Most of this revolved around his perceived lack of commitment to the band and preoccupation with numerous outside projects, including producing and managing other rock groups such as Black 'n Blue (of whom Tommy Thayer was a member at the time), a co-starring role in Runaway (1984), bit parts in films like Trick or Treat (1986), and an assortment of business ventures.[citation needed]

Guitar World magazine later placed the album on their list of "New Sensations: 50 Iconic Albums That Defined 1984".[8]

Track listing

All credits adapted from the original release.[9]

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Lead vocalsLength
1."I've Had Enough (Into the Fire)"Paul Stanley, Desmond ChildStanley3:52
2."Heaven's on Fire"Stanley, ChildStanley3:21
3."Burn Bitch Burn"Gene SimmonsSimmons4:42
4."Get All You Can Take"Stanley, Mitch WeissmanStanley3:44
5."Lonely Is the Hunter"SimmonsSimmons4:28
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Lead vocalsLength
6."Under the Gun"Stanley, Eric Carr, ChildStanley4:01
7."Thrills in the Night"Stanley, Jean BeauvoirStanley4:21
8."While the City Sleeps"Simmons, WeissmanSimmons3:41
9."Murder in High-heels"Simmons, WeissmanSimmons3:52

Personnel

Kiss
Additional musicians
Production
  • Chris Minto – engineer
  • Timothy Crich – assistant engineer
  • Dave Wittman – additional recording, mixing
  • Michael James Jackson – drum recording producer
  • George Marino – mastering at Sterling Sound, New York
  • Bernard Vidal – back cover photography
  • Howard Marks Advertising – design

Charts

Album

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[30] Platinum 100,000^
Finland (Musiikkituottajat)[31] Gold 25,000[31]
United States (RIAA)[32] Platinum 1,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "New Releases" (PDF). FMQB. September 14, 1984. p. 28. Retrieved March 27, 2023.
  2. ^ a b Prato, Greg. "Kiss - Animalize review". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved April 5, 2022.
  3. ^ Westhoff, Ben (December 6, 2011). "Chuck Klosterman's Favorite Hair Metal Albums". L.A. Weekly. Retrieved May 15, 2019.
  4. ^ Popoff, Martin (November 1, 2005). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 2: The Eighties. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. p. 187. ISBN 978-1-89-495931-5.
  5. ^ Larkin, Colin (2006). Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 4 (4 ed.). Muze. p. 875. ISBN 978-0-19-531373-4.
  6. ^ "Kiss: Album Guide". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on June 27, 2011. Retrieved September 4, 2011.
  7. ^ Conte, Robert V. (1998). Animalize (CD liner notes). Mercury Records. 314 558 859-2.
  8. ^ "New Sensations: 50 Iconic Albums That Defined 1984". Guitar World. June 27, 2014. Archived from the original on July 20, 2014. Retrieved April 5, 2022.
  9. ^ Kiss (1984). Animalize (LP Sleeve). Los Angeles, California: Casablanca Records. 822 495-1.
  10. ^ "#KISS #WeAreStrongWithYou KISS ".. | KISS Army | VK".
  11. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  12. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Kiss – Animalize" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved April 2, 2019.
  13. ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 8947". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved April 2, 2019.
  14. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Kiss – Animalize" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved April 2, 2019.
  15. ^ Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. p. 166. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
  16. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Kiss – Animalize" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved April 2, 2019.
  17. ^ "Tonlist Top 40". DV. Retrieved May 29, 2017.[dead link‍]
  18. ^ "Classifiche". Musica e Dischi (in Italian). Retrieved May 27, 2022. Set "Tipo" on "Album". Then, in the "Artista" field, search "Deep Purple".
  19. ^ Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005 (in Japanese). Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
  20. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Kiss – Animalize". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 2, 2019.
  21. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Kiss – Animalize". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 2, 2019.
  22. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Kiss – Animalize". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 2, 2019.
  23. ^ "Kiss | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved April 22, 2018.
  24. ^ "Kiss Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved April 2, 2019.
  25. ^ a b "Kiss Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
  26. ^ "Kiss - Heaven's on Fire (song)". Swedishcharts.com. Media Control Charts. Retrieved July 25, 2022.
  27. ^ "Kiss - Heaven's on Fire". Dutch Charts (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved July 25, 2022.
  28. ^ "Kiss Official Charts". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 25, 2019.
  29. ^ "Top Singles - Volume 41, No. 15, December 15, 1984". Library and Archives Canada. December 15, 1984. Retrieved July 25, 2022.
  30. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Kiss – Animalize". Music Canada.
  31. ^ a b "Kiss" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland.
  32. ^ "American album certifications – Kiss – Animalize". Recording Industry Association of America.
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