Maps of Music

Hotter than Hell (1974)

Where the lyrics of Hotter than Hell take you, and where it was really made.

Kiss recorded this second album in a hurry to replace a debut that sold poorly, and it peaked at only No. 100, yet it later became a fan favorite and was certified gold.

Key places

Recording at The Village, Los Angeles (1974)

Recording site Village Recorders — Neil Bogart rented the Village Recorder studio in Los Angeles, next to Santa Monica beach, so the band could work on the album in August 1974. The point marks the studio's listed location. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Cover photo session at Raleigh Studios, Hollywood (1974)

Album cover Raleigh Studios — Norman Seeff took the cover photograph at the Raleigh studios in Hollywood in August 1974. The point marks the studio complex's listed location. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Hotter than Hell: second studio album by American hard rock band Kiss
• Released October 22, 1974 by Casablanca Records
• Peaked at No. 100 on the Billboard 200 with no hit single
• Certified gold June 23, 1977 after shipping 500,000 copies
• Re-released in a remastered version in 1997
• Several songs became live staples: "Parasite", "Hotter than Hell", "Let Me Go, Rock 'n' Roll", "Watchin' You"

Background

• Producers Kenny Kerner and Richie Wise returned from the debut album
• Kerner and Wise had just relocated to Los Angeles
• Recording was the first the band did outside their home state of New York
• New York members quickly disliked their new surroundings
• Paul Stanley's guitar was stolen on his first day in Los Angeles
• Working title of the album was The Harder They Come

Recording

• Album darker than the debut, partly from murkier production and some lyrics
• "Goin' Blind" originated in Gene Simmons and Stephen Coronel's time with Wicked Lester
• Ace Frehley wrote songs but did not sing on them, so other members took the vocals
• Album has many more overdubs than the first album
• Recorded at The Village studio in Los Angeles, rented by Neil Bogart for August 1974
• Richie Wise later apologized for the album's sound, blaming his unsettled move to California

Cover

• Cover designed by John Van Hamersveld, influenced by Japanese ukiyo-e
• Back cover shows individual band shots by Norman Seeff, overlaid with combined makeup designs
• Photoshoot took place August 18, 1974 in Los Angeles
• Frehley had a car accident August 24 and did the next session with only half his makeup

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · es.wikipedia.org · www.discogs.com

Artist

Formation

• Kiss was formed in New York City in 1973 by Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Ace Frehley and Peter Criss.
• The band traces its roots to Wicked Lester, a New York rock band led by Simmons and Stanley.
• Their first performance took place on January 30, 1973, at the Popcorn Club (later Coventry) in Queens.
• Casablanca Records signed the band on November 1, 1973, as the label's first act.

Members

• The four original members were Stanley (Starchild), Simmons (Demon), Frehley (Spaceman) and Criss (Catman).
• Eric Carr replaced Criss in 1980; Vinnie Vincent, Mark St. John and Bruce Kulick later held lead guitar.
• Tommy Thayer and Eric Singer formed the final lineup.

Career

• Kiss became one of America's most successful rock bands in the late 1970s, with a 1977 Gallup poll naming them the most popular band in America.
• The band unmasked in 1983 and reunited the original lineup for the 1996 reunion tour.
• The band announced its retirement after its final show at Madison Square Garden on December 2, 2023.
• Kiss was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on April 10, 2014.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Failed to outperform the debut and fared considerably worse
• Casablanca's distribution deal with Warner Bros. Records had ended, weakening the push
• Only single "Let Me Go, Rock 'n' Roll" was distributed in low numbers and failed to chart
• Peaked at No. 100 on the Billboard 200 in its seventh week, the band's lowest US placement
• Peaked at No. 91 in Canada
• Four months after release, Kiss was pulled off the tour and called back to record a follow-up
• Rolling Stone's Ed Naha wrote the album "doesn't sound as bad as the band appears"

Reappraisal

• Most critics largely dismissed the band's early records over their image
• Stephen Thomas Erlewine in The All-Music Guide to Rock called the album an almost identical copy of the debut
• Jason Josephes of Pitchfork said the album stands out painfully, with some of the worst drum sounds on a hard rock record
• Greg Prato of AllMusic called it another fundamental Kiss album despite its murky sound, and said "Strange Ways" has one of Ace Frehley's best solos
• Chuck Klosterman of Grantland called it one of the most poorly mixed albums released, but said time turned the flaw idyllic
• Later reviews became more favorable, with many calling it one of the band's best albums

Records

• Billboard 200 peak No. 100, the band's lowest US chart placement
• Canada peak No. 91
• RIAA gold certification on June 23, 1977, after 500,000 copies shipped

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · es.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Paul Stanley's guitar was stolen on his first day in Los Angeles, before recording began.
• Ace Frehley's car accident on August 24, 1974 meant the second cover session was shot with only half of his makeup.
• The chikara symbol on the cover was later used on Crazy Nights and on Eric Carr's drum kit, after Peter Criss left.
• Japanese katakana spellings of the four members' names on the cover contained transliteration errors.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · es.wikipedia.org

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