THE YEAR WAS 1974...Robin Trower and Bad Company were having a heyday with their new and popular releases, with tons of airplay and all the trimmings...KISS had just recorded and released their self-titled debut album, which was so slow and weak, that it could barely get out of its own way, and it wasnt the songs, it was the weak production and the overall feel that they were trying too hard, to sound too perfect...Back to the drawing board, and kicked off of a couple of tours later, KISS re-enter the studio with a batch of new songs, a truckfull of Marshall stacks and Ampeg SVT's, and blew the f*cking place to pieces...It matters little what musical style genre KISS may have ended up in, for Hotter Than Hell, they were a full blown, balls to the wall, METAL BAND!!! They were well rehearsed, ready, and plenty tight when they layed down this Metal Masterpiece, and it shows...The titlecut remains one of my alltime favorites to this day, as Parasite, Got To Choose, and Watching You are no less thunderous...Mainline and Let Me Go Rock-N-Roll are just pure classic KISS party songs, but way heavier than usual, while Goin Blind and Comin Home are just pure grind...The heaviest song on the record is a tune penned by Ace Frehley entitled Strange Ways, and sung extremely well by Peter Criss, with a lead solo that no doubt got Jimi's attention, now four years under...This album remains one of my alltime metal favorites because of the intentional rawness and lead-heaviness...Anyone who thinks that KISS was nothing more than a three-chord rock-n-roll party band should REALLY listen to Hotter Than Hell...Because its a KISS album, it will probably always be available...

RATING:10++
Rob Graves