Animalize is the 12th studio album by the American rock band Kiss. Gene Simmons was pursuing a career in acting at the time and Paul Stanley was primarily in charge of the production and direction of Animalize. The album marked the only appearance by lead guitarist Mark St. John, who replaced Vinnie Vincent in April 1984. St. John stated that when recording the record, 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 leave Kiss during the subsequent tour after being diagnosed with Reiter's Syndrome. By November 1984 he was out of the band, the third lead guitarist to exit the band 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.Animalize is the 12th studio album by the American rock band Kiss. Gene Simmons was pursuing a career in acting at the time and Paul Stanley was primarily in charge of the production and direction of Animalize. The album marked the only appearance by lead guitarist Mark St. John, who replaced Vinnie Vincent in April 1984. St. John stated that when recording the record, 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 leave Kiss during the subsequent tour after being diagnosed with Reiter's Syndrome. By November 1984 he was out of the band, the third lead guitarist to exit the band 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.false2025-11-12 06:38:32Animalize19841984-09-131984-09-1336Glam MetalHard RockHeavy MetalRock1121702116639cb32d1dc-2657-4a30-ba25-b75a4c6739efe1f1e33e-2e4c-4d43-b91b-7064068d3283cc94de97-a20d-3aff-9fb5-10a1d0cab5a7/media/data/media5/Music/KISS/Animalize/folder.jpgKISSKISSKiss (often styled as "KISS") is an American rock band formed in New York City in 1973 by Paul Stanley (vocals, rhythm guitar), Gene Simmons (vocals, bass), Ace Frehley (lead guitar, vocals), and Peter Criss (drums, vocals). Known for their face paint and stage outfits, the group rose to prominence in the mid-1970s with shock rock-style live performances which featured fire-breathing, blood-spitting, smoking guitars, shooting rockets, levitating drum kits, and pyrotechnics. The band has gone through several lineup changes, with Stanley and Simmons remaining the only consistent members. The current lineup consists of them, Tommy Thayer (guitar), and Eric Singer (drums).
With their makeup and costumes, the band members took on the personae of comic book-style characters: the Starchild (Stanley), the Demon (Simmons), the Spaceman or Space Ace (Frehley), and the Catman (Criss). Due to creative differences, Criss departed the band in 1980 and Frehley in 1982, though both would return later.
In 1983, Kiss began performing without makeup and costumes, marking the beginning of the band's "unmasked" era that would last for over a decade. The band experienced a commercial resurgence during this era, with the 1983 platinum-certified album Lick It Up successfully introducing them to a new generation of fans, and its music videos receiving regular airplay on MTV. Eric Carr, who had replaced Criss in 1980, died in 1991 of heart cancer and was replaced by Eric Singer. In response to a wave of Kiss nostalgia in the mid-1990s, the original lineup reunited in 1996, which also saw the return of its makeup and stage costumes. The resulting reunion tour was highly successful, grossing $143.7 million, making it the band's most successful tour to date. Criss and Frehley subsequently left the band again, and have been replaced by Singer and Tommy Thayer, respectively. The band has continued with its original stage makeup, with Singer and Thayer using the original Catman and Spaceman makeup, respectively. In September 2018, Kiss announced that, after 45 years of recording and performing, they would embark on their final tour, the End of the Road World Tour, which started in January 2019 and will conclude in New York City in December 2023.Kiss is regarded as one of the most influential rock bands of all time, as well as one of the best selling bands of all time, claiming to have sold more than 75 million records worldwide, including 21 million RIAA-certified albums. Kiss has also earned 30 Gold albums, the most of any band from the United States. Kiss has 14 Platinum albums, three of which earned multi-Platinum. On April 10, 2014, the four original members of Kiss were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Kiss was ranked by MTV as the ninth "Greatest Metal Band of All Time", and placed tenth on VH1's "100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock" list, as well as being ranked as the third "Best Metal and Hard Rock Live Band of All Time" by Loudwire magazine.