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5th Mar '12 9:43:51 AM Jumpingzombie

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5th Mar '12 9:43:41 AM Jumpingzombie

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5th Mar '12 9:43:18 AM Jumpingzombie

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1st Oct '11 5:37:03 PM djbj

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[[quoteright:360:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kiss-band_8580.jpg]]

->[[IncomingHam Alright, TV Tropes! You wanted the best, you got the best! The hottest band in the world, KISS!]]

'''KISS''' is an American rock band, formed in the 1970's in NYC. It is well known for the face paint and complex costumes worn by the bandmembers, and its [[GreatBallsOfFire theatrical concerts]], which involve, among other things, fire breathing, blood spitting, smoking guitars, and [[ImpressivePyrotechnics pyrotechnics]]. The [[FaceOfTheBand most well-known members]] are singers Paul Stanley (rhythm guitar; his stage persona is "Starchild", due to being a "starry-eyed lover" and "hopeless romantic") and [[GeneSimmonsFamilyJewels Gene Simmons]] (bass; the "Demon", cynical and fan of dark elements, and also known for [[OverlyLongTongue his enormous tongue]]). Other founding members include guitarist Ace Frehley ("Spaceman") and drummer Peter Criss ("Catman"), whose make-ups are still worn by their current replacements, Eric Singer ("Catman") and Tommy Thayer ("Spaceman").

Not to be confused with [[KissingTropes kissing]], or the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KISS_principle KISS principle]].

'''Studio albums:'''
* 1974 - ''KISS''
* 1974 - ''Hotter Than Hell''
* 1975 - ''Dressed to Kill''
* 1976 - ''Destroyer''
* 1976 - ''Rock and Roll Over''
* 1977 - ''Love Gun''
* 1979 - ''Dynasty''
* 1980 - ''Unmasked''
* 1981 - ''Music from "The Elder"''
* 1982 - ''Creatures of the Night''
* 1983 - ''Lick It Up''
* 1984 - ''Animalize''
* 1985 - ''Asylum''
* 1987 - ''Crazy Nights''
* 1989 - ''Hot in the Shade''
* 1992 - ''Revenge''
* 1997 - ''Carnival of Souls: The Final Sessions''
* 1998 - ''Psycho Circus''
* 2009 - ''Sonic Boom''
* 2012 - ''Monster''

----
!!Tropes involved with the band include:

* AudienceParticipationSong
* BasedOnAGreatBigLie: 
** Apparently their breakthrough album ''ALIVE!'' had guitar overdubs, sound-check songs with the audience added in the studio, and other less-than-live shenanigans (over and above the normal studio mixing and whatnot).
** ''Dynasty'' credits Peter Criss with drums and vocals. In reality, he only played drums on the song "Dirty Livin'", the rest of the songs being recorded by studio drummer Anton Fig.
** ''Unmasked'' credits Criss, once again, with drums, percussion, and vocals, while also featuring him on the album's cover and appearing on the album's single "Shandi" video. In reality, he wasn't involved at all with the recording of the album, Fig (for a second, uncredited time) taking his place on the recording, while Eric Carr replaced Criss on the album's tour and eventually as a band member.
** ''Creatures of the Night'' credits Ace Frehley with lead guitars while also featuring him on the album's cover and appearing on the album's single "Love It Loud" video. In reality, Bob Kulick, Steve Ferris and Vinnie Vincent played lead guitars on the recording, the latter taking his place on the album's tour and eventually as a band member.
** ''Psycho Circus'' was widely announced as the first studio album in over a decade by the band's original lineup. In reality, only one of the album's songs, "Into the Void", was recorded with all 4 band members, this song being also the only one where Criss actually played drums. Ace Frehley only played lead guitars on three songs and vocals on three other songs. The rest of the songs were recorded with studio musicians, Kevin Valentine, and Tommy Thayer.
* BlackSheepHit: In the 70's, the radios played PowerBallad "Beth" instead of the A-side "Detroit Rock City" (which didn't stop the latter from becoming one of their anthems)
* CashCowFranchise: One of the most {{Egregious}} examples in any medium. They have all kinds of licensed merchandise, including ''Kiss Kaskets'' (in one of which [[Music/{{Pantera}} Dimebag Darrell]] was buried).
* ChorusOnlySong: Hard to find someone who knows the verses for "Rock and Roll All Nite".
* ConceptAlbum: ''Music from "The Elder"'', a big and ambitious project that even involved a big-budget movie and a world-wide tour for a while, but...
* CreatorBacklash: The film ''[[http://www.agonybooth.com/recaps/KISS_Meets_the_Phantom_of_the_Park_1978.aspx KISS Meets the Phantom of the Park]]'', the ConceptAlbum / RockOpera ''Music from "The Elder"'', and their GlamRock album ''Asylum''.
* EpicRiff: You know the house is gonna come down when "Detroit Rock City" and "Rock and Roll All Nite" start playing.
* FakeOutFadeOut: "I Love It Loud". Then it fades out again.
* FanService: Stanley's costumes are designed around this trope, showcasing his CarpetOfVirility. Simmons' and Criss' also, to lesser extents. Frehley, not so much.
* ForgottenFallenFriend: Mark St. John is starting to become this.
* GreatBallsOfFire: {{Spectacle}} is their motto.
* HeavyMeta: "Rock and Roll All Nite", "Detroit Rock City", "Let Me Go, Rock n' Roll", "Rock and Roll Hell"...
* InsultBackfire: 
** Calling them sellouts.
** Back when the ''Knights in Satan's Service'' rumor was all the rage, seeing religious fanatics and the like shouting and screaming quotes from the Old Testament at the group wasn't unheard of. Neither was seeing Gene Simmons (a theology major) quoting them back.
* IntercourseWithYou: ''Many'' songs, mostly those sung by Simmons. In fact, most of their songs are this, from "Christeen Sixteen" (which is a song about a guy lusting after a sixteen year old) to "Hotter Than Hell" (which is about a guy lusting after a married woman) to "Heaven's On Fire" (which is about a guy having sex, and may or may not have inspired a large amount of the sex dialog seen in all kinds of fandoms' fanfic sex scenes).
* KavorkaMan: Gene Simmons is anything but handsome and is known for being a raging egomaniac and asshole, but he [[{{Casanova}} claims to have bedded over a thousand women]]. 
* LargeHam: Paul and Gene, for the most part.... and most of that most part is Gene.
* LastNoteNightmare: The album version of "Detroit Rock City" ends with a car skidding, crashing and '''[[EveryCarIsAPinto exploding]]'''. Then the record segues into "King of the Night Time World".
* LeadBassist: Gene.
* LegacyCharacter: The current guitarist and drummer wearing the founding members' makeup. [[BrokenBase It divides fans on whether it's fair]].
* LoveItOrHateIt: Actively invoked and encouraged by the band.
-->'''Paul Stanley:''' "If you want to hate us, God bless you! If you love us, that's great too. If you're in the middle... get out!"
* MadeOfIron:
** Arguably Frehley, as he was electrocuted during a concert but recovered well enough to finish the show.
** When KISS was starting and some of their (now famous) concert's antics hadn't been perfected yet, there was one occasion were Simmons accidentally swallowed the kerosene (highly toxic) of his fire breathing stunt. Gene ignored the excruciating abdominal pain and finished the show instead of stopping the concert there and rushing to the hospital.
* TheMerch: KISS is infamous for plastering their name and faces on anything they can get their hands on. They are probably the only rock band with their own line of caskets.
* MoneyDearBoy: Possibly the TropeCodifier for musical artists.
* NewSoundAlbum: ''Dynasty'' added Disco; ''Music from "The Elder"'' was an attempt at a progressive-rock ConceptAlbum (described by Simmons later as sounding like a bad {{Genesis}} record); ''Revenge'' was more hard rock and featured darker lyrics than their mid-eighties HairMetal / GlamRock output; and ''Carnival of Souls'' was a Grunge-inspired, very heavy, metal album. With the exception of ''Revenge,'' which was fairly well received as a return to the ''Creatures of the Night'' era, these albums are not particularly popular with the fans.
* NoSwastikas: Due to German law, the band's usual logo (the band name with the two S characters depicted as lightning bolts) cannot be used in Germany (because the double-S resembles the Schutzstaffel logo). While the band has been accused of being Nazis, it seems unlikely that Simmons or Stanley (both being Jewish descendants of concentration camp survivors) intended the logo that way.
* NudgeNudge: Paul Stanley's stage banter until the reunion was mostly innuendo. He's toned it down somewhat since longtime fans began bringing their kids, but it's still there.
* OldShame: Their album when the band was still called "Wicked Lester".'
* OneOfUs: As stated before, Gene Simmons is a lifelong comic book geek and amateur magician who loves StuffBlowingUp.
* OneSceneWonder: Mark St. John, KISS' third lead guitarist. Only played on one album (''Animalize''), got reactive arthritis, and was replaced almost instantly with Bruce Kulick. Accounts vary on how many shows of the album's tour he played in, but most agree that St. John played very few, if any, and that Kulick ended up filling up for him in most of them.
* OverlyLongTongue: Simmons.
* ThePeteBest: Ron Leejack, lead guitarist when the band was still called "Wicked Lester"
* PowerBallad: "Beth", "Forever" (which had even input from MichaelBolton in the songwriting), "God Gave Rock and Roll to You"...
* RatedMForManly: Besides the ballads.
* RealityShow: ''GeneSimmonsFamilyJewels''.
* RobotOrSpacemanAlterEgo: Frehley.
* RockersSmashGuitars: At the end of "Black Diamond".
* RockTrio: Paul suffered an irregular heartbeat shortly before a show in 2007. Rather than cancel, they performed as a trio for the only time in the band's existence.
* RummageSaleReject: Most of their outfits in the no-makeup days. Purple gloves, a yellow coat with shoulders covered in gems of every color. Yellow gloves and a purple coat. Gene Simmons in a pink satin bathrobe.
* ScaryMusicianHarmlessMusic: They stomp around on stage in crazy costumes, their bass-player breathes fire, spits blood, and looks like a demon, the lead guitarist is fond of putting fireworks in his guitar, and some of their biggest hits are [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin "Rock and Roll All Nite"]] and "Beth", which sounds like it belongs on an "easy-listening" station.
* ShoutOut: They get one of the best-known in rock when CheapTrick mentions them in ''Surrender''. During live shows, Cheap Trick would toss [=KISS=] albums to their audiences.
* StageNames: The only members to use their birth names are Tommy Thayer and Bruce Kulick (for starters, Simmons is Chaim Witz, and Paul Stanley is Stanley Harvey Eisen).
* StrictlyFormula: Why ''Sonic Boom'' ended up working out well.
* SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute: Tommy Thayer wears Ace Frehley's makeup, has a similar costume, sings his old songs (notably "Shock Me") in concert, and has a similar guitar solo setpiece, complete with fireworks. Although not as pronounced (due to his being behind a drumkit) Eric Singer wears Peter Criss's original makeup and sings his vocal parts (such as the lead on "Black Diamond") as well.
* TemporarySubstitute: Before a 1997 concert, Peter Criss refused to go out on stage unless he was paid more. The band's solution? Put Criss' makeup on drum tech Ed Canon, introduce him at the beginning of the show, and rock on! Nobody in the audience asked for a refund, and Criss never missed another concert during his tenure with the group.
* [[TrustMeImADoctor Trust Me, I'm A Doctor]]: Gene's slogan in commercials for [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJVuxpYeKqM Dr. Pepper Cherry soda]], where he plays "Calling Dr. Love" in full KISS costume.
** The song itself may qualify:
---> So as you please get on your knees\\
There are no bills, there are no fees\\
Baby, I know what your problem is\\
The first step of the cure is... a kiss
* VocalTagTeam
* TheVoiceless: Vinnie Vincent and Mark St. John have the dubious honor of being the only two KISS ex-members to never [[VocalTagTeam sing lead vocals]] on at least one song; St. John being the only member to not even sing ''backing'' vocals.

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29th Sep '11 9:43:35 AM nombretomado

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13th Sep '11 7:41:39 PM igordebraga

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12th Sep '11 9:44:33 PM igordebraga

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Not to be confused with [[KissTropes kissing]], or the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KISS_principle KISS principle]].

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2nd Sep '11 6:31:08 PM SmytheOrdo

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31st Aug '11 8:24:39 PM moderator Willbyr

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** ''Dynasty'' credits Peter Criss with drums and vocals. In reality, he only played drums on the song ''Dirty Livin''', the rest of the songs being recorded by studio drummer Anton Fig.
** ''Unmasked'' credits Criss, once again, with drums, percussion, and vocals, while also featuring him on the album's cover and appearing on the album's single ''Shandi'' video. In reality, he wasn't involved at all with the recording of the album, Fig (for a second, uncredited time) taking his place on the recording, while Eric Carr replaced Criss on the album's tour and eventually as a band member.
** ''Creatures of the Night'' credits Ace Frehley with lead guitars while also featuring him on the album's cover and appearing on the album's single ''Love It Loud'' video. In reality, Bob Kulick, Steve Ferris and Vinnie Vincent played lead guitars on the recording, the latter taking his place on the album's tour and eventually as a band member.
** ''Psycho Circus'' was widely announced as the first studio album in over a decade by the band's original lineup. In reality, only one of the album's songs, ''Into the Void'', was recorded with all 4 band members, this song being also the only one where Criss actually played drums. Ace Frehley only played lead guitars on three songs and vocals on three other songs. The rest of the songs were recorded with studio musicians, Kevin Valentine, and Tommy Thayer.

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** ''Dynasty'' credits Peter Criss with drums and vocals. In reality, he only played drums on the song "Dirty Livin'", the rest of the songs being recorded by studio drummer Anton Fig.
** ''Unmasked'' credits Criss, once again, with drums, percussion, and vocals, while also featuring him on the album's cover and appearing on the album's single "Shandi" video. In reality, he wasn't involved at all with the recording of the album, Fig (for a second, uncredited time) taking his place on the recording, while Eric Carr replaced Criss on the album's tour and eventually as a band member.
** ''Creatures of the Night'' credits Ace Frehley with lead guitars while also featuring him on the album's cover and appearing on the album's single "Love It Loud" video. In reality, Bob Kulick, Steve Ferris and Vinnie Vincent played lead guitars on the recording, the latter taking his place on the album's tour and eventually as a band member.
** ''Psycho Circus'' was widely announced as the first studio album in over a decade by the band's original lineup. In reality, only one of the album's songs, "Into the Void", was recorded with all 4 band members, this song being also the only one where Criss actually played drums. Ace Frehley only played lead guitars on three songs and vocals on three other songs. The rest of the songs were recorded with studio musicians, Kevin Valentine, and Tommy Thayer.

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31st Aug '11 8:22:53 PM moderator Willbyr

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reformatting, natter kills

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