History Music / KISS

* 1974 - ''KISS''
* 1974 - ''Hotter Than Hell''
* 1975 - ''Dressed to Kill''
* 1976 - ''Destroyer''
* 1976 - ''Rock and Roll Over''
* 1977 - ''Love Gun''
* 1978 - Four self-titled solo albums
* 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''

The band also made a full-length horror film, ''KISS Meets the Phantom of the Park'' (1978).

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: ''The Keep'', the only band that had two former KISS members, Peter Criss and Mark St. John, as official members. Recorded a couple of demos which were poorly received, and the band promptly imploded.http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Music/KISS?action=edit

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: ''The Keep'', the only band that had to former KISS members, Peter Criss and Mark St. John, as official members. Recorded a couple of demos which were poorly received, and the band promptly imploded.

** During the ''Dynasty'' Tour, Stanley wanted to have a headgear that fires a laser out of his right eye during the show (probably to mock the [[Narm narmastic]] [[SpecialEffectFailure special effect]] from the movie), but found out he and/or the audience could be permanently blinded if he tried it.

* CashCowFranchise: One of the most {{Egregious}} examples in any medium. They have all kinds of licensed merchandise, including action figures, comic books, ''condoms'', or even ''Kiss Kaskets'' (in one of which [[Music/{{Pantera}} Dimebag Darrell]] was buried).

* 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...

** NiceHat: Paul's fireman helmet, which he wears when playing ''Firehouse''. Also, his top hat in ''Unmasked'', notably when performing "I Was Made For Lovin' You".

* Scatting: [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNGNLo8K6Fk DO do do do DO do do do do DO do do do DO DO do...]]

* {{Spinoff}}: All KISS members, both former and current released albums and formed bands at one point or another after leaving the band with varying degrees of success. Simmons' ''A**hole'', Stanley's ''Live to Win'', Ace Frehley's ''Frehleys' Comet'', Peter Criss' ''Criss'', Mark St. John's ''White Tiger'', and the ''Vinnie Vincent Invasion'', the ''Eric Singer Project'' (with Bruce Kulick), Thayer's former group ''Black 'n Blue''...

* 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. At least Vinnie later got his own band...

** FluffyFashionFeathers: Paul's feathered [[OperaGloves]] in ''Love Gun'', as well as his jacket in ''Unmasked''.

* MadeOfIron:
** Arguably Frehley, as he was electrocuted during a concert but recovered well enough to finish the show.

* RobotOrSpacemanAlterEgo: Ace Frehley and Tommy Thayer.
* RockersSmashGuitars: At the end of "Black Diamond".

* {{Spinoff}}: All ex-KISS members released albums and formed bands at one point or another after leaving the band with varying degrees of success. Ace Frehley's ''Frehleys' Comet'', Peter Criss' ''Criss'', Mark St. John's ''White Tiger'', and ''Vinnie Vincent Invasion'', just to mention a few.

[[caption-width-right:360:The current line-up. From left to right: Gene Simmons, Eric Singer, Paul Stanley, Tommy Thayer.]]

* '''CostumePorn''': The band is ''infamous'' for this.

** FluffyFashionFeathers: Paul's [[OperaGloves feathered gloves]] in ''Love Gun'', as well as his jacket in ''Unmasked''.

** Zipperiffic: Carr in ''Creatures of the Night''.

* FakeOutFadeOut: "I Love It Loud". Then it fades out again.

* LeadBassist: Gene.

* 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.

* VocalTagTeam

** [[FormFittingWardrobe Form-Fitting Wardrobe]]: [[CampStraight Stanley]], [[MrFanservice Stanley]], '''[[StupidSexyFlanders Stanley]]'''. Ace/[[SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute Tommy]] does too, but aren't as bad as Stanley.

* CampStraight: Paul Stanley. In fact, [[InternetBackdraft do NOT call him gay]].

* FanService: Stanley's costumes are designed around this trope, showcasing his CarpetOfVirility. Simmons' and Criss' also, to lesser extents. [[TokenWholesome Frehley is rather modest, though.]]

* MonsterClown: The cover of 'Psycho Circus'.

* PimpedOutCape: Paul and Ace during the "Dynasty" period.

* 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.
** Well, to be fair, in their unmasked phase they looked just like any other HairMetal band...

** ''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.

* 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).

* 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'', albeit nowhere near the levels of the other previous examples.
* EpicRiff: You know the house is gonna come down when "Detroit Rock City" and "Rock and Roll All Nite" start playing.

* OverlyLongTongue: Simmons.

'''KISS''' is an American rock band, formed in the [[TheSeventies 1970s]] 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").

** ''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.

* FanService: Stanley's costumes are designed around this trope, showcasing his CarpetOfVirility. Simmons' and Criss' also, to lesser extents. Frehley, not so much.

* {{Spinoff}}: All ex-KISS members released albums and formed bands at one point or another after leaving the band with varying degrees of success. Ace Frehley's ''Fehleys' Comet'', Peter Criss' ''Criss'', Mark St. John's ''White Tiger'', and ''Vinnie Vincent Invasion'', just to mention a few.

* 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.

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

'''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").

* 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 {{Music/Genesis}} record); ''Asylum'' was pure GlamRock all the way and had the band wearing androgynous make-up and outfits; ''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 ''Asylum'' due to [[BrokenBase Broken Fanbase]], and''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.

* 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''.

* 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 {{Music/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.

* 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.

* RobotOrSpacemanAlterEgo: Frehley.

* 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). Many members went ahead and used at least one of their birth names for their stage names, though (for example, Vinnie Vincent is Vincent Cusano and Mark St. John is Mark Norton).

* 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).

* {{Spinoff}}: All ex-KISS members released albums and formed bands at one point or another shortly after leaving the band with varying degrees of success. Ace Frehley's ''Fehleys' Comet'', Peter Criss' ''Criss'', Mark St. John's ''White Tiger'', and ''Vinnie Vincent Invasion'', just to mention a few.

* Spinoff: All ex-KISS members released albums and formed bands at one point or another shortly after leaving the band with varying degrees of success. Ace Frehley's ''Fehleys' Comet'', Peter Criss' ''Criss'', Mark St. John's ''White Tiger'', and ''Vinnie Vincent Invasion'', just to mention a few.

* TheSpinoff: All ex-KISS members released albums and formed bands at one point or another shortly after leaving the band with varying degrees of success. Ace Frehley's ''Fehleys' Comet'', Peter Criss' ''Criss'', Mark St. John's ''White Tiger'', and ''Vinnie Vincent Invasion'', just to mention a few.