History YMMV / KISS

** Speaking of Argent, they also did the original version of the PowerBallad "God Gave Rock n' Roll to You". When KISS covered it, they added a "[=II=]" to the title, possibly to differentiate the two songs more clearly, as KISS' version has completely different lyrics except for the chorus.

** What is this "I Was Made For Loving You" of which you speak? KISS has never, ever done a disco song!

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* BrokenBase: "I Was Made for Loving You" tends to elicit strong reactions; KISS fans often condemn it as a trendy cash-in on the {{Disco}} movement, but on the other hand, it's frequently their top song on Apple Music. Also incredibly popular in areas like the UK and Germany where the Disco backlash never happened.

** Gene Simmons: is he the single manliest, [[EvilIsCool coolest-looking]] and most badass and LeadBassist ''ever'', or a greedy [[ItsAllAboutMe megalomaniac]] [[RatedMForMoney who wastes his money]] [[TheMerch on everything he finds?]] Or is he a little bit of both?

** Heck, any lead guitarist not named Ace to an extent. Vinnie Vincent in particular. Vinnie's contributions are generally liked, but his playing style is ''wildly'' divisive; he's either an incredibly original and unique guitarist who was forced down by the rest of the band, or he's an atonal, utterly tuneless hack who can't play anything that isn't an aimless, chromatic mess with gratuitous whammy bar abuse (which wasn't really that pronounced during his time in Music/{{KISS}} when Gene and Paul had final say over his solos, but his work in the Vinnie Vincent Invasion, when he had complete control over his playing style, is a different story).
* BrokenBase: "I Was Made For Loving You" tends to elicit strong reactions; KISS fans often condemn it as a trendy cash-in on the {{Disco}} movement, but on the other hand, it's frequently their top song on Apple Music. Also incredibly popular in areas like the UK and Germany where the Disco backlash never happened.
** For a small section of their more hardcore 80s and 90s-era fans, the reunion and the return of the makeup is looked on quite negatively, specifically because the reunion meant beloved guitarist Bruce Kulick had to leave, and because Kiss stopped evolving musically, since all three albums they've released since all sound exactly like their classic 70s-era records.
* ChorusOnlySong: Hard to find someone who isn't a hard-core fan [[note]]or who wasn't a teenager in 1975[[/note]] who knows the verses for "Rock and Roll All Nite".

** According to the ''Decibel Geek Podcast'', this is also the case with "I had Enough" from ''Animalize''. The reason why it's not played in concerts anymore is that, apparently, the band and Bruce Kulick in particular end up completely exhausted by the end of it.

** In the 90s, Tommy Thayer is in a KISS tribute band called "Cold Gin" and took the role of Ace Frehley. And guess which member he replaces (makeup included)?

** Minor one, the album title "Unmasked" became funny when KISS would become Unmasked for real 3 years later by taking off their makeup.

** Vinnie Vincent. The man has been unreliable and an ass to both musical collaborators and fans alike, but has also had a long history of depression, legal issues, one wife of his being ''murdered'' and the other one drinking herself to death, and dealing with the backlash of replacing the universally beloved Ace Frehley.

* NarmCharm: Gene's cover of "When You Wish Upon A Star" from his first solo album. On paper, it sounds like it shouldn't work at all, but Gene's genuinely passionate performance and the lush orchestral score make it worth the listen.
* OffendingTheCreatorsOwn: The "lightning bolt" rendering of the double-s in the band's logo is similar to the logo of the Nazi SS, leading them to jump to the conclusion that the band are somehow neo-Nazis or Nazi-sympathisers. In reality, both Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley are Jewish and have relatives who either survived or died in the Holocaust.

* RetroactiveRecognition: Not to anyone involved in the band's music, but to their ''technician'', "Ampie"; most people today know him as John Elder Robison, autism rights advocate and author of ''Look Me in the Eye'', an autobiography about his life with undiagnosed UsefulNotes/AspergersSyndrome.
* SignatureSong: Quite a few. The best examples are "Rock and Roll All Nite", "Detroit Rock City", and "I Was Made For Lovin' You". For the non-makeup era, there is "Lick It Up", "Heaven's On Fire", and "Forever".

** The band's early work has also found new appreciation the last few years, particularly the very first three or four albums, which feature some downright ''nasty'' proto-metal, and a lot more experimentation than the safe party-rock act Kiss would become later on.

* EnsembleDarkhorse:

* FaceOfTheBand: Simmons and Stanley, particularly the former; justified as they're the only original members still in the band.
** Definitely the case for Stanley in the 80's when Simmons was more focused with his acting career and other outside pursuits.

** Gene Simmons: is he the single [[RatedMForManly manliest]], [[EvilIsCool coolest-looking]] and most badass and LeadBassist ''ever'', or a greedy [[ItsAllAboutMe megalomaniac]] [[RatedMForMoney who wastes his money]] [[TheMerch on everything he finds?]] Or is he a little bit of both?

** ''Dynasty'': It's unarguable that it was perhaps the biggest commercially successful studio album in the entire history of the band (if one ignores the ''Alive'' compilations), but what most people don't know is that, in the long run, ''Dynasty'' itself ''almost destroyed the band when it was first released''. With [[NewSoundAlbum the shift to the far more mainstream disco genre]], although the album proved to be a commercial success, it began alienating the fans that had followed the band since its early beginnings, resulting in less-than-sold-out arenas and stadiums when the band went on tour, something unheard of when it came to KISS concerts and their particular fame.[[note]]In fact, they ''lost'' money during this tour, as they had greatly expanded their stage set, resulting in each concert costing no less than ''ONE million dollars each''![[/note]] In addition, KISS's popularity amongst the younger age set began to backfire; when you're in your teens, it's simply not considered "cool" to like the same things your kid brother does.

* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotForKids: The song "Detroit Rock City" is one of many rather inappropriate songs featured on Tooth Tunes, a line of toothbrushes that when used play music. [[SarcasmMode Nothing brings kids to brush their teeth quite like a song about a man going way over the speed limit while going to a KISS concert and dying in a car crash, right?]] Not to mention it's a true story and one of the lyrics is either "I know I'm gonna die, why?" or "I know I'm gonna die, and I don't care!" depending on the version.

** ''Dynasty'': It's unarguable that it was perhaps the biggest commercially successful studio album in the entire history of the band (if one ignores the ''Alive'' compilations), but what most people don't know is that, in the long run, ''Dynasty'' itself ''almost destroyed the band when it was first released''. With [[NewSoundAlbum the shift to the far more mainstream disco genre]], although the album proved to be a commercial success, it began alienating the fans that had followed the band since its early beginnings, resulting in less-than-sold-out arenas and stadiums when the band went on tour, something unheard of when it came to KISS concerts and their particular fame.[[note]]In fact, they ''lost'' money during this tour, as they had greatly expanded their stage set, resulting in each concert costing no less than ''ONE million dollars each'' ![[/note]] In addition, KISS's popularity amongst the younger age set began to backfire; when you're in your teens, it's simply not considered "cool" to like the same things your kid brother does.

* ReplacementScrappy: Mostly averted with Eric Carr, but otherwise played straight for the most part. Especially in regards to Eric Singer and Tommy Thayer using costumes/singing songs by Peter Criss and Ace Frehley. Not that the fans hate Singer/Thayer as people, but they hate how they wear the "Catman" and "Spaceman" makeup after Criss and Frehley departed, especially considering how Vinnie Vincent and Eric Carr adopted different personas than Ace and Peter for themselves when they joined at the tail end of the first makeup era.

* BrokenBase: "I Was Made For Loving You" tends to elicit strong reactions; KISS fans often condemn it as a trendy cash-in on the {{Disco}} movement, but on the other hand, it's frequently their top song on Apple Music.

* OffendingTheCreatorsOwn: The "lightning bolt" rendering of the double-s in the band's logo has been seen by some as similar to the logo of the Nazi SS, leading them to jump to the conclusion that the band are somehow neo-Nazis or Nazi-sympathisers. In reality, both Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley are Jewish and have relatives who either survived or died in the Holocaust.

** ''Creatures of the Night'', while successful critically due to being the heaviest KISS album yet and featuring the band's strongest songs in some time, didn't fare any better on the commercial and on the tour side of things (many people also attribute this to two founding members, lead guitarist Ace Frehley and drummer Peter Criss leaving the band around the same time). While the band did have a successful mini-tour in Brazil playing stadiums, their American tour was a disaster; Paul later remarked that during one meagerly-attended show, he tossed a guitar pick into the crowd, only to have it go over the heads of everyone there and land on the floor.
** ...And ''finally'', they remove their makeup and released ''Lick It Up,'' which didn't chart very high, but was still certified gold within a few months of release. This is largely considered attributable to publicity generated by the band's decision to do away with the makeup and costumes concurrent with the album's release. Then ''Animalize'' was released, went gold quickly, and the band's finances were back at normal (excluding contractual issues with Vinnie Vincent and health issues with Mark St. John), although sell-out concerts would still elude them for one more album, finally going to back to their usual tour success with ''Crazy Nights''.

** Finding a Kiss fan who ''doesn't'' like Bruce Kulick is easier said than done. While he maybe wasn't a memorable character like Ace, or a top-tier shredder like Vinnie, he's widely regarded as a great mix between technical skill and reliability, giving the band a stable lineup after going through three guitarists in the two years preceding. After Ace left for the final time, many fans hoped for Kulick to return and finally be given his own persona (him and St. John were the only ones that never wore the makeup), though ultimately Tommy Thayer filled the spot.
* EpicRiff: You know the house is gonna come down when "Detroit Rock City" and "Rock and Roll All Nite" (and others!) start playing.
** According to the ''Decibel Geek Podcast'', this is also the case with "I had Enough" from ''Animalize''. The reason why it's not played in concerts anymore is because, apparently, the band and Bruce Kulick in particular end up completely exhausted by the end of it.

*** RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap: Sorta. One of the songs in the album, "A World Without Heroes", entered their ''MTV Unplugged'' following a vote-in, and in a concert in Australia in 2004, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B72y_iGy3vA they tried to play ''I''... but Gene had long forgotten the lyrics]]. It is now a collector piece, and manage to have its supporters. (''Unmasked'' being the remaining main competitors for 'worst studio KISS album')

** The United Kingdom absolutely loved "Crazy Crazy Nights", being there highest charting hit over there at #4. In fact, the U.K. is where Kiss saw the most success during the non-makeup years.
** In the early 1980s (prior to the unmasked years) KISS' popularity had severely declined all over the world... except for Japan, New Zealand and Australia, where they remained as popular as they were in the 1970s.

** In the 90s, Tommy Thayer is in a KISS tribute band called "Cold Gin" and took the role of Ace Frehley. And guess which member he replaces (makeup included) ?

* JerkassWoobie: Gene Simmons, of all people. Start with having polio as a child, growing up dirt-poor with his Holocaust-survivor mother, and moving to a whole new country, where everything is different, and nobody speaks your language.

* NarmCharm: Gene's cover of "When You Wish Upon A Star" from his first solo album. On paper it sounds like it shouldn't work at all, but Gene's genuinely passionate performance and the lush orchestral score makes it worth the listen.
* OffendingTheCreatorsOwn: The "lightning bolt" rendering of the double-s in the band's logo has been seen by some as similar to the logo of the Nazi SS, leading them to jump to the conclusion that the band are some how neo-Nazis or Nazi-sympathisers. In reality both Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley are Jewish and have relatives who either survived or died in the Holocaust.

* ReplacementScrappy: Mostly averted with Eric Carr, but otherwise played straight for most part. Especially in regards to Eric Singer and Tommy Thayer using costumes/singing songs by Peter Criss and Ace Frehley. Not that the fans hate Singer/Thayer as people, but they hate how they wear the "Catman" and "Spaceman" makeup after Criss and Frehley departed, especially considering how Vinnie Vincent and Eric Carr adopted different personas than Ace and Peter for themselves when they joined at the tail end of the first makeup era.
* RetroactiveRecognition: Not to anyone involved in the band's music, but their ''technician'', "Ampie"; most people today know him as John Elder Robison, autism rights advocate and author of ''Look Me in the Eye'', an autobiography about his life with undiagnosed UsefulNotes/AspergersSyndrome.
* SignatureSong: Quite a few. Best examples are "Rock and Roll All Nite", "Detroit Rock City", and "I Was Made For Lovin' You". For the non-makeup era, there is "Lick It Up", "Heaven's On Fire", and "Forever".

* SuspiciouslySimilarSong: The main riff of "Modern Day Delilah" sounds almost identical to Music/PearlJam's "Even Flow".

* VindicatedByHistory: In some fans eyes, Vinnie Vincent. The release of demos on the internet and live recordings vindicate him as a fairly talented guitar player and songwriter with a smooth singing voice and knack for melodic ballads, but hard for KISS to work with because of his showy style, and a NiceGuy in real life who suffered from financial circumstances, a miserable lonely marriage and a belief nobody cared about him that led to a deep depression and avoiding the public until he was back on the streets in 2018.
** The whole band has seen a reappraisal in later years, seeing as a lot of rock's most credible and legendary performers post-1970's have claimed inspiration or appreciation of them.

** Ace Frehley. Despite being the most well-respected musician in the band, for many years his style was considered by to be pretty generic, a poor man's Jimmy Page, essentially. In later years however, many musicians have started praising Frehley's very unique phrasing, and his innovation (he used tapping the year ''before'' Eddie Van Halen made the technique mainstream).

* WereStillRelevantDammit: Why they went in for a DarkerAndEdgier sound in the Eighties to keep up with those bands that they had inspired. Their Grunge album in the 90's is considered the peak of this, since Kiss is about as far away from poor Seattle kids playing punk-inspired alt rock as it gets.

* DorkAge:
** For ''many'', the 1979-1981 period, from ''Dynasty'' to ''Music from "The Elder"''. To be specific...
*** ''Dynasty'': It's unarguable that it was perhaps the biggest commercially successful studio album in the entire history of the band (if one ignores the ''Alive'' compilations), but what most people don't know is that, in the long run, ''Dynasty'' itself ''almost destroyed the band when it was first released''. With [[NewSoundAlbum the shift to the far more mainstream disco genre]], although the album proved to be a commercial success, it began alienating the fans that had followed the band since its early beginnings, resulting in less-than-sold-out arenas and stadiums when the band went on tour, something unheard of when it came to KISS concerts and their particular fame.[[note]]In fact, they ''lost'' money during this tour, as they had greatly expanded their stage set, resulting in each concert costing no less than ''ONE million dollars each'' ![[/note]] In addition, KISS's popularity amongst the younger age set began to backfire; when you're in your teens, it's simply not considered "cool" to like the same things your kid brother does.
*** ''Unmasked'': After promising a return to the heavier sound they were known for they proceeded to release ''Unmasked'', which was a critical flop due to the still present "pop sound". While the band had big hit in Australia with "Shandi" and a successful tour there, their situation back in the USA became even more precarious. To make matters worse, the following album was...
*** The (''in'')famous ''Music from "The Elder"'': The band's ConceptAlbum proved to be a catastrophic commercial ''and'' critical flop which lead to the outright cancellation of the album's tour, once again a first for any KISS release.
*** ''Creatures of the Night'', while successful critically due to being the heaviest KISS album yet and featuring the band's strongest songs in some time, didn't fare any better on the commercial and on the tour side of things (many people also attribute this to two founding members, lead guitarist Ace Frehley and drummer Peter Criss leaving the band around the same time). While the band did have a successful mini-tour in Brazil playing stadiums, their American tour was a disaster; Paul later remarked that during one meagerly-attended show, he tossed a guitar pick into the crowd, only to have it go over the heads of everyone there and land on the floor.
*** ...And ''finally'', they remove their makeup and released ''Lick It Up,'' which didn't chart very high, but was still certified gold within a few months of release. This is largely considered attributable to publicity generated by the band's decision to do away with the makeup and costumes concurrent with the album's release. Then ''Animalize'' was released, went gold quickly, and the band's finances were back at normal (excluding contractual issues with Vinnie Vincent and health issues with Mark St. John), although sell-out concerts would still elude them for one more album, finally going to back to their usual tour success with ''Crazy Nights''.
** To some fans, the years without makeup were the whole dork age.
** To others, any time when the lineup doesn't include Criss AND Frehley.

* NeverLiveItDown: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jzve-Tmd70 Their 1978 interview]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UvFNs3_uaUg with Tom Snyder]]. It was one of their biggest publicity fiascoes because, contrary to the band's original intentions, it exposed to the audience their true personalities for the first time. The interview was supposed to showcase the members as serious, respectable musicians with a personal mystique on par with Music/TheBeatles or Music/TheWho, but as the program went on, one could see the nasty inner tensions simmering between the original members as well as their personal flaws; e.g. Simmons' self-important dickishness and Frehley's irresponsible but incredibly hilarious party-hearty drunkenness. You can even see how Simmons is fuming over how Frehley's behavior accidentally stole the spotlight everytime, earning most of TomSnyder's attention and (undeservedly) endearing Ace to the fans even more.

** KISS has never, ever done a disco song.

** "Reason to Live" from ''Crazy Nights'' sounds ''extremely'' similar to Music/{{Foreigner}}'s "I Want to Know What Love Is".

* WereStillRelevantDammit: Why they went in for a DarkerAndEdgier sound in the Eighties to keep up with those bands that they had inspired.

* ReplacementScrappy: Mostly averted with Eric Carr, but otherwise played straight for most part. Especially in regards to Eric Singer and Tommy Thayer using costumes/singing songs by Peter Criss and Ace Frehley. Not that the fans hate Singer/Thayer as people, but they hate how they wear the "Catman" and "Spaceman" makeup after Criss and Frehley departed, especially considering how Vinnie Vincent and Eric Carr adopted new personas for themselves when they joined at the tail end of the first makeup era.

* ReplacementScrappy: Mostly averted with Eric Carr, but otherwise played straight for most part. Especially in regards to Eric Singer and Tommy Thayer using costumes/singing songs by Peter Criss and Ace Frehley. Not that the fans hate Singer/Thayer as people, but they hate how they wear the "Catman" and "Spaceman" makeup after Criss and Frehley departed.