The late ‘80s were a weird time for KISS. The band “unmasked” and revamped themselves on 1983’s Lick It Up. It was a risky move, but one that rejuvenated their career. Pop metal (or “hair metal”) acts started dominating MTV and the Billboard charts, so this was perfect timing. Their look and sound fit perfectly alongside Motley Crue, Bon Jovi, and Poison.
It worked really well. That is, until it didn’t: by the end of the decade, hair metal was yesterday’s news and was quickly becoming a punchline. Sure, KISS was still headlining arenas, and they had some pretty big pop hits (“Reason To Live,” “Forever”). Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley would probably protest the premise of this article: they’d say that their “bad” years were better than most bands’ best years. And that’s true. But this is also true: although they were never “hip,” if you grew up in the suburbs, no band was cooler in the ‘70s. If Gene and Paul had a nickel for every kid who bought a guitar or drumset because of KISS, they’d double their considerable fortunes. But a few years into unmasking, they were no longer cool.
Strangely enough, the bands that were banishing the pop-metal rockers to the discount bins turned out to be KISS fans, too. Gene and Paul, always aware of trends, knew this was an opportunity. 1990 saw the release of Hard To Believe: A KISS Covers Compilation on the indie label C/Z Records; that’s the same label that released the 1986 Deep Six compilation, the record that helped to launch the Melvins, Green River (featuring future Pearl Jam members Stone Gossard and Jeff Ament) Skin Yard (featuring future Soundgarden and Pearl Jam drummer Matt Cameron) and Soundgarden.
Hard To Believe: A KISS Covers Compilation had contributions from both the Melvins and Skin Yard, as well as legendary punk band All. Oh yeah, and Nirvana, who covered “Do You Love Me?” Always attuned to trends, and never shy about addressing or defending their legacy, Gene Simmons and Paul Stanely decided to take the reins to assemble their own tribute album.
To be fair, KISS was already changing with the times before they started working on the tribute: their 1992 album Revenge was a darker, heavier record than they’d done since they unmasked, and they adopted a new, mostly black look, a visual 180 from their bright garb from the past decade or so. But they were still playing to the shrinking KISS audience.