“What are you going to do about it, Aquaman? Call some fish?”
Some brothers just can’t get along. In the case of Aquaman and Ocean Master, they literally go to war with one another. I believe that McFarlane Toys had the brotherly love of Arthur and Orm in mind when they released the Target Exclusive Gold Label Ocean Master (New 52) and the Endless Winter Aquaman. Ocean Master deserved to have his own exclusive figure and Aquaman, despite being a part of the Endless Winter line that includes pieces for a Frost King Build-A-Figure, was the lone figure that did not have any BAF pieces. It’s no matter, though, as this is definitely one of the best Aquaman figures that McFarlane has released to date and the Ocean Master figure is a work of art.
As is often the case with McFarlane Toys, the accessories with these figures is pretty limited. Each come with a standard DC figure base and a collector card. The also each come with their trademark trident staffs. Both figures also feature some great paint apps and bright colors. Aquaman’s orange and green suit looks great and his traditional golden locks look amazing as well. I’m also a huge fan of Orm’s look as well. His purple and black suit looks just like the one featured in the New 52 DC Comics run and the regal/imperial purple interior of his cape is just as wonderful as the interior on the recent DC Rebirth Batman figure by McFarlane Toys.
This deep sea duo of figures feature very good articulation. Aquaman in particular is relatively unhindered in his movements with the exception of his head. His hair gets in the way and limits his nautical noggin’s range of motion. Ocean Master’s cloak pretty much stays out of the way, but his hip armor does slightly limit the articulation in his hips.
Both figures look amazing. Of special note are the facial features on Ocean Master. His gritted teeth look awesome. The folds in his cape also look great. Despite the fishy friction between these two, both of them sport great looking scaled armor. Also, watch out for the fins on Aquaman’s calves and forearms. They are very sharp! Aquaman does have a slight side-eyed glance for some reason, but I must admit that it comes in handy when posing these two figures together.
Notice in the pictures above how both tridents seem to have slight bends in them. The tridents are rather flexible, so make sure that you keep them straight in poses while displaying your figures. My only other complaint about these two figures is that Ocean Master can be a bit of a pain to keep upright. I had to fight with the figure quite a bit to finally get him to stand without assistance. In fact, I’ve had to put him into more of a squatted attack position to keep him from falling over. I’m pretty sure that this is due to the weight of his cape.
Overall, these oceanic opponents look great and are definitely worth purchasing. To the best of my knowledge, the only other McFarlane Aquaman is the one from the Snyder Cut Justice League film. That figure is taller, bulkier, and much blander looking. His legs are also very stiff. The Endless Winter version of the figure looks more like the traditional Aquaman from the comics, has much better articulation, and the colors are better in my opinion.
Well, there you have it. Thanks for reading my review of these two awesome figures. Aquaman and Ocean Master look great on my shelf. I hope that you get both of these figures for your own collection!
DC Comics’ December 2020 tale about the Frost King comes to life in the recent McFarlane Toys DC Multiverse Endless Winter Build-A-Figure line. The full line consists of five seven inch figures and one Build-A-Figure figure of the Frost King. The lineup is composed of Wonder Woman, Green Lantern (John Stewart), Black Adam, Batman, and Aquaman. Only four of the seven inch figures in the line come with pieces used to assemble the Frost King. Aquaman is the odd man out in the line. Each figure comes with accessories, a DC figure base with a peg, and a collector card. For this review I will only be focusing on the four figures that come with pieces to build the Frost King and the fully constructed Frost King figure. I’ll review Aquaman in a later review.
For simplicity’s sake, I’ve collected images for all of the boxed figures and their collector cards in this gallery. I’ve also included the back of the Black Adam box as an example of what all four box backs look like.
Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman looks amazing in this line. She features amazing details, especially in her cloak. She has a long braid that falls across her left shoulder. Her armor has excellent detailing and the paint apps are nice albeit a bit basic. Her lasso of truth is also here, but as a molded piece of her skirt and it is not removable. She comes with a sword and a sheath that the sword can be placed in if you so choose. She also comes with the torso of the Frost King BAF. Unfortunately for this figure, the amazing attention to detail by McFarlane hinders the articulation of this figure. Wonder Woman is very limited by her cloak and armor. That being said, she looks amazing on display.
Green Lantern
Arguably the most posable figure in this review, the John Stewart version of the Green Lantern is also the leanest and meanest designed of the bunch. He’s also oddly light and feels a bit cheaply made. The black and green paint apps on the suit look excellent and the overall details in the figure are very good. He’s only slightly limited at his shoulders as far as articulation goes. My specific figure that I purchased features some slightly loose leg joints at the knee and hip. Green Lantern comes with two green sword constructs and the head and cloak of the Frost King. He doesn’t come with a flight stand which is a bit disappointing. He also has a peg in the center of his shoulder blades that doesn’t seem to serve any purpose whatsoever. Despite these flaws, he looks great on my shelf.
Black Adam
Like Green Lantern, Black Adam is a fairly simple figure that isn’t hindered by armor, cloaks, or coats. This allows for excellent posing options. He’s also a much more sturdy figure when compared to Green Lantern as well. He has a decent amount of weight to him and may be a bit too clunky for some collectors but I like him just fine. His paint apps are great, especially on his boots and on the massive lightning bolt on his chest. He comes with two lightning “attachments,” and the Frost King’s legs.
Batman
The figure that proves to be the biggest disappointment in this line is Batman. Don’t get me wrong, he looks excellent, but he is severely hindered when it comes to posing. The figure features a great looking long coat, goggles, and utility belt that have plenty of detail and amazing paint apps. Sadly these are the same things that make Batman almost entirely immobile save for his arms. He comes with a comic accurate Batarang that doesn’t fit in his hands and the arms and sword of the Frost King BAF. Again, as with every other figure in this line, he looks great on display.
Frost King
The Frost King Build-A-Figure was a pain to put together. Standing about nine inches tall from his toe to the tip of his horns, ol’ Frosty features a TON of ice spikes on his pauldrons, and plenty of other pokey parts that can literally hurt you while attempting to put this bad boy together. His legs were particularly difficult to snap into place but his arms were downright painful. I almost cut myself (for real) trying to get his left arm in place. His lone accessory is the broadsword that comes with the Batman figure. I do have to admit that he looks great once he’s all in one piece, but just be aware that like other figures in this line, his armor and cloak hinder his posing.
I like all of the figures in this line despite some of their flaws. All of them look great on my shelf. If I had to choose a favorite based on its overall appeal, I’d have to go with Black Adam. Despite being a simple figure, he looks amazing. Wonder Woman comes in a close second. She’d be tops but her paint apps are just too bland. Batman looks good but couldn’t move to save his own life. Green Lantern looks amazing but feels really cheap. Do I recommend getting these figures? Only if you really want to build Frost King or happen to be a fan of a particular character in this line.
Thanks for checking out this post. I’ll review Aquaman (and a surprise figure) later this week. I have a few other surprises up my sleeve as well. Stay tuned!
I had a very busy month in October. I spent the first two weekends at two excellent events. First up was Louisiana Comic Con in Lafayette, LA. Between COVID-19 and a few hurricanes, I believe that this is the first Louisiana Comic Con since 2019. It’s been a long time for me, that’s for sure. Thankfully I was asked to present a panel and I did just that on Sunday, October 2. My panel was The First Superheroes, which focused on the first comic book superheroes to appear on the big screen in cliffhanger serials. Some of the heroes that I talked about included Captain Marvel (Fawcett/DC Comics), Spy Smasher (Fawcett/DC Comics), and Batman (DC Comics).
Bottom photo by Madtown Visuals.
I also got to hang out with Orey Kimbler of Geeky Vengeance, chatted up a few friends like Patrick Bennett (POP Ninja, Filmsquatch), Jamie Ray (Fave Five From Fans), and Nick Foreman (Toad Sage Cosplay), and checked out the amazing vendor area. The layout was a little bit different than I remember from previous events and I have to say that I loved the way that the crowd flowed this time around. There were a ton of fans at the event and plenty of amazing guests as well. Highlights for me included meeting the amazing Kristy Swanson (Buffy The Vampire Slayer, The Phantom) and Judith Hoag (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Halloween Town) and seeing the beautiful siren singer/voice actor/all around awesome lady, Bonnie Gordon (Star Trek Prodigy, Library Bards), for a second time!
Louisiana Comic Con has already announced next year’s event which will hit on March 11th and 12th. Check that date! The convention has been bumped up a bit to avoid hurricanes and (hopefully) any potential pandemics! Be sure to check their web page as they have been announcing some amazing guests already and are blowing the competition out of the water! Louisiana Comic Con is quickly becoming my favorite in-state convention. They cater to fans, give big support to their panelists (including an in-room assistant), and seem to cater to multiple fanbases from anime to horror to science fiction. I can’t wait to attend next year. I am planning on going for the full weekend.
One week later I assisted (ran the projector and whatever else was needed) Patrick with the Lake Charles Film Festival. I didn’t get many photographs because I was working, but the event was an amazing success. The special guest this year was Jean Bruce Scott of Airwolf, St. Elsewhere, Magnum PI, and tons of other shows from the 80’s. She and her amazing husband, Randy Reinholz, were at the festival all weekend. It was great to get to talk with both of them and learn about their careers. Plus, Jean is definitely one of those childhood heroes that one will not regret meeting. She was so friendly (as was Randy) and it was cool to see Caitlin O’Shanessy/Lt Cmdr Maggile Poole live and in person.
Yours truly, Ken’s Alternate Universe, was a sponsor in kind this year as was Pop Ninja and Fave Five From Fans and the awards ceremony was held at MacFarlane’s Celtic Pub (which is always amazing). We also showed 1922’s Nosferatu in celebration of its 100 year anniversary on the Friday evening of the festival. This event continues to grow each year and it was great to see a few new faces this year.
Thanks for checking out this post! I’ve got a few more things to post from last month that had to take a backseat to the Reign Of The Scream Queens, so keep an eye out for them later this month!
Between two awesome events, two The Year Of KISS posts, some excellent films (old and new), a cool new series, and a BUNCH of action figure acquisitions, a lot of things had to take a backseat to the Reign of the Scream Queens. Well, it’s November now and I’ll be going back to my regularly scheduled posts including action figure reviews, a couple of series reviews, and maybe a film review or two as well. I’m also going to make a couple of posts that will cover two amazing events that I attended in October.
The posts begin tomorrow with a look at two wonderful events that I attended in October with a few pictures thrown in for good measure. After that, I’ll go through some action figures and more. Until then, here are a few photos to tease what’s coming up in the month of November!
I hope that you’ll join me as I slow things down a bit for November. December will open with a bang as I have a special announcement coming up for a great event that I’ll be attending in that month. I’ll see you tomorrow!
Sure, last month was all about Scream Queens, but next year, Ken’s Alternate Universe will celebrate Thirty-One Days Of Horror with a month-long celebration of some of the most popular slashers in the business! I’ll have the big guys like Freddy, Jason, and Michael Myers, but I’ll also look at some of the lesser known bad boys (and girls) like the Driller Killer from Slumber Party Massacre, Blade from the Puppet Master films, and Angela Baker from Sleepaway Camp!
I’ll give a general overview of each killer and then go in depth on whatever makes each character unique. Ghost Face changes in every Scream film, the original killer in Prom Night never returned in any of the sequels, and I definitely have to take a look at Jason in Jason X! There are tons of slashers out there, so be sure to let me know if there’s anybody that you’d like me to take a look at and I’ll see what I can do.
I’ll look at the preferred weapon of choice for each villain, their primary target or targets, and what, if anything, motivates them to kill. Get ready for thirty-one nights of slicing and dicing! You have a year to prepare, so get ready!
Could it be anybody else? Would you expect anybody else? Of course the Final Girl and Scream Queen of all Scream Queens would be Jamie Lee Curtis! It’s Halloween for crying out loud! Curtis has appeared in multiple successful franchises, is the sole reason that the Halloween franchise has stayed alive for so long, and has been nominated for and won awards from MTV to Saturn to Fangoria to the People’s Choice Awards and the Primetime Emmy Awards. She has written children’s books, blogged for the Huffington Post, and has applied for two patents on inventions that she developed. She’s a true Renaissance woman and easily the most recognizable and most popular Scream Queen on this list.
Mrs. Curtis began her career with a small role on an episode of Quincy, M.E. in 1977. She made her film debut in the iconic horror film, Halloween, in 1978. She then appeared in a number of slasher films in quick succession from 1978 to 1981. Those films included The Fog, Prom Night, and Terror Train in 1980 followed by roles in Halloween II and Road Games in 1981. She also had a cameo as the voice on a speaker in Halloween III (1982). Curtis continued working in both film and television and still does so to this day. She has consistently appeared in television films, major motion pictures, and guest roles on television. She also starred in three television series, Operation: Petticoat, Anything But Love, and Scream Queens.
Some of Curtis’ most popular and well known roles outside of the horror genre include her performances in Trading Places (1983), True Lies (1994), Perfect (1985), My Girl (1991), Freaky Friday (2003), and Knives Out (2019). She has eighty-three credits currently on IMDb and that list will definitely continue to grow. I highly recommend checking out her work both in and outside of horror.
While she’s definitely been successful outside of horror and has had success in a number of different horror franchises, the one that put her on the map and the one that she has returned to a number of times is the Halloween franchise. The original film is considered a trailblazer in the genre and it produced multiple copycat films (including a few starring Curtis). Including her voice cameo in Halloween III, Curtis has appeared in a total of eight Halloween films: Halloween (1978), Halloween II (1981), Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982), Halloween H20 (1998), Halloween: Resurrection (2002), and the modern trilogy of Halloween (2018), Halloween Kills (2021), and Halloween Ends (2022). She portrayed Laurie Strode in all of the films with the exception of Halloween III.
Jamie Lee Curtis is a full-fledged superstar. Her parents had amazing careers as well. Her father is Tony Curtis, who passed away in 2010, and her mother is Janet Leigh (a Scream Queen in her own right), who passed away in 2004. Both were very popular performers in their day Jamie Lee Curtis embraced her family’s legacy as an actress. It’s impossible to list all of her accomplishments in film and television on this post. She’s an amazing person.
Although she’s been in a ton of projects over the years, Jamie Lee Curtis will always be Laurie Strode to me. She’s one of the few actors to avoid being typecast and has become one of the most successful film stars of all time as a result.
Happy Halloween! This concludes my Reign Of The Scream Queens posts for October’s Thirty-One Days O’Horror. I’ve already got plans for next year and I’ll give you a hint about them tomorrow. Starting in November I will go back to my traditional film, book, and action figure reviews along with two The Year Of KISS posts. As the holidays are now well underway, I want to thank each and everyone of you for checking out today’s post and all of the other posts that I’ve cranked out this year.
Compared to other Scream Queens on this list, many folks unfamiliar with the work of Barbara Crampton might write her off as a horror starlet. When you dig deeper into her seventy-three credits in film and television, you’ll quickly realize that Crampton is not only an iconic Scream Queen, she’s also an accomplished soap opera actress. She’s been nominated for multiple awards in both horror and for her performances in numerous soap operas. In short, Crampton takes on roles based on quality, not quantity. She’s comfortable playing the hero, the villain, and the psycho in film and on television.
Crampton has been acting since 1983, when she received her first credit portraying Trista Evans on the daytime soap Days Of Our Lives. She appeared eighty-three episodes over the course of two years. Her first film role was in the erotic thriller Body Double (1984) that starred Melanie Griffith. I have a special connection to that film that I’ll share later in this post. Crampton continued working in both film and television throughout the 80’s and 90’s. Her biggest role on television came as Leanna Love on The Young And The Restless. It was a role that she would portray off and on throughout both decades and into the early 2000’s. She also had lengthy roles in The Bold And The Beautiful and Guiding Light. In addition to these roles, Crampton also appeared as a guest star on a number of popular television shows like The Nanny and Pacific Blue.
While her career blossomed on television, Crampton also made waves on the big screen in horror films, sex comedies, and science fiction films. She is perhaps best known for her roles in Re-Animator (1985), Chopping Mall (1986), and Trancers II (1991) during her early career. As Crampton grew older, she began taking on more roles as a villain in horror films and motherly roles in other films and did so with amazing success. Some of her biggest roles since the beginning of the 2000’s were in films like Little Sister (2016), We Are Still Here (2015), Puppet Master: The Littlest Reich (2018), and Jakob’s Wife (2021).
As a kid, one of my earliest crushes was Barbara Crampton. I fell in love with her as the psychotic Leanna Love on The Young And The Restless. This was in 1987 and, at the time, I was completely unaware of her work in films like Body Double and Re-Animator even though both of those movies came out a few years prior to her role as Leanna. Still, I tried to follow Crampton’s career as best as I could as a kid growing up in rural Louisiana pre-internet. Within a year of falling in love with Crampton as Leanna, I saw her in Body Double. It was a shock to my still developing mind. Not only was Crampton one of the the first women that I saw nude in a film, she was the first woman that I recognized from another role that I saw nude in a film. Then a friend of mine with cable introduced me to her appearance in Re-Animator. I was raised to not look at such things (nudity in film) but as an 80’s kid with friends who had access to cable, it was inevitable that I would run across a naked lady sooner or later. It was weird to me because I didn’t dare tell my mom, who also loved the character of Leanna, that Crampton not only did nude scenes, but sex scenes as well. To this day I haven’t told her and I’m pretty sure that she is still unaware of the “dirty” movies that Crampton appeared in throughout her career.
I still love Barbara Crampton and I still have a crush on her. Hopefully I will get the chance to meet her at a convention one day and tell her how I’m still afraid to tell my mother that I saw Leanna Love in the buff! Crampton doesn’t do many nude scenes today, but she is no less gorgeous. In fact, she pretty much looks the same today as she did back in the 80’s. She’s very active on social media and shares tons of pictures of her day-to-day life and any projects that she is working on at the moment.
Crampton deserves more recognition for her work. She’s a wonderful actress who easily transitions from soap opera star to horror goddess. If I had to pick specific films of hers to watch, I’d recommend Jakob’s Wife, Re-Animator, and Chopping Mall. To be completely honest, I haven’t watched a film in which she gave a bad performance. She’s the consummate professional and it shows in her work.
Thanks for checking out today’s post! Tomorrow I will reveal the Final Girl, the Ultimate Scream Queen! Do you know who she is? Let me know in the comments and find out tomorrow if you’re correct!
The modern Scream Queen isn’t normally an actress who actively seeks out B-movies. Many of the today’s Scream Queens are actresses who work in all sorts of film genres and many of them seek out and/or have been nominated for or won major acting awards. Chloe Grace Moretz, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, and others definitely deserve the title of Scream Queen, but operate outside of horror as well, often picking up roles in blockbuster films. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with that, but hardcore horror fans appreciate actresses who prefer taking roles in horror films more than in other types of films. They respect ladies that fit that classic Scream Queen mold that was created by actresses like Brinke Stevens and Linnea Quigley. Perhaps the greatest of the modern Scream Queens, the one that is a throwback to the traditional model, is none other than Tiffany Shepis.
Mrs. Shepis has no issues with her character getting slammed in the head with a hammer, stabbed, crushed, yanked through a window while nude by Sasquatch, or eaten by a shark that’s fresh from a Sharknado. She also doesn’t mind playing the good girl, the bad girl, the werewolf, or any other type of character. In other words, Shepis is game for just about anything and her fans lover her for it.
Shepis has 153 acting credits to her name and it all began with a small role as “Peter” in James Gunn’s (writer) Troma film, Tromeo & Juliet (1996). From there, Shepis has appeared in pretty much nothing but B-movies, softcore thrillers, and SyFy Channel schlock and it’s all been amazing. Some of the films that she has appeared in include The Ghouls (2003), Death Factory (2002), Abominable (2006), Chainsaw Cheerleaders (2008), and Sharknado 2: The Second One (2014). Some of her recent work includes Knifecorp (2021) and Axeman At Cutters Creek (2020).
Shepis has also appeared in magazines such as Fangoria and Girls And Corpses. She co-hosted the podcast Casualty Friday with fellow Scream Queen Felissa Rose and Jason Voorhees himself, Kane Hodder. Shepis consistently lands on Scream Queen lists. She was ranked #27 on Entertainment Tonight’s Top 40 Scream Queens From The Last Forty Years List from 2017 and has appeared on lists by numerous other magazines and websites. In recent years, Shepis has become a gun control advocate after witnessing the trauma her daughter experienced in a school shooting.
Some of my favorite films that feature Tiffany Shepis include Abominable (2006), Delta Delta Die! (2003), Bloody Murder 2: Closing Camp (2003), Night of the Demons (2009), Victor Crowley (2017), and Scarecrow (2002). Bloody Murder 2 was the first film that I saw her in and I was hooked. I started to actively seek out more of her films and continue to do so to this day. If you’re a B-movie horror fan and haven’t seen any of her work, check out the favorites that I’ve listed and then seek out more from her list on IMDb.
Thanks for checking out today’s post! Tiffany Shepis is one of my favorite actresses. She also seems like a really cool human being. To top it all off, she’s a horror fan like me and all of you! We only have TWO DAYS left of the Reign of the Scream Queens. Shepis and the final two queens are my favorite Scream Queens of all time. Can you guess the final girls?????? Let me know in the comments and return tomorrow to see if you’ve gotten one of the queens correct!
Gratuitous shot of Tiffany Shepis. Congratulations for getting all of the way to the bottom of the post! You’ve earned this photo!!!
Of all of the wonderful Scream Queens on this list, none of them come close to being the ideal Scream Queen as does Brinke Stevens. Stevens has over 230 film credits to her name on IMDb and has been appearing in movies seemingly nonstop since 1981. She has one role credit prior to that year in 1972’s Necromancy, but it is listed as the 1983 re-issue. Other than that, Stevens has appeared in multiple films almost every year and, believe it or not, has appeared in more movies since 2000 than she appeared in prior to that year. Almost all of the films that she has appeared in have been low budget B-movies that emphasize skin more than plot, but that doesn’t mean that Brinke Stevens is a dim bulb. She’s actually quite intelligent, holding a Bachelor of Science in both biology and psychology and pursued her doctorate in marine biology at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. She was ultimately denied her degree due to the use of dolphins from Sea World in her studies but did receive an honorary doctorate later.
Just over ten years after appearing in Necromancy, Brinke Stevens found work as an extra in 1981’s …All The Marbles. Then she snagged her first speaking role in the slasher classic The Slumber Party Massacre (1982). From there she begin getting role after role, mainly in low budget horror films, horror comedies, and softcore adult films but she constantly worked. She also appeared in various states of undress in a number of magazines. She regularly appeared in Femme Fatale, Monster Land, Famous Monsters Of Filmland, and Scream Queen Illustrated magazines among others.
Some of Stevens’ most notable appearances in horror include Nightmare Sisters (1988), Teenage Exorcist (1991, she also wrote the film), Sole Survivor (1984), Trophy Heads (2014), and Slave Girls From Beyond Infinity (1987). My personal favorites are The Slumber Party Massacre and Trophy Heads, but she’s been in so many films that I’m sure that I’ve missed a few more great ones.
If you’ve never watched one of Brinke Stevens’ films before, my advice would be to start with The Slumber Party Massacre and then follow that up with Sorority Babes In The Slimeball Bowl-O-Rama (1988). From there, simply scroll through IMDb or visit Brinke’s website to find more of her films. There’s a little bit of everything in all of her films. There’s tons of gore, nudity, violence, questionable acting, and more, but it’s all B-movie gold.
I hope that you have enjoyed this very brief glimpse at Brinke Stevens. She’s a beautiful, intelligent lady that knows what her audience wants and delivers it in spades. She’s a Scream Queen without question!
Thanks for checking out this post. More horrific fun is headed your way tomorrow!
“I’ve gotta body built for sin and an appetite for passion!”
With the 1980’s behind them, KISS strolled into the new decade with their name still in the press but at a level that was nowhere near their success in the 1970’s. The band both lost and gained fans throughout the “no makeup” era that featured three different lead guitarists and musical style changes that went from hard rock to glam to pop rock and power ballads. Gene Simmons had strayed from the path of the band hoping to be everything from an actor to a record producer. With 1989’s Hot In The Shade, the band exited the decade with more respect, but also with a ton of questions. To top it all off, the hairband killer called grunge was about to rear its ugly head.
Hoping to reignite their brand once again, KISS returned to the recording studio to crank out what many consider to be their heaviest and purest hard rock album, 1992’s Revenge. After a pleasurable experience with Bob Ezrin recording their cover of Argent’s God Gave Rock N’ Roll To You (with altered lyrics and entitled God Gave Rock N’ Roll To You II) for the soundtrack to Bill And Ted’s Bogus Journey, the band decided to bring him in as the producer for the album that would become Revenge. The group also brought in a number of outside sources to co-write songs and play on the album. Most notably, Vinnie Vincent made his return to the band as a songwriter on three tracks. The relationship was short-lived, however, as Vincent ended up suing the band.
Other problems arose for the band when Eric Carr’s health began to degrade. Suffering from heart cancer, Carr was able to record vocals for God Gave Rock N’ Roll To You II, but was unable to play the drums. Eric Singer was brought in to record the drum tracks. Eric Carr appeared in the music video recorded for the song wearing a wig due to the fact that he had lost his hair as a result of chemotherapy. Carr would eventually die of complications from his cancer on November 24, 1991. Sadly, he passed away on the same day as Queen’s Freddie Mercury and as a result, his death was mentioned only in passing on news programs, overshadowed by the extremely popular Freddie Mercury. Carr’s backing vocals, his last recording with KISS, can be heard on Revenge on God Gave Rock N’ Roll To You II.
Eric Singer would ultimately become KISS’ permanent drummer. Replacing Carr was tough as he was very popular with the KISS Army, but Singer, who had previously worked with Paul Stanley on a solo tour and was also part of Lita Ford’s band and Black Sabbath as well, slid right into the job and kept the band rolling. His shock of blonde hair also made him stand out amongst his new bandmates, as all of them had black hair and the band had adopted an all black look for the Revenge photoshoot. Singer has the uncanny ability to play multiple music styles at a ridiculously high level. From blues and soul rhythms to skin pounding rock and metal, Singer can play all of it with little effort. He is, in my opinion, KISS’ most technically gifted and multi-faceted drummer.
The album featured a total of twelve tracks. Of those twelve, five were released as singles. The first single, God Gave Rock N’ Roll To You II was previously released on the soundtrack for Bill And Ted’s Bogus Journey and peaked at #21 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart. Unholy was the second single released promotionally in the United States but charted well in Europe. In peaked at #2 on the Norwegian Singles chart and made the top thirty in four other European charts. Domino was the third single and reached #26 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart followed by I Just Wanna which crawled to #34. The final single, Every Time I Look At You, only charted in Sweden at #31 on that country’s Sverigetopplistan chart. The album itself debuted and peaked at #6 on the Billboard 200 chart making it KISS’ first album to break the Top 10 in the US since Dynasty thirteen years earlier.
Track Listing:
Unholy (Single)
Take It Off
Tough Love
Spit
God Gave Rock N’ Roll To You II (Single)
Domino (Single)
Heart Of Chrome
Thou Shalt Not
Every Time I Look At You (Single)
Paralyzed
I Just Wanna (Single)
Carr Jam 1981
Personnel: Paul Stanley (lead and backing vocals, rhythm guitar), Eric Singer (drums, percussion, backing vocals), Bruce Kulick (lead guitar, additional bass, backing vocals), Gene Simmons (bass, lead and backing vocals), Eric Carr (backing vocals on God Gave Rock N’ Roll To YouII and drums on Carr Jam ’91)
Paul Stanley sang lead on five tracks. Gene Simmons sang lead on four tracks. Stanley and Simmons alternated lead vocals together on two tracks (Spit and God Gave Rock N’ Roll To You II). Carr Jam 1981 is an instrumental track. Additional musicians on the album include Vinnie Vincent on the guitar intro of Unholy, Kevin Valentine (drums), Dick Wagner (guitars), and Tommy Thayer, Jaime St. James, and Jesse Damon (backing vocals).
The album featured input from a number of writers. Paul Stanley co-wrote seven tracks. Gene Simmons co-wrote six tracks. Eric Carr received credit for writing Carr Jam 1981. Bruce Kulick co-wrote Tough Love. Vinnie Vincent received three co-writing credits. Producer Bob Ezrin co-wrote six tracks. Russ Ballard, Kane Roberts, Scott Van Zen, and Jesse Damon each received one co-writing credit.
Despite being especially popular amongst members of the KISS Army and loved by members of the band itself, Revenge failed to ignite KISS’ popularity amongst mainstream music listeners. The band faced stiff competition from grunge music, which was gaining popularity in the late 1980’s and would explode throughout the 1990’s, effectively wiping out popular hard rock, glam, and heavy metal bands of the time. Hip Hop and rap also proved to be tough competition, as the two styles became popular not only in urban areas, but in the middle class suburbs as well.
Even though it never really found its footing at the time of its release, Revenge was and still is an important album for KISS. It proved that the band did indeed have some serious heavy metal and hard rock chops with tracks like Unholy and Heart Of Chrome. It also reminded fans that KISS still knew how to have fun with tracks like I Just Wanna, Spit, and Take It Off. Of all of the non-makeup era releases, this album is probably the most consistent, featuring an excellent balance of songs and one token power ballad.
In my opinion, this is one of KISS’ best albums overall. Gene Simmons is at his demonic best on Unholy, which happens to be my favorite track off of this album. Just close your eyes and you can visualize the Demon licking up blood and aping across the stage in evil glee while this track plays. I Just Wanna is also a favorite track of mine. It’s just fun to sing along with and if you’re a student of rock n’ roll history, you’ll probably notice that the verses and overall song sound a lot like Summertime Blues by rock pioneer Eddie Cochran (co-written with his manager, Jerry Capehart). You can literally swap the lyrics out of both songs and they fit perfectly. It should be noted that Paul Stanley has stated that Summertime Blues was definitely the inspiration for I Just Wanna. Other songs that really stood out to me on this album are Heart Of Chrome, Tough Love, God Gave Rock N’ Roll To You II, and the somewhat trashy Take It Off. Spit and Domino are my least favorite tracks on the album. There’s something very forced about both of them to me. Every Time I Look At You is very good, but can’t compete with Beth or Forever in my opinion.
KISS could have ended their no-makeup era with Revenge and all would be just fine with me. However, they had one more album up their sleeve before the original members decided to get back together. I’ll cover that album next month along with the first and only studio album of the reunion era.
Thanks for checking out this post. The Year Of KISS is almost over. I hope that you have enjoyed it so far!
Ken's Alternate Universe! 