Kiss - Creatures of the Night (40th Anniversary)

Kiss came back swinging in 1982 with Creatures of the Night, and this 40th anniversary edition presents the album remastered, half-speed mastered and pressed on 180-gram vinyl.

The record arrived at a strange moment for the band. After the orchestral concept detour of Music from The Elder left plenty of fans scratching their heads, Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons steered hard back toward heavy rock, co-producing with Michael James Jackson. Eric Carr's drums were given an enormous, cavernous sound, and the whole album hits with a weight that earlier Kiss records rarely attempted.

The title track opens with a sinister, pounding stomp that announces the new direction in seconds. "I Love It Loud" turns that colossal drum sound into a fist-pumping arena chant, while "War Machine" closes the album on a grinding, menacing riff with Simmons at his most villainous. In between, "I Still Love You" gives Stanley space for a slow-burning power ballad that builds into one of the most dramatic vocal performances of his career.

Its reputation has only grown since release, and many fans now rank it among the toughest and most focused records the band ever made.

For collectors, this anniversary pressing is a fine way to hear just how hard Kiss could hit when they put the theatrics in service of pure volume.