Kiss - Lick It Up

Kiss wiped off the greasepaint and came out swinging on Lick It Up, the 1983 album that put the band's bare faces on the cover for the first time and revived its fortunes.

After a run of records that confused fans, Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons made a bold move, unveiling their real faces on MTV just before release. The gamble paid off. Co-produced by the pair with Michael James Jackson, the album leaned hard into the leaner, faster heavy metal sound of the early eighties and went gold in America, while reaching the top ten in the UK.

"Exciter" opens at full throttle, with guest Rick Derringer handling the guitar solo. The title track "Lick It Up" is a chant-along anthem built for arenas, "All Hell's Breakin' Loose" struts with pure swagger, and "A Million to One" lets Stanley show off his more melodic side.

Vinnie Vincent's lead playing is fast, flashy and full of attitude, even though he never formally joined the band, and Eric Carr drives everything with thunderous power. Simmons and Stanley sound energised, like a band with something to prove all over again.

For anyone who knows Kiss mainly for the seventies, this is the place to meet the eighties version, loud and unapologetic.