Asylum (Kiss album)

Asylum is the thirteenth studio album by the American rock band Kiss, released on September 16, 1985. The album marked a continuation of the glam metal sound of the preceding album Animalize.

Asylum
Studio album by
Kiss
ReleasedSeptember 16, 1985 (1985-09-16)
RecordedJune–July 1985
StudioElectric Lady and Right Track, New York City
GenreGlam metal[1][2]
Length38:50
LabelMercury
Vertigo (Europe)
ProducerPaul Stanley, Gene Simmons
Kiss chronology
Animalize
(1984)		 Asylum
(1985)		 Crazy Nights
(1987)
Singles from Asylum
  1. "Tears Are Falling"
    Released: September 16, 1985

Recording

Asylum is the first album to feature lead guitarist Bruce Kulick as an official band member. Kulick had replaced former guitarist Mark St. John on some tracks on the previous album Animalize (1984) during the latter's absence due to reactive arthritis. Subsequently, Kulick filled St. John's spot during most segments of the Animalize tour. This new lineup of Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Eric Carr, and Kulick would last until Carr's death in November 1991, while Kulick would stay with the band until the reunion of the original lineup in 1996.

Cover

The album cover depicts the four band members with colored lips, mirroring the colors of the 1978 solo releases: red for Simmons, purple for Stanley, blue for Kulick (replacing Ace Frehley) and green for Carr (replacing Peter Criss). The placement of the band’s faces also mirrors 1979’s Dynasty cover: (clockwise from top left) Stanley, Simmons, Carr (replacing Criss), & Kulick (replacing Frehley). The artwork for the back cover is similarly stylised and colourful, depicting Kiss against a white background. The cover art of the remastered 1997 CD release of Asylum featured slightly altered, bolder colours than that of the original release.

Singles

"Tears Are Falling" was the only track to be released for retail sales as a single and was a hit for the band, with the video, in particular, proving popular on MTV. A total of three music videos for the album were filmed on set in London, England, for the songs "Who Wants to Be Lonely", "Uh! All Night" and "Tears Are Falling".

Reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Metal Nightfall[3]
Vista Records[4]
AllMusic[1]
Rolling Stone[5]

The album was certified Gold in November 1985 by the RIAA.[6]

Track listing
Side A
No.TitleWriter(s)Lead VocalsLength
1."King of the Mountain"Paul Stanley, Bruce Kulick, Desmond ChildStanley4:17
2."Any Way You Slice It"Gene Simmons, Howard RiceSimmons4:02
3."Who Wants to Be Lonely"Stanley, Child, Jean BeauvoirStanley4:01
4."Trial by Fire"Simmons, KulickSimmons3:25
5."I'm Alive"Stanley, Kulick, ChildStanley3:43
Side B
No.TitleWriter(s)Lead VocalsLength
6."Love's a Deadly Weapon"Stanley, Simmons, Rod Swenson, Wes BeechSimmons3:29
7."Tears Are Falling"StanleyStanley3:55
8."Secretly Cruel"SimmonsSimmons3:41
9."Radar for Love"Stanley, ChildStanley4:02
10."Uh! All Night"Stanley, Child, BeauvoirStanley4:01

Personnel

Kiss

Additional personnel

Charts

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[18] Gold 50,000^
United States (RIAA)[6] Gold 500,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References
  1. Asylum at AllMusic
  2. "Top 50 Glam Metal Albums". Metal Rules. Archived from the original on November 26, 2017. Retrieved February 24, 2021.
  3. "KISS : ASYLUM (1985)" (in French). Metal.nightfall.fr. Archived from the original on July 22, 2011. Retrieved August 7, 2011.
  4. "VISTA RECORDS – KISS – Asylum (1985)". Vistarecords.proboards.com. March 28, 2010. Archived from the original on July 24, 2011. Retrieved August 7, 2011.
  5. "Kiss: Album Guide | Rolling Stone Music". Rolling Stone. Retrieved August 7, 2011.
  6. "American album certifications – Kiss – Asylum". Recording Industry Association of America.
  7. Saulnier, Jason (March 14, 2011). "Bruce Kulick Interview". Music Legends. Retrieved May 8, 2013.
  8. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  9. "Search – RPM – Library and Archives Canada". collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved August 9, 2011.
  10. "KISS - Asylum - hitparade.ch".
  11. Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. p. 263. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
  12. Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005. Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
  13. "Artists".
  14. "Kiss Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums" at AllMusic. Retrieved February 11, 2010.
  15. "Billboard chart history-Kiss singles". Retrieved February 10, 2009.
  16. "Song information "Tears Are Falling"". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Archived from the original on August 26, 2009. Retrieved August 20, 2009.
  17. "The Official Charts Company". Retrieved May 23, 2010.
  18. "Canadian album certifications – Kiss – Asylum". Music Canada.
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