By 1985,
Kiss were a shadow of their former selves. Gone was the raw
rock of their not so distant past, as well as their memorable "heavy
Beatles" songwriting. In its place was a sound that was too similar to other
pop-metal bands at the time, as well as unimaginative, predictable songs, as evidenced on
Asylum. The album marked the appearance of
Kiss' fourth guitarist in four years,
Bruce Kulick -- brother of
Bob Kulick, who played as a session guitarist on
Alive II,
Killers, and
Paul Stanley's 1978 solo album -- who had replaced
Mark St. John on the 1984-1985
Animalize tour. Besides the popular video/single
"Tears Are Falling," Asylum is chock-full of nondescript fluff (
"I'm Alive," "Trial by Fire," "Secretly Cruel," "Love's a Deadly Weapon," etc.). Although the band again treads on
Spinal Tap territory with
"Uh! All Night," several tracks could have benefited greatly from a heavier sound, such as
"King of the Mountain," "Any Way You Slice It," and
"Who Wants to Be Lonely." Although it attained platinum status,
Stanley and
Gene Simmons would rightfully dismiss
Asylum later on. ~ Greg Prato
