Kiss fans had much to celebrate in 1998 when the original lineup announced they were returning for a new album. Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Ace Frehley and Peter Criss hadn't recorded together since 1979's Dynasty, which meant Psycho Circus should be a record for fans to savor. Sadly, that wasn't the case.
The album sessions began following a hugely successful reunion tour that had taken up much of the two years prior. All things considered, the quartet should have been in top form after a long road stint, but the sessions proved to be highly disjointed.
To get the album on track, the band called in Bruce Kulick, the guitarist who'd lost his job in Kiss when Ace Frehley stepped back into the fold. Kulick had joined the band in 1984 during their unmasked era and remained for 12 years, until Frehley returned.
As he reveals, he wasn't gone for long. Stanley hired him to assist with demos for Psycho Circus. When the album sessions began to stall they brought him in to help.
"It was flattering because I knew it wasn't like I was fired,” Kulick says. “They went off to do the original four. So, it felt good, and it was ironic that I could so naturally perform for them.”
He’d go on to co-write “Dreamin’” with Stanley and predominantly play bass when it came to tracking the song, but some of his guitar playing can still be heard.
“I didn't play any guitars [in the studio], but there is some guitar from 'Within', from a demo that I did with Gene that they used,” he explains. “I played bass on quite a few of the songs, some of the Paul songs. I was excited to be there.”
Frehley and Criss proved fringe characters during the record’s creation, contributing to three songs each. The guitarist plays lead guitar on "Into the Void", which he co-wrote with Karl Cochran, "You Wanted the Best" and the Japanese bonus track "In Your Face". Criss, meanwhile, only plays drums on "Into the Void" and sings on "You Wanted the Best" and "I Finally Found My Way".
Tommy Thayer, who would later fill Frehley’s shoes in the band, describing himself as “the glue that kept the band together” also played lead guitar and bass on two songs. It might not have been the reunion anyone dreamed it would be, but Kulick was simply happy to be involved.
“I mean, they paid me well,” he says. “[They] even rented some gear I had because they were looking for certain things.
"I never saw Ace or Peter. It was just Gene and Paul. So it was an interesting time. I was obviously flattered that I could help. It wasn't the 'magical record' anyway, but it's another Gold record for me to have on the wall."
The album debuted in at number three on the Billboard 200 and was certified Gold a month after its release. But its success was mired when Alice Cooper issued a lawsuit claiming "Dreamin'" sounded suspiciously similar to his 1971 hit "I'm Eighteen." (Kiss settled out of court.)
Kulick, who released a new line of “period-correct” guitars inspired by his Kiss era, a stint that included the worst gig of his life, is set to reunite with the band for a maskless show in Las Vegas later this year.
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