Kiss was an American rock band formed in New York City in 1973 by Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Ace Frehley, and Peter Criss. Known for their face paint and stage outfits, the group rose to prominence in the mid-1970s with shock rock-style live performances which featured fire-breathing, blood-spitting, smoking guitars, shooting rockets, levitating drum kits, and pyrotechnics. The band had gone through several lineup changes, with Stanley and Simmons remaining the only consistent members. The final lineup consisted of them, Tommy Thayer, and Eric Singer.
Paul Daniel "Ace" Frehley is an American musician who was the original lead guitarist, occasional lead vocalist and founding member of the rock band Kiss. He invented the persona of The Spaceman and played with the group from its inception in 1973 until his departure in 1982. After leaving Kiss, Frehley formed his own band named Frehley's Comet and released two albums with the group. He subsequently embarked on a solo career, which was put on hold when he rejoined Kiss in 1996 for a highly successful reunion tour.
The Plasmatics were an American punk rock, hardcore punk and heavy metal band formed by Rod Swenson and Wendy O. Williams in New York City in 1977. They were a controversial group known for chaotic, destructive live shows and outrageous theatrics. These included chainsawing guitars, destroying speaker cabinets, sledgehammering television sets and blowing up automobiles live on stage. Williams was arrested in Milwaukee by the Milwaukee Police before being charged with public indecency.
Frehley's Comet was an American rock band formed and led by ex-Kiss lead guitarist Ace Frehley. The group released two studio albums and one live EP before Frehley left the band to release his 1989 solo album, Trouble Walkin'.
Wendy Orlean Williams was an American singer, best known as the lead singer of the punk rock band Plasmatics. She was noted for her onstage theatrics, which included partial nudity, exploding equipment, firing a shotgun, and chainsawing guitars. Performing her own stunts in videos, she often sported a mohawk hairstyle. In 1985, during the height of her popularity as a solo artist, she was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance.
Stand by Your Man is an EP released in 1982. It is a collaboration of the bands Motörhead and the Plasmatics. It is notorious as the reason "Fast" Eddie left Motörhead, more so than the bad reception the EP received. Lemmy and Wendy O. Williams had organised to do a duet of the famous Tammy Wynette country song, though most critics, and fans, to this day are baffled by the choice, Wendy coming from the punk scene in the mid-late 1970s and Lemmy from a mixture of Rock genres.
Love Gun is the sixth studio album by American hard rock band Kiss, released on June 30, 1977. Casablanca Records and FilmWorks shipped one million copies of the album on this date. It was certified platinum and became the band's first top 5 album on the Billboard 200. The album was remastered in 1997 and again in 2014.
Ace Frehley is the first solo album by American guitarist and former Kiss member Ace Frehley, released on September 18, 1978, by Casablanca Records. It was one of four albums released by each separate Kiss member as a solo act, but yet still under the Kiss label, coming out alongside Peter Criss, Paul Stanley, and Gene Simmons.
Dynasty is the seventh studio album by American rock band Kiss, produced by Vini Poncia and released on May 23, 1979, by Casablanca Records.
Asylum is the thirteenth studio album by American rock band Kiss, released on September 16, 1985. The album marked a continuation of the glam metal sound of the preceding album Animalize.
"New York Groove" is a song written by English musician and producer Russ Ballard. The song was originally recorded by glam rock band Hello in 1975 and was later covered by Ace Frehley (Kiss) for his 1978 solo album. Frehley's version is also well known, especially in the USA.
Coup d'Etat is the third studio album released by punk rock band The Plasmatics in 1982.
Maggots: The Record is the fourth studio album by American rock singer Wendy O. Williams and her band Plasmatics. It was released on February 18, 1987, by Profile Records. Labeled as a special "9th Anniversary Album", it was the last album released by the band. Despite being labeled a "Plasmatics" album, it is often regarded as another Wendy O. Williams solo album, largely in part because her name is over that of the band, the merchandise for the tour has the WOW logo from her solo career, Michael Ray plays lead guitar here, and the only original member is Wes Beech on rhythm guitar. All music on the record was written and arranged by Michael Ray, except for "Propagators". Maggots: The Record was recorded in 1987 and is a concept album set 25 years in the future, where environmental abuse and the burning of fossil fuels have created a greenhouse effect, leading to an end of the world scenario. The album features various scenes of the White Family over the course of three days. The family is devoured while watching a TV game show. Valerie, the girlfriend of television reporter Bruce is devoured by three massive maggots while lying in her boyfriend's bed. The final scene of the record shows the entire human population is headed for imminent annihilation. The album was released through Profile Records under the WOW label in the United States and overseas by GWR Records, which had been started by Motörhead's longtime manager Doug Smith.
Put Your Love in Me: Love Songs for the Apocalypse is the first greatest hits album released by punk/metal band The Plasmatics in 2002.
WOW is the debut solo studio album by American singer Wendy O. Williams, released in 1984 by Passport Records. It is her first album appearance after the success with The Plasmatics, which had gone on a hiatus during that time. Williams was nominated for Grammy Award for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance for this album in 1985.
"Parasite" is a song by American hard rock band Kiss, released in 1974 on their second studio album, Hotter Than Hell. The song is one of three songs featured on the album written by lead guitarist Ace Frehley. As one of the album's heaviest songs, "Parasite" was performed on the following tour, but Kiss dropped it from the setlist for the Destroyer Tour and did not play it again until the Revenge Tour in 1992. As Frehley was insecure about his singing ability, he passed that duty to Gene Simmons. In 2016, Frehley re-recorded the track with John 5 for Frehley's solo album Origins Vol. 1.
Kommander of Kaos is the second solo studio album released by Wendy O. Williams after her group, the Plasmatics, went on hiatus. The album was recorded in 1984 but not released until 1986. A live version of the Gene Simmons-penned "Ain't None of Your Business" appears on this album . Lead guitarist Michael Ray (guitarist),or M. ray, was previously invited by Gene Simmons to record tracks on the Creatures of the Night Kiss album, and was later hired by Simmons to play guitar solos on the WOW album. Michael Ray (guitarist) composed and arranged music tracks on the Kommander of Kaos album. "Hoy hey ", "Pedal to the Metal", "Goin Wild", "Fight for the Right" and "(Work that Muscle) F**k that Booty". The Kommander of Kaos album has been re-released by several independent labels in recent years.
Fuck You!!! and Loving It: A Retrospective is the first and only greatest hits album released under Wendy O. Williams' name. While credited as a Wendy O. Williams album, it also includes songs from her career with the Plasmatics, excepting only Coup d'Etat.
"Cold Gin" is a song by the American hard rock group Kiss. The song was written by the band's lead guitarist Ace Frehley and was released in 1974 on the band's eponymous debut album. The song is featured on many compilations released by the band. Live versions of the song were often extended for about two minutes due to Frehley's soloing.
Reform School Girls is the soundtrack album for the 1986 film of the same name. It was released in 1986 by Rhino Records. The soundtrack features mostly hard rock and heavy metal songs. Wendy O. Williams contributed four songs to the soundtrack; "It's My Life" from her debut studio album WOW (1984), "Bad Girl" and "Goin' Wild" from her second album Kommander of Kaos (1986), and the title song "Reform School Girls" recorded for the film. Williams herself appears in the film as a reform school bully Charlie Chamblis. Other artists on the album, consisting only of female singers and bands, include Etta James, Girlschool, Screamin' Sirens and Girl's Night Out.
