Welcome to Versus. The series where we look at two albums in metal history, compare them, and see which one was the better record.
In this edition of Versus, we are tackling two come back albums. These albums were the records that tried to revitalize these bands for modern audiences. One band, it was fifteen years since their last album, and featured countless lineup changes throughout the making of the record and a triumphant return at the MTV Video Music Awards. The other band's come back album was an album featuring the return of beloved members of the band. With fans hoping for a "return-to-form" with the original lineup reuniting following lackluster responses from the last couple records. Grab your nostalgia glasses and let's look back at these albums in a matchup I'm calling "Come Back or Don't Come Back?"
In this corner, we have Guns N' Roses with the band's sixth album Chinese Democracy in 2008. Originally started in 1998, the album would face countless lineup changes throughout the making of the album. The album would feature musicians like Josh Freese, Buckethead, Bryan "Brain" Mantia and Sebastian Bach. It would also be the most expensive rock album ever produced, costing $13 million to produce. The album received mixed to negative responses, with many fans stating this should have been an Axl Rose solo album and not a Guns N' Roses album. Now, sixteen years later, was the album really as bad as everyone says it was?
The album opens with the title track "Chinese Democracy". With atmospheric, jungle-like noises, along with indecipherable talking, light guitar comes in amidst pounding percussion. Then, the distortion-heavy main riff kicks in, followed by the rise of Axl Rose's vocals coming in beneath it. The guitar riff is good, does have that Guns N' Roses feel and attitude, but with modern production. The song's chorus does go hard and hits like a wrecking ball when it comes in. Especially with a nice mini-guitar solo during the chorus. Later comes an impressive guitar solo, which is impressive in its intricacy, proficiency and effect-heavy ability incorporated into it. The thundering boom at the end of the song wraps up the track, introducing the new sound of Guns N' Roses with the band's opening track. Next is "Shackler's Revenge", with an aggressive industrial guitar opening riff. Rose's vocals are in a lower register throughout the opening verses, before his trademark highs begin to harmonize, then fully transitioning into his full vocal range. The chorus is.....different. I don't know if it's a good song, but Rose is the wrong voice for the song in my opinion, I'm not sure why. It just seems like the song works until the chorus, then it just feels "off" to me. Musically, I dig the song and the guitar is again all over the place with it's playing, and the percussion adds weight to the track, but the vocals on the chorus sort of hurt the overall song for me.
"Better" opens with electronic drums, distorted-produced guitar and Rose's vocals trying to pierce through the heavy guitar and drums. Before his vocals get cranked up in the main verse section. It continues the modernization of Guns N' Roses' sound for the time. WAY better track than the previous song. The drums have a nice pulse to the track and Rose has some unique vocals with higher singing, but in the softer section of the song. Then, his natural attitude and presence is felt on the chorus. Especially when he says the song's title in the chorus. So many different guitar solos and flurries throughout. Complex and technical sections to emotional guitar playing, it almost hits so many different levels of guitar soloing in the entire song's runtime. Beautiful, heartwarming piano and acoustic guitar opens "Street of Dreams". A string section peaks through the mix, before Rose's vocals come in, with some bass peaking through at the end. Very grand in it's production and mix, and with so many layers of guitars, the musicianship and scale of the song is top-notch. Definitely getting some "November Rain" feels to the song, so if you dug that song, you will dig this one. Next is "If The World", with some unique guitar playing and electronic/hip-hop like drum beats, the song opens with an almost funky, 70's sounding vibe. Something you'd hear Marvin Gaye or Stevie Wonder sing over. Definitely a different genre the band is playing around with, but it kind of works. The electric guitar coming in before the chorus, adds a dark aesthetic to the song. One of the most experimental songs on the album, but in my opinion, the band pulls it off.
"There Was A Time" opens with dramatic choir vocals, and movie level percussion strikes. With plinking keys, another electronic-drum feel and building strings, the song continues the elevation the band is going for with the album. The song shifts to a more straight-forward aggressive section at the chorus, while also continuing the mixture of symphonic strings and hard rock guitars. Rose's vocals are definitely higher in the mix, which helps him stand out compared to so many layers of music throughout the song of strings, piano, guitars and so much more. "Catcher in The Rye" continues the same motif of the previous track. Giving off a trend of a more mature Guns N' Roses, which as I'm listening to this record, I wonder if that was what Rose was going for with this album? "Scraped" showcases Rose's impressive high range as he pierces through the choir vocals beneath him and the song kicks the door in with it's energy and attitude. I LOVE the riff on the song, channeling that groove metal bounce with the guitar and drums, but with the feeling of classic 80's metal in the presentation. The vocal harmonies beneath Rose's vocals on the chorus is a nice touch.
On "Riad N' The Bedouins", with opening warping effects, then opening drums kick the song off, along with Rose's "ah's" throughout the drum fills. Leaning more towards a hard rock sound, the song has a headbob-along feel to it. It is unfortunately one note through most of the song, with the only thing really memorable section being the "ah's" from Rose and a pretty good guitar solo with symphonic strings beneath it. "Sorry" has a trippy opening with delay and reverbed guitar, with Rose singing in a lower voice compared to his trademark highs. Very Pink Floyd in the tone and style. Slower tempo song, with Rose being the star of the song, with very minimalistic music until the two minute mark and the band gets louder and the instrumentation gets amplified. With the song having a doomier sound to it at the chorus. An electric/acoustic guitar combo opens "I.R.S.". A more, stripped-down sound compared to the previous songs. Channeling the band's older sound and I dug the energy and the guitar playing of the song. The guitar solo is again on point, which when the album does solos, they nail it every time with the fit of the song and the playing style.
An opening brass section and strings open "Madagascar". Electronic drums come in with Rose delivering a bluesy, almost raspy voiced performance. When the music truly kicks in, and the strings match the guitars and drums, it does sound really good. A beautiful marriage of strings and guitars does sell the song well. This is probably one of my favorite tracks off of this new evolution of the band. On "This I Love", the song opens with a nice piano section with Rose singing over it. Joined by strings, the song takes on another layer of depth and emotion in the performance. The vocal harmonies, along with the strings and piano, hits so good in a pair of headphones and really showcases Rose's vocals. With a short section for the rest of the band to come in and shine, the song is mainly Rose and piano heavy and is a good song. The album closes with "Prostitute". Electronic drums return in the opening, with a more somber vocal performance from Rose in the opening. The song does go for the gusto as a closer. With the band building a huge crescendo like ending that is "ok" in my opinion. Though the halfway mark has a nice, double bass section and building guitar solo then and near the end of the track. Overall though, it is an alright track to an alright album.
Their opponents are KISS with the band's eighteenth studio album Psycho Circus in 1998. This would be the first album with all four original members since 1979's disco-influenced Dynasty. Though cloaked in controversy about contributions from returning members Ace Frehley and Peter Criss, the album would land at number three on the Billboard 200, but would deal with mixed reviews from critics. Was Psycho Circus really that bad? Is it better or worse than their opponents today?
The album opens with the album's title track. With circus-like intro music and evil effects on top of it, the song starts proper with a building drum and opening palm-muted riff with accompanying bass. Paul Stanley's opening "yeah" really gets the head bobbing and fist-pumping energy right off the bat. Stanley's vocal harmonies are so good in a pair of headphones and really shows how powerful his voice is. Simmons' bass peaks through on the second chorus, adding a thump to the aggressive drumming. I like the solo at the two-forty mark of the song. Gets in, gets out and hits the point of the song as the drums segue into a clean guitar section. Returning to the chorus for the close, it is a good opening track. "Within" continues the dark atmosphere from the previous track, with guitars having an almost back-masking effect to it. A VERY nu-metal riff kicks in, with Simmons' bass and vocals delivering a ominous tone and delivery with light drumming beneath the bass. The song is very dark for KISS, which I can see why some of the fans were not a fan of this direction. The song is just alright to me, I think it is just too low-intensity for a band like KISS. The band is known for high-energy songs that make you happy, excited and upbeat, and this nu-metal-like direction with the riff and darker edge just doesn't work.
"I Pledge Allegiance To The State of Rock & Roll" has an opening guitar and bass thump, with a very up-tempo drum beat. Sounds like classic KISS, with elements of Lenny Kravitz with Stanley's "yeah's" at some points. Simmons' bass peaks through in the pre-chorus and adds the driving effect to the riff and drums in the chorus. Nice two-prong attack in the guitar solo, before returning to the main chorus. I like the song a lot and was bobbing my head along with every snare hit. "Into The Void" features returning member Ace Frehley on vocals. The driving kick drum and bass thumps go well with the groovy guitar in the opening. Frehley's vocals are good, especially on the chorus and his backing vocals on that section. Maybe it's just me, but I do wish his vocals were a little louder and the band quieter by just a touch. It seems like a "loudness war" during this song. But I dig Frehley's voice and his solo work, so this song will make any Frehley fan happy. Favorite track on the album so far. "We are One" has a clean guitar opening, some light percussion and a very simple sound. Simmons' vocals have a little too much reverb for me to be honest, but I do like his vocal performance on the track. An uplifting, positive energy song. Some would say a little "too sappy", but I like it. The acoustic take is something different and shows the band can do a tamed-back sound. KISS is kind of doing their version of an 80's power ballad, but in the 90's.
"You Wanted The Best" opens with a wailing bass and drums, before the trademark high-energy sound of KISS breaks the door down. Guitars have punch with every strike, along with the entire band taking turns on vocals. Fitting the band's ongoing claims of being the best. Definitely has that heart-pounding energy in the music. Frehley delivers a strong guitar solo amidst the pounding drums of Criss. The song shows the original four gelling together and you can hear it in the mix and the way the band plays and sings their parts. "Raise Your Glasses" has a nice mid-tempo feel to it, with Stanley's vocal theatrics perfect as usual in his delivery. The chorus is catchy, musically its decent and lyrically its a typical "pick you up when your down" kind of feel. "I Finally Found My Way" opens with a very mellow ballad feeling. Criss is on lead vocals for this track, and it has a Christopher Cross/yacht rock feel to the song. It is a pretty sounding ballad with the string sections, vocal harmonies and acoustic guitars. Fans of "Beth" will dig the song since it instantly has that same feeling and style to it.
"Dreamin'" is next and the return of rockin' KISS is prevalent. A good song with some amplified and commanding vocals from Stanley. You might think the song does sound similar. Well you are correct, since the song would face controversy as it featured resemblances to Alice Cooper's 1971 song "I'm Eighteen", which landed in the band in court with Cooper. Regardless of those elements, the song is pretty good, with the main standout being Stanley's vocals. The album closes with the song "Journey of 1,000 Years". Simmons leads on vocals for the song, with underlying strings and rolling snare, the song has a downtrodden feel to the song's energy. The strings, piano and brass beneath the song does add some heft to the mix, filling the space of the production. As a closing track, it's not the strongest song. It is an ok song, but not a good closing song. A lackluster return album of these legendary make-up clad legends.
At the end of the day, regarding these two legendary bands, who had the better comeback record? In my opinion, Psycho Circus is the winner of this matchup. Psycho Circus was just an "ok" KISS record at best. It stuck to the KISS formula pretty well, which that is what KISS does, but it definitely was not the comeback record everyone was hoping for. With Chinese Democracy, one word describes that record best in my opinion: bloat. Many of the songs were trying to capture that "November Rain" nostalgia feeling, which a couple were good, but not all of them were winners. Also, after listening to both of these competitors albums twice, with Chinese Democracy, there were a lot of "checking my watch" moments and getting that "how much longer" or "there is still (insert number) minutes left?" and if you're listener is getting that feeling, your song has gone on too long or they have gotten bored. Which a musician should never cause that feeling to the fans of their music. I think a couple songs could have been cut and it would have been a much better album. Out of these two moments in comeback history, KISS is the winner of the comeback war today.
Following Chinese Democracy and it's tour cycle, the band would be inducted into the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame. In 2012, many original band members would return to the group. In 2015, Slash and Duff McKagen would return to the band with the band make it's officially reunited return at Coachella in 2016. The band would continue that success with the Not in This Lifetime...Tour that same year. In 2023, new music was released from the band with the single "Perhaps", along with other songs such as "R-Side" and "The General". No new album information has been announced at the time of writing.
KISS would continue to tour while the band would record two more albums, 2009's Sonic Boom & 2012's Monster, which did receive better reviews and response from fans and critics. After Psycho Circus, Frehley and Criss would depart the band for good. Replaced by Tommy Thayer and EricSinger. KISS performed their final show as part of their farewell tour at Madison Square Garden in New York City on December 2nd, 2023. The band is planning to continue as digital avatars, as it was shown at the end of the band's set in a digital presentation. With the digital version of the band planning to make their debut in 2027. In the meantime, Gene Simmons is currently touring with his solo band. KISS sold their brand, songs and intellectual property to entertainment company Pophouse in April 2024 for $300 million.
Do you agree with my decision? Who do you think should have won? Who had the better come back album? Cast your vote on the poll below, leave your comments on our social media, and your suggestions who you think should step in the ring next. I’m Justin, your friendly neighborhood metalhead, for This Day in Metal and this has been Versus.
