Carnival of Souls: The Final Sessions (also simply known as Carnival of Souls) is the seventeenth studio album by American rock band Kiss, released in 1997. It is the band's final album with lead guitarist Bruce Kulick, and their last album with drummer Eric Singer until 2009's Sonic Boom. The album is a departure from the band's classic hard rock style, favoring a dark and dense grunge-oriented sound.[1] It is also the band's last album of their unmasked era.
| Carnival of Souls: The Final Sessions | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | October 28, 1997 | |||
| Recorded | November 1995 – February 1996 | |||
| Studio | Music Grinder, Hollywood, California | |||
| Genre | Grunge[1] | |||
| Length | 60:11 | |||
| Label | Mercury | |||
| Producer | ||||
| Kiss chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Carnival of Souls: The Final Sessions | ||||
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Overview
editThe album was recorded between late 1995 and early 1996, but Kiss cancelled its release after committing to a reunion tour with the band's original lineup. Bootleg copies were circulated by fans, prompting the band to officially release the material in 1997 under the title Carnival of Souls: The Final Sessions. According to guitarist Bruce Kulick, the bootleg versions in distribution lacked songs that were part of the official release. There was no accompanying tour to support the album, and none of the songs on Carnival of Souls have ever been performed live by Kiss, though the album's closing track "I Walk Alone" has occasionally been performed live by Eric Singer and Kulick in the Eric Singer Project. "Jungle" and "I Walk Alone" were also performed live by Kulick's former band, Union.
Two former members of the band Black 'N Blue co-wrote songs on Carnival of Souls; vocalist Jaime St. James co-wrote "In My Head", and guitarist Tommy Thayer collaborated on "Childhood's End". Thayer would join Kiss as the band's permanent lead guitarist in 2002. Bruce Kulick provides his first and only lead vocal with the band on "I Walk Alone". Carnival of Souls is the band's longest album at 60 minutes and 11 seconds.
Reception
edit| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [2] |
| Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal | 8/10[3] |
| Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [4] |
| Metal Rules | 4.0/5[5] |
| Rock Hard | 8.0/10[6] |
Guitarist Bruce Kulick wrote on his official website that Carnival of Souls had "people equally vocal about it being their favorite Kiss CD or thinking it's the worst Kiss album ever".[7] The album reached No. 27 on the US Billboard 200 chart and the only single released from the album, "Jungle", made No. 8 on the US Mainstream Rock chart.[8] No music video was made to promote the single, which later won a 1997 Metal Edge Readers' Choice Award for Song of the Year.[9]
Track listing
edit| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Lead vocals | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Hate" | Gene Simmons, Scott Van Zen, Bruce Kulick | Simmons | 4:36 |
| 2. | "Rain" | Paul Stanley, Kulick, Curtis Cuomo | Stanley | 4:46 |
| 3. | "Master & Slave" | Stanley, Kulick, Cuomo | Stanley | 4:57 |
| 4. | "Childhood's End" | Simmons, Tommy Thayer, Kulick | Simmons | 4:20 |
| 5. | "I Will Be There" | Stanley, Kulick, Cuomo | Stanley | 3:49 |
| 6. | "Jungle" | Stanley, Kulick, Cuomo | Stanley | 6:49 |
| 7. | "In My Head" | Simmons, Van Zen, Jaime St. James | Simmons | 4:00 |
| 8. | "It Never Goes Away" | Stanley, Kulick, Cuomo | Stanley | 5:42 |
| 9. | "Seduction of the Innocent" | Simmons, Van Zen | Simmons | 5:16 |
| 10. | "I Confess" | Simmons, Ken Tamplin | Simmons | 5:23 |
| 11. | "In the Mirror" | Stanley, Kulick, Cuomo | Stanley | 4:26 |
| 12. | "I Walk Alone" | Simmons, Kulick | Kulick | 6:07 |
Personnel
editKiss
- Paul Stanley – vocals, rhythm guitar, 12-string acoustic guitar and ukulele on track 5, co-producer
- Gene Simmons – vocals, bass, co-producer
- Bruce Kulick – vocals, lead guitar; all guitars on tracks 7, 9 and 10, bass and acoustic guitar solo on track 5, all guitars and bass on tracks 2, 6, 8 and 11
- Eric Singer – drums, percussion, backing vocals
Additional musicians
- Carole Keiser – choir management on track 4, string arrangement on tracks 5 and 10
- The Crossroads Boys Choir – backing vocals on track 4
- Nick Simmons – backing vocals on track 4
Technical personnel
- Toby Wright – co-producer, engineer, mixing
- David Bryant – assistant engineer
- Stephen Marcussen – mastering at Precision Mastering, Hollywood
Charts
edit| Chart (1997) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[10] | 37 |
| Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[11] | 32 |
| Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[12] | 66 |
| European Albums Charts[13] | 84 |
| Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[14] | 17 |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[15] | 36 |
| Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[16] | 23 |
| Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[17] | 29 |
| UK Rock & Metal Albums (OCC)[18] | 9 |
| US Billboard 200[19] | 27 |
References
edit- ^ a b Floren, Ingo (2004). The Official Price Guide to Kiss Collectibles. Ingo Floren. ISBN 1400050294.
- ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Kiss - Carnival of Souls: The Final Sessions review". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved August 18, 2022.
- ^ Popoff, Martin (August 1, 2007). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 3: The Nineties. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. p. 230. ISBN 978-1-894959-62-9.
- ^ Larkin, Colin (2006). Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 4 (4 ed.). Muze. p. 875. ISBN 978-0-19-531373-4.
- ^ "Kiss – Carnival of Souls". Metal Rules. September 2003. Retrieved August 18, 2022.
- ^ Jaedike, Jan (1997). "Review Album : Kiss -Carnival of Souls". Rock Hard (in German). No. 126. Retrieved August 18, 2022.
- ^ "BK Celebrates Carnival of Souls on its 15th Anniversary". Bruce Kulick official homepage. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved July 23, 2017.
- ^ "Billboard chart history-Kiss singles". Retrieved February 12, 2009.
- ^ Miller Gerri, ed. (June 1998). "Reader's Choice Awards". Metal Edge.
- ^ "Austriancharts.at – Kiss – Carnival of Souls - The Final Sessions" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
- ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 3381". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
- ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Kiss – Carnival of Souls - The Final Sessions" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
- ^ "Billboard". Nielsen Business Media, Inc. November 15, 1997. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
- ^ "Kiss: Carnival of Souls - The Final Sessions" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
- ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Kiss – Carnival of Souls - The Final Sessions" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
- ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Kiss – Carnival of Souls - The Final Sessions". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
- ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Kiss – Carnival of Souls - The Final Sessions". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
- ^ "Official Rock & Metal Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
- ^ "Kiss Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
External links
edit- Carnival of Souls: The Final Sessions at Discogs (list of releases)