Kiss Discography

The discography of the American hard rock band Kiss consists of 20 studio albums, 10 live albums, 13 compilation albums, 58 singles and 15 video albums. The group, formed in 1973, first consisted of bassist Gene Simmons, rhythm guitarist Paul Stanley, lead guitarist Ace Frehley and drummer Peter Criss. It is the most recognizable and successful line-up, which lasted until Criss' departure in 1980. The band is known for its make-up and stage antics, which influenced many artists who later used same effects on their concerts.

The band's eponymous debut album was released in 1974. Despite the constant touring and promotions, the album peaked at 87 on Billboard, without a benefit of a hit-single. The follow-up album, Hotter Than Hell (1974), was a bigger disappointment, peaking at 100 and quickly dropping off the charts. Dressed to Kill, released in 1975, was a much better success, breaking into Top-40, but the band's record label, Casablanca Records, was close to bankruptcy and needed a commercial breakthrough they would later achieve with both Kiss' and Casablanca's first Top-10 album, double-live album Alive!, which featured the number 12 hit "Rock and Roll All Nite". The next three albums, Destroyer, Rock and Roll Over and Love Gun were a success, achieving Platinum status and spawning Top-20 singles (including the number 7 ballad "Beth", band's highest charting single in the US).

Their seventh studio release, Dynasty which was a musical departure, was a success although the band started losing money and fame. The next two albums, Unmasked and Music from "The Elder", were a failure in the US but fared better over the seas, especially in Australia. Although their next studio album, Creatures of the Night, was a return to their heavy metal roots, it is one of Kiss' biggest commercial failures. Lick It Up was the first album featuring the band without make-up and was certified Platinum. Their next studio releases (Animalize, Asylum, Crazy Nights, Smashes, Thrashes & Hits) were more successful and Kiss recaptured some of their earlier glory (though not to the level of their '70s heyday). Hot in the Shade was the lowest charting album of the unmasked era in the US and failed to reach Platinum status, despite the success of the Top-10 power ballad "Forever".

With their 16th studio release, Revenge, the band returned to the heavy metal style. The album was a success, backed with a huge hit "God Gave Rock 'N' Roll to You II". Probably their hardest album Carnival of Souls: The Final Sessions, saw the band going into the grunge movement which was seen nowhere in 1997 and was the reason, along major bootleg copies, for the album failing to reach Gold certificate in the US despite the album's lone single "Jungle" reaching number 8 on the US Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks. Followed by a highly successful reunion, in 1998 Psycho Circus was released and was more of a moderate success. Their first album in 11 years, Sonic Boom, was released in 2009. The band released their 20th studio album, Monster, on October 9, 2012. Kiss has sold over 100 million copies worldwide, including 20 million certified copies by the RIAA in the United States.