"Creatures of the Night" is a song by American hard rock band

Kiss A kiss is the touch or pressing of one's lips against another person or an object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely. Depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sexual attraction, ...

, released as a single from their 1982 album of the same name. It was only released in the UK, where it reached #34. The song was written by

Paul Stanley Paul Stanley (born Stanley Bert Eisen; January 20, 1952) is an American musician who is the co-founder, frontman, rhythm guitarist and co-lead vocalist of the hard rock band Kiss. He is the writer or co-writer of many of the band's most popula ...

and Adam Mitchell in Mitchell's kitchen. It is not clear who plays what on the track but it is assumed that bass was not played by Gene Simmons, but

Mike Porcaro Michael Joseph Porcaro (May 29, 1955 – March 15, 2015) was an American bass player known for his work with the rock band Toto. He retired from touring in 2007 as a result of being diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). He was t ...

who would later play with American rock band Toto. Lead guitar was not played by

Ace Frehley Paul Daniel "Ace" Frehley (; born April 27, 1951) is an American musician, best known as the original lead guitarist and co-founding member of the hard rock band Kiss. He invented the persona of The Spaceman (a.k.a. Space Ace) and played wit ...

as he was not musically involved with the album and it was not played by

Vinnie Vincent Vincent John Cusano (born August 6, 1952), better known by his stage name Vinnie Vincent, is an American guitarist. He is a former member of the rock band Kiss from 1982 until mid-1984 during the band's transition out of their 1973–1983 make ...

either; it was played by Steve Farris, who would go on to be the lead guitarist of the 1980s pop rock group Mr. Mister. Adam Mitchell also played in the final version of the song, replacing Stanley on rhythm guitar in the middle and end of the song.

Live performances

"Creatures of the Night" was performed during the Creatures of the Night Tour and

Lick It Up Tour The Lick It Up World Tour was a concert tour by American hard rock band Kiss, in support of their eleventh studio album ''Lick It Up''. It was the last tour to feature lead guitarist Vinnie Vincent. Background It was the first tour the band perfo ...

as an opening song and moved to the middle of the set on the

Animalize Tour ''Animalize'' is the twelfth studio album by American rock band Kiss. It was released on September 13, 1984, by Mercury Records. The album marked the only appearance by lead guitarist Mark St. John, who replaced Vinnie Vincent in April 1984. ...

before being dropped from the set-list on the upcoming three tours and then again included in the set-list for the

Revenge Tour The Revenge Tour was a concert tour by Kiss (band), Kiss in support of the band's studio album ''Revenge (Kiss album), Revenge''. Background It was the first tour with drummer Eric Singer, replacing Eric Carr who died of cancer on November 24, 199 ...

and Kiss My Ass Tour, as an opening track, again.

Appearances

"Creatures of the Night" has appeared on following Kiss albums: *''

Creatures of the Night ''Creatures of the Night'' is the tenth studio album by American rock band Kiss, released in 1982. It was the band's last for Casablanca Records, the only label for which Kiss had recorded up to that point. The album was dedicated to the memo ...

'' - original studio version (The 1985 reissue of the album contains a remixed version of the song, with more reverb.) *''

Alive III ''Alive III'' is a live album released by the American hard rock band Kiss in 1993. It is the third installment of the ''Alive'' series. The recording of ''Alive III'' took place over multiple dates (in Cleveland, Detroit and Indianapolis) d ...

'' - live version *'' Chikara'' - remixed version *'' The Box Set'' - remixed version *'' The Best of Kiss, Volume 2: The Millennium Collection'' - studio version *'' Kiss Rocks Vegas'' - live "Creatures of the Night" cover: *

Iced Earth Iced Earth is an American heavy metal band formed in Tampa, Florida and currently based in Columbus, Indiana. They were formed in 1984 under the name the Rose, then Purgatory, by guitarist and main songwriter Jon Schaffer and original drummer ...

covered "Creatures of the Night" for their cover album ''

Tribute to the Gods ''Tribute to the Gods'' is a covers album by heavy metal band Iced Earth. It is notable as the last Iced Earth album featuring Larry Tarnowski on lead guitar, and the last featuring singer Matt Barlow on vocals until his 2007 return. It was al ...

''. *Kefren's version is featured on their 1997 self-titled album. *Depravity was the first band to cover "Creatures of the Night", in 1991 on a six track demo tape "Galvanizer". *Saxorior covered "Creatures of the Night" for their 2008 album ''Völkerschlacht''.

Personnel

– lead vocals, rhythm guitar * Eric Carr – drums,

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are ...

– bass *Steve Farris –

lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featu ...

* Adam Mitchell – additional guitar * Gene Simmons – backing vocals

Charts

Peak positions

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Creatures Of The Night Kiss (band) songs 1982 singles Songs written by Paul Stanley Casablanca Records singles 1982 songs Songs written by Adam Mitchell (songwriter)