"Heaven's on Fire" is a song by the American 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, ...

. Written by vocalist/guitarist

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 popular ...

and songwriter

Desmond Child John Charles Barrett (born October 28, 1953), known professionally as Desmond Child, is an American songwriter and producer. He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2008. His hits as a songwriter include Kiss's "I Was Made for Lovi ...

, it was the first single released from the group's 1984 album ''

Animalize ''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. B ...

''.

Background

Released as a single internationally in 1984, "Heaven's on Fire" charted in several countries, even though it failed to reach the top ten in any of the countries where it was released as a single. It did reach #11 on '' Billboard'''s

Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks Mainstream Rock is a music chart in ''Billboard'' magazine that ranks the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations in the United States, a category that combines the formats of active rock and heritage rock. The chart was launched in Ma ...

and #49 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. In addition, the song is one of only a select few from the bands' non-makeup era that has been performed live after the band returned to wearing makeup. A video for the single was filmed and played on

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

, and was directed by David Lewis and produced by John Weaver.KISS Video Information
/ref> It marked the only official promotional performance of the band with lead guitarist

Mark St. John Mark Leslie Norton (February 7, 1956 – April 5, 2007), better known as Mark St. John, was an American guitarist best known for his brief stint with the hard rock band Kiss from April to November 1984. His work can be heard on the band's 1984 ...

before he left the group due to problems in his hands caused by a painful, but temporary, form of arthritis called

reactive arthritis Reactive arthritis, also known as Reiter's syndrome, is a form of inflammatory arthritis that develops in response to an infection in another part of the body (cross-reactivity). Coming into contact with bacteria and developing an infection can ...

. St. John would be replaced shortly afterwards by

Bruce Kulick Bruce Howard Kulick (born December 12, 1953) is an American guitarist and since 2000 a member of the rock band Grand Funk Railroad. Previously, Kulick was a long-time member of the band Kiss (19841996). He was also a member of Union with John Cor ...

. A live version of the song was recorded at Cobo Hall on December 8, 1984, as part of the ''Kiss: Animalize Live Uncensored'' video, and was later released on the ''

Hear 'n Aid Hear 'n Aid was a charity record recorded by a large ensemble of 40 heavy metal musicians and released in 1986. The project was organized by Ronnie James Dio, Jimmy Bain, and Vivian Campbell, all from the band Dio. Proceeds from the album were ...

'' album. It is one of only three live tracks with longtime drummer

Eric Carr Paul Charles Caravello (July 12, 1950 – November 24, 1991), better known professionally as Eric Carr, was an American musician who was the drummer for the rock band Kiss from 1980 to 1991. Caravello was selected as the new Kiss drummer after ...

that Kiss has ever officially released. The other two are "Talk To Me" and "New York Groove".

Personnel

Kiss *

–

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of t ...

rhythm guitar In music performances, rhythm guitar is a technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., drum kit, bass guitar ...

Gene Simmons Gene Simmons (born Chaim Witz; he, חיים ויץ, ; born August 25, 1949) is an Israeli-American musician. Also known by his stage persona The Demon, he is the bassist and co-lead singer of Kiss, the hard rock band he co-founded with Paul ...

–

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

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 use ...

–

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

, backing vocals *

–

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 featur ...

Additional musician *

– backing vocals

References

External links

The KISS FAQ – DISCOGRAPHY – Hear 'N Aid
(1985) {{authority control Kiss (band) songs 1984 singles Songs written by Desmond Child Songs written by Paul Stanley 1984 songs Mercury Records singles