Bruce Kulick, the former guitarist of KISS, expressed his belief that the band’s 1997 album “Carnival of Souls” was “screwed,” pointing out that it still has a dedicated fan base despite Paul Stanley’s apparent discontent with it.
Often seen as KISS’s foray into grunge music, “Carnival of Souls” marked the end of the band’s “unmasked” era and was the last album to feature Kulick. It was also Eric Singer’s second studio album with KISS after he stepped in to help complete the underrated “Revenge” in 1992, following Eric Carr’s illness and tragic passing.
By the time “Carnival of Souls” was in production, Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley were already planning a worldwide reunion with original members Ace Frehley and Peter Criss. The idea for this “masked” reunion began to take shape after KISS’s iconic performance on MTV Unplugged, during which Frehley and Criss made surprise appearances. However, neither Kulick nor Singer were aware of the reunion plans at that time.
In a recent interview with VRP Rocks (via UCR), Kulick stated, “It’s a record that got so screwed.” He recalled how Stanley was initially resistant to Simmons’ idea of shifting the band’s sound toward a heavier, grunge-inspired direction. Kulick made significant efforts to persuade The Starchild to embrace this vision of an “edgier, darker KISS.”
Kulick dedicated considerable time and energy to songwriting and riff development for the album, ultimately earning co-writing credits on nine of the twelve tracks. He added, “I know it’s a record that [Stanley’s] not proud of, yet for some fans, they love it. He’s entitled to that opinion, of course. But I look back at ‘Carnival of Souls,’ and I just wish it was mixed a little differently. Still, I’m proud of it.”
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