Kiss Celebrates 40th Anniversary of ‘Creatures of the Night’ with Box Set

Released Oct. 13, 1982, Kiss’ tenth album, Creatures of the Night, marked a return to a harder rock sound for the band highlighted by the anthemic classic “I Love It Loud.” In celebration of the 40 anniversary of the album, UMe is re-releasing the album along with a special edition box set Creatures Of The Night 40, out Nov. 18.

The band’s final release with Casablanca Records, Creatures of the Night was dedicated to the label founder and early Kiss supporter Neil Bogart, who had died of cancer during the recording of the album. 

Filled with heavier singles, including the title track, “Killer,” “War Machine,” and the ballad “I Still Love You”—many of which were being performed in the band’s live sets for years— Creatures of the Night was also the last album guitarist Ace Frehley recorded with Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, and Eric Car, before being replaced by Vinnie Vincent. Frehley went on to focus on his solo career and with his Frehley’s Comet band, before returning to Kiss in 1996 and again in 2018 for the Kiss Kruise.

The Creatures Of The Night 40 Super Deluxe features several CDs with 103 total tracks, including 75 previously unreleased songs, in addition to the newly remastered album and 34 demos, rarities, and outtakes, including the unreleased “Deadly Weapon (Penny Lane Demo),” “Not For The Innocent (Demo)” and “Betrayed (Outtake).” 

The set also includes 26 soundboard live recordings from the band’s 1982-1983 Creatures Tour and seven rare tour sound effects, recorded and archived by the Creatures sound engineer Harry Witz, while the Blu-ray disc features the first-ever Atmos and 5.1 surround mix of the original album and newly remastered 1982 stereo mix of the original album. 

Collectible Kiss memorabilia is also part of the Super Deluxe set, which includes an 80-page hardcover book with liner notes by Ken Sharp and a Creatures Of The Night 1982 press kit with band bio, stage drawings, buttons, guitar picks, a sticker, promotional photos, trading cards and more.

Photo: Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images