The Tempo Of KISS Songs Live During The VV Era

[thattimeofyear87]

One of the interesting thing about the KISS/Vinnie years is that the band really played the songs live at a brisker place, especially the classic material. Using Nashville 1984 and the studio album counterparts, here is a breakdown of the difference in bpm. Of course, playing a bit faster live is natural but take a song like "Cold Gin," for example. The song was raised more than 20 bpm compared to the studio version. That's not adrenaline. That's intentional.

*Of course, these numbers are approximate. I used Riffstation, which automatically calculates the bpm.

"Creatures Of The Night"
studio: 126 bpm
live: 140 bpm

"Detroit Rock City"
studio: 184 bpm
live: 196 bpm

"Cold Gin"
studio: 117 bpm
live: 140 bpm

"Firehouse"
studio: 116 bpm
live: 140 bpm

"Fits Like A Glove"
studio: 176 bpm
live: 184 bpm

"Gimme More"
studio: 246 bpm
live: 252 bpm

"War Machine"
studio: 126 bpm
live: 133 bpm

"I Love It Loud"
studio: 86 bpm
live: 98 bpm

"Young And Wasted"
studio: 126 bpm
live: 136 bpm

"Love Gun"
studio: 150 bpm
live: 172 bpm

"All Hell's Breakin' Loose"
studio: 94 bpm
live: 100 bpm

"Black Diamond"
studio: 134 bpm
live: 148 bpm

"Lick It Up"
studio: 120 bpm
live: 136 bpm

"Rock And Roll All Nite"
studio: 144 bpm
live: 166 bpm

Questions:

- Do you think it was Paul/Gene who made the call to play the songs at faster tempos? Or was it just Eric setting the tempos?
- Do you like the songs at a faster pace?
- Some fans complain that Vinnie butchered the classic solos. My response is that given that the songs were played at a faster tempo, the situation called for slightly more aggressive takes on the leads.

[PinkWiz]

I always thought they did it to maybe sound contemporary or just to fit in more songs?

[KissMyAss]

Probably competing with Motley Crue.

[Slayer]

What about Doctor Love at Rio?

[Vincent82]

I loved the altered tempo, which is why it's hard for me to listen to classic KISS albums. They trudge along in caparison, and being a bootleg collector, the live BPM are what I'm used to.

[shramiac]

Adrenaline does that! Look at the speed Maiden play Hallowed be thy Name!!! Bruce can barely keep up!

Dr Love at Rio IS PERFECT!

[kisslolo]

In 1982, the heavy metal was a king and Kiss adapted himself musically, used well by Vinnie, with a more fashionable sound!

[heavystef]

I think, it was because of Vinnie AND Eric. Try to play the classic Ace solos in Vinnie's Tempo: sounds like shit! Try to play Vinnie's solos in Ace'es tempo: sounds like shit.
this is also a problem with KISSIN' TIME. Our drummer is an Eric Singer fan. So he plays the classic tempos with a little bit mor fills, double bass a.s.o.
Every time we play LOVE GUN and Dr. LOVE I want to run at the drumriser and KICK HIS ASS!!!!!
In my opinion these songs sound much better with higher tempo. But, what KISS are doing with BLACK DIAMOND is DAMAGE TO PROPERTY!!!!

[kisslolo]

And Eric of course !

[KissMyAss]

Peter Criss was an awesome drummer, but Eric Carr was the best.