10 Perfect 1980s Hard Rock Albums With No Bad Songs

Out of all of the greatest acts of the '70s, few were made for the MTV generation like KISS. Since their whole gimmick onstage was being the circus of rock and roll, they now had the medium to bring it to living rooms around the world. So as you can imagine, KISS' journey into the '80s was... actually pretty slow at first.

Instead of going with something they knew worked, their first '80s offering Music From the Elder was a weird concept album that showed them actively leaning into their weaknesses. After things smoothed over though, Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons pulled out the big guns with Creatures of the Night, delivering some of the most forceful music of their career. Without Ace Frehley and Peter Criss, replacement drummer Eric Carr is playing like he has everything to prove, going for massive drum hits that practically sound like cannons in the background.

It also helps that both frontmen are their peak charismatic selves, from Stanley's turn towards speed metal on Danger or Simmons bringing in a new signature song for the Demon for I Love It Loud. Too bad it wasn't meant to last though, since the rest of the decade saw the band dropping their signature face paint and turning into your standard hair metal act. If they decided to build a second legacy with this, they could have been the perfect bridge between hard rock and traditional metal.