Lick It Up

by Greg PratoDue to the underachievement of their exceptional 1982 comeback album, Creatures of the Night, Kiss knew the time was right to drop the makeup, so in September 1983 the band shocked their fans by unmasking on MTV. Their first non-makeup album, Lick It Up, followed soon after and successfully re-established the band among the heavy metal masses worldwide. Kiss also reconnected with their stateside fans -- Lick It Up was the band's first record to achieve gold status since 1980's Kiss Unmasked. The album's success was spurred by MTV's repeated airing of the imaginative video for the album's strong title track, and songs such as "Exciter," "Not for the Innocent," "A Million to One," and the rap-rocker "All Hell's Breaking Loose" confirmed that the band was back on the right track. Vinnie Vincent again proved to be a worthy replacement to original guitarist Ace Frehley but would unfortunately leave the band after the completion of the Lick It Up worldwide tour (eventually resurfacing with the Vinnie Vincent Invasion in the late '80s). Lick It Up is undoubtedly Kiss' best non-makeup album.