Album
Carnival of Souls: The Final Sessions
Carnival of Souls: The Final Sessions is the seventeenth studio album by the American band Kiss, released on 28 October 1997 through Mercury Records. It followed Revenge from 1992 and came just before Psycho Circus, and it closed the band's unmasked era.
This is Kiss in an unfamiliar mood. Rather than the classic hard rock they were known for, the record leans towards a dark, dense, grunge-flavoured sound, which makes it one of the more striking turns in their catalogue. It was the last album with lead guitarist Bruce Kulick, though he returned as a session musician on Psycho Circus. It was also the last with drummer Eric Singer until Sonic Boom in 2009. For anyone curious about how Kiss sounded when they chased a heavier, gloomier tone, it's well worth a listen.
Carnival of Souls: The Final Sessions: tracklist, credits and charts
12 tracks · 1:00:19Tracklist
- 1HateKulick, Simmons, Zen4:38
- 2RainCuomo, Kulick, Stanley4:47
- 3Master & SlaveCuomo, Kulick, Stanley4:58
- 4Childhood’s EndKulick, Simmons, Thayer4:21
- 5I Will Be ThereCuomo, Kulick, Stanley3:49
- 6JungleCuomo, Kulick, Stanley6:50
- 7In My HeadSimmons, James, Zen4:01
- 8It Never Goes AwayCuomo, Kulick, Stanley5:42
- 9Seduction of the InnocentGene Simmons and Scott Van Zen5:16
- 10I ConfessGene Simmons and Ken Tamplin5:23
- 11In the MirrorCuomo, Kulick, Stanley4:26
- 12I Walk AloneBruce Kulick and Gene Simmons6:08
- Produced by
- Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Toby Wright, Toby Wright, Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley
- Recorded at
- Music Grinder Studios (Hollywood, California)
- Recorded
- November 1995 – February 1996
- Mixed by
- Toby Wright
- Mixed at
- Music Grinder Studios
- Engineered by
- Toby Wright
- Labels
- Mercury Records, Mercury
- Length
- 1:00:19
Line-up
- Bruce Kulick · electric guitar, electric bass guitar, bass guitar, lead vocals
- Gene Simmons · electric bass guitar, lead vocals
- Eric Singer · drums (drum set)
- Paul Stanley · electric guitar, lead vocals
Singles
- “Jungle” · 1997
Peak chart positions
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| US Billboard 200 · 1997 | 27 |
| UK Rock & Metal Albums · 1997 | 9 |
| Finnish Albums · 1997 | 17 |
| Norwegian Albums · 1997 | 23 |
| Swedish Albums · 1997 | 29 |
| Canadian Albums (RPM) · 1997 | 32 |
| German Albums · 1997 | 36 |
| Austrian Albums · 1997 | 37 |
| Dutch Albums · 1997 | 66 |
| European Albums Charts · 1997 | 84 |
From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.
57.4
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
271
ListenBrainz listeners
76k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
4.3k
Deezer fans (all editions)
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KISS
1974
Hotter Than Hell
1974
Dressed to Kill
1975
Alive!
1975
Destroyer
1976
Special KISS Tour Album
1976
Rock and Roll Over
1976
Love Gun
1977
Alive II
1977
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1978
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1979
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1979
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1980
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1981
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1982
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1982
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1983
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1984
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1985
Crazy Nights
1987
Crazy Crazy Nights
1988
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1988
Tears Are Falling
1988
Turn On the Night
1988
Chikara
1988
Smashes, Thrashes & Hits
1988
Hot in the Shade
1989
Revenge
1992
Alive III
1993
MTV Unplugged
1996
You Wanted the Best, You Got the Best!!
1996
Greatest KISS
1997
Psycho Circus
1998
Box Set
2001
The Very Best of KISS
2002
KISS Symphony: Alive IV
2003
20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection: The Best of KISS
2003
20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection: The Best of KISS, Volume 2
2004
KISS Gold
2004
20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection: The Best of KISS, Volume 3
2006
KISS Alive! 1975–2000
2006
地獄烈伝〜ニュー・レコーディング・ベスト〜
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Releases and pressings
How we know the release date wikipedia + wikidata; also seen: 1997-10-25 (musicbrainz)
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 25 October 1997 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | 28 October 1997 | |
| Wikidata | 28 October 1997 | |
| US release | 28 October 1997 | earliest US date |
19 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25 October 1997 | JP | Mercury Records | 4988011354564 | original |
| 28 October 1997 | CA | Mercury Records | 731453632325 | other |
| 28 October 1997 | US | Mercury Records | 731453632325 | other |
| 28 October 1997 | US | Mercury Records | 731453632349 | other |
| 24 May 2005 | — | Casablanca Records | 00731453632325 | other |
| 25 May 2005 | US | Universal Special Products | other | |
| 9 June 2005 | JP | Mercury Records | 4988005391018 | other |
| 18 October 2006 | JP | Mercury Records | 4988005442925 | other |
| 20 March 2013 | JP | Mercury Records | 4988005749093 | other |
| 2014 | DE | Mercury Records | 0602537850662 | other |
| 2014 | — | UMe | 00602547061508 | other |
| 7 February 2014 | DE | Casablanca Records | 00602537577279 | other |
| 26 May 2014 | XE | Mercury Records | 602537753710 | other |
| 27 May 2014 | US | Mercury Records | other | |
| 3 June 2014 | — | UMe | 00602537856077 | other |
| 6 June 2014 | DE | UMe | 00602537885510 | other |
| 24 October 2014 | DE | UMe | 00602547076519 | other |
| 27 October 2014 | — | UMe | 00602547061492 | other |
| 5 November 2021 | DE | UMe | 00602445063741 | other |
Cover art sources
deezer · upscaled: major: best source 1200x1200, upscaled to 1500 (x1.25)
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| deezer ✓ | 1200×1200 | upscaled: major: best source 1200x1200, upscaled to 1500 (x1.25) |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |
| coverartarchive | 300×296 | upscaled |