Yes, there is a monster in you,
I can see it in your left eye,
its claws sharp, beckoning, dangerous
and demented as its scratches
along the iris, leaving lines that seep
out the pale red of humanity
that it affords you, that the monster,
cunning and deceitful allows you too feel.
I see the monster and hear it growl and laugh,
I experience suffering
as I try my damndest to pull away
from the stare, the fixated point of lascivious
longing that comes with natural ardour.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
No matter what, the story of Kiss keeps going. Nearly 40 years down the line Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons continue to let this gargantuan behemoth draw breathe and thrill their millions of fans. For their 20th album release Monster, the ingredients that made them absolute show stoppers and musical entertainers are still there and it seems as if this Monster will not be tamed.
Although R.E.M. had been around for many years, by the time Automatic for the People came out in 1992, the excitement and rush it caused in their long term fans could be seen as finally over-spilling into mainstream appeal.
The band had finally broken both the U.K. and American top ten with their previous album Out of Time and with Automatic for the People they cemented their position as one of the great alternative/rock band of the period. The four musicians that made up the band seemed to pick the right time to come of age, making their way through a very pop dominated 1980’s in which to start with they barely troubled the U.K. charts, through the power period dominated by bands such as Heart/Whitesnake/T’Pau and finally were in the position to be among the bands that were sweeping aside the celebrity culture of pop inspired false personality.