On 16. August 1974, Kiss began recording “Hotter Than Hell” at Village Recorder Studios in Santa Monica, Los Angeles, California, with producers Kenny Kerner and Richie Wise who had moved to California from New York. Bogart wanted the band working with the same people as on the first album. Since the pair had relocated to Los Angeles, Kiss flew there to work with them. The band, all native New Yorkers, immediately developed a dislike for their new surroundings. Paul Stanley’s guitar was stolen his first day in Los Angeles.
“Hotter Than Hell” was recorded in August and September 1974. Engineered and mixed by Warren Dewey at The Village Recorder. Mastered at Allen Zentz, Los Angeles, CA.
This album was originally going to be titled, “The Harder They Come” (Circus, 1974) but didn’t turn out to be the “second burn triumph” they hoped for.
Ace Frehley:
In August 1974 we paused in the middle of a tour and relocated to Los Angeles to work on the second Kiss album, “Hotter Than Hell”. As with the first record, it was an intense experience: three weeks of ten-hour days at Village Recorders, again with Richie Wise and Kenny Kerner producing. We were all tired and starting to feel some pressure from Casablanca, as the first record hadn’t exactly been a big hit. Yeah, it had sold around 75,000 copies, but that hadn’t even been enough to cover the band’s expenses. We hoped to do better with Hotter than Hell, but everything was happening so fast that it was becoming hard to tell whether we were even on the right track.
– “No Regrets” by Ace Frehley
