Without a doubt the weirdest record Kiss ever made, the critically trashed and commercially stillborn 1981 concept album ‘Music from the Elder,’ turns thirty years old this week.

The album was recorded at an extremely troubled time in the band’s career. Their ’70s reign as kings of sold-out arena shows had suddenly dried up, partially because two pop- and disco- influenced records (1979′s ‘Dynasty’ and 1980′s ‘Unmasked) alienated their original fans and failed to connect with the mainstream.

In addition, founding drummer Peter Criss had recently publicly departed the group, and lead guitarist Ace Frehley was threatening to do the same.

Eager to reverse their fortunes, Kiss brought in producer Bob Ezrin, who had helped them create 1976′s smash hit album ‘Destroyer,’ and set out to make a back-to-basics rock record to win back their original followers.

Except, as a just-released chapter from the upcoming book ‘Music from the Elder: The Unauthorized Story of the Most Spectacular Failure in the History of Kiss‘ from our own editor reveals, the project instead took a turn into some very strange territory.

Turns out, Ezrin was still riding high on the success of his last project, Pink Floyd‘s ambitious and mega-successful concept album ‘The Wall.’ He convinced Kiss to try their hand at creating a similar record, filled with woodwinds, a string section and an overarching (if maddeningly vague) story line about a young medieval boy’s journey to become a noble warrior of some sort.

The results, while not as terrible as many claimed, were hardly a perfect fit, with several songs sounding better suited for a Broadway stage. As Paul Stanley remembered years later, “It was pompous, contrived, self-important and fat.” Critics pounced on the record and fans stayed away in droves. The band were now officially in the worst position of their professional lives, and Frehley did in fact depart the group.

And yet.. there’s something brave in the way Kiss doubled down and aimed to re-conquer the world with this ill-conceived project, and the record has found a certain cult following over the years. Fans have been calling out for songs from ‘The Elder’ in concert more and more frequently, with the seemingly bemused band indulging Kiss Kruise attendees last month with a seemingly impromptu four song medley from the album.

Watch the 1981 Television Commercial for ‘Music from the Elder’ by Kiss

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