Asylum is the first album to feature lead guitaristBruce Kulick as an official band member. Kulick had replaced former guitarist Mark St. John on some tracks on the previous album Animalize during the latter's absence due to reactive arthritis. Subsequently, Kulick filled St. John's spot during most segments of the Animalize tour. This new lineup of Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Eric Carr, and Kulick would last until Carr's death in November 1991, while Kulick would stay with the band until the reunion of the original lineup in 1996.
Cover
The album cover depicts the four band members with colored lips, mirroring the colors of the 1978 solo releases: red for Simmons, purple for Stanley, blue for Kulick and green for Carr. The artwork for the back cover is similarly stylised and colourful, depicting Kiss against a white background. The cover art of the remastered 1997 CD release of Asylum featured slightly altered, bolder colours than that of the original release.
Live performances
The supporting Asylum Tour ran throughout North America from November 1985 to April 1986. The tour featured the largest light-up Kiss logo the band has ever used, as well as one of the largest lighting rigs. No concert footage of the tour was used in the DVD release, except for short clips without sound inthe background of the main menu. "Tears Are Falling" is the only song on the album that has been played regularly in live performances beyond the Asylum Tour. However, like many Kiss songs of the mid-1980s, the track was rarely played live after the 1996 reunion of the original Kiss lineup, although it did feature in both 2004's Rock the Nation Live! DVD and 2014's Kiss Rocks Vegas live release.
Singles
"Tears Are Falling" was the only track to be released for retail sales as a single and was a hit for the band, with the video in particular proving popular on MTV. A total of three music videos for the album were filmed on set in London, England, for the songs "Who Wants to Be Lonely", "Uh! All Night" and "Tears Are Falling" respectively.
Reception
Fan reaction to Asylum was mixed, although in recent years the album has come to be held in high regard among metal fans in particular. The album was certified Gold in November, 1985 by the RIAA, although it has long been rumored to be nearing the platinum level of sales.
