When Thomas Thorn, demented chairman of the Electric Hellfire Club, lost his bandmate and best friend, the Rev. Dr. Luv, to a car accident, Thorn recorded this ultraviolent valentine to the good Dr. and the band that drew the two to music: the fearsome foursome, Kiss. “Calling Dr. Love” is a tough song to get wrong, and the title cover track is exquisite, replete with cool backups and Shane (the Rev. Dr. Luv’s Christian name) samples: a faithful yet fresh rendering of the Gene Simmons manifesto. The surrounding album holds other momentous movements like “Hellflower” which blossoms into an electro-Nuggets flashback; while “Very Groovy Boots” goes beyond the valley of the devil-dolls. “He Who Holds the Lightning Rod” plays like a cute and fluffy Skinny Puppy, extolling the legend of the mighty Thor, “God of Thunder.” Some grooves are wasted, but the actual songs comprise a reverent tribute and a deliciously deceptive Molotov cocktail. – Doug Stone
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