"Unholy" was co-written by
Gene Simmons and
Vinnie Vincent, although Vincent was fired in 1984. Simmons stated in his book
Kiss and Make-Up: "Vinnie Vincent came up to me and apologized for causing the band all the grief while he was a member. He wanted to patch things up and wondered if I would consider writing some songs with him. 'Sure', I said. I wanted to let bygones be bygones. I called Paul and told him that Vinnie had apparently changed. Paul wrote songs with him as well. But before the album was released, Vinnie was up to his old tricks again. He reneged on a signed deal we had made and decided that he wanted to renegotiate. He eventually sued us and lost. As far as I was concerned, he was persona non grata forever." Two other songs which appear on the album, "I Just Wanna" and "Heart of Chrome", were also co-written by Vincent. The song is, according to Simmons, based on a
Wicked Lester song "Keep Me Waiting" which appears on the album
The Original Wicked Lester Sessions. Vincent suggested a number of changes, mostly lyrical changes which as Simmons said, made the song even better. "Unholy" is considered one of the heaviest songs in the band's catalog. The song features Jesse Damon from Silent Rage, who sang backing vocals on the track. He also sang backing vocals on "Thou Shalt Not" (which he even co-wrote), "Take It Off", "Tough Love", "Heart of Chrome" and "I Just Wanna". It has been said by many Kiss insiders that the amplifier feedback at the beginning of the album version of "Unholy" is from Vinnie Vincent. ==Release==