Union

Not to be confused with the early-'80s band of the same name, this Union is a Los Angeles-based outfit that recorded for <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Mayhem%22">Mayhem</a> in the late '90s and boasts former members of <a href="spotify:artist:07XSN3sPlIlB2L2XNcTwJw">Kiss</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:0cc6vw3VN8YlIcvr1v7tBL">Mötley Crüe</a>. Formed in L.A. in late 1996, Union united ex-<a href="spotify:artist:0cc6vw3VN8YlIcvr1v7tBL">Mötley Crüe</a> vocalist <a href="spotify:artist:0danyQ9A5BKBm1YozPJhoy">John Corabi</a> and former <a href="spotify:artist:07XSN3sPlIlB2L2XNcTwJw">Kiss</a> guitarist <a href="spotify:artist:30TJoJIn79ZTDn7J93ymi8">Bruce Kulick</a> with bassist Jamie Hunting and drummer Brent Fitz. Serving as lead guitarist for <a href="spotify:artist:07XSN3sPlIlB2L2XNcTwJw">Kiss</a> from 1984-1996, <a href="spotify:artist:30TJoJIn79ZTDn7J93ymi8">Kulick</a> held a position that had previously been held by <a href="spotify:artist:62olK5zZHSgFUXGDykgBL8">Ace Frehley</a> and Vinnie Vincent (who he replaced). <a href="spotify:artist:0danyQ9A5BKBm1YozPJhoy">Corabi</a>, meanwhile, had replaced <a href="spotify:artist:6prESDxZHvHyqqYsHSn0FE">Vince Neil</a> as <a href="spotify:artist:0cc6vw3VN8YlIcvr1v7tBL">Mötley Crüe</a>'s lead singer in 1994 and recorded only one album with the band, 1994's self-titled Mötley Crüe, before leaving in 1996. A major departure from <a href="spotify:artist:0cc6vw3VN8YlIcvr1v7tBL">Crüe</a>'s previous albums with <a href="spotify:artist:183DuT2WcaEO2tclTJW1tU">Neil</a>, that grunge-influenced effort found the <a href="spotify:artist:0cc6vw3VN8YlIcvr1v7tBL">Crüe</a> trying to adapt to 1990s alternative rock tastes. Because Union contained former <a href="spotify:artist:07XSN3sPlIlB2L2XNcTwJw">Kiss</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:0cc6vw3VN8YlIcvr1v7tBL">Crüe</a> members, some listeners might have expected the type of hedonistic, decadent heavy metal/hard rock that <a href="spotify:artist:07XSN3sPlIlB2L2XNcTwJw">Kiss</a> and the <a href="spotify:artist:0cc6vw3VN8YlIcvr1v7tBL">Crüe</a> were best known for; but for the most part, Union's music is Seattle-type grunge and alternative rock that is comparable to <a href="spotify:artist:6olE6TJLqED3rqDCT0FyPh">Nirvana</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:1w5Kfo2jwwIPruYS2UWh56">Pearl Jam</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:5xUf6j4upBrXZPg6AI4MRK">Soundgarden</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:2UazAtjfzqBF0Nho2awK4z">Stone Temple Pilots</a>. <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Mayhem%22">Mayhem</a> released Union's self-titled debut album in 1998; The Blue Room followed two years later. ~ Alex Henderson, Rovi