In the latest episode of the 80’s Glam Metalcast, Kix guitarist Brian "Damage" Forsythe discusses Fuse 30: Reblown and looks back on the band's cult classic catalogue

On Fuse 30: Reblown, the remaster of Blow My Fuse:

"Beau Hill didn’t go back and listen to the original. He just took the tapes and did a completely new mix on his own, his own take. The volume is up where it should be and it’s not all muddied of with effects anymore. It’s much clearer sounding." 

On the influence of Midnight Dynamite:

"It did influence people. Our first record had its own sound, but it was undeveloped. On the second record, the label tried to push us in a pop singles direction. I think that third one is where we came into our own sound." 

On how “Don’t Close Your Eyes” almost wasn’t a single:

"The record had been out a year and they had already released three singles. After three singles they were kinda done with it, they weren’t going to put anymore money into the album. Once our tour with Tesla and Great White ended, they wanted us to just start working on a new album. So during that tour Great White’s manager Alan Niven asked our manager why 'Don’t Close Your Eyes' wasn’t a single. He explained how Atlantic was done promoting the album. Alan was also managing Guns N Roses, so he had a lot of pull. So he went to Atlantic and suggested it and they actually listened to him. They ended up releasing it and it took off... it almost didn’t happen!"

On the Hot Wire album:

"We had high hopes for that record because of the success of Blow My Fuse. Musically, I thought it was a better record. That was the next step in the evolution of our sound. We wanted to break through and be a huge band. Timing was not on our side. There was something that happened two times in our career. First time, we were mixing Cool Kids. So, our A&R guy from Atlantic comes down and plays the final mix of Def Leppard’s Pyromania. It’s this big rock record... and then we listened to our little pop record and thought, 'We could have done that.' We knew that was going to be a giant success and ours was going to fall by the wayside. Then the same thing happened with Hot Wire. It was just about to be released and we met with the president of the label. He pulls out this cd out and it’s Nirvana. He told us this was gonna be the next big thing. Basically telling us you just recorded the wrong thing! 

When it came time to do the ballad, we thought we would have another hit. 'Don’t Close Your Eyes' was big and we thought 'Tear Down the Walls' was a better song. We went to do the video and we were actually 1/2 way through it. We got a call from the label telling us that the plug has been pulled. They decided they weren’t putting anymore money into it. That was the end of that record." 

On the 30th anniversary of their platinum album Blow My Fuse (in 2018), Maryland hard rock icons Kix released Fuse 30 Reblown on September 21st, exactly 30 years after Blow My Fuse’s original September 19th, 1988 release date. 

Fuse 30 Reblown features a stunning Beau Hill (Alice Cooper, Ratt, Warrant, Kix) re-mixed and remastered version of their Atlantic Records Blow My Fuse album, as well as special never-before-released demos of all 10 tracks, recorded in the early to mid 1980’s. The album Blow My Fuse features the group's biggest hit, the power ballad, “Don’t Close Your Eyes,” which reached #11 on the Billboard Hot 100 in early 1989. The album achieved platinum sales and peaked at #46 on the Billboard Top 200, making it the band's most successful of their 35-year career.

Kix gracefully eased back into the public consciousness in 2008. After sold out hometown gigs, the quintet hit the stage at Rocklahoma in front of over 20,000 people, venturing out of the Mid-Atlantic for the first time in 13 years. Delivering a triumphant set alongside Sammy Hagar and Alice Cooper, they left their mark on old and new fans alike. After capturing their fiery reunion on 2012's Live in Baltimore CD & DVD, the members agreed to enter the studio once again.

In 2014, Kix released their seventh full-length album, Rock Your Face Off (Loud & Proud Records) their first studio effort since 1995’s Show Business. The album debuted at #1 on Amazon’s “Hard Rock and Metal “chart, in the Top 50 on Billboard’s “Top 200 Albums” chart, #5 on the “Independent Albums “chart, #11 on the “Top Internet “chart, #17 on the “Top Rock Albums” chart, #27 on the “Indy/Small Chain Core Stores” chart and #33 on the “Physical” chart.

Kix last released Can't Stop The Show: The Return Of Kix on October 21st, 2016, a two-disc DVD/CD set that entered the Billboard Top Music Video Sales chart at #3, and rose to the #1 position, the band’s highest charting debut and first #1 ever in their 35-year history. The 71-minute film offered an in-depth look into Kix’s decision to record their first new album, 2014’s Rock Your Face Off, in almost 20 years.

Fuse 30 Reblown tracklisting:

Disc 1 - Blow My Fuse remixed and re-mastered By Beau Hill:

"Red Lite, Green Lite, TNT"
"Get It While It's Hot"
"No Ring Around Rosie"
"Don't Close Your Eyes"
"She Dropped Me The Bomb"
"Cold Blood"
"Piece Of The Pie"
"Boomerang"
"Blow My Fuse"
"Dirty Boys"

Disc 2 - Demos:

"Red Lite, Green Lite, TNT" (Demo recording, 6/20/86)
"Get It While It's Hot" (Demo recording, 11/10/86)
"No Ring Around Rosie" (Demo recording, 1987)
"Don't Close Your Eyes" (Demo recording, 11/25/86)
"She Dropped Me The Bomb" (Demo recording, 6/20/86)
"Cold Blood" (Demo recording, 3/21/87)
"Piece Of The Pie" (Demo recording, 6/20/86)
"Boomerang" (Demo recording, 3/4/84)
"Blow My Fuse" (Demo recording, 9/5/86)
"Dirty Boys" (Demo recording, 11/10/86)

(Photo - Mike Morgan)