How Bryan Adams Wrote ‘War Machine’ for Kiss
The Canadian was invited to work with the band as it was putting together the 1982 album
Creatures of the Night. They’d decided to record a version of Adams’ “Rock and Roll Hell,” which was previously covered by Bachman-Turner Overdrive.
“[Kiss] asked me to come down and meet with them and maybe help out on some other songs,” Adams told Eddie Trunk on SiriusXM. “I went down to Los Angeles. Gene had a guitar riff, but he didn’t have a song. I thought it was a pretty cool guitar riff. I didn’t finish the idea when I was in L.A., but I took it back to Vancouver.” At home, he began working on the concept with cowriter Jim Vallance, “and we came up with ‘War Machine.’”