KISS “Born Again” With Walmart’s “Sonic Boom”: Band Talks New LP
08/17/09

“Is there any way to play it back on a man’s level?” says Gene Simmons, requesting more volume and rolling his eyes at Conway Studios in Los Angeles. Kiss are finishing up Sonic Boom, the band’s first new studio album in 11 years, and the God of Thunder wants to hear the songs played back at maximum loudness.

The band announced today that the 11-song Sonic Boom will be released October 6th in the U.S. and Canada exclusively in Walmart stores. The album will be part of a three-disc set that includes a CD of re-recorded greatest hits and a live DVD from a recent tour stop in Buenos Aires. The band will celebrate the new LP at a September 25th gig at Detroit’s Cobo Arena.

Back at the studio, Simmons and lifetime musical partner Paul Stanley radiate supreme confidence as they reveal the new songs, which reflect the same charged in-your-face sensibility, if not the actual sound, of their classic ’70s work. The album was produced by Stanley and is the first to feature the current lineup of guitarist Tommy Thayer and drummer Eric Singer (who replaced founding members Ace Frehley and Peter Criss early this decade).

Kiss have remained active as a hugely successful touring act around the world, but the new album is a surprise from a band that hasn’t released a studio album since the disappointing Psycho Circus in 1998. “We tried to do a Kiss album, and it was an ill-fated attempt because there was no real band,” says Stanley, relaxing behind the control board at Conway. “For a band to make a great album, it has to share a common purpose, and we didn’t have it.”

In the years since, the lucrative Kiss licensing juggernaut rolled on, both Simmons and Stanley released solo albums, and the Simmons family became reality TV stars. And Kiss played the old hits to massive audiences around the planet. “Things happen when they’re ready,” says Stanley. “We couldn’t have made this album without Eric and Tommy. I’ve known Eric now for 20 years. He’s been in and out of the band, and the best times are when he’s in.”

Kiss started jamming and collecting song ideas in December, and by the spring began recording as a band live in the studio to analog tape. “Modern Day Delilah” is classic hard rock with thundering guitars and a wailing Stanley vocal. There’s a ’70s guitar grind to “Yes I Know (Nobody’s Perfect),” and thundering pop hooks within “Russian Roulette,” as Simmons sings, “You got me where you want me . . . take a bite,” before unleashing a ripping Thayer solo.

“The great thing about these tunes is that we can reproduce them live. Just four guys,” says Simmons, standing in black leather and cowboy boots with silver tips. “We don’t have to prove anything to anybody. All the nay-sayers who didn’t understand it, we walk on their graves in our 8-inch platform heels. If you want to say rebirth or born again, you’re goddamn right. There’s a sense of pride here. When you get up onstage with these guys, you look over and you go, ‘Wow, I’m in KISS.’ ”

KISS' New Album Sonic Boom Reviewed Track-By-Track

Mark Eglinton , August 19th, 2009 08:44

Modern Day Delilah

Given the eleven years since their last barely passable studio album – 1998's Psycho Circus it seemed unlikely that Kiss would ever release another album of new material... However, we didn't expect them to knock one out of the park this early with this heaving, sweating lump of fabulous groove straight from 1975. "Yeah yeah" are the first words to exit Stanley's mouth and immediately our ears are pricked to what is not stylistically a typical Kiss track, a circular, bass heavy riff driving everything along. The net result is your immediate desire to renew that direct debit to the 'Kiss Army'... it really is that good.


Russian Roulette

The first of Gene Simmons's vocal contributions and as they go, this isn't at all bad. In fact the years have been pretty kind to the 'god of thunder', and his voice has actually developed more than a semblance of melody. It's raw, punchy and lyrically the usual innuendo ridden stuff... which we've heard often before but here's it's done with a freshness of attitude that's been absent for a long, long time.


Never Enough

Classic Kiss and this could easily fit into their live set without being noticed as a brand new track... This is obvious single material, if such things exist anymore, and is Kiss at their best. They've remarkably managed to summon the best attributes of their past without sounding dated, while at the same time making it all sound relevant to now—brilliant.


Yes I know (Nobody's Perfect)

Simmons's rumbling bass drives this fairly standard Kiss number along in a way that it hasn't for years (apparently he was really motivated in the studio) Not just that, he sings too, and tunefully does it. Chunky and not overly overdriven guitar combined with that satisfying emphasis on bass give this a solid feel with some more good-time lyrics, as you'd expect...


Stand

This one will completely divide opinions. Initially a straight-ahead rocker in the vein of the classic 'Strutter' which at no time threatens to dissolve into a 'Crazy Nights' or 'God gave Rock 'n' Roll To You' type anthem; until it does exactly that with a cheesy, cheesy chorus which no other band on the planet would get away with. Not content with that, it even dives into a multi-vocal layered mid section before returning to the huge stadium rock chorus which you could imagine appearing in some awful teen movie. Though it works, it's probably the closest relative to some of their late 80s and early 90s howlers.


Hot And Cold

Cowbell-accented drums and more classroom innuendo punctuate this chunk of typical Kiss fodder (think 'Calling Dr Love'). It all sounds very live and not in any way over-produced (seemingly no Pro-Tools were used anywhere on the record)... the song's easily good enough to forgive him such childishly dated folly.


All For The Glory

Drummer Eric Singer, who has assuredly hammered out rock-solid backing thus far, lends a hand on vocal duties with fabulous result. This is absolutely solid gold stuff reminiscent of Destroyer era Kiss, but with the nastier edge of later incarnations like Creatures of the Night. Tommy's solo is absolutely killer too - what talent he's brought to the band.


Danger Us

"Danger you, danger me, danger us!"— terrible, terrible lyrics but again the track bails itself out of the mire in grand style. Starting with a quietly picked guitar intro before fading satisfyingly (why do bands not fade-in much these days?) Aerosmith like riff and Stanley's most effective vocal outing on the record. You get the impression that they're all really enjoying this stuff and again Simmons's sonorous bass rumble is very much in evidence, aidded by Stanley's own intentionally Spartan studio production.


I'm An Animal

A huge, lumbering riff of Zeppelin-esque ('Dazed and Confused' springs to mind) proportions and another Simmons vocal characterise this beast of a track bristling with stalker menace. Similar in nature to let's say 'War Machine' off Creatures of the Night it stomps emphatically all over some of the tedious filler of recent albums. "I'm an animal, and I'm free" Gene divulges, and who the hell are we to argue. This is fast becoming Simmons's showpiece and surely his richest vein of contribution in their history.


When Lightning Strikes

'Musical singers' continues with guitarist Tommy Thayer wrestling control of the mic this time around. He in no way disappoints, dialling in a pretty effective vocal effort that many more established singers would die for. More cowbells and a riff that's been done before give way to a straight-forward bridge/chorus. The closest you'd get to 'stock' material but in the context of the quality of the album generally that's probably being overly critical.


Say Yeah

When we expect filler we instead get utter killer, and if you're not singing this in the car or the bath you've no business whatsoever reading this review. Again, Stanley's vocals are a revelation – wielding an insanely addictive hook reminiscent of 'Tears are Falling' from the Asylum era but much, much better. Thayer's solo is brilliant too and resembles a lot of the stuff Bruce Kulick (surely their most underrated axe-man) came up with; fitting the song brilliantly and carrying no excess fret flab whatsoever. The Kiss of 2009 have left the building, and what a way to sign off...