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August 14, 2009
CLASSIC ROCK GETS EXCLUSIVE PREVIEW OF NEW KISS ALBUM
(from Classic Rock)
Classic Rock can confirm that the new Kiss album will be called Sonic Boom and weve got the full tracklisting. Not only that, but weve heard six of the albums 11 songs!
 
Classic Rocks Geoff Barton was invited to an exclusive preview of the new Kiss album this afternoon, in the convivial company of Doc McGhee, the bands manager.
 
Kiss promised to deliver a back-to-their-roots album and thats exactly what weve got, Barton reports. Recorded in the old-fashioned, analog way, it sounds spectacularly good no ProTools nonsense in evidence here.
 
The interesting thing is, its not simply a homage the bands first few albums. There are even nods to records such as 1982s Creatures Of The Night, which had Vinnie Vincent, Bob Kulick and others guesting on guitar. Kiss seem to have cleverly combined the best of all their eras into a single winning package.
 
McGhee confirmed that Sonic Boom will be available exclusively through Wal-Mart stores in the US, as part of a package including a disc of re-recorded Kiss classics (already available in Japan) and a live DVD. The album is due for release on October 6.
 
I actually wanted to make Sonic Boom available as a download for a dollar, but I was overruled, McGhee chuckled.
 
I still think its a great idea. Millions of people wouldve downloaded it, I guarantee. At just a dollar a throw, it wouldve been the bargain of the century.
 
McGhee is delighted that Kiss decided to play to their strengths on Sonic Boom. Its exactly want people want: the classic Kiss sound played by the band looking like theyve always done. Kiss are like James Bond or Mickey Mouse. Theyre an amazing brand and theyll likely go on forever.
 
When I took over management of Kiss in the mid-1990s, that was my major plan: to get the band back to basics.
 
I mean, McGhee laughed, when Kiss had a squirrel in their line-up what was the hell was that all about?
 
The full tracklisting of Sonic Boom is:
 
1. Modern Day Delilah
2. Russian Roulette
3. Never Enough
4. Yes I Know (Nobodys Perfect)
5. Stand
6. Hot & Cold
7. All The Glory
8. Danger Us
9. Im An Animal
10. When Lightning Strikes
11. Say Yah
 
Heres our quickfire reaction to the six songs we heard:
 
Modern Day Delilah
Based around a lumbering, War Machine-style rhythm, Paul Stanleys vocals sound top-notch and timeless, almost like theyve been sampled from Kiss Alive! Meanwhile, Tommy Thayers guitar work is straight out of the Ace Frehley riff book. At a concise 3:35 in length, this is a perfect slam-bang beginning to the new album.
 
Russian Roulette
Gene Simmons takes the vocals on this one; its an archetypal lumbering, grumbling, pummelling offering, made all the better by the addition of a signature ah-ah-ah-ah chant-line. The lyrics are simplistic but effective: This is Russian Roulette one pull of the trigger is all youre gonna get you feel the hunger and its much too much go on take a bite. To a fan of classic Kiss, thats sheer poetry.
 
Never Enough
Youre know youre on to a winner immediately as this one begins with a time-honoured Stanley shout of wait for it Woah yeah! This is a much jauntier offering than the preceding two tracks, recalling the more commercial, 1980s side of Kiss. The song has a real reach-for-the-sky spirit, full of uplifting phrases such as rules just for breaking, life for the taking and (you guessed it) love til Im shaking.
 
Yes I Know (Nobodys Perfect)
Another three minutes of perfection. A light-hearted, hyper-commercial tune with Simmons at the mic-stand again, offering a gruff YEAH (capital letters, natch) followed by the inevitable invitation: Cmon baby, take off your clothes. Theres no word on whether Simmons kept his T-shirt on, however.
 
Stand
Our favourite so far; a proper anthem recalling the crowd-rousing grandeur of God Gave RockNRoll To You. Stanley delivers the words Stand by my side, Ill be next to you/Stand by my side, well make it through/Stand by my side, well get by, you and I with consummate Starchild passion. This one just grows and grows and then offers a neat false ending with some soft, CSN&Y-style harmonies (yes, really) before picking up the pace once more.
 
Im An Animal
Full of giant, stalking menace, this is based around a dense, Zeppelinesque riff. Thayer plays a marvellous slick-but-stumbling Frehley solo, and you can rest assured the lyrics Im an animal and Im free Im an animal in the street dont refer to an old lady with her poodle off the leash. Late in the song, the band issue the urge: Stand up, raise your fists. Little do they know, weve been doing that since track one