You’d never know 2010 is two months away by listening to Kiss’s latest studio album Sonic Boom. “The hottest band in the land”’s first new release in 11 years transports Kiss fans back to their parent’s basement circa 1977. They will think they have just popped in one of their old Kiss 8-tracks like Dressed to Kill or Love Gun as they get high off Funions, Hostess Sno Balls and Mountain Dew while preparing the game board for their latest session of Dungeons and Dragons.
After leaving a bad taste from 1998’s underperforming Psycho Circus, Sonic Boom is touted as a return to the classic Kiss rock-n-roll of old by founding members Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley. And they’re right. By using the same old formula they invented 30 year-old formula of face-melting guitar solos, rhythmic chant inducing choruses, and lyrics laced with not-so-subtle sexual innuendo, Kiss has returned to their roots.
Sonic Boom starts off fast and hard and never lets up. From the moment Paul Stanley’s belts out his screeching vocals on “Modern Day Delilah,” the first single released off Boom, Kiss fans will know the good old days are back. His chest hair may be a little greyer, but Stanley’s voice hasn’t changed a bit or weakened with age. The smoking lead guitar sounds better than ever thanks to former Star Child Ace Frehley’s replacement Tommy Thayer as Eric Singer wails away on the endless set of drums that have surrounded every Kiss drummer since the days of Peter Criss.
The notoriously controlling senior members, rhythm guitarist Stanley and bassist Simmons, let Thayer have a shot at lead vocals on “All for the Glory.” His voice is generic but works on this track and fits in with the rest of his mates. On “Glory,” the band says what everyone already knows -- that Kiss is basically in music for the fame and adulation.
Kiss has made no bones about its purpose -- getting girls and getting rich—and this song is an ode to that goal. Thayer sings, “We’re all for one and we’re all for the glory/When it’s all said and done, they’re gonna know the story/Cause wall for one and we’re all for the glory/Glory now,” reinforcing the band’s egomaniacal persona as publicity hounds.
In the tradition of 1991’s Kiss classic “God Gave Rock and Roll to You II,” “Stand” is the commercial sounding anthem Kiss seems to include on each album. It’s catchy but it still comes off as a tad bit cheesy. The chorus, “Stand by my side – I’ll be next to you/Stand by my side and we’ll make it through/ I’m next to you,” gets the toes tapping and can hang around in your head for a few hours but doesn’t offer much in the way of deep meaning. Not that deep meaning has ever been what the band is interested in.
Simmons takes over the vocals on “Hot and Cold.” In the typical alpha male persona of the star of A&E’s reality program Family Jewels, Simmons sings, “If it’s too hot, you’re too cold/if it’s too loud your too old.” Simmons is on his way to replacing Dick Clark as the world’s oldest teenager with the creed of fast women, loud music and good times.
Lately Kiss has been known more for its licensing prowess and marketing strategies rather than its musical chops and song writing capabilities. The band continues to plug its products like the Kiss Koffin and the always-popular Kiss Kondoms. Sonic Boom is no different than these other moneymaking gimmicks.
Because Kiss is now partners with Wal-Mart, Sonic Boom is available for purchase only at the retail giant. For 12 bucks, buyers get the Sonic Boom CD, a DVD concert of the band performing in Buenos Aires, and a separate disc of re-recorded Kiss greatest hits which includes classics like “Rock and Roll All Nite” and “Detroit Rock City.” For newcomers thinking about enlisting in the Kiss Army, Sonic Boom offers most of the good, old Kiss to get acquainted with, (there’s plenty of bad, old Kiss to avoid) plus the new stuff to get them up to speed. The amount of content offered for that price is well worth the investment.
If a music fan hasn’t latched onto the music of Kiss by now, Sonic Boom probably won’t do the trick either. Just as the make-up hasn’t changed for over three decades, neither has the music. While Sonic Boom offers nothing new or groundbreaking, it may prove to be the way long time fans of the band like to be Kiss-ed.
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