Review Summary: KISS's mid-life crisis is more interesting than most.
Everybody knows the story by now: in the mid-90’s, KISS got back together with their two founding members, Ace Frehley and Peter Criss; by the end of that decade, they had once again become a well-oiled, money-making touring machine, just like in the old days. But then, as first Frehley and then Criss left the group, Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley were forced to retrace their steps and start KISS from scratch. Thus came to life the latest formation, with guitarist Tommy Thayer (na old acquaintance of Simmons’) and returning drummer Eric Singer. With the two new members hidden behind the old members’ makeups, and a re-recording compilation to present the new lineup, life could go on as usual.
Except it couldn’t. Not for Paul Stanley. After completing a successful solo album and touring to promote it, the co-frontman of KISS was on a creativity rush. As a result, he convinced Simmons to drag the band out of the cushy semi-retirement they were living in and get them to write new material once again. Simmons accepted, and the outcome was a brand new album, KISS’s first in over ten years, hitting shelves in the summer of 2009. Fans went ape***, selling out most of the subsequent tour, but for casual listeners, it was all about seeing how KISS held up in this day and age. Judging by
Sonic Boom, the answer is: pretty darn well.
In fact,
Sonic Boom introduces us to a revitalized band. Unlike the semi-grudging performances of
Jigoku-Retsuden – repackaged here as
KISS Klassics, and offered as part of the “Special Edition” – everyone sounds lively and genuinely commited on this one. Even Simmons’ voice, which sounded completely destroyed on the re-recordings, appears in full force once again, although studio magic may have had something to do with that.
But most importantly, the songs are good. Most of what’s here is better than anything on
Psycho Circus, and this single album probably has more good songs than the whole of the group’s 80’s career. Not to say that everything’s perfect – we’ll see why in a moment – but the feeling upon first listen is of elation.
Now, unlike old times – when the only comparison possible for KISS was KISS – this is a pretty easy album to peg. The 2009 KISS are a hard rock band, pure and simple. As far removed from the unclassifiable rock’n’roll of their early days as from the faceless glam-rock of the 80’s, the group comes through sounding much like other resurgent bands from the period. The riff on
Modern Day Delilah could perfectly well have been on Firehouse’s 2000 comeback album
O2, and the glossy production brings to mind other recent hard rock reunions, such as Poison. However, a good portion of old-school is also present, as attested by
Yes I Know (Nobody’s Perfect).
The best way to describe this album would probably be to say that it culls a little from each phase of the group’s career, and melds the whole into a sound that is relevant in the new millennium.
Russian Roulette’s drums may hark back to
I Love It Loud, and
Danger Us’s intro may be no more than a rehash of 1992’s
Domino, but somehow, these small sins are forgiven by the sense of fun the album exudes.
In fact, this is first and foremost a fun album. Sure, most of the tracks may sound a little throwaway after repeat listens, but they convey the same energy and cheek the sixth time around than they did the first. And yes, everything may sound a little calculated, but at least it sounds honest, which is more than you can say for most of these “reunion/comeback” releases. Plus, there are a handful of genuinely good songs on offer.
That said, there are also some problems. Most of them have to do with the lyrics, a common ailment when it comes to KISS. Simply put, I write better lyrics than these, even though I’m an amateur 20-something songwriter with very little band experience. When we stop to consider the career and age of these musicians, the level of content here becomes a little worrisome. Take
Yes I Know (Nobody’s Perfect), for example. Its chorus of
”nobody’s perfect/but baby, I come awfully close” sounds like what it is – a failed attempt at bravado from men who probably need Viagra to get them through the night. The same can be said of
Too Hot, Too Cold’s cry of
”if it’s too loud, you’re too old”, which brings shades of
Shout It Out Loud and sounds just as ridiculous, considering most of these guys are over 50. Elsewhere, a couple of puns make the listener cringe (
”feel my tower of power”), making for an overall poor display in this chapter.
Another low point has to do with the presence of filler. No KISS album would be complete without it, and as such,
I’m An Animal and
Say Yeah provide
Sonic Boom’s quota. And while the latter scrapes by on an acceptable chorus, the first is just unforgivably bad, its plodding, boring pace sounding out of place in such an upbeat album.
Fortunately, this is made up for by the songs that surround it, which can be considered the highlights of the album. In fact, the latter half of
Sonic Boom holds both its best and its worst songs, with the two aforementioned filler tracks being surrounded by the irresistibly bad puns of
Danger Us (the best chorus on the album), the melodic energy of
All For The Glory (well served by the husky, Criss-esque vocals of Eric Singer) and the sense of fun of
When Lightning Strikes, which sees Tommy Thayer make his vocal debut and shows him to be, in that department, a more talented version of Gene Simmons.
The remainder of the songs run the gamut from nondescript (
Stand, Never Enough) to fun and throwaway (
Russian Roulette, Yes I Know (Nobody’s Perfect)), but the overall impression is a favourable one.
Sonic Boom successfully recovers the KISS sound of old, while at the same time keeping an easily traceable connection to
Psycho Circus, the band’s last opus. And while it’s not perfect, and may not be enough to make the band relevant again, it’s better than it had any right to be and certainly warrants them a few extra seconds at the checkpoint. And as long as they keep cranking out albums as decent as this, they’re more than welcome to stay in the race.
Recommended Tracks
All For The Glory
Danger Us
When Lightning Strikes
