Monster

...but is it a monster success or a frankenstein failure?,thankfully its not the latter but it may not be the former either,having had this for a few days and after several listens,i'm not convinced it will be(ultimately) regarded as better than SONIC BOOM.As usual with Kiss its a pot pourri of re hashed riffs and licks paying homage to the likes of Humble Pie/Zeppelin/Stones etc and on occassion themselves.

Where Sonic Boom ,(for me), scores higher,it was much more cohesive and yes commercial,the tracks were mostly instant hits and stuck with you.This disc on the other hand has a more constricted soundscape,most tracks less instant,not as immediate in the sing along, stick in your head ethos,which may pay dividends eventually,right now i'm not quite sure.

As with the previous disc,this has a great opening one,two, with lead off single 'Hell Or Hallelujah' storming out the speakers with its riff reminiscent of 'I Stole Your Love' which they based on Purple's 'Burn', Gene's short but sweet 'Wall of Sound' follows along perfectly.

There are a couple of standouts namely Tommy Thayer's 'Out Of This World' which is arguably the best track on the album(although why he had to sing about that 'theme',the haters will have a field day,talk about setting yourself up),maybe he should be allowed more tracks in future,'Stanley's 'Long Way Down' with its 'Yardbirds influenced guitar? is another high point,while Eric's moment 'All For The Love...' has a great groove and could have been written for the original Catman circa 75/76, although its disapointing to note that it appears to be similar to a track with the same title from little known band the Tuff Darts,check it out on you tube,see what you think.

As for the rest well their all pretty heavy,none that really stand out from the crowd, 'Freak' im just not getting into while 'Back To The Stone Age' is a fairly average Gene plodder rescued by a superb Tommy guitar solo.In time they may grow to be favourites just now they are ok for the most part, a couple of the others 'Last Chance' and 'Eat Your Heart Out' with their AC/DC like gang vocals may burrow into your head after a while.

Overall this is a decent album,well played,its certainly Tommy Thayer's album,he co wrote ten tracks and holds it all together with some superb guitar playing,he's definitely the star of the show,its probably more 'REVENGE' than it is 'LOVE GUN or ROCK N ROLL OVER',im ok with that,there's never really been a definitive KISS sound,they've always recycled,borrowed what they could.

My initial thoughts were this was a 3 star disc,i'm leaning towards 4 stars after repeated listens,if 'SONIC BOOM' was a blast,then 'MONSTER' is the after shock,not quite as strong but will ripple away in the background and may ultimately prove to be more more effective

Having been a Kiss fan for over 35 years I feel I'm in a position to say that this is probably their best album since Love Gun. In fact I would say they're back to their very best. They've even managed to get Tommy Thayer to sing on 'Outta This World' and Eric Singer on 'All For The Love Of Rock'n Roll' reminding of when Ace and Peter used to sing, even their voices are similar. Those of you that buy the album especially the KISS army won't be disappointed

After producing the excellent Sonic Boom I had very high hopes for Monster. KISS seemed more than capable of producing top quality records - albeit not quite as good as their best - and my expectations were high.

I deliberately waited a long while before reviewing this album since a lot of music grows on me. I kept trying to like Monster but somehow it just always falls a little short for me. Why? Difficult to explain; I adore KISS and own all of their albums (even the compilations just to get the one or two bonus tracks) and this is very typical of KISS. Monster certainly has the teeth but is just lacking a little bite.

Things start off reasonably well with Hell or Hallelujah. Fast paced and frantic? Oh yes! But think back to Deuce, I Stole Your Love, I Want You, Creatures of the Night, Unholy, Psycho Circus, Exciter, Crazy Crazy Nights, I've Had Enough and Detroit Rock City that have opened KISS albums and it just does not measure up.

The second track is an indication of what seems to be missing; Gene at his best. Wall of Sound is sort of a filler track. Gene has been responsible for some of KISS finest tunes and also some of their worst. No, this is not a throwback to some of his dross from Animalize but neither is this the Demon at his baddest and best.

Freak is definitely a grower though although spoiled somewhat by the break to pledge allegiance which sounds forced. A good tune none the less and picks things back up.

Unfortunately they fall right back down again with another lazy track from Gene in Back to the Stone Age and Paul's Shout Mercy which again fails on a forced and dull chorus.

Long Way Down and East Your Heart out don't do much to get things moving again and the album begins to fall flat at this point.

The Devil is Me sees Gene trying to be the Demon again but unlike on Sonic Boom where he nailed it with I'm and Animal he just misses the mark again.

Monster finally sinks its teeth into you on track 9 with Outta this World. No, Tommy Thayer is not the original Spaceman. But he shows here that he has the chops and finally I feel like I'm listening to a KISS album again.

All for the Love of Rock and Roll sounds like it was written for 1976's Rock and Roll Over album with Eric Singer giving it a groovy feel in what is possibly the standout track of the record.

The bite marks continue with the classic KISS style Take me Down Below. The lyrics? Well they are unsophisticated, sexist and crude...marvellous! Simmons and Stanley share vocal duties as this unashamedly KISS track guns you down.

Last Chance does let things down a little however and reminds you that bar maybe four songs, Monster is just lacking the snarl and growl.

Compared to Sonic Boom? Both sound the same but whereas Sonic Boom contained for my reckoning three stonking KISS classics and several other strong songs, Monster for me contains four songs that border on KISS classics but at least four others that could easily have been cut. Gene only comes to life on Take Me Down Below and the band as a whole never quite makes the grade here.

Overall it reminds me of Lick it Up which was similar in style to Creatures of the Night while not being as good.

Don't get me wrong, I badly want KISS to come to the UK and maybe I am being greedy but how about another album? Just one more! Go on guys, I know you can do it!