Sonic Boom [Special Edition, Box set]

Got the new Kiss CD today, two days before it hits the shops (cheers to Amazon) and it's considerably better than the last few releases from Gene and Paul.

The limited edition comes with a CD of Kiss Klassics (their spelling not mine!) and so the question is: would any of the Sonic Boom songs make a 'best of' CD in the future? The answer is surprisingly - yes. One song stands out for me as being of the old school kiss-style that will become a fan favourite and it is the track 'Yes I Know (Nobody's Perfect)' which to me sounds like the new 'Ladies Room'. For this song alone I'm glad I bought the album.

The other songs are fairly good thumpers but nothing to make you delete Love Gun or Destroyer on a full mp3 player in favour of Sonic Boom. I would say however that the guitar work on the new CD is very, VERY, good. Tommy seems to have found an Ace sound but then turned it up to 11.

If you are a Kiss fan I think you'll find this to be a worthy addition to the collection and you'll love 'Yes I Know'. If you don't own any Kiss CDs then the limited edition gives you the new stuff, the classics and a DVD so you can see some of the type of live show that made them superstars.

I became a KISS fan back in 1997, just after the reunion and fell in love with the band. Make-up or unmasked, original line-up or newer versions, I didn't care, I loved everything KISS. I can recall a day when I skipped lunch so I would have enough to buy Paul's 1978 solo album and another when I literally walked the street looking for dropped change because I was pennies short of enough to buy the next album (found, I walked home penniless but happy with CD in hand). In just two short years I had bought every single album - live albums, compilations the lot! I then set to work on buying solo material. But I began to grow restless waiting for more albums from my favourite band. After Psycho Circus in 1998 I waited and waited and eventually gave up hope of ever hearing a new album. And then...

Sonic Boom is KISS 19th full studio album, their first in 11 years, the first to feature Tommy Thayer and in many ways a blast from the past. Like many KISS fans, I was extremely sceptic when I heard the usual 'it sounds like Destroyer' talk from the band (a description given to nearly every album since Destroyer in 1976 and NEVER lived up to). However, with Sonic Boom, it seems to ring truer than most. There is a more 1970s feel to it and in places it sounds very much like the 1980s. KISS, quite wisely seem to have given up the idea of being new and innovative and have focused on what they do best - bringing down the house!

The album chugs into life with 'Modern Day Delilah' with a heavy riff and catchy chorus it is a strong if unspectacular start. 'Russian Roulette' is just as heavy and grinding but both tracks seem to be lacking what Thierry Henry would refer to as Va Va Voom as though they are on the cusp of being something more.

The album then takes a bit of a plunge with Never Enough, Yes I Know (Nobody's Perfect) and Stand, all of which are perfectly good songs but certainly not up to the standard of the 1970s which KISS were hoping to emulate. At this point, you are left wondering whether or not KISS has anything left in them before Sonic Boom crashes into gear. Hot and Cold is typical KISS: Lyrics that fall some way short of Shakespeare, philosophical meaning not quite living up to Socrates but enough energy and drive to drown out Spinal Tap with the speakers turned up to 11.

Up next comes the song which (it would seem from other reviews) I alone believe to be the album's stand out track. 'All for the Glory' features a proper vocal debut from Eric Singer (he had previously sang vocals on Nothin' to Lose on the Unplugged live album) with fantastic verses and a chorus that will have your heading banging, heart pounding and fist thumping. It is truly Klassic KISS - no sophistication, no deep meaning but anthemic rock to the core. It is a song that I would happily stand alongside any of KISS' catalogue and really does deliver a Sonic Boom.

Danger Us continues the trend (bad lyrics with great music) and has you singing along before Gene roars into life on track 9. `I'm an Animal' is sleazy, heavy, dirty and dripping attitude. The Demon growls his way through the song with menace.

Unfortunately, the vocal debut for Tommy Thayer, 'When Lightning Strikes' falls rather flat with nothing to really recommend it and seems like typical filler.

Thankfully, Sonic Boom finishes in style with 'Say Yeah' which is a rallying call anthem in a similar vein to Shout it Out Loud, if not quite of that quality. Fine verses, a cracking chorus and Paul's powerful vocal give the album the send off it deserves.

Overall, Sonic Boom is not quite up there with KISS' finest. Their historic debut record, Hotter than Hell, Destroyer, Rock and Roll Over and Love Gun were among the finest rock albums of all-time. Creatures of the Night and Revenge were also of that quality and there have been many other good records. It is amongst records such as these others that you should file Sonic Boom, with Lick it Up, Dressed to Kill, Psycho Circus and the like. It has a couple of outstanding songs, several very good ones and (hat tip coming) some excellent guitar playing from Tommy Thayer who finally gets to show what he's got after being merely an Ace imposter for so many years.

As for the special edition? DVD is a nice touch and the packaging and booklet are very good but the other part... Well, it's VERY KISS! Only KISS would release YET ANOTHER compilation. It is a fine collection of songs and I certainly enjoyed listening to them in my car. But I have now put the CD back in the case. Will I put them onto my iPod? No! I already have about a million copies of Deuce and Detroit Rock City on there and while all of these songs sound great, there is nothing about them that would make me listen to them over the originals (which it has to be said are slightly better). Listen to it once, twice, maybe three times as I have. I'd put money on it that you won't feel the need to return to it again. Superfluous.

So in summing up; Sonic Boom is a blast from the past from KISS. It does not try to be clever, it does not try to be deep, it just grabs you by the throat and drags you along for a wild ride. For the most part, it does it pretty well. There are a couple of editions to add to KISS fine array of Klassic rock tunes and an album you will come back to often if not quite as much as their very best. A good album for sure and one we have waited far too long to hear. Welcome back guys, we have missed you!

KISS, the self-proclaimed "Hottest Band In The World", have spent most of the last decade under fire - and a lot of the criticism has come from their own fans.

Back in 1998, when recording began for "Psycho Circus", the KISS Army was still buzzing from the band's spectacular '96-'97 reunion tour. However, when they found out that Paul and Gene had kicked Ace and Peter out of the studio, and completed most of the new album with stand-ins, many fans felt cheated. When Ace and Peter were thrown out of the band completely a couple of years later, and replaced with doppelgangers (Tommy Thayer and Eric Singer, wearing Ace and Peter's make-up), the discontent grew even stronger. A phoney "farewell" tour proved to be yet another deception, and 11 years spent releasing mountains of merchandise (including the infamous KISS Kondoms and KISS Koffins) but, crucially, no new music has even led some to question if KISS are a real band anymore. "They never were a real band," sneer long-time critics. "Just an over-the-top novelty act."

To that, I say: KISS have done damage to their legacy in recent years, but if they were never a great band to begin with, they wouldn't have a legacy at all, to harm or to enhance - and their legacy is built as much on musicianship as it is on showmanship, as any of their classic studio records (which require no added visual theatrics) will attest. It's been far too long since KISS reminded fans and critics alike that they are not only a real band, but arguably the GREATEST rock band of the 20th century...and what better way to do that than by surprising us all with a brilliant comeback album?

In the build-up to "Sonic Boom", Paul and Gene have talked up the "classic KISS sound" of the new record...and in this respect, the hype is on the money. The production, the guitars and even the vocal arrangements take you straight back to the band's 70's era, which is likely to please a lot of older fans.

Lead single "Modern Day Delilah" opens the record with a chugging riff, and Paul's perennially crisp and commanding vocal tone, but when it fails to break out of it's mid-tempo canter, the song feels a little too comfortable for comfort. "Never Enough" is more energetic, and Paul punctuates the finish with a full-blooded shout of: "Give it to me!" For a brief moment, "Sonic Boom" seems poised to live up to it's title. Instead, the album falls back into mid-tempo purgatory, with a collection of songs too complacent to demand your full attention. Gene's vocals are particularly listless, even bored, bringing back memories of the mid 80's when (by his own admission) he was more interested in his acting career than contributing to the band. He wakes from his slumber just once, on the down n' dirty "I'm An Animal", which is reminiscent of "Watchin' You", but let down somewhat by a throwaway lyric.

To his credit, Tommy Thayer takes up much of the slack with lead guitar work that is consistently impressive, and in places, truly magnificent. His singing is mediocre (and ironically not dissimilar to Ace's), but Eric Singer shows he is more than capable of carrying a tune. Unfortunately, both their solo spots ("When Lightning Strikes" and "All For The Glory", respectively) are no better than fillers. Also, Thayer has only 3 co-writing credits (Singer has none), which reinforces their "hired hands" status.

"Danger Us" offers up one of the band's worst-ever lyrical puns: "Danger you, danger me, danger-us!", while "Stand" and "Say Yeah" aim for anthemic without coming close to emulating "Shout It Out Loud" or "Rock and Roll All Nite". The 15 re-recordings offered as bonus tracks are barely worth mentioning - we were all happy with the originals, so why bother?

"Sonic Boom" achieves a vintage sound, but contains nothing that could be described as a vintage KISS song. There are a couple of good tracks, but far too many fillers to qualify this as proof of any persisting vitality in the band. When judged against their illustrious back catalogue, this ranks alongside albums like "Animalize" or "Asylum". Not a triumphant return, then - but at least KISS have finally remembered that being in a band is about more than merchandise margins and nostalgia.