KISS News Bits

[Va Beach VH Fan]

In retrospect, RARO wasn't exactly Earth-shattering artwork to begin with.



It's also interesting to note that the image in Full Bug's post is in fact larger than the one that will be on the actual CD. (Compare a standard CD case to it. )

Even so, (and I'm not even totally sure why), I'll be picking this up. Yes, I bought Psycho Circus as well, but perhaps this time I do not have a heightened sense of expectation. Besides, three discs for 12 bucks is still a bargain these days, and at least one of 'em will be worth it.

RARO is my favorite KISS album....

I know Destroyer gets all the publicity, but RARO had some excellent songs as well.... I also think Take Me was possibly their most underrated song...

But yeah, horrible decision to basically copy the RARO album cover, use some creativity for Christ sakes...

[Hellraiser!!]

Here's an oldie but goodie from 1974...that old broad "recognizes" Gene!


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I posted another version of this video on youtube a few years ago...

[Hellraiser!!]

Heard the new sample, sounds more like something from Revenge era...pretty cool!!!

BTW terrible cover art!!

[indeedido]

That album cover is fucking horrible!!!!! WTF?!? Klassic KISS? That song is a throw away from the 80's. That snipet tells me what I already knew, Paul is stuck in the 80s. His shitty solo album sounded like it was from '87 and this turd isn't any better. Fuck, quit hyping "our new album is classic kiss". Fuck off. I knew when I heard Paul was producing it what it would sound like. KISS producing their own albums is like representing yourself in court. You've got a fool for a client.

As far as the "extra" cd/dvd with the album, have you heard this re-recorded shit? It is atrocious. Slow and muddy. They are trying so hard to play it note for note, there is no energy. And a dvd of a handful of songs from scab KI$$, who wants to see that?? If you're going to put a dvd in, Metallica had a cool idea, play the entire new album live for the dvd. Rehashed bath water.

[Va Beach VH Fan]

Boy, they are raw there....

Gene has said they had no idea prior to the show that someone from the band had to join the panel and that they basically volunteered Gene....

I try to explain to my son about how NO ONE knew what these guys looked like for 10 years, and how it could never happen nowadays....

[Mr. Vengeance]

That cover art is pretty much as lame as the Bible Black video by Sabbath, oops, Heaven and Hell.

[Terry]

Might sound petty, but Thayer and Singer in Ace and Peter's makeup just isn't right.

Not onstage, and even less so on an album cover.

Regardless of who now owns the rights to the makeup likenesses, or if Ace and Peter are being compensated for said use or whatever...it's just cheesy and wrong, and it doesn't matter what bullshit justification the band or their fans give for why they think it isn't. Not to me.

Only four people on the planet deserve to wear that makeup, and neither Thayer nor Singer are among those four.

[Igosplut]

.

Fuckin A I had that 8 track.......

[chefcraig]

Might sound petty, but Thayer and Singer in Ace and Peter's makeup just isn't right.

Not onstage, and even less so on an album cover.

Regardless of who now owns the rights to the makeup likenesses, or if Ace and Peter are being compensated for said use or whatever...it's just cheesy and wrong, and it doesn't matter what bullshit justification the band or their fans give for why they think it isn't. Not to me.

Only four people on the planet deserve to wear that makeup, and neither Thayer nor Singer are among those four.

Absolutely. More than anything, those four images signify what is close to a trademark for fans of the band, signifying an era. Ace will always be the spaceman, Peter will remain the cat. Simmons and Stanley can talk until they are blue in the face saying this is KISS, but the truth is that this is a variation of the band, an altogether different incarnation that is being put forth under a false premise. Say what you will about the merits of costume revision brought about by Vinny Vincent and Eric Carr, but at least there was an acknowledgment of change, one that spoke to an attempt toward honesty.

[Terry]

Absolutely. More than anything, those four images signify what is close to a trademark for fans of the band, signifying an era. Ace will always be the spaceman, Peter will remain the cat. Simmons and Stanley can talk until they are blue in the face saying this is KISS, but the truth is that this is a variation of the band, an altogether different incarnation that is being put forth under a false premise. Say what you will about the merits of costume revision brought about by Vinny Vincent and Eric Carr, but at least there was an acknowledgment of change, one that spoke to an attempt toward honesty.

Well, that's just it; Vincent and Carr were their own characters.

I think what is currently happening is dishonest in a way. No, Gene and Paul aren't claiming Thayer and Singer are Frehley and Criss, but I doubt they'd even pause if there were more than a few non-hardcore fans going to their shows who were under the impression they were seeing the original band.

I suppose it's only a certain segment of longtime fans who even give a toss about it, but it's kind of, in a loose way, like any version of "Van Halen" that doesn't contain Roth, Ed, Al and Mike calling itself Van Halen. Or any other band that loses members yet keeps the name; it sends a signal that the name (and in the case of KISS the makeup) was kept due to a failure of nerve and a lack of guts in relinquishing a brand name that no longer represents what made that name a brand in the first place.

[bueno bob]

Cover art is crap...Rock and Roll Over much? LOL

As far as the song's concerned...meh. It's not the worst Kiss has ever done, but it also kinda tells me the downhill slant hasn't stopped...very early 80s sounding, maybe Creatures of the Night era? Not the throwback that's been promised. Still, I'm sure I'll get it...can't be as bad as Psycho Suckass was...

[Vinnie Velvet]

Cover art is crap...Rock and Roll Over much? LOL

As far as the song's concerned...meh. It's not the worst Kiss has ever done, but it also kinda tells me the downhill slant hasn't stopped...very early 80s sounding, maybe Creatures of the Night era? Not the throwback that's been promised. Still, I'm sure I'll get it...can't be as bad as Psycho Suckass was...

That's what I don't get. After hyping the shit out of the album being a "return back to 1977", their new single (from that snippet) sounds nothing like something off of Love Gun or RARO. As you said, yes, it sounds more like KISS circa 1982-83. It sounds okay but again its an example of the bullshit that comes out of the mouths of Paul and Gene.

[Hellraiser!!]

Might sound petty, but Thayer and Singer in Ace and Peter's makeup just isn't right.

There's a weird rumour that actually Ace and Peter played guitars and drums on this new disc LOL!!!

[atomicpunk5151]

There's a weird rumour that actually Ace and Peter played guitars and drums on this new disc LOL!!!

I think we can throw out that rumor........lol....

[atomicpunk5151]

Some more info on the cover from FAQ

Behind The Sonic Boom Cover With Michael Doret (KISSFAQ.COM)

The cover art for the new KISS album, "Sonic Boom," was created by Michael Doret, who also designed the band's classic "Rock And Roll Over" album cover.

Regarding how the new artwork came together, Doret writes on his blog, "When Paul Stanley [KISS guitarist/vocalist] came by my studio to discuss how to proceed on the art for the cover of their upcoming CD/DVD package, 'Sonic Boom', I had no idea what to expect. I hadn't met with him since working on 'Rock And Roll Over', and had very little memory of what that had been like.

"Any anxiety I had melted away when we started talking. Paul is a 'gentlemen's gentleman' and I immediately felt at ease talking with him — as if all those years had not intervened since the last time we had spoken.

"After some small talk, he explained what he was after with the new cover art. His vision for this album was to make it as vital and raw as it had been when they did 'Rock And Roll Over.' He felt that that had been some of the best work that they had ever done, and wanted the new album to recreate that energy both musically and visually. While he didn't want me to reprise what I had done with my art for the earlier cover, he did want me to try to capture some of the same spirit, attitude, energy, and look that I had instilled in that piece. Also, one of his stipulations was that unlike 'Rock And Roll Over' (where I had created abstract, graphic versions of the KISS personas), this time he wanted photographic representations of the four group members in full makeup.

"When I did 'Rock And Roll Over,' I had a 12" canvas to work on. Now with CD covers and digital booklets, that canvas had been reduced to less than 40&#37; of its original size. Designing in a 4&#190;" space poses some very different problems from what I faced while working on covers for vinyl releases. In fact, the older cover design would not have worked at that size; its many elements would have felt crowded into a small space. So the elements of 'Sonic Boom' had to be bigger, bolder — and fewer. I made the decision to make the title the main focus of the graphics, moving the other elements (faces, KISS logo) into prominent — but subordinate—roles.

"So I set about putting pencil to paper and trying to solve this the way I solve any other design problem. I did not want to get psyched-out by thinking too much about how the new design would compare with 'Rock And Roll Over.' That cover had taken on a life of its own and had become a pop culture icon. Creating an iconic cover could not have been one of my goals. All I was capable of doing was to try to create the most compelling graphics possible within the parameters and limitations that had been set out for me. So I started out at the core of this design by creating what I call a 'word constellation' out of the title. I tried to make it communicate its meaning visually by not only making it angular and 'explosive,' but also by creating a shape that was somewhat suggestive of flight — a 'flying wing,' if you will. Bearing in mind the symmetrical, mandala-like layout of 'Rock And Roll Over,' I started designing the new piece as a field growing out of the center of the square, with the four members faces moving outwards from the center, and capped with my version of the ubiquitous KISS logo.

"It took about a week for me to develop my sketch to the point where I felt confident in what I had come up with. As I had done with 'Rock And Roll Over,' I felt so strongly about this cover design that I decided to not present any other options — I wanted this to be the ONE.

"This is the rough pencil [see below] I first presented to Paul. I held my breath as he first took it in, and then was able to exhale when I saw a big smile appear on his face."