The offical Kiss thread

S.D. wrote:

There is no bonus track, only a live version of "King Of The Night-Time World" on the Japanese version.

The production/mastering is getting hammered on the audio board I post on, they are calling it Kiss' "Death Magnetic" as far as sound quality goes.

The album was produced by Paul Stanley, I hope they are wrong.

S.D. wrote:

The production/mastering is getting hammered on the audio board I post on, they are calling it Kiss' "Death Magnetic" as far as sound quality goes.

The audio quality isn't nearly as bad as Death Magnetic. If you liked how Sonic Boom sounded, you'll be happy with Monster.

jstate wrote:

I ordered it from Best Buy just now then noticed the reviews on their site saying there was no bonus track. So there is no bonus track edition (except for Itunes)? I noticed the SKU is different on the "bonus track" edition, but man am I going to be pissed if it only has twelve songs on it. Best Buy is really starting to earn my hate.

I bought the Best Buy version as well. There is no bonus track. The bonus track (which I've heard is quite good) can only be purchased at itunes (album only).

I'm currently listening to "Monster" for the third time today. I love it.

S.D. wrote:

The production/mastering is getting hammered on the audio board I post on, they are calling it Kiss' "Death Magnetic" as far as sound quality goes.

I have no issue with the sound, though I do not have ears for that type of thing.

I've listened to the disc about 5 times so far. Loving it. Not sure which I like better, this or SB. Also, my favorite tracks are probably the Tommy and Eric ones. Sure, they aren't Ace or Peter, but they are really good and I wish they had more tracks.

Normally, I dislike Gene's vocals, but they work well on this album. The only thing I don't like on the record are the lyrics to "Freak". Musically, it is good, but the lyrics sound like some 90s garbage attempt at being hip.

I find it hilarious that some of the reviews on Amazon say things similar to, "Kiss is my favorite band and I have all their records, but Monster gets zero stars. This is crap." So you like Crazy Nights better than this? You like Hot in the Shade better than this? Weird. I enjoy tracks off those two albums, by the way, but they are the bottom of the Kiss catalog, for me.

In my opinion, if you have continued to enjoy KISS through the years, to some degree, then this album should be at least okay to you. If you're one of those people who thinks they should've hung it up after the 70s or something, then whatever...it may not be fore you. But I find it hard to believe that if you like something, at least a few tracks, on every record they've done, you should find something to like here. Just my opinion.

ZombieHavoc wrote:

The only thing I don't like on the record are the lyrics to "Freak". Musically, it is good, but the lyrics sound like some 90s garbage attempt at being hip.

The song was originally written for Lady Gaga to sing on, but the band eventually decided against it.

MEGATRON wrote:

S.D. wrote:

The production/mastering is getting hammered on the audio board I post on, they are calling it Kiss' "Death Magnetic" as far as sound quality goes.

The audio quality isn't nearly as bad as Death Magnetic. If you liked how Sonic Boom sounded, you'll be happy with Monster.

The mastering on Monster is WAY more slammed than Sonic Boom. I can completely understand the Death Magnetic comparisons. Ear fatigue sets in after only a few songs.

ultmetal wrote:

I pre-ordered the vinyl, assuming like all the other Kiss vinyls, that it will sell out. We'll see.

When you get the vinyl, will you please get a good digital rip of it posted for those of us who have the cd version and find it too be way too loud?

MEGATRON wrote:

S.D. wrote:

The production/mastering is getting hammered on the audio board I post on, they are calling it Kiss' "Death Magnetic" as far as sound quality goes.

The audio quality isn't nearly as bad as Death Magnetic. If you liked how Sonic Boom sounded, you'll be happy with Monster.

I thought it sounds better than Sonic Boom (production wise)

after 3rd spinning:

1. ?
2. aerosmith likely
3. jimi hendrix mix
4. lordi likely
5. mix
6. radio friendly pop
7. 80s forgetable song as Gene did so many
8. mix aerosmith with Gene solo cd or GSFJ
9. new wave of glam rock from sweden since 2010 or black n blue
10. "party" rock on early 90s
11. domino clone
12. ?

still cant remember one song, unmemorable sound style, no hit song, no catchy melody... Bionic Doom got one gr8 song MDD and that's it. this one ? completely none.
man im disappointed.

The band is going to be on Letterman tonight.

So apparently the only way to get that extra track is through itunes ? That sucks

007 wrote:

So apparently the only way to get that extra track is through itunes ? That sucks

...or, apparently, by offering sexual favors to the CEO of Best Buy.

Fat Freddy wrote:

007 wrote:

So apparently the only way to get that extra track is through itunes ? That sucks

...or, apparently, by offering sexual favors to the CEO of Best Buy.

Freddy, now might be a good time to mention your new job as CEO of Best Buy. Pucker up, fellas.

I was too late in canceling my Best Buy order unfortunately. Kinda now wish I'd simply gotten the damn thing at hastings for cheap like I had planned. Such is the lesson learned in pursuit of bonus material. Still pretty shady on BB's part.

Anyone get the Walmart magazine version?

I'm diggin' it.

speaking of KISS, it looks like Catman wrote a book (shocking) and here is an exert from those KISS fanatics at Rolling Stone:


Rolling Stone has posted an excerpt from Peter Criss' forthcoming memoir, Makeup To Breakup: My Life In And Out Of Kiss online. Portions of the article appear below.


Have you ever tasted the barrel of a .357 Magnum that's halfway down your throat? It's a really unforgettable sensation, like a piece of iron dipped in oil, with sort of a coppery aftertaste. I got my first and (hopefully) last taste of one on January 17th, 1994, sitting on the floor of my debris-strewn bedroom in Los Angeles.


Just twelve hours earlier I had been lying in bed, watching TV. It was around three A.M. and I was cozy under the covers when I feel a little tremor. I'd been through quite a few "shakers" in California. Chandeliers rattling, traffic lights swaying. But this was different. The tremors started getting more frequent and I started to hear a rumbling noise, so I sat up in the bed and all of a sudden the whole place shook big-time and the TV flew off the dresser, tumbled down, and blew up. I was like, "mother goose!" Then the lamps fell over and I was like, "Holy smurf poo!" Turned out this was the beginning of the Northridge earthquake, a massive catastrophe that killed thirty-three people and injured more than eighty-seven hundred.


I'm a Brooklyn boy: I knew about cockroaches and rats and zip guns, not earthquakes. So I started to panic. I heard glass shattering in the bathroom. I was hearing all this devastation, and just then another big jolt came, and my bed collapsed and the huge wooden armoire started dancing across the bedroom and then tipped over. Behind the armoire, on a nail, I had hung a bag that was filled with $100,000 cash. That was all the money I had to my name. I wasn't going to put it in a bank – didn't trust them – and I was in trouble with the IRS then, so I figured I'd keep the cash nearby and if someone was going to rob it, that's a big piece of motherfucking smurf poo to move. But now the huge armoire was lying on the floor and the bag was hanging from the nail, exposed.


My fear of death set in. Lamps were flying through the air. I got up and ran into the living room and I saw all my KISS gold albums falling off the walls and shattering. I also had a full cabinet of Steuben crystal that I had managed to pry from my ex-wife's hands, and all that precious crystal busted up. All of a sudden, the couch flew through the air, the armchair went over, and I got thrown into the bathroom wall. I was thinking, "Jesus, I'm going to smurfing die in some shithole apartment in Hollywood. I just don't believe you're going to take me this way."


So I found my .357 Magnum, tucked it under the waistband of my sweatpants, threw my bathrobe on, pulled on some sneakers, grabbed my bag with the cash, and ran. I knew enough not to take the elevator, so I rushed down the steps. It was still dark out and people were screaming, running half naked out of their apartments into the street. Outside, it looked like a war zone. Cars were overturned; a water hydrant had blown up and there was water gushing out into the street. People were running around screaming that it was the end of the world. Then, like in a movie, I heard a rumbling sound and I saw the tar separate and the street crack open. Everybody was panicking, but suddenly I got strangely calm. I was scared, but once I had my footing and my money and my gun, I knew no one was going to take them from me.


I just kept walking around in circles; I didn't know where to go. By then the sun was coming up and there was an aftershock and everybody screamed again. I had circled back to the front of my building, where hundreds of people had congregated. All the windows of the health-food store on the ground floor had shattered, and the food was all over the ground. Our underground garage had collapsed and lots of cars got totaled.


By late afternoon, they let us back into the building. I walked into my apartment and I couldn't believe it. Everything I had of value was leveled. I had no bed. The rod in the walk-in closet had collapsed and my clothes were on the floor. The refrigerator had toppled over and all the food was going rancid. The kitchen cabinets broke open and there was sugar everywhere. In the living room, all my records were shattered on the floor. The top of my People's Choice Award, which I had won for Beth, had broken off. My daughter's pictures had fallen off the wall and smashed into a million pieces. Everything that I used to look at and cherish was destroyed.

I didn't have electricity yet, so I lit a few candles. I was filthy, covered with the dirt and grime of the streets, but I couldn't shower because the whole shower had fallen apart. Even if it hadn't, there was no water. I couldn't even run the sink and wash my hands. I walked back into the bedroom and sat down on the mattress on the floor. I had to brush away the soil from my flowerpots, which had all broken. It was dusk and a huge wave of depression rolled over me and I almost threw up. I felt like there was a hot poker plunged into the pit of my stomach. I thought I was taking a stroke. I couldn't even breathe right: The air felt thin from the dust and the dirt in the apartment and the rotting food. The whole room stank from death.


I thought to myself, Why should I keep going? I was in the middle of recording a new album, but smurfing whoop-de-do; I was on TNT, a clown label. Then I started talking to myself, like in that Peggy Lee song "Is That All There Is": "What do you really have to live for? Your two marriages have gone to smurf poo. You hardly see your daughter. You got a hundred grand, but you were worth twelve-some-odd million at one point in your life. If this had happened when you were in KISS, your manager Bill Aucoin would have been there with fifty cop cars, twenty ambulances, and a helicopter. When you're on top and you're making everyone rich, they all love you, babe. Life is wonderful. But now you're really just a has-been. No one cares about you, especially in Hollywood."


....So I pulled out the .357 Magnum and put it in my mouth. The barrel is about six inches long, and I easily put three inches in. The gun is an inch in diameter, so I began to gag a little. When I hammered the gun back with my finger on the trigger, I started shaking. I knew if I slipped, it was all over. I also knew that I had straight flat-head bullets in the gun, so if I pulled the trigger, my brains would wind up somewhere across the street. I was a lucky bastard: I had cheated death a few times, but that wasn't going to happen with a .357 Magnum in my mouth.

Cheerful stuff.

KISS performed on Good Morning America this morning. Paul sounds a little flat or something, but otherwise a nifty performance...

jstate wrote:

I was too late in canceling my Best Buy order unfortunately. Kinda now wish I'd simply gotten the damn thing at hastings for cheap like I had planned. Such is the lesson learned in pursuit of bonus material. Still pretty shady on BB's part.

Anyone get the Walmart magazine version?

My son bought the Walmart version. He misses the jewel case but he thinks the magazine that comes with this version is pretty cool. Lyrics, track by track descriptions of the songs by the band, cool pictures etc. He likes it.

MetalGuy71 wrote:

KISS performed on Good Morning America this morning. Paul sounds a little flat or something, but otherwise a nifty performance...

That live version of HorH really reminded of Deep Purple's "Burn." I actually thought for a second that's what they were playing.

And yea...Paul really ddin't go for the high notes at all. Good performance though. I dig it.

Psychotron wrote:

MetalGuy71 wrote:

KISS performed on Good Morning America this morning. Paul sounds a little flat or something, but otherwise a nifty performance...

That live version of HorH really reminded of Deep Purple's "Burn." I actually thought for a second that's what they were playing.

And yea...Paul really ddin't go for the high notes at all. Good performance though. I dig it.

Yeah, the riff similarity with Burn has been discussed:

ultmetal wrote:

I'm diggin' it.

Lookin' forward to your review of this one, Scott.

Steven Tyler not a big KISS fan....

Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler and Joe Perry didn’t mince words when asked about Kiss in a recent radio interview. Tyler admitted he never cared for his counterpart’s music after calling them “a comic book rock band.” With Gene Simmons and company also doing media rounds to promote a new album, one expects Tyler’s comments are only the beginning of an entertaining back-and-forth.

“They’ve got a couple of hits, but they’re more the comic book — you see them in their speckled faces,” Tyler added while talking to the Cowhead Show on Tampa, Fla. rock station WHPT in an interview that aired Wednesday. “I remember when we went out with Kiss in ’76 or something, one of our roadies got into a knife fight with their guys. So I hated them ever since.”

The singer added that he’s learned to like Simmons and Paul Stanley on a personal level since that incident, but his thoughts on their music haven’t wavered.

“It is different. A Kiss lick and a Joe Perry lick — two different worlds. And I, sometimes, depending on the time of day, get offended. I hear that and go, ‘It’s all right, but do they really mean it?’ And, ‘What’s this all about?’ And that’s why I think Aerosmith has been around forever. We really do take ourselves seriously.”

S.D. wrote:

Steven Tyler not a big KISS fan....

Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler and Joe Perry didn’t mince words when asked about Kiss in a recent radio interview. Tyler admitted he never cared for his counterpart’s music after calling them “a comic book rock band.” With Gene Simmons and company also doing media rounds to promote a new album, one expects Tyler’s comments are only the beginning of an entertaining back-and-forth.

“They’ve got a couple of hits, but they’re more the comic book — you see them in their speckled faces,” Tyler added while talking to the Cowhead Show on Tampa, Fla. rock station WHPT in an interview that aired Wednesday. “I remember when we went out with Kiss in ’76 or something, one of our roadies got into a knife fight with their guys. So I hated them ever since.”

The singer added that he’s learned to like Simmons and Paul Stanley on a personal level since that incident, but his thoughts on their music haven’t wavered.

“It is different. A Kiss lick and a Joe Perry lick — two different worlds. And I, sometimes, depending on the time of day, get offended. I hear that and go, ‘It’s all right, but do they really mean it?’ And, ‘What’s this all about?’ And that’s why I think Aerosmith has been around forever. We really do take ourselves seriously.”

I love Aerosmith, but what a bunch of horse sh!t, if he felt that strongly about it, then he should not have cashed those huge paychecks they both received when they toured together a few years ago

I sense some jealousy from Mr. Tyler...but that's just me.