Gene Simmons – Metal Express Radio

KISS (Live at The Hydro, Glasgow, U.K., July 8, 2023)

KISS (Live) – The End Of The Road – A Personal Journey – Part II

July 9, 2023 Mick Burgess

It just had to be done. Just one more time. The lure of catching the self-styled “Hottest Band In The World” on the last night of their UK tour as part of their End Of The Road Farewell Tour was just too much to resist. Sure, I thought I’d been here before back in 2019 in the same venue but as fate would have it a worldwide pandemic halted the tour in its tracks along with everyone else’s. Once that was over and live music returned, those postponed shows were rebooked along with a whole raft of added dates to satiate demand and so a second round of European shows was added to the final strait of the Farewell Tour including a handful in the UK. Having seen the show in Newcastle back in June there’s no need to do a re-run of that review which can be seen here. Instead this will be more of a personal journey that ended on a rain swept night in Glasgow up in bonny Scotland. After discovering a copy of Alive II in my sister’s record collection back in 1979, all it took to change my musical life was the opening riff to “I Stole Your Love” on Side 3 – nothing was ever quite the same again. So began a journey that started 44 years ago, has taken in multiple shows starting with the “Lick It Up” tour in 1983 and has ended up tonight at the Hydro in Glasgow. Tonight was certainly one of mixed feelings. Who would possibly fail to be impressed by the legendary battle cry of “You wanted the best, you got the best, the hottest band in the world….KISS!!!!” followed by a cataclysmic eruption of flames, explosions and smoke as the band descended from the rafters on platforms …READ MORE

KISS (Live)

June 7, 2023 Mick Burgess

Back in 1973, four lads dreaming of stardom performed for the first time at The Coventry in New York in front of a handful of people. 50 years on, after a career selling over 100 million records, receiving more Gold and Platinum discs than any band other than the Beatles and playing to literally millions of people around the globe, it’s finally time for American Rock legends KISS, to call it a day. Sure, their End Of The Road Farewell Tour has been stretched somewhat, with additional dates being constantly added to the schedule, but that demand to see them has to be met and the chance to catch them one last time, 40 years after their first appearance in Newcastle, was just too great an opportunity to pass by. Nobody makes an entrance quite like KISS, absolutely nobody. Following their traditional battle cry of “You Wanted the best, you got the best, the hottest band in the world…….KISS”, they launched into “Detroit Rock City” as they descended from the rafters on platforms spewing smoke and showers of sparks while fireworks exploded overhead all flanked by huge columns of flames. Utterly stunning. Over the next two hours KISS plundered their illustrious back catalogue that has clocked up almost 25 studio albums across their glittering career with their 1974 self-titled debut album and the classic Destroyer from 1976 providing many of the songs for this evening’s entertainment including a hard driving “Deuce” complete with their legendary KISS dance at the end and the fist pumping sing-a-long “Shout It Out Loud”. KISS must have one of the most instantly identifiable images in music with their garish kabuki black, white and silver face paint and outrageous costumes rounded off by six-inch platform boots. With each member having their own character, a KISS show was …READ MORE

KISS (Live at The Hydro, Glasgow, Scotland, July 16, 2019)

KISS (Live) – The End Of The Road – A Personal Journey

July 19, 2019 Mick Burgess

Everyone who loves music with a passion has that Eureka moment. That split second when your entire musical world is turned on its head and your life is never quite the same again. Back in the summer of ’79, this wide eyed school boy knew little of life outside of Top 40 radio and the Top of the Pops TV show but returning from a family holiday to discover KISS Alive II perched in front of the stereo changed all of that. From Gene Simmons sweat soaked, blood dripping face to the most stunning gatefold sleeve that opened up to show flamethrowers and bombs galore it was like nothing from this world. And then there was the music. When asked to “put the side with Beth on”, nothing could prepare these ears for what came next. It was loud, fast, raw and so exciting. Then it was Beth. Hmmmm, a little different to the preceding I Stole Your Love but the ominous rumble of bass and four titanic beats followed by the most apocalyptic sounds ever heard, in God of Thunder and that was it. Absolutely hooked. The doors were well and truly kicked down to a life time of KISS and Hard Rock music. 40 years on and the end is nigh. KISS announced their impending retirement with a huge worldwide End Of The Road tour and 36 years on from seeing them for the first time on the Lick It Up tour, this was the final strait. Having see the show in Newcastle 2 nights before (reviewed here) it was only polite to make the long trek up to Scotland for the last night of their last ever tour of Europe at The Hydro in Glasgow to say farewell to the ones that kicked started a lifelong love …READ MORE

KISS (Live)

July 15, 2019 Mick Burgess

45 years after exploding out of New York selling over 100 million albums and amassing more gold and platinum discs than any other band except the Beatles, it’s finally the end of the road for America’s most over the top Rock ‘n’ Roll icons, KISS. It’s been 9 years since KISS last played in Newcastle and 36 years since their first ever appearance on the Lick It Up tour but sadly this would be the last. The KISS Army raised their flags and marched down to the Utilita Arena in huge numbers for one last time. Descending from the rafters on octagonal platforms spewing sparks and smoke with explosions rocking the back of the hall, it was like entering a battle zone as KISS kicked off with Detroit Rock City. Shout It Out Land with Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons trading vocals had the whole crowd singing and punching the air before the hard driving Deuce, from their very first album, took us back to where it all started. Ring leader Paul Stanley, the consummate frontman, pirouetted on six-inch platform boots, covering more ground than a marathon runner, constantly whipping the crowd into a frenzy while demonic bassist Gene Simmons stalked the stage flicking out his lizard sized tongue. Say Yeah from 2010s Sonic Boom, another stadium filling anthem and Psycho Circus from their 1999 reunion album sat comfortably alongside the vintage cuts from the ’70s while the ’80s hits Lick It Up, Heaven’s On Fire and the Top 10 single Crazy, Crazy Nights ensure most bases were covered. A KISS show was famously described as a nuclear explosion in Madame Tussauds which pretty much sums up this evening performance which featured bombs, flame throwers, rockets, smoke, drums rising 50 feet into the air, not to mention a fire breathing, …READ MORE

ACE FREHLEY – Spaceman

October 28, 2018 Zac Halter

Ace Frehley’s eighth solo album doesn’t hold any surprises. As an integral component of the Kiss machine for many years, Frehley represents the formulaic Kiss sound on this album. The uncomplicated song structure and blunt lyrics are cleanly mixed so the listener misses nothing. “Without You I’m Nothing” opens on a high note. Co-wrote by Gene Simmons, the song prominently features Simmons on the bass and combines meaty riffs with memorable lyrics for a very modern sound. “Rockin’ With The Boys” follows and demonstrates the familiar Kiss sound. Frehley shares he wrote the original version of the song when he was a member of Kiss in the ’70s. It sounds like a rocked out companion to “Beth”; call it “Beth Part 2”. It’s not surprising Kiss didn’t record it. The lyrical similarities are obvious and the riffs feel incomplete and unnecessarily repetitive. All pretense of originality flees with Frehley’s curious decision to “re-cover” “I Wanna Go Back”, a Billy Satellite song which attained notoriety when Eddie Money covered it in 1986. Frehley’s version adds nothing new and fares unfavorably in comparison. The final three songs “Mission To Mars” an up-tempo rocker, “Off My Back” a mid tempo anthem and the instrumental “Quantum Flux” end the album on a high note. Fans of all things Kiss or who have an affinity for Frehley’s music will enjoy Spaceman. Though there is nothing good enough to supplant better and older songs in his catalog. The casual listener may find it interesting but might consider listening to “New York Groove” instead. TUNE INTO METALEXPRESSRADIO.COM at NOON & MIDNIGHT (EST) / 6:00 & 18:00 (CET) TO HEAR THE BEST TRACKS FROM THIS UPCOMING RELEASE!!! TRACKLIST (Highlights: 1, 4, 7, 8, 9 ) Without You I’m Nothing 4:07 Rockin’ With The Boys 4:15 Your Wish Is …READ MORE

KISS (Live)

May 28, 2017 Mick Burgess

As the closing strains of Led Zeppelin’s Rock and Roll was replaced by a low, ominous drone, the inevitable battle cry shattered the tranquillity with the legendary words….YOU WANTED THE BEST, YOU GOT THE BEST, THE HOTTEST BAND IN THE WORLD…..KISS and so it began, the greatest Rock show on earth descended from the rafters on a space age platform surrounded by swirling smoke and a cacophony of explosions as KISS stormed into Deuce. With Gene Simmons stalking the stage in menacing fashion and Paul Stanley dancing, skipping and leaping into the air at every opportunity along with Tommy Thayer’s screaming mid song solo and Eric Singer’s driving beat, this was total sensory overload. In true KISS counter punch fashion no time was wasted in following straight up with Shout It Out Loud, a classic anthem with Simmons and Stanley trading vocals and the packed Hydro adding the Glaswegian choir to the chorus. In a rare moment of reflection, Stanley paused to remember those who lost their lives at the Manchester Arena earlier in the week and led a minutes silence in a touching tribute. KISS themselves, having cancelled their own show in Manchester as a mark of respect. KISS are no political commentators and resumed normal service with Lick It Up astride a huge front of stage riser replete with an array of lasers and columns of flames not to mention a cheeky snippet of The Who’s Won’t Get Fooled Again. Dressed in updated costumes from their Creatures of The Night era but alas no sign of the fabled tank turret, Gene launched into the fist pumping I Love It Loud as Stanley pulled a star struck kid out of the crowd to strum along on his guitar. Ever the ultimate showman, Stanley never remained still for a second. …READ MORE

BRUCE KULICK – BK3

February 2, 2010 Guest Writer

Bruce Kulick is best known for spending over a dozen years as the lead guitarist for KISS. Since leaving that band in the mid-nineties, he’s had plenty of time to hone his skills, and not just as a member of Grand Funk Railroad. With BK3, there’s a fair amount of evidence that Kulick’s abilities haven’t deteriorated. He can still rock just as hard as he did in his formative years and he also manages to vary his sound. It’s important to keep in mind that this isn’t just another Hard Rock release. There’s something of a Pop Rock feel to BK3, as well. Because of the overly mainstream sensibilities, Kulick loses points. The stuff that’s on here is well performed and you’d expect that from someone with so much experience under their belt. Take a song like “Dirty Girl” – which features the late Doug Fieger (The Knack) on vox – and you get something that’s a little too fluff injected to appeal to true Hard Rock fans. “And I Know”, where Kulick himself handles vocal duties, is another instance where the cheese really bubbles to the surface. In many ways, Bruce Kulick has yet to escape from the black (and white) shadow that a band of KISS’ stature commands. Not only does Gene Simmons make a guest appearance on BK3, his son, Nick Simmons, also plays a role. Another kiss affiliate, in Eric Singer, rears his head, too. While he’s certainly an important part of “KISStory”, perhaps Kulick should consider putting the past behind him for a while and relying more on his skills as a guitarist to carry him through. When you listen to the two instrumental tracks, “Between the Lines” (which includes Steve Lukather as a guest) and “Skydome”, it becomes obvious where Kulick really shines: focusing …READ MORE

KISS – Kissology Vol. 3 1992-2000

January 6, 2008 Frode Johnsrud

Kissology Volume 3. 1992-2000 – The Ultimate Kiss Collection – was released late last year. From 2000 up until now, the band has not been very active, and what has been done has basically been covered with the releases of Kiss Symphony and Rock The Nation Live, as well as numerous episodes of Gene Simmons’ family jewels. It’s therefore easy to assume that Volume 3 is the last part of the Kissology saga. But, never say never – it’s been a while since the first farewell tour, and still the band is active … Kiss fans are not like other fans, so the problems, if you can call them problems, with Kissology Volume 1 and 2, was the fact that most fans had seen the material before -– some of the material was even floating around as bootlegs in better quality. And, you have to look at the Kissology series as something for the fans, even the most diehard fans, as the average Joe wouldn’t pick up three disc sets with a total of nine DVDs (actually, 18 discs counting the bonuses) in order to just check the band out. From a fan’s point of view, it’s necessary to have the complete shows, no matter if there’s a blunder here or there, or a guitar is out of tune. The Kissology trilogy consists of many incomplete shows, and that’s not what the fans want to have. Then again, they buy the DVDs anyway – even all three editions of each. Someone might live a decent life in sunny California because of this. Volume 3 is therefore the most interesting Kissology for most fans, and starts with perhaps Kiss’s strongest lineup musically speaking. Surely not the most Kiss-sounding lineup, as Bruce Kulick on guitar wasn’t an Ace Frehley-wannabe, but he was …READ MORE

KISS – Alive II

December 6, 2004 Mick Burgess

‘Don’t judge a book by its cover,” goes the adage. The cover of this second live installment from U.S.A. rockers, Kiss, features a blood-splattered, sweat-soaked Gene Simmons … quite striking indeed. However, on opening up the lavish gatefold sleeve, a veritable feast of flamethrowers, fireworks, flamethrowers, and hydraulic ramps welcomes you and, errrrr … even more flamethrowers. Once described as a nuclear explosion in a waxworks factory, Kiss have succeeded in producing one of the most spectacular covers for a live album ever witnessed. If this doesn’t make you want to quit your day job and become a rock star, then nothing will. So, the cover is great, but what about the music??? Commencing with the traditional Kiss battle cry, and straight into the opening salvo of “Detroit Rock City” and “King of the Night Time World,” a battery of explosions leaves you with no doubt that this will be an audio riot. The pace hardly lets up throughout the whole album, with each song coming across harder, faster, and vastly superior to their studio counterparts. All band members take a turn at the microphone, with the bulk of the vocals handled by Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley. Ace Frehley makes his live debut on “Shock Me,” complete with guitar histrionics, while Peter Criss is credited with the album’s more mellow moments. Possibly the most contrasting moment on the album is when the orchestral strings of “Beth” fade into the ominous, rumbling bass that precedes the Armageddon-esque riff of “God of Thunder”– the heaviest song in the Kiss arsenal. This song perfectly symbolizes the onstage persona of Simmons. The album closes with the rabble-rousing Kiss party anthem, “Shout It Out Loud,” before coming to somewhat of a premature end. Since the album only draws from the preceding three studio albums …READ MORE

KISS – The Best of Kiss, Volume 2: The Millennium Collection

June 15, 2004 Frode Johnsrud

Here’s part two of the so-called 20th Century Masters, The Millennium Collection, and it features Kiss’ work from the Creatures Of The Night album of 1982 to 1989’s Hot In The Shade. It’s indeed a trip down Memory Lane, from the period in life of a teenager being totally obsessed with the band, to losing a little interest due to an album that was simply a collection of demos, the mentioned Hot In The Shade. By that time, other bands came up with far better produced albums and more challenging music. The first and most noticeable remark: This is, with the sole exception of “I Love It Loud,” Paul Stanley’s second solo release. He is currently working on his second solo album, but if this CD comes into counting, he’s about to commit to his third. The simple reason: Gene Simmons’ head was indeed somewhere else in the eighties. He starred in B-rated films, he dated celebrities, he started a record label, and he thought he could live on Kiss’ fine legacy instead of living up to it. The man of a thousand faces delivered a handful of great songs to 1983’s Lick It Up — “Not For The Innocent,” perhaps being his heaviest and best moment in the eighties — but apart from a half decent song on Crazy Nights (“Come Hell Or High Water”), he wasn’t back in true style before 1992’s Revenge. That explains why this is Paul Stanley’s solo record, and it is indeed a fine collection by a man who never released a sub-standard song in his life. Had Stanley lost focus as much as his partner back in these times, Kiss would have been dead and buried by 1984. And of course, the reunion would have taken place in 1988, not 1996. Kiss always …READ MORE