KISS Sonic Boom will be released on October 6, 2009, in the U.S., exclusively at Walmart, Walmart.com and Sam’s Club. Sonic Boom is a 3 – disc set: a CD of 11 new KISS songs, a 15 song newly re-recorded KISS Klassics CD and 1 KISS Bonus Live DVD. Cool. I will be buying my copy of Sonic Boom first thing on October 6th, (right after I bring my daughters to school). Admitting that I am stoked about KISS returning with Sonic Boom is a Metal understatement! The wait is coming to an end… a new KISS album is upon us, for me it will be Christmas in October, uh, Kissmas in October that is. Long live KISS Rock and Roll!
The Bonus Live DVD is footage from the KISS 2009 South American Tour in Buenos Aires, Argentina. A 20 page booklet will be included inside Sonic Boom as well. Sonic Boom will come as a DigiPak.
Track Listing for KISS Sonic Boom:
1. Modern Day Delilah
2. Russian Roulette
3. Never Enough
4. Yes I Know (Nobody’s Perfect)
5. Stand
6. Hot And Cold
7. All For The Glory
8. Danger Us
9. I’m An Animal
10. When Lightning Strikes
11. Say Yeah
Track Listing for the KISS Klassics CD:
1. Deuce
2. Detroit Rock City
3. Shout It Out Loud
4. Hotter Than Hell
5. Calling Dr. Love
6. Love Gun
7. I Was Made For Lovin’ You
8. Heaven’s On Fire
9. Lick It Up
10. I Love It Loud
11. Forever
12. Christine Sixteen
13. Do You Love Me
14. Black Diamond
15. Rock And Roll All Nite
KISS Bonus Live DVD Track Listing:
1. Deuce
2. Hotter Than Hell
3. C’mon And Love Me
4. Watchin’ You
5. 100,000 Years
6. Rock And Roll All Nite
On July 7th, 1984, Helix released Walkin’ the Razor’s Edge
On Saturday, of this 2009 Labor Day Weekend, I set out on a trip to buy back to school necessities for my daughters. The local mall, which is only minutes away, provides for a cool stroll… an f.y.e. is located inside. (Yessssss!). As my daughters and wife are perusing the kids sneakers, all I kept thinking was… what is currently hiding in the batch of used CD’s over at f.y.e.? The trip to this particular mall proved to be very worthwhile, no sneakers were found that my daughter liked, however, we had some fine pizza slices for lunch while we were there, plus I found The Law. The debut album The Law 
KISS. I have the fever… it is the addiction to this enormous American Heavy Metal juggernaut that hooked me back in grammar school… the (gulp), 1970’s that is. Over this past Summer of 2009, (actually it goes back to last Winter too), I have ultra consistently listened to the KISS album “Unmasked”… after each listen I am a better Metalhead for it. Unmasked was released back on May 20, 1980, right before I embarked on my High School years. By now, for anyone who reads my stuff regularly, may be tired of my mentioning that I owned 8 track tapes… still, I need to tell the world that I owned Unmasked on 8 track, thank you all for understanding. The memories that get stirred up inside my Metal mind, each time I listen to Unmasked are good ones… the Summer of 1980… going to the UCONN Basketball Camp, collecting odd and evil looking spiders in my backyard and having no worries in the world other than entering a new teenage chapter in my life.
Gene Simmons, The Demon, bass guitarist for KISS, music producer and actor. (The many hats this legend has worn are numerous, quite the achiever is Gene Simmons, in my Metal opinion). Gene Simmons always seems to stay in the public eye, the limelight follows this Heavy Metal icon everywhere he goes… with “Celebrity Apprentice” and his very own family reality series “The Family Jewels” making his presence seen and known while KISS is idle. A short while back, I started writing about my favorite KISS solo albums, in preferential order, no less. Why am I doing this? First, I am celebrating the four original members of KISS, their solo albums being what I consider to be quite a historical achievement in Heavy Metal and Rock history. The quality across the board is apparent in the music that Gene, Paul, Ace and Peter created with their solo albums… my reminding and/or informing anyone who is interested in these great KISS solo albums makes for a fine Metal deed. For me to list in order, my favorite KISS solo albums, (it is not etched in Metal stone here), deciding the sequence of which album ranks 1 thru 4, is based on which album has given me the biggest Metal listening thrill over the decades.
If I had to choose one of my favorite Rock instrumental songs of all time, there is no doubt “Frankenstein” comes to mind. The Edgar Winter Group released “They Only Come Out At Night” in November of 1972, this is the album you will find this original song on. Written by Edgar Winter, how ahead of it’s time was this song? Realistically, this now Classic Rock masterpiece of an instrumental song was as diversified as it was heavy. The multi talented musicianship of Edgar Winter is standout on “Frankenstein”, with the keyboards creating enough spookiness to validate the song’s title. The saxophone, in my Metal opinion, has always had a macabre sounding affect on me, only adding to the overall eerie coolness that “Frankenstein” erupts. I fell Metal head over heels for this song decades ago… I still slap this song on very frequently, especially around Halloween. Seriously, this song just goes perfect when Autumn arrives… once October hits, I have plenty of scary and heavy songs to bust out and revel in their dark side glory, “Frankenstein” leads the pack. No Halloween season can ever get by me, without listening to this song on a consistent basis. The Edgar Winter Group released a mammoth of a Rock album with “They Only Come Out At Night”, “Frankenstein” just made this release immensely complete, with it’s inclusion.
Blue Oyster Cult released “Fire Of Unknown Origin” in 1981, which was perfect timing for me. I already had Kiss, Foreigner, Cheap Trick, Queen, Ozzy Osbourne, AC/DC and Bad Company in my system back then, being wowed by Blue Oyster Cult was my ears next step in branching out into the Heavy Music world. Back in 1981, there was the choice of buying music on 8 track, I bought “Fire Of Unknown Origin” on this medium – thank you very much. (I no longer have this 8 track from yesteryear, the 8 track player is a memory as well). This album is just another example of what melded my Metal and Hard Rock Music tastes at a young age, (I was fifteen years old in 1981). Another stepping stone album, if you will, towards the lifetime of Metal and Hard Rock Music adoration that I behold. In my Metal opinion, this BOC album is an early 1980’s Heavy Metal meets Hard Rock album, that has consistently lured me back for many a listen over the years.
I listened to Joe Satriani “Surfing With The Alien” all day today… in the car, in the house and back in the car once again. (Released in 1987, I own both the vinyl LP and CD). I have those days, where I choose that one CD and listen to it the entire day. Joe Satriani is without question, one of my favorite guitarists that ever lived. Pinning down who my favorite guitarist is of all time is too impossible of a task – there are just way too many guitarists across the entire Rock and Heavy Music spectrum that I revere. It’s not that I do not want to get controversial about naming an all time favorite guitarist, I named what I feel is the greatest Metal album of all time, in a previous post – (Black Sabbath, “Sabbath Bloody Sabbath”). There are just so many unique styles of playing out there, in the world of guitarists, I tend to draw from a cornucopia of these styles and enjoy what I hear from a vast array of players. Joe Satriani really nails it down, with pin point accuracy, on this album. Combining speed and clarity, while slowing things down at all the right moments, makes for a harmonious and melodic guitar instrumental experience, is the best quick summary for Joe Satriani on “Surfing With The Alien”. The daunting question of: Is Joe Satriani a Rock, Hard Rock or Heavy Metal guitarist? – can only be answered by stating Joe Satriani can play it all and play it with greatness. The catalog of albums that Joe Satriani has created over the years proves just that, the proof is in his music.
On one of my recent Hard Rock/Heavy Metal hunts via the second hand route, I came across a true Classic Rock album that I grabbed ahold of within milliseconds of spotting it… Boston “Don’t Look Back”. As a Metal bonus, this great album is also – still factory sealed. That is so right, this vintage Boston album which was released on August 2, 1978, has still, it’s original plastic wrapping protecting it for thirty one years. I never owned “Don’t Look Back” on album before, finding a mint copy of it now, in 2009, is so fine. Sure, I have Boston on CD, yet landing one of my favorite Classic Rock bands on sealed vinyl, on a trip to a thrift store unleashes a cool high for me… every time. I realize this price always gets mentioned when I write about my vintage album finds, it is the truth when reveal it only cost fifty cents. Yikes, that is cheaper than most of the plastic prizes my daughters pay for at the (what I still call) bubble gum machines in front of the grocery stores.
Foreigner, a Hard Rock band that opened the doors to the world of Heavy Music for me. “Double Vision”, an album that I consider to be one of the greatest Rock or Hard Rock albums ever created. On June 20, 1978, “Double Vision” was released. On January 26, 1979, I received this revered album as a birthday gift from my late mother. I was able to choose an album, just one album, on a trip to the Caldor department store… Foreigner “Double Vision” was my choice, on that birthday. Each year that passes by, these fond memories only grow stronger. Man, if I was to say I have listened to this album more times than any other album, it would not be a stretch. Back in 1979, I was only listening to a handful of Hard Rock bands that would eventually guide me into evolving into the Metal Music loyalist that I am today. I was thirteen years old and completely blown away by this album and band… I listened to every lyric, every chord, every note, that erupted from these songs. Foreigner was actually teaching me, at this very young age, that Hard Rock music this enormous could and would make my life enjoyable. I continue to reflect, to revisit often, the bands and albums that molded my heavy music tastes. 
Blackfoot has always been one of my favorite Southern Rock Bands, their songs and sound flat out Rock for me. The history of Blackfoot includes a long list of musicians, this is one band that has seen it’s share of lineup changes over the years. My favorite years of Blackfoot Southern Rock were definitely 1979 through 1981. The Blackfoot albums released during those years were “Strikes”, “Tomcattin'” and “Marauder”. The CD “Blackfoot Greatest Hits”, (pictured here), contains ten songs representing these three albums, which was at Walmart a couple of years ago… for five bucks I bought it without question. Admittedly, I do not own any other Blackfoot albums, so picking up a Greatest Hits of Blackfoot was essential sooner or later. I really get into this Blackfoot CD during the Spring through Autumn months… probably due to the fact I always equate Southern Rock to warmer weather. Go figure. The first track on this CD is “Highway Song”, my favorite Blackfoot tune ever. This CD I played in my car recently, the timing of listening to “Highway Song”, on this particular small road trip, could not have been any better, here is how it all unfolded…
When it comes to Rock and Hard Rock Music, I always have put Journey on my listening rotation. I am guilty of not keeping up with the purchases of new CD’s over the years from Journey, “Arrival” is a perfect example of this. After the 1986 album “Raised On Radio”, I never picked up “Trial By Fire”, “Arrival” (until now) or “Generations”. You betcha I did grab a copy of “Revelation”… the Walmart 2 CD/1 DVD version too. It is not as if I totally forgot about Journey, these albums are just victims of the hordes of releases out there I have always wanted to buy… financially it is impossible to buy everything. Man, I am impressed by this Journey album… more than that, I cannot believe it took me this long to land “Arrival” into my music collection. I guess after each listen to “Arrival”, all I can really say to myself is what was I waiting for and thinking? (I should have just bought this album years ago and stop worrying about how much money I spend on music!). I can’t comprehend how this album has not sold over a million copies? What gives? If “Arrival” was fronted by the legendary Steve Perry and released back in the 1980’s, it surely would have been multi platinum… wouldn’t it? Who knows, we shall never know, it is all make believe speculation on my part. All I do know is that “Arrival” is chock full of Rock and Hard Rock songs that are premium quality, in my Metal opinion. The song writing on “Arrival” is so outrageously good, I shake my head and thank the fact Journey is still around Rocking today.
On November 18, 1977, Bob Welch “French Kiss” was released. I was eleven years old then and my beloved New York Yankees were the World Champions of Major League Baseball, defeating the Los Angeles Dodgers. At age eleven, the only Heavy Metal band I was listening to was Kiss. Back in 1977, Thrash Metal, Death Metal, Black Metal and Extreme Metal were non-existent. I did not know what I was missing, at this young age I listened to whatever was on the AM radio dial. Quite honestly, I was not exposed to any FM radio stations back in 1977… it all sounds so unreal now, whew. Catching American Bandstand and the legendary Dick Clark on Saturday afternoons was another outlet for this eleven year old, to be exposed to the current Rock Music of 1977. At age eleven, heck, I did not have the exposure to Black Sabbath or Led Zeppelin just yet… or any vintage Heavy Metal bands of the early to mid 1970’s. Step in… Bob Welch.
Is it just me thinking this way? Deep Purple “Deepest Purple”, (subtitled “The Very Best of Deep Purple”), is the epitome of what a Rock/Hard Rock Greatest Hits album is supposed to be. These Deep Purple classics are hands down, sensational and historical Rock Music. Gimme a break, how can any generation not want to embrace these songs? These Deep Purple songs are perfect examples of just how amazing the song writing was in Rock and Hard Rock, back in the 1970’s. Could Deep Purple have been ahead of their time? I certainly think so, by at least a decade. The hardness, forget about the heaviness for a second, is what drives these Deep Purple songs to the top tier of Rock and Hard Rock history, in my Metal opinion. Just stop to think about this, for a Metal second… how many new Rock or Hard Rock bands out there today, could actually put out a Greatest Hits album, down the road, with such impeccable and recognizable songs? “Smoke On The Water” and “Highway Star” are two Hard Rock songs alone, that represent a generation of Rock and Hard Rock music and the decade of the 1970’s. “Fireball” and “Child In Time” are just the icing on the Hard Rock cake here.
Ace Frehley will always be my choice pick for the guitarist of Kiss. Ace Frehley was the original guitarist and in my Metal opinion, the best at lead guitar for Kiss. I few posts ago, I stated that my favorite Kiss solo album of all time is Paul Stanley. I cannot backtrack that sentiment, the Paul Stanley album is for me, #1. With that said, out of the four Kiss solo albums, Ace Frehley is clearly my #2 choice. My fellow peer in Metal blogs over at The Metal Files, (a cool Metal Music blog that is worth the visits), commented his favorite Kiss solo album is Ace Frehley… this spurred me into delving into the Ace Frehley solo album once again. I do own the Ace Frehley solo album, (released on September 18, 1978), a record that has been with me for decades. I actually bought this Ace Frehley vinyl from a cut-out bin, from a small department store named Woolworths, back in the very early 1980’s. My Ace Frehley album has the top right corner actually cut off, therefore, that is probably why it was in a cut-out bin! Despite the cosmetic damage that this album cover suffered, the album itself and the large fold-out poster of Ace Frehley that was included with the album, never sustained damage from the cut-out process. (Each Kiss solo album had a large fold-out poster of the respective Kiss musician inside the album sleeve, with each of the four posters interlocking together, through die cuts, to form one giant Kiss collage, if you will).
Rainbow was and still is one of the Hard Rock/Heavy Metal bands that I look upon with Metal reverence. The song writing, lyrics, musicianship, melodies, well, I could go on forever about why I have liked this band so much. Guitarist Ritchie Blackmore, in my Metal opinion, is a guitar legend, both with Deep Purple and Rainbow. Ritchie Blackmore collaborated with lead vocalist Joe Lynn Turner on a few releases, back in the 1980’s. “Bent Out Of Shape” is one of those albums they created, writing nine out of the ten songs together. “Bent Out Of Shape” can be taken as a commercial Hard Rock statement, only It is difficult for me to define this album as such. My standards for commercial Rock or Hard Rock/Heavy Metal definitely differ from other peoples standards. I need to hear consistent sappy ballads and/or radio – bubble gum – friendly songs before my stamp of commercialism is placed on an album. In other words, I feel “Bent Out Of Shape” is one mighty, melodic, Hard Rock album. Honestly, I have no problem with labeling “Bent Out Of Shape” as a Heavy Metal album. This album was released in 1983, the heaviness of Rainbow for back then, easily gave this band the label of Heavy Metal.
Journey, the Rock icon of a band. Journey “Evolution”, an album that is now referred to as a Classic Rock masterpiece… by me anyways. What else can one say about this incredible Rock album? Quite a bit can actually be said, this album established Journey, solidified them atop the Rock Music world for many, many, years. There could never be another Steve Perry, his vocals alone gave Journey their signature sound. In my opinion, there are lead singers that have vocals so breathtaking, they are the most important musical instrument in their respective band. I had felt this way about Steve Perry, with his years with Journey. Steve Perry’s vocals can never be duplicated, nor will he ever be forgotten by me as the lead singer for Journey. I will always appreciate Journey as the band they are today too. With that said, this is an article where I am celebrating the brilliance of a moment in time, one that can be listened to time and again, that moment was Journey’s “Evolution”, (released in 1979).
AC/DC – they are not just Rock and Roll Hall of Famers, this band is an elite institution of heavy music. I always pondered throughout the years… which song from the extensive catalog of AC/DC albums, is my favorite of all time? Is my favorite song from the Bon Scott era? Man, the late Bon Scott was unique, his vocals were and always will be legendary. The Brian Johnson era is power packed with amazing songs, could I take the easy route and pull my favorite tune off of the “Back In Black” album? That would be way too easy for me, it seems like choosing “Hells Bells”, “Back In Black” or “Have A Drink On Me” as my favorite AC/DC song, would be particularly predictable. I will not argue the fact it is a historical album, “Back In Black” surely paved the way for Heavy Metal commercial acceptance. Besides, I personally am forever grateful for AC/DC appointing Brian Johnson to succeed the late Bon Scott. “Back In Black” will forever be on my all time favorite album list.
After just one listening experience with “Influence” (released March 6, 2007) and you hear and feel the unique musical chemistry, that both Tommy Shaw and Jack Blades have together. The overall up beat vibe throughout “Influence” will have you not putting this disc away for a very long time. What an accomplished set of Classic Rock gems that Shaw-Blades covers! Typically, I always approach cover songs with skeptical tendencies. Usually one or two listens to a cover tune, will be enough of a listen for me to either like it or cherish the original version. With “Influence”, I was taken completely by surprise by how Tommy Shaw and Jack Blades brought new Rock life to these classics. While I listen to this album, I cannot help but go through a Rock and Roll reality check, realizing where the roots of Rock music actually come from. The Mama’s and the Papa’s, Simon and Garfunkel and Seals & Crofts may have their legacies emblazoned in the Rock Folk and Easy Listening genres, yet their lyrics, song structures and melodies can so easily be considered the building blocks of true Classic Rock. Tommy Shaw and Jack Blades took hold of these musical building blocks and ran with it… creating a sensational album of Classic Rock, that breaks down any generational barriers that carry the tags of dated and non-relevant.
Bob Seger, Rock and Roll Legend and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer. That should be quite enough of an accomplishment to just call it a day, for just about any aging Rock Star, huh? Not the case with Bob Seger, no way. Just because a living Rock Legend goes on a personal hiatus for a number of years, does this mean this Rock Legend is washed up? Has this Rock Legend lost the ability to write and sing music like it was 1980 all over again? In my Metal opinion, Bob Seger has lost no Rock and Roll groove in his music, nor has he forgotten how to write Rock music songs that hit me straight to the heart. “Face The Promise” is a celebration of Rock Music that not only inspires me with all of it’s lyrical content, the Rock and Roll move and groove songs on this album are wrapped up in sincere blue collar grit.
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