After 3 huge world tours (Reunion, Psycho Circus and the Farewell Tour), both Peter and Ace exit the band. I knew it wasn't meant to last. It would have been nice if KISS as a whole would have called it quits as the original foursome. Oh well....

Gene and Paul wanted to keep the band going, so they go back to Eric Singer and ask him if he would be willing to play the role of "Peter Criss" in full makeup and costume. He of course said yes. They also approached Bruce Kulick about playing the role of "Ace Frehley" as well. He said no. His words were that for the entire duration of his career with the band, he had always been living in his shadow. So dressing up as him would be a disservice to him as well as Ace. I have more respect for Bruce for stepping aside than I do with anyone else in the band. Props to you dude!  He has soldiered on with solos projects as well as joining Grand Funk Railroad.

Stepping into the role of "Ace" is Tommy Thayer, formerly of Black N Blue, who has been working as the bands Film Editor, Director and all around band gopher up till getting the job as the new guitarist. Right place, right time, lands him his ultimate gig. As a side project he was also involved in a KISS tribute band along with former lead singer for Black N Blue's own Jaime St. James. Small world.

Sonic Boom is a 3 Disc package (Sonic Boom, Klassics, KISS Live In Buenos Aires Concert DVD).

Sonic Boom is much better than I could have hoped for. I had zero expectations for it. So, getting to listen to it thru a few times it really is going back to that Classic KISS sound of the 70's, which is a nice surprised. When I first heard about Sonic Boom, I was convinced it was going to fall along the lines of Psycho Circus, which is complete garbage. I haven't listened to that one since it came out, so I'll need to give it a once over to see if it still sucks.

Personal faves on Sonic Boom: Modern Day Delilah, Stand, When Lightning Strikes, and Say Yeah!

Right now I'd have to go with Stand as my favorite. The better songs on the album are from Paul. The ones with Gene are just ok on some, and slightly better on others. I'll have to digest it more to see if I can warm up to it. Sonic Boom really is a throw back to vintage KISS. It really does fit within the history of the band quite well. And with some distance from the last time I listened to it, I can recommend this one to anyone. The more I listen to it, I can definitely see the rating going up. But for the time being, 4 stars is good enough.



Album Cover. What is this piece of sh*t? I can't believe the same guy that designed the cover to Rock And Roll Over, is the same person (Michael Doret) that did Sonic Boom. Talk about someone turning into a hack and producing utter crap. Worst album ever for this band. I for one can not understand how Gene, who has final say so in all things KISS related, agreed to release this cover. Ugh!!