Kiss – Monster
Release Date: October 09, 2012
When you listen to as much music as I do on a daily basis, sometimes I just need to give the brain a break and just listen to something that doesn’t make me think. You know what I’m talking about. I’m talking about that kind of music that is just really kick ass, melodic, and puts a shit eating grin upon your ugly mug. I decided to finally listen to the new KISS album Monster and from the first face melting chords of “Hell or Hallelujah”, I immediately thought to myself, “This is why I LOVE KISS.”
Monster sounds more like classic KISS that many of the later albums from the classic KISS line up. Actually, Monster sounds like it could have come out after Destroyer as it really encapsulates that fun, classic, have a good time all the time, vibe. Over the years, KISS really tried too hard to either be a serious band or to have a hit record. For Monster, it just sounds like they decided to throw it all into the songs and just do what they do best. Have fun being a band. Songs like “Wall of Sound”, “Back to the Stone Age”, and “Shout Mercy” really let me hear just how much fun these guys were having. “All For the Love of Rock N’ Roll” is one of the best songs on this album featuring drummer Eric Singer on lead vocals who sounds eerily just like original KISS drummer Peter Criss. It’s a really fun jam but my favorite song on the album is “Long Way Down.” It’s one of the most melodic KISS songs I have heard in years and it is really quite an infectious listen.
This line up has got a lot of shit but in all honesty, this is the tightest and most cohesive sounding line up and it really shows on this album. Everyone sounds like they totally stepped it up. Gene Simmons’ voice is so strong and intense and while Paul Stanley’s voice sounds a bit strained at times, it really works for him and he’s exercising some serious control in his singing. One listen to Monster and it’s really obvious just how much fun they had making this album. They didn’t try to go in with a mathematical equation and it doesn’t even sound like they went in trying to make hit album. They totally sound like they went in with the goal of making a great rock n’ roll record and they ended up with a brainless, fun, and melodic as hell record. Sometimes we just need to be reminded that rock n’ roll originally came from the crotch and not the brain so leave it to KISS to remind us all of that valuable lesson.
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