Jeremy Thomas | 411 Mania
KISS frontman talks about upcoming album…
Gene Simmons recently spoke with Billboard about KISS’ new album Monster, which releases October 16th. Check out the highlights:
On the lyrics for the album: “A lot of the lyrics and points of view have less to do with sort of the cocksmanship, craftsmanship — ‘Hey babe, I’m gonna rock you all night long,’ and are more about sort of primal notions about who we are and how we feel. So something like ‘The Devil is Me,’ for instance, is more confessional; you can keep pointing your fingers at all the evil in the world, but you’ve got some of it and here’s the Lord’s decree — the devil is me. Maybe there’s a little devil in all of us.”
On the quality of the album: “[It is] one of the best or the top three albums we’ve ever done.”
On Paul Stanley producing the album: “In both instances he put aside everything else in his life and was there. I no longer have that patience or the temperament to be strapped in the studio for three months. There’s too much going on outside, and who better to trust than (Stanley)? He’s a very good team player and isn’t afraid to say, ‘Yeah, maybe I’m not right? Let’s try this’ or ‘Let’s try that.’ We’d go in and just try anything. It’s really a band effort, like four guys in a car but somebody’s got to be driving and everybody else is going, ‘No, turn right here, turn right there!’ Ultimately we’re all going to the same place, and Paul got us there.”
On performing the first single, “Hell or Hallelujah,” on tour: “Paul came in with a guitar chordal pattern, and it was originally called something else. Then a few days later he came back in and said, ‘What do you think of ‘Hell or Hallelujah?’ and we all just sparked to it and went, ‘Yeah, that’s right.'”
On touring with Motley Crue: “[It’s been] really phenomenal. The Motley guys put on a great show. We took them out on their first tour, and they are a more proficient, professional band now. We did the same thing for AC/DC and Bon Jovi and Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Rush, you name it. At some point somebody gave us a chance, so we should give other people a chance, too.”