The curtain rises - out of the shadows ominously step four larger-than-life figures adorned in shining black leather, metallic studs and sequins, and wearing colorful kabuki makeup. The legendary KISS is back and primed to collectively deliver a meteoric blast of supersonic, life affirming rock and roll.

It's a great story. Gene, Paul, Ace and Peter are really four bums off the streets of New York who had a dream and started following that dream on the yellow brick road and literally found the pot of gold and the answer to all their prayers at the end of the rainbow, asserts Gene Simmons.

After the group's #1 grossing tour of 1996-97, KISS are making dreams come true once again for the KISS Army, with Psycho Circus, their first new studio album in almost two decades featuring all four original members --Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Ace Frehley and Peter Criss. Worth the wait!

Expertly produced by Bruce Fairbairn (Aerosmith, AC/DC, Bon Jovi), Psycho Circus is a glorious rebirth for the fantastic foursome, a grand moment of blood, sweat and spirited, high-decibel rock and roll. No wax works replica, Psycho Circus is the real living, fire-breathing article, a fierce declaration of everything KISS stands for. While the album can't help but recall the group's classic 70's sound, it is also a brave and gargantuan head-first leap into the 90's.

Paul Stanley proudly declares, There's never been any argument that the original KISS lineup was the foundation for everything that we did afterwards. What we tried to do afterwards was to continue by using that blueprint and trying to go forward with the same ideals and point of view. We were very adamant that we wouldn't go back unless we could go forward. And with Psycho Circus, I think we really proved we could move forward. Our biggest competition was our history. The only competition we had was the shadow that our past cast on us. We had to be totally committed and also totally sure that we could not only live up to the legend, but surpass it.

From the fist-pumping, banner waving, anthemic nature of Raise Your Glasses and the title track, to the demonic metal scorched savagery of Within; from the wide-eyed Beatlesque experimentation of Journey of 1,000 Years and We Are One to Into The Void, a typically spacey Ace Frehley vehicle, Psycho Circus is a marvel of attitude, ambition and amplification. Working with Ace and Peter again is great, affirms Paul Stanley. It's kind of like riding a bike, you never really forget. Going back to it was very familiar. We're all a little wiser now. There was more fun this time around. Everybody was there to do their best. Everybody was totally committed to creating an album that captured the magic of the reunion tour and moved us forward without forgetting our past. Peter Criss adds, I had a ball working with the rest of the guys on the album. We're all so Laurel & Hardy. We laughed constantly. I've really changed in a lot of ways. I'm taking major control of my life and I'm very focused. It was a blast.

And then there's the Gene Simmons penned You Wanted The Best, a made for the concert stage communal sing-along where all four members trade lead vocals for the first time in their KISStory. Says Simmons, It's interesting, You Wanted The Best is the first time we've all sung together. The lyrics talk about a time when everyone in the band was bitching at each other in the press. With family, there's always a mixture of affection and bickering. Listen, we're really servants of the people. Ultimately we have to brush aside our internal differences for the greater of the whole, the greater good, which is the fans. The least we owe them is to shut up, get up on stage and put out. Ace Frehley enjoyed the experience of recording again with the fantastic four. I think it was a lot easier than in the old days. I got a lot more respect from the guys because I didn't walk in drunk or ten hours late. We communicate much better now.

Lyrically, Psycho Circus also breaks new frontier for KISS, a striking departure from the band's typically lascivious tongue-in-cheek themes. The lyrics on the album are often surprising and galvanizing, tackling a myriad of soul searching topics that celebrate the band themselves, the power of the individual and their vital connection with their audience. Paul Stanley reveals, It's no secret, we like getting laid, but at this point we had so much to celebrate that we tended to focus more on ourselves than on our pagan pursuits.

The Psycho Circus world tour, slated to kick off on Halloween, October 31st with a massive outdoor show at L.A.'s Dodger Stadium, promises to catapult the band into the 21st century with an outrageous and ground breaking theatrical presentation that only KISS can deliver. Centered around the Psycho Circus theme, the show will incorporate for the first time in history, an exciting, cutting-edge 3-D technology and other surprises, all guaranteed to force Ringling Brothers & Barnum Baily Circus to run for cover. Ladies and gentlemen and children of all ages, welcome to the greatest show that's ever existed on the face of the planet, proclaims Gene Simmons. We're going to take live performance and raise the stakes yet again with in-your-face 3-D technology. We're gonna spoil you. The next time you go see a band, you're gonna be bored no matter how much you like the band, because they're just gonna stand there and strum. And we're gonna take you away, there's no limit to what we can do.

Over 80 million records sold, SRO tours and a dizzying succession of gold and platinum awards (second only to The Beatles), KISS continue to boldly thrive in the face of changing fashions and musical trends, rock and roll survivors. It's commendable to survive, says Paul Stanley. But the real badge is won by not only surviving but by winning. Gene Simmons defiantly adds: KISS are absolutely some of the most stubborn people on the planet. I won't get off the stage until I'm goddamn ready. I will decide my own fate.

Critics be damned, the KISS Army speaks volumes, KISS are a rock and roll institution that transcend the rock fiefdom to command their own enduring and defiantly unique legacy.

With a KISS New Line Cinema movie in the works and other sundry exciting projects on the horizon, it's a great time to be a KISS fan again. 31 albums and counting, KISS are still the masters of the stage and kings of the party!

So take your seat, grab your bag of popcorn and let KISS' Psycho Circus take you on the thrilling ride of a lifetime. The legend continues...

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