Kerrang Psycho Circus Review
KISS "PSYCHO CIRCUS" (Mercury CD5589922)

When Kiss finally answered their fan's prayers and reformed the original, make-up caked line-up for a series of spectacular shows after almost two decades apart, no-one questioned their judgement. However, even the staunchest of supporters have paled at the idea of Messrs Stanley, Simmons, Frehley and Criss actually attempting to compose new material. How were Kiss, now essentially a glorious exercise in '70s nostalgia, to deliver an album that would mean anything in 1998? Moreover, how are they now to integrate this new material into a live set consisting of classics penned two decades ago?

The bitter truth is that "Psycho Circus" is merely okay. It's an enjoyable enough listen for sure, but what the New York legends needed to deliver was a total fire-spitting barnstormer of an album. Purely by dint of the fact that it was recorded by the classic line-up, Kiss are asking us to stand these songs alongside the likes of 'Detroit Rock City', 'Strutter' and 'Deuce', classics one and all. Bad Mistake.
There are certainly some spectacular thrills to be had. 'You Wanted The Best' is a monstrously huge opener that sets out the band's 1998 agenda perfectly - Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons and Ace Frehley sharing vocal duties to leave us in no doubt that Kiss are back. Similarly, the gloriously titled 'I Pledge Allegiance to the State of Rock and Roll" is a magnificent Stanley-led belter, while the Frehley-fronted 'Into The Void' has echoes of the guitarist's old chestnut, 'Shock Me', and is virtually the best thing on the album. But elsewhere, Peter Criss croaks horribly on 'I Finally Found My Way', a dreadful ballad, and Simmons fares little better on the insipid and completely un-Kiss-like 'We Are One'. The title track and 'Within' flare brightly, but are weighted down with some pointless time changes. The remainder are simply a collection of celebratory rockers ('Raise Your Glasses') and power ballads ('Dreamin'', 'Journey of 1,000 Years').

With a few glorious exceptions, there's little on "Psycho Circus" to suggest that Kiss could not have recorded this in their fair-to-middling '80s guise. What little difference there is comes largely from Frehley's distinctive chunky guitar style, but real Kiss fans will expect so much more. Not so much 'Cold Gin' as warm mineral water.

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