From: Kevin

Unfortunately, I don't have a full review of the album, despite my reaching into many of the vast "shouldn't have it yet" resources in the Seattle area where I live. However, I have managed to find a copy of the first single, "Psycho Circus," and I first got my chance to listen to it last night. All I can say is this:

WOW. It's got to be the strongest Kiss material, melody-wise and power-wise, since "Hide Your Heart," which, despite what some of the nostalgic Kiss fans say, is actually one of Kiss' stronger songs. It's never mattered to me if it was Bruce on guitar, Eric Singer or Carr on drums... Kiss is Kiss, and always will be. It's a sad fact of life, but after Ace and Peter first left, Kiss became only what Paul and Gene were willing to put into it, as they had trouble finding someone who would be with the band for the long-haul (although Eric Carr would have been, had he not died; RIP Eric).

But to the song? It's got really strong, riff-oriented guitars, and Paul's voice is strong and deep. He didn't go into the "feminine" vocals that he offered for the studio version of "Take It Off" or his parts in "Spit." He's realized that as he gets older, it's harder on his voice to go that high, and instead opted for more of the deeper vocals that he offered in songs like Lick It Up's "A Million To One" and Unmasked's "Tomorrow." Ace's guitars are very strong on this, not quite as searing as some of the stuff he was doing with Frehley's Comet and his own solo career (Trouble Walkin'). Peter lays down a solid, dark beat, without a lot of the fills he was known for in the Kiss/Hotter Than Hell/Dressed To Kill era. Gene's bass is pretty basic, and there aren't a lot of frills. Overall, it's an incredibly strong song. I've noticed a trend, in the past, for both Kiss and other bands to have their first single actually be the strongest song on the entire album. I hope that isn't the way it's going to be with Psycho Circus. If Kiss can maintain this level of power and sheer melody in their music (something that's been lacking since their admittedly commercial Crazy Nights and Hot In The Shade), they'll have shown that they're not trying to rest on their laurels and let the accolades of the past carry them into the 90s. Ace and Peter have returned, yes, but with each member change, Kiss has shown themselves to have reinvented specific areas of themselves, making them a new band. When Eric Carr joined, Kiss went for more of a straigh-ahead metal feel, keeping a lot of the glam while they still had Vinnie Vincent and Mark St. John. When Bruce joined, they moved more towards slight technical diversity in the guitar work, and Bruce eventually developed his own style that will forever cement his era in Kiss as imminently recognizable. And when Eric Singer joined, Kiss moved in more of a dark, heavy direction, to compliment the style of drumming that he apparently learned while touring with Alice Cooper and Lita Ford.

So now Ace and Peter are back, and although they're the originals, this is a new Kiss. Let's show them that we ourselves want to "Pledge Allegiance To The State Of Rock N' Roll," and give them all the support we can. Psycho Circus isn't going to be the Kiss of the 70s. This is the Kiss of the 90s, and it's time for the men to show the boys how it's done.

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