From: Jakeee6143@aol.com

Welcome back KISS!!!

I am 17 yrs old, and the last time the 4 original member of KISS released an album, i wasn't even conceived yet. I did not expeirence the original KISS in their prime, so i am glad i got a chance to be here when they released this album.

Pyscho Circus is by far one of their top albums ever!!! It compares to the likes of Destroyer, Love Gun, and Creatures of the Night. This new one by the costumed crusaders does not sound like anything that they have ever released. They blend the styles of Destroyer, Creatures of the Night, and Carnival of Souls for one of the the greatest albums i have ever heard.

The album gets off to a great start with the title track, "Psycho Circus". This is one of the, if not, the best song on the record. The lyrics are great, the music is great, and Paul plays a great solo.

Follow up to "Psycho Circus" is Gene's vocal feature, "Within". This song reminds me of "Seduction of the Innocent" off of Carnival. It is a good song with an errie sound.

"I Pledge Allegiance to the State of Rock and Roll" is a classic for KISS and rock fans. Paul delivers a great performence on this one. Sitting listening for the first time, i almost got out of my seat, put my hand on my heart, and began reciting the lyrics to the chours.

Ace's only vocal performance, "Into the Void" is a great addition to this classic album, but this song lacks the energy of a "Shock Me" or a "Into the Night". Even though the song rocks it still doesn't compare to the spaceman's other grooves.

The mid-way point on the album is marked by Gene's best song , "We are One". This one may not be a rocker in the vein of a "God of Thunder", but it has a clever chours that seems to get stuck in your head. He has done a great job with this one.

Psycho Circus', "Shout it out Loud" is the cleverly titled "You Wanted the Best". Written by Gene and sung by the whole band, this one gives you a great feeling. This is really the first song every member of the band has lent his particular vocal stylings to the same song. They do a real good job of pulling this one off.

Another one of Paul's performences is the toast to KISS fans all around the world. "Raise your Glasses" is one of my favorite songs on here. I have to give a toast to Paul for writing this one.

The only disappointment on this album comes from Peter's song, "I Finally Found my way". Peter's only song seems to lack the pure energy of the rest of the album. It seems that they were trying to write another "Beth", but sorry guys there is only one.

Another great one that you have to love is "Dreamin". This one, which was written with the help of Bruce Kulick, is a hard and heavy rocker. The roots of "Rain" show themselves in this one. It's not really that hard to recongize where this one came from.

Last song, and a disappointment, is Gene's 3rd song "Journey of 1,000 Years. Someone better tell me what this one is doing on a KISS album. It doesn't sound like it belongs on here. Despite the fact that it isn't really an excellent KISS song, it is still listenalbe, and after hearing it a couple of times you start to like it.

So, after 18 years of lying dormant, the volcano finally exploded!!! This will go down in the books as being one of KISS' greatest acheivements. After all of these years, they came together and wrote an awesome album. The only thing that might surpass this is the upcoming tour, I can't wait.

On a scale of 1-10, the new album receives an 8 and a half. Good job boys!

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