Kiss "Monster"

Monster is the twentieth studio album by American hard rock/heavy metal group Kiss, released on October 9, 2012. It was recorded at Conway Recording Studios in Hollywood, California and The Nook in Studio City, Los Angeles. Monster was produced by Paul Stanley and co-produced by Greg Collins, as was 2009's Sonic Boom. It is the second studio release by the current band line-up, with Tommy Thayer on lead guitar and Eric Singer on drums, alongside founding members Stanley and Gene Simmons.

With the band uncertain about recording another album before the end of their final tour, Monster may be their final studio album.

Gene Simmons first mentioned Kiss' intention to record a follow-up to Sonic Boom in 2010. On March 10, 2011, Simmons said in radio interview for Heavy Metal Thunder that the band will enter the studio in three weeks and that they have around 20 to 25 songs ready to record.

In an interview with Elliot Segal on Elliot in the Morning, May 2, 2011, Simmons mentioned that Kiss had recorded around five songs. The album was originally supposed to contain ten songs, but he revealed before the American Music Awards of 2011 that Monster will contain fifteen brand new songs, all studio written by the band. This was then reduced to thirteen songs.

On August 21, 2011, Kiss officially revealed the album's title and confirmed that it was being recorded in Los Angeles, with Paul Stanley producing, for a 2012 release.

The band uploaded a video on January 3, 2012 on YouTube in which Stanley commented that the album was two to three days from completion. The recording process ended three days later. The following day, Stanley stated, "Listening to the tracks back to back is like sensory overload. Everyone who has heard any of it is completely blown away. Powerful, heavy, melodic and epic. It makes us very proud. You all will be too."

The album's first single, "Hell or Hallelujah", was released on July 2, 2012 internationally and July 3 in North America along with the Monster Book. It received play on rock radio and climbed onto the middle reaches of the Billboard Mainstream Rock Chart. The second single, "Long Way Down", was released to radio stations on October 23. While it failed to make the Billboard Mainstream Rock Chart, it did reach the Billboard Heritage Rock Charts by the end of the year, and also occupied a spot on the America's Music Rock Chart for several months.

After several release delays, Monster was released in the U.S. on October 9, 2012.

According to an interview with Tommy Thayer, the band had the intention of creating an album with a slightly heavier sound than Sonic Boom, as well as recreating the vibe that existed on the band's earlier material. Similarly, Simmons has likened the album to a combination of three of the band's previous albums, Destroyer, Revenge and Sonic Boom.

While doing interviews for his appearance in ABC's Castle, Simmons commented on the album's sound: "Meat and potatoes. You know it's going to be like Santa Claus. Up and down, everybody gets used to this and that, and things change, and fashion changes, but it's good to know that Santa comes, and he's not going to change his outfit and you know what you're going to get: gifts. Consistency of message."

The band also decided to use old analog equipment instead of more popular digital recording gear. In justifying Kiss' choice, Simmons commented: "Technology is a seductive bitch, she will seduce you. You press this button, you don't have to do anything. But analog is the love of your life. You can push real hard and it always gives back. For the new album, the actual recording process was 24-track tape and an old Trident board. And as many tubes as possible. You need tubes, electricity and thick wood to make that thick sound."

On March 22, 2012, Stanley said in an interview with VH1 Radio Network's Dave Basner, "Monster is really the culmination of everything this band has been in the past and where we're going. When we did Sonic Boom, it was a big task for us because we were saying, 'How do we define who we are today without losing who we've been?' So, that was a tall order for us, but once we got that under our belts, we wanted to go back in and Monster is far, far beyond anything we've done in terms of Sonic Boom and yet it's right up there with some of the best stuff we've done. It's KISS."

Monster debuted at #3 on the Billboard 200 and cracked the Top 10 charts in Canada, Czech Republic, Norway, Sweden, Australia, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Finland, Japan, and Danish charts and cracked the Top 20 in the UK, Spain, Hungary and the Dutch charts.

The album sold approximately 60,000 copies in its first week of release in the United States and 120,000 copies outside of the domestic US in its first week.

Track listing

1. "Hell or Hallelujah" Paul Stanley 4:07
2. "Wall of Sound" Stanley, Gene Simmons, Tommy Thayer 2:55
3. "Freak" Stanley, Thayer 3:35
4. "Back to the Stone Age" Simmons, Stanley, Thayer, Eric Singer 3:01
5. "Shout Mercy" Stanley, Thayer 4:04
6. "Long Way Down" Stanley, Thayer 3:51
7. "Eat Your Heart Out" Simmons 4:06
8. "The Devil Is Me" Simmons, Stanley, Thayer 3:40
9. "Outta This World" Thayer 4:29
10. "All for the Love of Rock & Roll" Stanley 3:21
11. "Take Me Down Below" Simmons, Stanley, Thayer 3:24
12. "Last Chance" Stanley, Simmons, Thayer 3:05

Total length: 43:39

Kiss "Sonic Boom"

Sonic Boom is the nineteenth studio album, and the first in 11 years, by the rock band Kiss, released on October 6, 2009. The album was recorded at Conway Recording Studios in Hollywood, Los Angeles, CA and produced by Paul Stanley and co-produced by Greg Collins. The album was the first studio album to be released under the current line-up, consisting of Stanley, Gene Simmons, Tommy Thayer, and Eric Singer. It was also the first studio album to feature lead vocal performances from Thayer and Singer. Stanley stated, "the purpose of this album isn't to let people know that we're still around – it's to let people know we can still knock out anybody who's out there!".

A fan-routed North American tour promoted the album along with international shows throughout 2010, which included the band headlining the Rock am Ring festival in Germany. The cover artwork was created by artist Michael Doret who had worked with Kiss previously to create the cover of their 1976 album Rock and Roll Over. Wal-Mart is the exclusive distributor of the album in the US and Canada, selling it as a three disc package including the album, Kiss Klassics (a completely re-recorded greatest hits album that until now had been exclusively released in Japan as Jigoku-Retsuden), and a six-song live DVD recorded April 5, 2009 in Buenos Aires, Argentina as part of the South American leg of the Kiss Alive/35 World Tour.

The album was sold as a digipak including a 20-page booklet. The album's first single was announced on the band's official website to be "Modern Day Delilah". The album was also released on limited edition 180 gram vinyl and was pressed into five colors (red, green, black, blue and purple) with 1000 copies pressed of each. "Modern Day Delilah" was announced and released as the lead single from Sonic Boom on August 19, 2009 to radio. It was Kiss' first single release in 11 years, the last being "You Wanted the Best" released in 1998.

The music video for "Modern Day Delilah" leaked online on the first days of December and was officially released on December 9, 2009 and premiered on Yahoo!. The video is topped and tailed by footage of giant sized members of Kiss walking through Detroit. The video went on to top UK music video channel Scuzz's "Most Rockin: Viewer Request Show" chart on December 3, 2009. The single was released as downloadable content for Guitar Hero 5 and Band Hero on November 19, 2009 along with the singles "I Was Made for Lovin' You" and "Lick It Up". Modern Day Delilah peaked at #50 on the Billboard Rock songs chart. The song was used for their opening song for the Sonic Boom Over Europe Tour and The Hottest Show on Earth Tour.

"Say Yeah" was added to the shows on the Sonic Boom Tour/Alive 35 North American Tour 2009. Later on, it was mentioned during Kiss' Facebook concert broadcast that "Say Yeah" was going to be the next single off Sonic Boom. On December 5, it was announced that the single would be released to radios on December 8. The single was released on the second week of January 2010 in Argentina. "Say Yeah" also hit #1 on February 5, 2010 on a Russian Radio Chart after debuting at #11. "Never Enough" was released as the next radio single from Sonic Boom in early June 2010 and was mentioned on KISSonline.com. The song was not incorporated into the band's setlist on its 2010 Summer Tour of the US and Canada. The song "Modern Day Delilah" was also used in 2015 for the movie Scooby-Doo! and Kiss: Rock and Roll Mystery along with the second disc's rerecorded versions of "Rock and Roll All Nite", "Shout It Out Loud", and "Detroit Rock City".

Track listing

1. "Modern Day Delilah" Paul Stanley 3:37
2. "Russian Roulette" Gene Simmons, Stanley 4:32
3. "Never Enough" Stanley, Tommy Thayer 3:26
4. "Yes I Know (Nobody's Perfect)" Simmons 3:02
5. "Stand" Stanley, Simmons Stanley, 4:50
6. "Hot and Cold" Simmons   3:36
7. "All for the Glory" Stanley, Simmons 3:49
8. "Danger Us" Stanley 4:22
9. "I'm an Animal" Stanley, Simmons, Thayer 3:47
10. "When Lightning Strikes" Thayer, Stanley 3:45
11. "Say Yeah" Stanley 4:27

Kiss "We Are One (Single & Video)"

"We Are One" is a song by the American hard rock group Kiss released on their 1998 album Psycho Circus.

It is written and sung by vocalist/bassist Gene Simmons.

Simmons is the only member of the group to have performed on the song, playing rhythm guitar and bass.[contradictory] Session musicians Tommy Thayer and Kevin Valentine perform guitar and drum parts respectively.

Released as a single in 1998, the song charted in only a few countries, and failed to chart in the United States and United Kingdom. It has never been played live.

Kiss "Let's Put The X In Sex (Single & Video)"

"Let's Put the X in Sex" is a song by the American rock band Kiss from their 1988 greatest hits album Smashes, Thrashes & Hits. The song is the album's first track and was released as its lead single.

"Let's Put the X in Sex" is one of two new songs on the Kiss greatest hits album Smashes, Thrashes & Hits released in 1988, the other being "(You Make Me) Rock Hard".

The song was written by Paul Stanley and his frequent collaborator Desmond Child.

Both "Let's Put the X in Sex" and "(You Make Me) Rock Hard" were recorded by Paul Stanley on his own in July 1988 at New York's Right Track Studios. According to The Official Price Guide to Kiss Collectibles by Ingo Floren, the two songs let some fans wonder about the new musical direction of the band" because they "were produced with lots of keyboards over a dance-orientated beat".

The song was released in the United States in October 1988 as the first single from the album Smashes, Thrashes & Hits. The promotional 12" vinyl version had several remixes that were intended to be radio-friendly. Many Kiss fans call it one of their worst songs.

Brett Weiss' Encyclopedia of KISS describes the song as "a typically fine, typically flamboyant performance by Paul Stanley", which "begins the record [the album] on a party-heavy note". The lyrics are tongue-in-cheek. The beat is, according to the same encyclopedia, "semi-catchy". The book also notes that some people compare this Kiss song to "Addicted to Love" by Robert Palmer.

Kiss "(You Make Me) Rock Hard (Single & Video)"

"(You Make Me) Rock Hard" is a song by the American rock band Kiss from their 1988 greatest hits album Smashes, Thrashes & Hits. The song is the album's second track and was released as its second single.

"(You Make Me) Rock Hard" is one of two new songs on the Kiss greatest hits album Smashes, Thrashes & Hits released in 1988, the other being "Let's Put the X in Sex". Both songs are about sex.

The song was written by Paul Stanley, Desmond Child and Diane Warren.

It was recorded by Paul Stanley on his own in July 1988 at New York's Right Track Studios. According to The Official Price Guide to Kiss Collectibles by Ingo Floren, "Let's Put the X in Sex" and "(You Make Me) Rock Hard" "let some fans wonder about the new musical direction of the band" because they "were produced with lots of keyboards over a dance-orientated beat".

The song was released in the United States as a cassette single in December 1988.