• New Music Reviews
• |
• Archives
• |
• News
• |
• Submissions
• |
• About
• |
• 
• |
• 

November 2024

• Voodoo Circle: Hail To The King
• Lionville: Supernatural
• Starchaser: Into The Great Unkown
• Empires Of Eden: Guardians Of Time
• Lonerider: Down In The Dust
• Seventh Crystal: Entity
• Neal Morse & The Resonance: No Hill For A Climber
• Beardfish: Songs For Beating Hearts
• Impellitteri: War Machine
• Brothers Of Metal: Fimbulvinter

October 2024

• Casandra's Crossing: Garden Of Earthly Delights
• DGM: Endless
• Daytona: Garder la Flamme
• Fate: Reconnect 'N Ignite
• Frost*: Life In The Wires
• Aries Descendant: From The Ashes Of Deceit
• Fans Of The Dark: Video
• Radioactive: Reset
• House Of Lords: Full Tilt Overdrive
• Cleanbreak: We Are The Fire

September 2024

• Sinner's Blood: Dark Horizons
• Serious Black: Rise Of Akhenaton
• Eclipse: Megalomanium II
• SteelCity: Reverence
• Hydra: ReHydrated
• Heartwind: III
• Gabrielle De Val and the Dragonlords: Tiger
• Find Me: Nightbound
• The Nail: The Nail
• Timeless Fairytale: A Story To Tell
• Stryper: When We Were Kings
• Phil Mogg: Moggs Motel
• Pure Reason Revolution: Coming Up To Consciousness
• Jordan Rudess: Permission To Fly

August 2024

• Siege Perilous: Creation's Call EP
• Paralydium: Universe Calls
• Mike Tramp: Songs Of White Lion Vol. II
• Bite The Bullet: Looking For Paradise
• All For Metal: Gods Of Metal (Year Of The Dragon)
• Hammerfall: Avenge The Fallen
• Jim Peterik & World Stage: Roots & Shoots Vol. 2

[ More Music Reviews ]

KISS: Sonic Boom

Melodic Hard Rock

Rating: 4.0/5.0

Universal/Roadrunner
www.kissonline.com
www.myspace.com/kiss
Review: Craig Hartranft,  10.04.2009

Don't put your lunch boxes or action figures away yet. The greatest rock and roll marketing machine is back. And, believe it or not, it's Paul Stanley and not Gene Simmons who's the mastermind behind another resurrection of KISS. Simmons commented: '... having Paul simply decide things, works better. Democracy is highly overrated. Paul is kickin' ass.' Stanley himself set down the objectives for Sonic Boom, the first KISS album in eleven years, by indicating that it will a 'real 70's Kiss sound.' Between the music and the cover artwork created by Michael Doret, who did their 1976 album Rock and Roll Over, I would say Stanley accomplished his goal.

Sonic Boom rocks in traditional KISS style with solid melodies and vocal harmonies bolstering some thick bass lines and ripping guitar work. It's even heavier at times as on their first single Modern Day Delilah, but hardly the best cut on the album and not the best to start with either. KISS really doesn't get into form until the third piece Never Enough which displays once more why Kiss is one of the great arena rock bands: they deliver well-crafted melodic hard rock with big hooks. This trend continues with other great hits like Stand, Hot and Cold, All For The Glory, and Say Yeah. Other songs are hit and miss depending on your feeling. Yet Sonic Boom displays the new generation of KISS to be impressive and entertaining.

Never letting their branding or marketing out of sight, KISS is retailing Sonic Boom exclusively through Wal-Mart. KISS are without doubt the poster boys for American capitalism. Fortunately, the package comes with Kiss Klassics (a completely re-recorded greatest hits album already and exclusively released in Japan as Jigoku-Retsuden), and six song live DVD from the South American leg of the Kiss Alive/35 World Tour.

The latest version of KISS proves to be impressive as Sonic Boom delivers a blast of retro KISS which is arena ready entertainment.

Alphabetical Index

eviewing my archives, I was pleased to find that I have had the privilege to review every Lionville since their self-titled debut in 2011. Formed by Stefano Lionetti, a songwriter, singer and guitarist based in ... [ Read More ]