Classic Rock can confirm that the new Kiss album will be called Sonic Boom – and we’ve got the full tracklisting. Not only that, but we’ve heard six of the album’s 11 songs!

Classic Rock’s Geoff Barton was invited to an exclusive preview of the new Kiss album this afternoon, in the convivial company of Doc McGhee, the band’s manager.

“Kiss promised to deliver a back-to-their-roots album and that’s exactly what we’ve got,” Barton reports. “Recorded in the old-fashioned, analog way, it sounds spectacularly good – no ProTools nonsense in evidence here.

“The interesting thing is, it’s not simply a homage the band’s first few albums. There are even nods to records such as [1982’s] Creatures Of The Night, which had Vinnie Vincent, Bob Kulick and others guesting on guitar. Kiss seem to have cleverly combined the best of all their eras into a single winning package.”

McGhee confirmed that Sonic Boom will be available exclusively through Wal-Mart stores in the US, as part of a package including a disc of re-recorded Kiss classics (already available in Japan) and a live DVD. The album is due for release on October 6.

“I actually wanted to make Sonic Boom available as a download for a dollar, but I was overruled,” McGhee chuckled.

“I still think it’s a great idea. Millions of people would’ve downloaded it, I guarantee. At just a dollar a throw, it would’ve been the bargain of the century.”

McGhee is delighted that Kiss decided to play to their strengths on Sonic Boom. “It’s exactly want people want: the classic Kiss sound played by the band looking like they’ve always done. Kiss are like James Bond or Mickey Mouse. They’re an amazing brand and they’ll likely go on forever.

“When I took over management of Kiss in the mid-1990s, that was my major plan: to get the band back to basics.

“I mean,” McGhee laughed, “when Kiss had a squirrel in their line-up – what was the hell was that all about?”

The full tracklisting of Sonic Boom is:

1. Modern Day Delilah
2. Russian Roulette
3. Never Enough
4. Yes I Know (Nobody’s Perfect)
5. Stand
6. Hot & Cold
7. All The Glory
8. Danger Us
9. I’m An Animal
10. When Lightning Strikes
11. Say Yah

Here’s our quickfire reaction to the six songs we heard:

Modern Day Delilah
Based around a lumbering, War Machine-style rhythm, Paul Stanley’s vocals sound top-notch and timeless, almost like they’ve been sampled from Kiss Alive! Meanwhile, Tommy Thayer’s guitar work is straight out of the Ace Frehley riff book. At a concise 3:35 in length, this is a perfect slam-bang beginning to the new album.

Russian Roulette
Gene Simmons takes the vocals on this one; it’s an archetypal lumbering, grumbling, pummelling offering, made all the better by the addition of a signature ‘ah-ah-ah-ah’ chant-line. The lyrics are simplistic but effective: ‘This is Russian Roulette… one pull of the trigger is all you’re gonna get… you feel the hunger and it’s much too much… go on take a bite.’ To a fan of classic Kiss, that’s sheer poetry.

Never Enough
You’re know you’re on to a winner immediately as this one begins with a time-honoured Stanley shout of… wait for it… ‘Woah yeah!’ This is a much jauntier offering than the preceding two tracks, recalling the more commercial, 1980s side of Kiss. The song has a real reach-for-the-sky spirit, full of uplifting phrases such as ‘rules just for breaking’, ‘life for the taking’ and (you guessed it) ‘love ’til I’m shaking’.

Yes I Know (Nobody’s Perfect)
Another three minutes of perfection. A light-hearted, hyper-commercial tune with Simmons at the mic-stand again, offering a gruff ‘YEAH’ (capital letters, natch) followed by the inevitable invitation: ‘C’mon baby, take off your clothes.’ There’s no word on whether Simmons kept his T-shirt on, however.

Stand
Our favourite so far; a proper anthem recalling the crowd-rousing grandeur of God Gave Rock’N’Roll To You. Stanley delivers the words ‘Stand by my side, I’ll be next to you/Stand by my side, we’ll make it through/Stand by my side, we’ll get by, you and I’ with consummate Starchild passion. This one just grows and grows… and then offers a neat false ending with some soft, CSN&Y-style harmonies (yes, really) before picking up the pace once more.

I’m An Animal
Full of giant, stalking menace, this is based around a dense, Zeppelinesque riff. Thayer plays a marvellous slick-but-stumbling Frehley solo, and you can rest assured the lyrics – ‘I’m an animal and I’m free… I’m an animal in the street’ – don’t refer to an old lady with her poodle off the leash. Late in the song, the band issue the urge: ‘Stand up, raise your fists.’ Little do they know, we’ve been doing that since track one…

6.10. ist en dienstag. vllt kriegen wir sie ja schon früher zugeschickt oder so

‘This is Russian Roulette… one pull of the trigger is all you’re gonna get… you feel the hunger and it’s much too much… go on take a bite.’ To a fan of classic Kiss, that’s sheer poetry.

Die wiederholte "Frehley Solo By Thayer" Bemerkung wertet das Album für mich persönlich ab, weil ich nun das bereits befürchtete Gefühl bekomme, hier entsteht konsequent eine hochklassische Kiss Coverband mit zwei Originalmitgliedern... Singer spielt die Drums sicherlich auch nicht wie Criss, was soll das also...

Die wiederholte "Frehley Solo By Thayer" Bemerkung wertet das Album für mich persönlich ab, weil ich nun das bereits befürchtete Gefühl bekomme, hier entsteht konsequent eine hochklassische Kiss Coverband mit zwei Originalmitgliedern... Singer spielt die Drums sicherlich auch nicht wie Criss, was soll das also...

KISS and Walmart announced today that SONIC BOOM-the band's highly anticipated CD, and its first new material in 11 years-will be sold in the U.S. and Canada exclusively at Walmart, Walmart.com and Sam's Club retail locations beginning October 6. SONIC BOOM, produced by the band's Paul Stanley in Los Angeles, is the centerpiece of a three-disc set that also features a completely re-recorded greatest hits CD as well as a live DVD shot in Argentina during the band's recent, record-breaking KISS ALIVE 35 South American tour. The CD set will retail for $12, with pre-orders starting in September on Walmart.com.

KISS' Gene Simmons says, "SONIC BOOM may be the best new record we've done since Destroyer! It is Rock And Roll Over meets Love Gun. The world's biggest retailer had better get ready for the hottest band in the world and hire more cashiers before October 6th!"

Stanley continues, "Through all of the albums that are considered our classics, we tried to always find ways to give our fans extras that went beyond just the music. Besides our making the best KISS album in decades, Walmart has made it possible for us to include a bonus CD with 15 of our most famous songs and an additional live DVD, shot during our recent concert in Buenos Aires. So in every sense, SONIC BOOM is the ultimate return to classic KISS form. You wanted the best, you got the best!"

Walmart, one of America's largest music retailers, is finalizing its exciting plans now for its in-store and online destinations for KISS fans surrounding the launch of the new album and tour, and will host various KISS products in addition to their music in its stores this fall. More details on Walmart KISS activity, announcements regarding album pre-sales, sweepstakes and KISS appearances will be shared shortly.

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SONIC BOOM CD Track Listing:

1. MODERN DAY DELILAH
2. RUSSIAN ROULETTE
3. NEVER ENOUGH
4. YES I KNOW (NOBODY'S PERFECT)
5. STAND
6. HOT AND COLD
7. ALL FOR THE GLORY
8. DANGER US
9. I'M AN ANIMAL
10. WHEN LIGHTNING STRIKES
11. SAY YEAH

Produced by PAUL STANLEY
Co-produced by Greg Collins

The US & Canadian release of SONIC BOOM is a three-disc set that also features KISS KLASSICS, a 15-track completely re-recorded greatest hits CD, as well as a live DVD shot in Buenos Aires, Argentina during the band's 2009 South American tour. The discs are packaged in a DigiPak along with a 20-page booklet.

SONIC BOOM will be available exclusively at Walmart, Walmart.com and Sam's Club retail locations beginning October 6.


KISS KLASSICS CD Track Listing:

1. DEUCE 2. DETROIT ROCK CITY 3. SHOUT IT OUT LOUD 4. HOTTER THAN HELL 5. CALLING DR. LOVE 6. LOVE GUN 7. I WAS MADE FOR LOVIN' YOU 8. HEAVEN'S ON FIRE 9. LICK IT UP 10. I LOVE IT LOUD 11. FOREVER 12. CHRISTINE SIXTEEN 13. DO YOU LOVE ME 14. BLACK DIAMOND 15. ROCK AND ROLL ALL NITE

KISS Bonus Live DVD Track Listing:

1. DEUCE 2. HOTTER THAN HELL 3. C'MON AND LOVE ME 4. WATCHIN' YOU 5. 100,000 YEARS 6. ROCK & ROLL ALL NITE