Paul Stanley seems resigned to the fact that no new Kiss music could ever measure up against the band’s classic albums. Despite the band’s last two sets — 2012’s Monster and 2009’s Sonic Boom both going Top Three — the songs have failed to enjoy a shelf life alongside the Kiss material from 1970’s and ’80s.
During his recent appearance on the Howie Mandel Does Stuff podcast, Paul Stanley spoke frankly, explaining, “At this point, I came to the conclusion that it can never compete with the past. Not because it’s not as good, but it hasn’t the connection to important times in your life. It doesn’t have that patina to it of, ‘Gee, I remember I heard this song when I was 18,’ or, ‘I heard this song when I was on my first date or whatever.’ You can’t compete with that. It’s more than a song — it’s a snapshot of your life at a certain point.”
Regarding committing to him writing and recording a new Kiss album, Stanley admitted: “I think it’s setting myself up for disappointment. Not crushing disappointment, but when you put your heart and soul into doing something and it kind of gets a polite nod, there’s other things I’d rather do.”
Kiss performs on Friday and Saturday (August 26th and 27th) at Sydney, Australia’s Qudos Bank Arena.
Their next U.S. show is set for September 21st at West Palm Beach’s IThink Financial Amphitheatre.
SIDE NOTES
- It’s not as though Kiss‘ most recent albums have exactly been failures. 2012’s Monster hit Number Three on the Billboard 200 and topped both the magazine’s Top Digital and Top Hard Rock Albums charts.
- 2009’s Sonic Boom peaked at Number Two on the Billboard 200 and hit Number One across the board on the Top Hard Rock Albums, Independent Albums, and Top Rock Albums charts.
CHECK IT OUT: Kiss in 2012 performing “Hell Or Hallelujah” live on CBS’ The Late Show with David Letterman: