Records: KISS' Psycho Circus

By Alex Bamiagis

Well, it looks like KISS still haven't lost their ability to be outrageous, and they prove it with their latest record, Psycho Circus. On this, the band's 8,000th album and first studio effort since reuniting in their original incarnation, our four heroes somehow manage to both recapture the wildly original spirit of their past efforts and keep the new songs from sounding like a bunch of edited cuts from 1975.

From Paul Stanley's energized and dark greeting on the title track ("Hello!/ Here I am/ Here we are/ We are one/ ...No one leaves until the night is done") to Gene Simmons' thundering vocal on "Journey of 1,000 Years" and "Dreamin'," the demon boot-wearing quartet show that they can still run their metal factory with the same ass-kicking efficiency--and don't think for even a millisecond that they're humble about it. In "You Wanted the Best," Peter Criss's pumping drums, Ace Frehley's screaming lead guitar, Stanley's firm lead, and Simmons' belly-hitting bass may not establish KISS as the best, but they do reserve a place for them among the cockiest.

Despite the general consistency of Psycho Circus, KISS falter slightly on "We Are One." Alarmingly corny background vocals turn what is already a tepid ballad into a summer camp sing-along with a generous portion of marijuana. Also, the song's slow, weak tempo makes Gene Simmons sound less like a bloody-tongued demon than a geriatric case study. However, Frehley's landmine guitar on "Dreamin'" blows all thoughts of campfires sky high by scattering the song with awesome slices of penetrating six-string shrapnel.

With Psycho Circus, KISS have managed to infuse the classic rock beats of "Detroit Rock City" with the party-hard attitude of "I Wanna Rock and Roll All Night" combined with the sly confidence of "Calling Dr. Love." Yes, all of these songs are 20 years old, and these connections with KISS's past music will, no doubt, lead some relentlessly forward-looking naysayers to complain that the album doesn't come off as much of a musical revelation. Of course, this is KISS, and it's hardly revealing to criticize them for a lack of originality at this advanced stage of their career. Psycho Circus still proves itself to be something perhaps better than a revelation: it's one hell of a headbanging confirmation.

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