Legendary rock band KISS are set to release their twentieth(!) studio album this October, with co-founders Paul Stanley and Gene ‘God of Thunder’ Simmons working with longtime musical partners drummer Eric Singer and guitarist Tommy Thayer, their latest album Monster is being touted as a return to the straight-ahead rock’n’roll of their heyday (isn’t the latest album always plugged that way?) and their first in three year’s since 2009’s Sonic Boom.
Alongside their new album, the rock veterans are also releasing a career-spanning book that is looking to break records as being the biggest rock tome ever released.
No strangers to bizarre merchandise (Kiss Coffin anyone?), the publication, entitled KISS MONSTER, will be roughly the same size as an electric guitar, which makes it the largest book of its kind. Set to feature previously unreleased images taken from across the band’s four decade history, KISS MONSTER will also be pressed in an extremely limited 1,000 issue run that will be autographed by the quartet.
With a price-tag of $US 4,300 per copy, the tome’s mammoth physical size isn’t the only thing that’s gargantuan about this memento.
The press release for KISS MONSTER reads, “Anyone who has experienced a KISS performance knows the bigger, louder and heavier, the better! The sheer size of the images the book contains means that the level of detail, vibrancy and intimacy is incredible, bringing the KISS experience alive.”
The statement also boasts that, due to its unconventional size, “some of the close-up photographs are, quite literally, larger than life! This is the closest any fan could ever get to their heroes without an access-all-areas pass.” Which could very well be cheaper than its $4,000+ asking price in some cases.
In related news, KISS have released the first single from their forthcoming studio album, “Hell or Hallelujah”, which Paul Stanley calls “a battle cry that encapsulates the entire record… one way or another, we’re going to do it our way.”
While Gene Simmons says the single’s back-to-basics sound represents Monster‘s simplified approach, promising “There are no symphony orchestras, boy choirs, keyboards, outside producers or songwriters on this album.” Adding that, “the best thing we did was to turn inwards to ourselves. Tommy and Eric have revitalized this band, with a work ethic and the talent to back it up. This is a real band effort. KISS has become a behemoth. We’re going where no bands have gone before.”
Listen to the new single, “Hell Or Hallelujah” while you check your KISS savings account to see if you’ve got the funds to get the World’s Biggest Rock Book:
