Sonic Boom (Kiss album)

Sonic Boom
Studio album by
Kiss
ReleasedOctober 6, 2009 (2009-10-06)
RecordedAugust 2008; May–August 2009
StudioConway (Hollywood)
Henson Recording (Hollywood)
The Nook (Studio City)
Genre
Length43:07
LabelKiss, Roadrunner
ProducerPaul Stanley, Greg Collins
Kiss chronology
Kiss Alive 35
(2008) 		Sonic Boom
(2009) 		Kiss Sonic Boom Over Europe
(2010)
Singles from Sonic Boom
  1. "Modern Day Delilah[2]"
    Released: August 19, 2009
  2. "Say Yeah"
    Released: December 8, 2009
  3. "Never Enough"
    Released: June 8, 2010

Sonic Boom is the nineteenth studio album, and the first in 11 years, by the rock band Kiss, released on October 6, 2009.[3] The album was recorded at Conway Recording Studios in Hollywood, Los Angeles, CA and produced by Paul Stanley and co-produced by Greg Collins.[4] This is the first album to feature new lead guitarist Tommy Thayer. It also features the return of drummer Eric Singer following his return to the band in 2004. Thayer and Singer also have lead vocal performances on the album. Stanley stated, "the purpose of this album isn't to let people know that we're still around – it's to let people know we can still knock out anybody who's out there!".[5]

Album information

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A fan-routed North American tour promoted the album along with international shows throughout 2010, which included the band headlining the Rock am Ring festival in Germany. The cover artwork was created by artist Michael Doret who had worked with Kiss previously to create the cover of their 1976 album Rock and Roll Over.[6] Wal-Mart is the exclusive distributor of the album in the US and Canada,[3] selling it as a three disc package including the album, Kiss Klassics (a completely re-recorded greatest hits album that until now had been exclusively released in Japan as Jigoku-Retsuden), and a six-song live DVD recorded April 5, 2009, in Buenos Aires, Argentina as part of the South American leg of the Kiss Alive/35 World Tour.

The album was sold as a digipak including a 20-page booklet. The album's first single was announced on the band's official website to be "Modern Day Delilah".[2] The album was also released on limited edition 180 gram vinyl and was pressed into five colors (red, green, black, blue and purple) with 1000 copies pressed of each.[7] "Modern Day Delilah" was announced and released as the lead single from Sonic Boom on August 19, 2009, to radio. It was Kiss' first single release in 11 years, the last being "You Wanted the Best" released in 1998.

The music video for "Modern Day Delilah" leaked online on the first days of December and was officially released on December 9, 2009, and premiered on Yahoo!. The video is topped and tailed by footage of giant sized members of Kiss walking through Detroit. The video went on to top UK music video channel Scuzz's "Most Rockin: Viewer Request Show" chart on December 3, 2009. The single was released as downloadable content for Guitar Hero 5 and Band Hero on November 19, 2009, along with the singles "I Was Made for Lovin' You" and "Lick It Up".[8] Modern Day Delilah peaked at #50 on the Billboard Rock songs chart.[9] The song was used for their opening song for the Sonic Boom Over Europe Tour and The Hottest Show on Earth Tour.

"Say Yeah" was added to the shows on the Sonic Boom Tour/Alive 35 North American Tour 2009. Later on, it was mentioned during Kiss' Facebook concert broadcast that "Say Yeah" was going to be the next single off Sonic Boom. On December 5, it was announced that the single would be released to radios on December 8.[2] The single was released on the second week of January 2010 in Argentina. "Say Yeah" also hit #1 on February 5, 2010, on a Russian Radio Chart after debuting at #11. "Never Enough" was released as the next radio single from Sonic Boom in early June 2010 and was mentioned on KISSonline.com. The song was not incorporated into the band's setlist on its 2010 Summer Tour of the US and Canada. The song "Modern Day Delilah" was also used in 2015 for the movie Scooby-Doo! and Kiss: Rock and Roll Mystery along with the second disc's rerecorded versions of "Rock and Roll All Nite", "Shout It Out Loud", "I Was Made for Lovin' You", and "Detroit Rock City".

Reception

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Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic57/100[10]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
The Boston Globe(favorable)[11]
Entertainment Weekly(B)[12]
The Guardian[13]
Los Angeles Times[14]
Mojo[15]
Rolling Stone[16]
Spin[17]

The album received mixed reviews from critics.[18] Sonic Boom debuted at #2 on the Billboard 200, selling 108,000 copies in its first week of release.[19] The #2 position was the highest mark ever reached by the group, beating the #3 debut of Psycho Circus in 1998.[19] The album finished 2009 with 238,000 units sold[20] and finished 2010 as one of Billboard's Top 50 Rock Albums.[21] Metal Hammer listed the album in 13th place on the list Metal Hammer Albums of 2009.[22] Since its release, Sonic Boom has received Gold certification in Norway.[23]

Track listing

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No.TitleWriter(s)Lead vocalsLength
1."Modern Day Delilah"Paul StanleyStanley3:37
2."Russian Roulette"Gene Simmons, StanleySimmons4:32
3."Never Enough"Stanley, Tommy ThayerStanley3:26
4."Yes I Know (Nobody's Perfect)"SimmonsSimmons3:02
5."Stand"Stanley, SimmonsStanley, Simmons4:50
6."Hot and Cold"SimmonsSimmons3:36
7."All for the Glory"Stanley, SimmonsSinger3:49
8."Danger Us"StanleyStanley4:22
9."I'm an Animal"Stanley, Simmons, ThayerSimmons3:47
10."When Lightning Strikes"Thayer, StanleyThayer3:45
11."Say Yeah"StanleyStanley4:27

Disc 2

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Bonus CD Compilation (Kiss Klassics)

No.TitleWriter(s)Lead vocalsLength
1."Deuce"SimmonsSimmons3:08
2."Detroit Rock City"Stanley, Bob EzrinStanley3:57
3."Shout It Out Loud"Stanley, Simmons, EzrinStanley, Simmons2:54
4."Hotter Than Hell"StanleyStanley3:10
5."Calling Dr. Love"SimmonsSimmons3:26
6."Love Gun"StanleyStanley3:14
7."I Was Made for Lovin' You"Stanley, Vini Poncia, Desmond ChildStanley4:42
8."Heaven's on Fire"Stanley, ChildStanley3:24
9."Lick It Up"Stanley, Vinnie VincentStanley3:56
10."I Love It Loud"Simmons, VincentSimmons4:09
11."Forever"Stanley, Michael BoltonStanley3:53
12."Christine Sixteen"SimmonsSimmons2:59
13."Do You Love Me?"Stanley, Ezrin, Kim FowleyStanley3:39
14."Black Diamond"StanleySinger, intro by Stanley4:20
15."Rock and Roll All Nite"Stanley, SimmonsSimmons2:49

Disc 3

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DVD – Live in Buenos Aires, Argentina (Recorded on April 5, 2009, at the River Plate Stadium)

  1. "Deuce"
  2. "Hotter Than Hell"
  3. "C'mon and Love Me"
  4. "Watchin' You"
  5. "100,000 Years"
  6. "Rock and Roll All Nite"

Personnel

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Kiss

Additional personnel

  • Brian Whelan – piano
  • Greg Collins – co-producer, engineering, mixing
  • Eric Weaver – engineering
  • Valente Torrez – engineering
  • Pat Woodward – engineering
  • Matt "Wiggy" Wiggers – engineering
  • Miles Wilson – additional engineering
  • David Donnelly – mastering
  • t42design – art direction, design
  • Michael Doret – cover illustration
  • Neil Zlozower – photography
  • Dean Snowden – photography

Charts

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References

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  1. ^ a b Jeffries, David. Sonic Boom at AllMusic. Retrieved October 18, 2009.
  2. ^ a b c Kissonline.com article Archived August 21, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ a b Graff, Gary. "Kiss Makes Sonic Boom Set a Wal-Mart Exclusive". billboard.com. August 17, 2009.
  4. ^ Appleford, Steve. "Kiss “Born Again” With Walmart’s “Sonic Boom”: Band Talks New LP". Rolling Stone. August 17, 2009
  5. ^ "Kiss – Sonic Boom CD Album". cduniverse.com. Retrieved March 22, 2015.
  6. ^ "News > Michael Doret On The New Kiss Cover". Kissonline. Com. August 10, 2009. Archived from the original on January 2, 2010. Retrieved March 26, 2010.
  7. ^ "Niet compatibele browser". Facebook. Retrieved March 26, 2010.
  8. ^ "Guitar Hero KISS DLC Pre-Release trailer". YouTube. November 16, 2009. Retrieved March 26, 2010.[dead YouTube link]
  9. ^ "KISS Chart History". Allmusic. Retrieved April 23, 2010.
  10. ^ "Sonic Boom Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More at Metacritic". metacritic.com. Retrieved August 10, 2011.
  11. ^ Hirsh, Marc (October 5, 2009). "Kiss, 'Sonic Boom'". The Boston Globe. Retrieved October 28, 2009.
  12. ^ Collis, Clark (September 30, 2009). "Music Review: Sonic Boom (2009)". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved October 15, 2009.
  13. ^ Hann, Michael (October 9, 2009). "Kiss: Sonic Boom". The Guardian. London.
  14. ^ Wood, Mikael (October 6, 2009). "Album review: Kiss' 'Sonic Boom'". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on October 10, 2009. Retrieved October 15, 2009.
  15. ^ McNair, James (November 2009). "Filter Albums". Mojo (192). London: Bauer Media Group: 90. ISSN 1351-0193.
  16. ^ Rosen, Jody (October 26, 2009). "Kiss: Sonic Boom". Rolling Stone. Wenner Media. Archived from the original on August 8, 2020.
  17. ^ Brod, Doug (October 10, 2009). "Kiss, 'Sonic Boom' (Kiss)". Spin. Retrieved October 15, 2009.
  18. ^ Sonic Boom – Kiss, Metacritic
  19. ^ a b Caulfield, Keith and Monica Herrera. "Michael Buble Beats Kiss on Billboard 200". billboard.com. October 14, 2009.
  20. ^ 2010 Money Makers, Billboard
  21. ^ Skinner, Keven (December 10, 2010). "Billboard Unveils Top Selling Hard Rock Albums of 2010". dailyblam.com.
  22. ^ Metal Hammer's Metal Hammer Albums of 2009. Retrieved September 2, 2011.
  23. ^ bravewords.com. "KISS - Sonic Boom Goes Gold In Norway - Bravewords.com". bravewords.com. Retrieved March 22, 2015.
  24. ^ "Australiancharts.com – Kiss – Sonic Boom". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
  25. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Kiss – Sonic Boom" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
  26. ^ "Ultratop.be – Kiss – Sonic Boom" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
  27. ^ "Ultratop.be – Kiss – Sonic Boom" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
  28. ^ "Danishcharts.dk – Kiss – Sonic Boom". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
  29. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Kiss – Sonic Boom" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved May 21, 2021.
  30. ^ "Billboard". October 24, 2009.
  31. ^ "Kiss: Sonic Boom" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
  32. ^ "Lescharts.com – Kiss – Sonic Boom". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
  33. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Kiss – Sonic Boom" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
  34. ^ "Album Top 40 slágerlista – 2009. 41. hét" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
  35. ^ "Italiancharts.com – Kiss – Sonic Boom". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
  36. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Kiss – Sonic Boom". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
  37. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
  38. ^ "Spanishcharts.com – Kiss – Sonic Boom". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
  39. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Kiss – Sonic Boom". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
  40. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Kiss – Sonic Boom". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
  41. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
  42. ^ "Official Rock & Metal Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
  43. ^ "Kiss Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
  44. ^ "Kiss Chart History (Top Hard Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
  45. ^ "Kiss Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
  46. ^ "Kiss Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
  47. ^ "Årslista Album – År 2009" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
  48. ^ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2009". Billboard. Retrieved May 21, 2021.
  49. ^ "Top Rock Albums – Year-End 2009". Billboard. Retrieved May 21, 2021.
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