BOTTOM LINE:
I love this CD. I've been a Kiss fan since 76 and CoS as a whole is the best thing I've heard since "Destroyer". The songs are strong and the mixes sound much better than "Revenge". Eric does a supurb job on drums, as he always does. Bruce rocks on all guitar work.

1) "HATE" SIMMONS (4:36)
We start off rockin' hard with one of Gene's. Big, chunky guitars. Real heavy! Gene sounds good... "Hate is what I am"

2) "RAIN" STANLEY (4:46)
YES!!! Paul does some real heavy stuff on this CD and this is one of them. Paul's vox sounds mostly dry and is way out front during the verses and very wet in the courses. Highlights: Paul's vox and guitar.

3) "MASTER AND SLAVE" STANLEY (4:57)
Another pretty hard Paul song. Verses are just Paul, bass and kick drum. Take me back to "Creatures..."

4) "CHILDHOOD'S END" SIMMONS (4:20)
So far my favorite tune on CoS. Gene is really singing again. The course has a hook that sticks in your head after only one listen. Great melody!... "I've lived the life of illusion and you've had your kicks. So what! There's nothin' left to do." Good gtr solo.

5) "I WILL BE THERE" STANLEY (3:49)
Paul's ballad to his son, Evan. Great acoustic guitar! Again, Paul's vox seems fairly dry and sounds excellant. There's a string section in the back of the mix that sounds awsome.

6) "JUNGLE" STANLEY (6:49)
The first single released for radio and getting lots of air play in major cities. This song is very wet but still sounds great. A very heavily processed bass starts off the song. "The sun is goin' down. A jungle comes alive! The beast is waking up... to take another life!"

7) "IN MY HEAD" SIMMONS (4:00)
Danger, danger Will Robinson! Be carefull on this little trip with Gene. He stomps through this song as your guide inside the ell that would be Gene's brain. Some people may find this song a bit scary but I love it!

8) "IT NEVER GOES AWAY" STANLEY (5:42)
Tempo slows quite a bit but is still heavy. A couple of mind bending panning FXs at the beginning and a few more throughout the song so find the stereo "sweet spot" for this one to get all the fun. Paul holds a huge note like in "I Still Love You" at the end. The strengh of Paul's voice never ceases to amaze me.

9) "SEDUCTION OF THE INNOCENT" SIMMONS (5:16)
This sounds like something from the middle east, India maybe. It's one of my favorites. Reminds me of Gene's solo album. It's kind of hypnotizing to listen to. The drum work is excellant, I think there is a talking drum in there, very kool!

10) "I CONFESS" SIMMONS (5:23)
Gene's vox sounds very wet. The verses are tender and heartfelt and then the course rocks hard. Near the end we rock even harder with a heavy guitar.

11) "IN THE MIRROR" STANLEY (4:26)
Typical Paul song. The highlights for me were the drum solos before the guitar solo. This is the weakest song on the CD, musically, which means it's still pretty good.

12) "I WALK ALONE" KULICK (6:07)
Bruce's singing debut. I like the song but Bruce's voice is not as strong, exciting or dynamic as Paul's or Gene's. The drums are reversed and a little bit too far up front during the first guitar solo. The drums distract from the guitar. The transition to the reversed drums is very kool though! Gene and Paul come in as backup vox near the end.

There you go! They may have been experimenting with this CD but they were going in the right direction. I do hate to see Bruce and Eric S. leave the band. I wish them the best of luck!