I'm probably way behind in reviewing this cd but I would like to voice my opinion anyway.

First of all, let me say that I never owned the bootleg copy of COS but a friend of mine had it and let me hear it once.I was impressed to say the least but I didn't have a chance to really hear it.So it was with extreme anticipation that I awaited the "official" release.

So anyway, here's a track-by-track review.

1)Hate-At first i really liked this song.It had everything I wanted to hear on it.Cool heavy bass intro,the ever-present Gene Simmons growl and a killer drum beat.But.....after a few listens,I grew bored with the song.To me it just doesn't go anywhere

2)Rain-Extremely cool song.Great singing courtesy of Mr. Stanley.I love the grindy type of groove that this song has.One of Paul's best.

3)Master & Slave-Another smokin' cut.This tune thumps hard.You could almost start a mosh pit to this one."TELL ME"

4)Childhood's End-My favorite cut on the disc. Hard to explain why.Gene sings this one like he really means it.An unexpected gem.

5)I Will Be There-This is the best ballad Kiss has ever done.Tasteful acoustic guitars.Brilliant solo.Great vocal work.

6)Jungle-When I first heard the intro to this song on the radio,I almost died.Being a bass player myself, ths song is like a wet dream.The only problem I have with the song is that it goes on way too long at the end.Did someone forget to tell them to stop playing?

7)In My Head-Okay, time to start a shit storm.I canot stand this song.I hate to say it but I can't find one thing I like about it.That repetative thumpng main riff sounds like a dump truck bungee jumping onto a parking lot.And I don't mean that in a good way.

8)It Never Goes Away-A really great slow tempo rocker.Killer chorus both vocal wise and lyric wise.

9)Seduction Of The Innocent-Great middle-eastern trippy thing goin on there.Sounds like something that could have been recorded in the 60s.Love Gene's vocals on this one.Nice to hear him actually sing every now and then.

10)I Confess-(Boy there are a lot of song titles that begin with the letter " I ") This one took a few listens for me to dig it but dig it I do.Wonderful vocal harmonies on the chorus.A nice heavy little tune to bug Mom & Dad with.

11)In The Mirror-I'm not real fond of this tune. About the only thing I like about it is the vocal section right before the chorus.Very middle of the road song.

12)I Walk Alone-I really didn't like this song when I first heard it but after a coupla spins it really grew on me.I didn't really like Bruce's vocals on it but then I figured out why.They put this tune on the end of the cd.After listening to all the other songs first,when you get to this one, you're expecting more heavy tunes.But I really do enjoy this song now.Great backwards drum effect.Bruce does sound alot like Ace doesn't he?

Overall, I think Carnival Of Souls is one of Kiss' best yet.I'm curious to see what the new music with the Originals will sound like after this.