KISS:
Carnival of Souls
(Polygram)

Subtitled "The Final Sessions," Carnival of Souls marks the end of the Bruce Kulick/Eric Singer chapter of Kisstory. Unfortunately, the group has taken the low road once again, jumping for the bandwagon after it has taken off, chasing after timeworn sounds rather than landing in the driver's seat.

The irony of this album is that just a few years after Kiss honored themselves by compiling their own tribute album (Kiss My Ass), they now pay homage to their favorite "grunge" acts with Carnival. If you listen closely you can hear Kiss doing their best impressions of Alice in Chains on "Rain," Tool on "Jungle" and Stone Temple Pilots on "Master & Slave." That's not to say these songs are bad, and in fact when compared to the past two consecutive "greatest hits" collections released by the group, anything would be a welcome change. Songs like "I Confess," "I Walk Alone" and "Childhood's End" are by far the best Kiss compositions since Kulick and Singer joined the group, offering a ray of hope that Kiss hasn't lost it just yet.

Die-hard fans have been tracking this album on the bootleg circuit and on the web in the form of RealAudio files for just over a year. While the challenge of finding a bootleg or downloading an entire album on the web holds a special romantic sentiment for fans, actually buying this disc will be less appealing unless you're determined to own every Kiss album, good or bad. I'm sure I'm not the only one with a copy of Unmasked or Music From The Elder.

The upside is that "The Final Sessions" also marks the return of the original line-up who are currently writing material for a new album. If you're tired of the Kiss copycat syndrome that poisoned their work in the 80's and early 90's, go pick up the "new" Kiss re-masters and wait for the second coming sometime next year.

Useless trivia alert: Bruce Kulick is the first member of the group to appear on a Kiss album cover with a full beard.