KISS - CARNIVAL OF SOULS : THE FINAL SESSIONS review by Sheldon Kane

Having heard the "new" KISS album many times over, I can honestly say that this was an album well worth the wait. The COS bootlegs did this album no justice; you've gotta hear the actual finished product to get the full KISS COS experience!

I've heard a lot of people saying that songs like "Rain", "Master & Slave" and "Jungle" sound more like contemporary chart favorites like Stone Temple Pilots and Alice In Chains (and yes, Paul Stanley even borrows the line "I think it's gonna rain" from AIC's "Rain When I Die"). While this album does mark a departure from the usual KISS songs about partying and good times, I do think that this album shows that KISS can perform any style of contemporary music and pull it off convincingly. "Hate" is a classic "angry Gene" song, and tunes like "Seduction Of the Innocent" and "It Never Goes Away" show that KISS can sing about more than women and the road.

While it's not the greatest KISS album, it's still an effort well worth the money you spend on it.