Kiss‘ Gene Simmons confirmed the band has written new songs for their upcoming avatar-based show.
The virtual-reality Kiss — which the human band debuted at the end of their farewell tour in December 2023 — will hit the stage in 2028 in Las Vegas, Pollstar reports.
The George Lucas-founded visual effects company Industrial Light & Magic will create the band’s virtual avatars, while Pophouse Entertainment, the Swedish company behind the ABBA Voyage hologram show, will spearhead the rollout.
READ MORE: The Best Song From Every Kiss Album
Kiss’ Avatar Show Promises Iconic Images, Classic Hits and New Songs
When asked which eras of Kiss will be represented, Simmons specified, “It’s going to be the iconic face personas, the Demon, the Starchild, and so on. Who you want to place into that lineup is up to you.”
Kiss co-leader Paul Stanley said the band’s avatar show “will have all the classics through the years and some surprises,” while Simmons added, “You’re gonna get all that stuff, and also new songs.”
When pressed for details, the Demon said, “Exactly what that means, written by us. We have songs done.”
How Kiss’ Avatar Show Will Help Them ‘Stay Young Forever’
Pophouse CEO Jessica Koravos told Pollstar that the Kiss avatars introduced at the band’s 2023 farewell show were “an early prototype of the Kiss avatar concept. A lot has evolved since then – both in terms of creative concept for the show and avatar technology. We are now deep in development with a top-flight creative team headed by Thierry Coup – the team was on set last week testing out pyro effects against a new generation of LED screens to make sure we max out the Kiss signature flame throwing! The show concept is a crazy 4D roller coaster ride through the hits, the comic book worlds and personas of Kiss.”
Stanley said the upcoming project “has really no connection to some of the experimental holograms that were tried in the past, which were really very primitive. This will be virtually seeing us. My avatar looks just like me, not a cartoon or an artist rendition. The great thing about being an icon is you can stay young forever.”
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Simmons argued that even calling this new version of Kiss a “show” does a disservice to the whole endeavor.
“It’ll be less of a show and more of an experience, because as fantastic as virtual reality is – it fools your eyes – but your ears can hear what’s going on around you,” he said. “So if, hypothetically, you see a dragon that breathes fire into your face, the visuals will give you that, but you won’t feel the heat, so imagine all your senses are being attacked right along with the visuals.”
Kiss Avatars Are ‘the Phoenix Rising Out of the Ashes’
Both Kiss co-founders also detailed the benefits of focusing on the band’s signature personas, which various members have embodied over the years.
“It’s very interesting, because unlike other rock bands, we’re not confined by their limitations,” Stanley said. “We’re basically Superman with a guitar and a Marshall amplifier.”
READ MORE: Kiss Albums Ranked Worst to Best
Simmons, meanwhile, looks forward to a whole new era of the band.
“The fans should start to think about this as not the end of anything,” he said. “This is the phoenix rising out of the ashes. As a form of life, caterpillars aren’t very impressive, but they survive, and then it looks like they’re dying as they go into a cocoon. But then you get a beautiful butterfly that sprouts wings and goes to places and soars above that the caterpillar never imagined. This is not the end. This is the beginning.”
Get ready for the Kiss avatar show by revisiting all of their live albums, ranked worst to best:
Kiss Live Albums Ranked Worst to Best
You wanted the best, you get the best.. and the rest.
Gallery Credit: Matthew Wilkening
