Kiss

The naked commercialism of Kiss’ protracted comeback is hard to ignore—especially since Gene Simmons has long promoted his business acumen over the band’s musical talent—but putting spectacle above music has been the group’s biggest strength from the start. That’s why it’s heartening to learn that when the band decided to make a new album, titled Sonic Boom, it turned out to be actually pretty good, in the manner of all Kiss albums from the past couple of decades. Still, all but the biggest apologists have to wince a bit at the band continuing to tour with Eric Singer and Tommy Thayer—decked out in kabuki makeup, of course—in place of founding members Peter Criss and Ace Frehley. 

Updated 10/01/2009