Paul Stanley has acknowledged that the end is in sight for larger-than-life hard rock superheroes Kiss, but promises that the New Yorkers will sign off with a spectacular show for UK fans at Download 2020.
Speaking in the new issue of Classic Rock magazine, Stanley talked of his joy in seeing in the new year onstage with Kiss at their spectacular livestream concert from Dubai, but conceded that the hard rock veterans are mindful that the end of the road is fast approaching.
“It was exhilarating to get back out there,” says Stanley. “And the conditions of the show [which was watched at the venue by a Covid-screened audience] were so unique, the protocols for safety were so stringent it took on an almost surreal quality. After a year of inactivity it was great to say again: ‘Yeah, man… we’re Kiss’.”
“If someone’s gonna do it, they may as well be wearing eight-inch heels,” he added.
When Classic Rock’s Dave Ling suggests to Stanley that the quartet’s return to Donington Park for Download 2022 will come around fast, Stanley admits that his band are looking to say farewell to their UK fans with a show that will live long in the memory.
“I sent Dave Grohl a photo of the finale of our last Download show [in 2015], and he called those scenes ‘insanity’,” says Stanley. “It looked like World War Three. There’s a lot to uphold, especially as we are at the end. We just can’t continue to do this for much longer. Though once it wasn’t, age is now a factor. Once upon a time it was about will, but now we are running around on stage wearing fifty pounds of gear. However, we will ensure that Download is mind-boggling.”
Stanley recently told USA Today that he doesn’t envisage Kiss releasing any new music before they take off their stack heel boots for the very last time.
“I don’t really see a reason for it, to be quite honest," he said. "For the most part, when classic bands put out new albums, they’re looked at and listened to and thrown away because they don’t have the gravitas, they don’t have the age that comes with something being a time capsule or being attached to a certain period of your life.”
“So it’s odd to me that people always want you to do a new album, but then they go, ‘That’s great. Now play your hits.’ So honestly, at this point, there isn’t a real reward in it. There’s much more of a reward in changing lanes — I’m still going forward.”
He added: “But in terms of recording more Kiss material, I kind of go, ‘Why?’ I thought Modern Day Delilah or Hell Or Hallelujah were as good as anything I’ve written and as good as anything we recorded, but understandably, it’s like new wine. It just hasn’t aged. So I’d rather not try to roll a stone up the hill.”
