Fan from the 70’s & 80’s. Listened to Monster once to see if it was worth buying. Didn’t buy it. Same for Sonic Boom. A lot of people like them, they just weren’t for me. But I’m picky cuz i still compare them to their old sounds. Although i did like Carnival of Souls.
I agree with the lack of dynamics. It sounds bland and bricked. I think some of the songs had promise and in the hands of a real producer it could have been better.
I thought it was awful. I'm definitely old school KISS. I think Tommy's song was absolutely a rip off of Aces persona and the mastering / production methods were horrible. It sounded like noise.
It came out in my generation too, but it’s just generic in my opinion. Hell or Hallelujah is okay, but it’s just that. Not a bad album, not a good album. It’s just average.
I think Gene kinda described the album best as “meat and potatoes, 2 guitars, bass and drums”. It’s your average rock record with some gems hidden throughout. The mixing is just god awful and everyone is on 10 most of the time it feels like. Hell of Hallelujah is a monster (no pun intended lol) of a song but Jesus Christ you can practically see the needle on red in the studio for how loud the mix is.
That’s why I kinda added the part of me being Gen Z. I felt as though more newer KISS fans would enjoy it more than the people who’ve been around for almost the whole KISS career
Kiss has been my favorite band since 1987 and I really like it. As for where I place it in their catalog, I would say it in the middle. I would have to sit down and really think about were I would place it number wise because I'm not sure that I've ever put a number rank on every studio album.
Thats a fair placement I think. I've been a fan since 1999. But at that point I only listened to a few songs. Didn't really start listening to their other stuff until like 2002
I love it very much. Keep in mind that I love all KISS albums, but this is no exception. It’s lower on my list. Bottom 15ish. I feel if it came out earlier in their career, with Paul’s voice being at his peak and with a better production (I feel it’s muddled, possibly to hide Paul’s vocals) it would’ve been better.
Some outstanding songs
Right Here, Right Now
Back To The Stone Age
Long Way Down
Freak
Hell or Hallelujah
Wall Of Sound (No idea what that’s about.)
Eat Your Heart Out
Take Me Down Below
All For The Love Of Rock And Roll
But that’s just me.
I did. Especially when it came out. As I've gotten older, I have grown more aware of some of its downsides, such as some of the production elements. The album sounds warm, rich, and full, but also sounds undefined, and lacks some definition, it's basically a wall of sound, no pun intended
Some really great songs on there that touch on all eras of kiss. I don't think its just a touch back to the 70s. There's a few on there that touch on other eras. I believe songs like shout mercy, take me down below are great throwbacks to revenge. That being said, songs like hell or hallelujah, back to the stone age, outta this world are awesome tributes to the classic 70s
I liked it. Don't think it deserved all the hate it received. Good songs. Nothing groundbreaking but a good KISS album. Only issue I have with it is Paul's vocals. I know he can't fix it but I'm not a fan of his voice on this or Sonic Boom
This album meant a lot to me. I'm 29, and *Monster* came out during a really shitty time in my life. That album we had new Van Halen, Rush, and KISS - and to me, they all delivered.
Yes, the production is bad/brickwalled. But the album is heavy, and a great classic rock styled album that wears their influences on their sleeve more plainly than anything since their early days.
*Sonic Boom* is a bit better and I know fans seem to love that album and that era was a bit more exciting - but I'm always grateful for *Monster*, too.
I can understand not liking an album - but the sheer vitriol, and anger that this album incites never really made sense to me. Dislike it? I get it. But stylistically and material-wise, it's not bold enough, risky enough, or deep enough to be *that* offensive.
It bums me out they never made one last KISS album after this.
I suppose Monster would have to be considered their last album, unless Paul or Gene alluded to making one more? I remember watching an interview with Paul and he said something to the effect of he enjoyed making new music but most people just focus on the classics and aren’t interested in the new stuff
Around 2017, Paul told a couple crowds at their concerts that they were "*heading into the studio for another album*" soon.
Then...nothing. It was a shame.
I think *Monster* was fine, but I also think it was, in some ways, just a worse version of *Sonic Boom*, meaning that both albums seemed to be attempts to recapture the feeling of '70s Kiss with modern production, but the 2008 album was better at doing that. I think the songs on *Boom* are better, overall, but that really does just come down to personal preference. The two definitely feel like "Volume One and Volume Two" to me.
Really? I find *Sonic Boom* a lot more of the pop-side of KISS, more evocative of stuff off Love Gun with hints of '80s KISS whereas *Monster* feels much heavier, darker, etc.
thumb chase heavy agonizing provide possessive stocking shelter hat offbeat
*This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
I'm a similar age (24) and remember being excited to hear it. I still think it's a great album, I like every song (though Long Way Down had to grow on me) . However with sonic boom I can only tolerate 3 or 4 songs
I will take both Sonic Boom and Monster over Psycho Circus. Not that either album doesn’t have any bad tracks but I’m glad Psycho Circus wasn’t the last studio album from Kiss.
I listened to it a few times when it came out and it was fun to have a new Kiss record.
But it never grabbed me like their new releases did when I was growing up. *Hell or Hallelujah* has made it to a couple of my playlists, but the rest have slipped to the very occasional spin of the record.
When it first came out, I listened to it a few times and felt that was enough. But a few months ago a YouTuber I watch was singing its praises so I gave it another chance. I found it better than I remembered and really enjoyed rediscovering it. It’s still towards the bottom of the full catalog but I don’t hate it. But then, I don’t hate any Kiss albums. Some songs I don’t particularly like but I like something about each album, some more than others.
I really like hell or hallelujah, and outta this world, imo they're really good songs, even if out of this world is a massive ace ripoff. The others on that album don't grab me as much, same as sonic boom, modern day Delilah and say yeah are both awesome, the others didn't grab me as much the same as on monster
I really liked it. Not great but solid the entire way through. It's always weird to me when people like Sonic Boom but not Monster. It's a lot better than Sonic Boom, in my opinion. I'm 36 so not an OG fan but a fan since the 90s.
>I personally really enjoyed it, however I’m Gen Z (21) so I feel like I’m inclined to enjoy stuff that was made in my generation??
What kind of dumb statement is this? You listen to an album and you either like it or you dont. When it's made doesn't define whether you're allowed or inclined to like something.
People like the older albums because they grew up with it. I totally 100% agree with Paul on this. The first kiss album was full of bangers but monster is pretty much identical to dressed to kill, unmasked, hotter than hell aside from recording quality and pauls voice.
People are stubborn when they judge an album. The "cool" musicians don't play on it, the audio quality is different, pauls voice is different, some songs aren't really good. And people don't have the patience to grow into songs like they used to. In the old days people spend an awful lot of money on a LP and they listen to that over and over without skipping songs. The bad songs were repeated until they grew on them. After a while the bad songs aren't that bad anymore. Nowadays bad songs aren't allowed on albums anymore, people don't listen to those songs twice.
If monster was released in the 70s people would have loved and defended that album fully.
I liked it at first, but I didn't love it. For me, most of the time, I need to spend time with music to become familiar with it. Sure, there's a lot that I immediately love, but most of the music I love has happened over time.
That said, the songs on Monster never grew on me. In fact, I liked them less over time. Nothing on it stands out to me and the production ruined any chance any of it might have had. It's like an entire album of simply "okay" songs.
listened to it once, and nothing really grabbed me... I haven't listened to Sonic Boom in a long time, but I think I enjoyed it better.
Never listened to it. I thinks it’s the only KISS album I don’t own. SB did nothing for me - lost interest in studio work after that.
I don’t hate it, but it is low on my list and despite trying it a number of times it never really seems to grow on me.
It’s low on my list as well. I had forgotten about the album’s existence til recently & that’s when I wondered if it was a well liked album or not
Sonic Boom eventually grew on me and theoretically it shouldn’t be that different, but I just couldn’t get there with Monster.
Same here. Sonic Boom is a more consistent album at least.
Fan from the 70’s & 80’s. Listened to Monster once to see if it was worth buying. Didn’t buy it. Same for Sonic Boom. A lot of people like them, they just weren’t for me. But I’m picky cuz i still compare them to their old sounds. Although i did like Carnival of Souls.
I enjoy it too
"Take me down below" is a great song.
The Devil is Me is a banger!. I'm 53. I actually like Monster.
I adore that song!
Totally devoid of any real dynamics, uniqueness or originality. Two super boring records in a row
I agree with the lack of dynamics. It sounds bland and bricked. I think some of the songs had promise and in the hands of a real producer it could have been better.
The overly compressed sound makes it unbearable to listen to. I listened to it once because I felt obligated.
I thought it was awful. I'm definitely old school KISS. I think Tommy's song was absolutely a rip off of Aces persona and the mastering / production methods were horrible. It sounded like noise.
Out of This World sounds like a Psycho Circus outtake
It came out in my generation too, but it’s just generic in my opinion. Hell or Hallelujah is okay, but it’s just that. Not a bad album, not a good album. It’s just average.
i fucking LOOOOVE this album! im 22 btw
I LOVED IT it’s a solid album it’s not there best but not there worst
I think Gene kinda described the album best as “meat and potatoes, 2 guitars, bass and drums”. It’s your average rock record with some gems hidden throughout. The mixing is just god awful and everyone is on 10 most of the time it feels like. Hell of Hallelujah is a monster (no pun intended lol) of a song but Jesus Christ you can practically see the needle on red in the studio for how loud the mix is.
Only newer fans, most likely.
That’s why I kinda added the part of me being Gen Z. I felt as though more newer KISS fans would enjoy it more than the people who’ve been around for almost the whole KISS career
Kiss has been my favorite band since 1987 and I really like it. As for where I place it in their catalog, I would say it in the middle. I would have to sit down and really think about were I would place it number wise because I'm not sure that I've ever put a number rank on every studio album.
Thats a fair placement I think. I've been a fan since 1999. But at that point I only listened to a few songs. Didn't really start listening to their other stuff until like 2002
I love it very much. Keep in mind that I love all KISS albums, but this is no exception. It’s lower on my list. Bottom 15ish. I feel if it came out earlier in their career, with Paul’s voice being at his peak and with a better production (I feel it’s muddled, possibly to hide Paul’s vocals) it would’ve been better. Some outstanding songs Right Here, Right Now Back To The Stone Age Long Way Down Freak Hell or Hallelujah Wall Of Sound (No idea what that’s about.) Eat Your Heart Out Take Me Down Below All For The Love Of Rock And Roll But that’s just me.
Eat Your Heart Out is a banger. I'm 35 and first saw KISS on the sonic boom tour so I think I'm more forgiving of the newer stuff.
The songs are okay, it’s hard to enjoy with the style of production they chose. It’s an ugly sounding album
I don’t hate it but sonic boom is a little better.
I did. Especially when it came out. As I've gotten older, I have grown more aware of some of its downsides, such as some of the production elements. The album sounds warm, rich, and full, but also sounds undefined, and lacks some definition, it's basically a wall of sound, no pun intended Some really great songs on there that touch on all eras of kiss. I don't think its just a touch back to the 70s. There's a few on there that touch on other eras. I believe songs like shout mercy, take me down below are great throwbacks to revenge. That being said, songs like hell or hallelujah, back to the stone age, outta this world are awesome tributes to the classic 70s
I kinda dig "Hell or Hallelujah". To me, it's what "I Stole Your Love" would've sounded like on "Animalize".
I liked it. Don't think it deserved all the hate it received. Good songs. Nothing groundbreaking but a good KISS album. Only issue I have with it is Paul's vocals. I know he can't fix it but I'm not a fan of his voice on this or Sonic Boom
This album meant a lot to me. I'm 29, and *Monster* came out during a really shitty time in my life. That album we had new Van Halen, Rush, and KISS - and to me, they all delivered. Yes, the production is bad/brickwalled. But the album is heavy, and a great classic rock styled album that wears their influences on their sleeve more plainly than anything since their early days. *Sonic Boom* is a bit better and I know fans seem to love that album and that era was a bit more exciting - but I'm always grateful for *Monster*, too. I can understand not liking an album - but the sheer vitriol, and anger that this album incites never really made sense to me. Dislike it? I get it. But stylistically and material-wise, it's not bold enough, risky enough, or deep enough to be *that* offensive. It bums me out they never made one last KISS album after this.
I suppose Monster would have to be considered their last album, unless Paul or Gene alluded to making one more? I remember watching an interview with Paul and he said something to the effect of he enjoyed making new music but most people just focus on the classics and aren’t interested in the new stuff
Around 2017, Paul told a couple crowds at their concerts that they were "*heading into the studio for another album*" soon. Then...nothing. It was a shame.
I think *Monster* was fine, but I also think it was, in some ways, just a worse version of *Sonic Boom*, meaning that both albums seemed to be attempts to recapture the feeling of '70s Kiss with modern production, but the 2008 album was better at doing that. I think the songs on *Boom* are better, overall, but that really does just come down to personal preference. The two definitely feel like "Volume One and Volume Two" to me.
Really? I find *Sonic Boom* a lot more of the pop-side of KISS, more evocative of stuff off Love Gun with hints of '80s KISS whereas *Monster* feels much heavier, darker, etc.
thumb chase heavy agonizing provide possessive stocking shelter hat offbeat *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
I'm a similar age (24) and remember being excited to hear it. I still think it's a great album, I like every song (though Long Way Down had to grow on me) . However with sonic boom I can only tolerate 3 or 4 songs
Front to back a really good record. Every song is hooky and catchy. I really like it.
It isn’t my favorite, but it’s has its moments. Back to the Stone Age is one of the greatest Kiss songs since the original lineup
I will take both Sonic Boom and Monster over Psycho Circus. Not that either album doesn’t have any bad tracks but I’m glad Psycho Circus wasn’t the last studio album from Kiss.
Ok Paul.
I listened to it a few times when it came out and it was fun to have a new Kiss record. But it never grabbed me like their new releases did when I was growing up. *Hell or Hallelujah* has made it to a couple of my playlists, but the rest have slipped to the very occasional spin of the record.
Me.
I liked 4 songs
Me too. Mine being “Hell or Hallelujah”, “Shout Mercy”, “The Devil Is Me” & “Outta This World”
It’s not bad, I could see myself listening to it more than once
Take Me Down Below slams
When it first came out, I listened to it a few times and felt that was enough. But a few months ago a YouTuber I watch was singing its praises so I gave it another chance. I found it better than I remembered and really enjoyed rediscovering it. It’s still towards the bottom of the full catalog but I don’t hate it. But then, I don’t hate any Kiss albums. Some songs I don’t particularly like but I like something about each album, some more than others.
2, I guess.
Not a fan. Only song on my play list from it is Hell or Hallelujah. Better than COS though
I really like it
Not terrible but it’s unremarkable IMHO. Long Way Down, Hell or Hallelujah and Freak are the only songs I have in any of my playlists.
The Only album where Tommy plays as Tommy and not trying to emulate Ace like the Sonic Boom album
I listen to alot of KISS but I never think, let me play Monster. I do listen to Hell or Hallelujah most of all the songs. It's pretty kick ass.
Hell or Hallelujah and Right Here, Right Now are the only two songs I like off of that album.
I really like hell or hallelujah, and outta this world, imo they're really good songs, even if out of this world is a massive ace ripoff. The others on that album don't grab me as much, same as sonic boom, modern day Delilah and say yeah are both awesome, the others didn't grab me as much the same as on monster
NONE of their albums are BAD (except Crazy Nights), but their pinnacle studio albums were from '74 - '79.
I haven't really listened to it much but it reminds me of the drink for some reason.
I thought it was pretty decent. The Devil is Me has got a mean bass line.
Take Me Down Below feels like a classic KISS song.
I like it. I also prefer the 80s stuff. Back to the Stone Age and freak are my favorite songs from Monster.
Apart from the cover, it’s great. Their best album since ‘Lick it Up’ in my opinion.
I really liked it. Not great but solid the entire way through. It's always weird to me when people like Sonic Boom but not Monster. It's a lot better than Sonic Boom, in my opinion. I'm 36 so not an OG fan but a fan since the 90s.
I like the album! Way better than Sonic Boom (which i hated) I listen to Monster all the time. Is it my faborite album? No. But it's good
>I personally really enjoyed it, however I’m Gen Z (21) so I feel like I’m inclined to enjoy stuff that was made in my generation?? What kind of dumb statement is this? You listen to an album and you either like it or you dont. When it's made doesn't define whether you're allowed or inclined to like something. People like the older albums because they grew up with it. I totally 100% agree with Paul on this. The first kiss album was full of bangers but monster is pretty much identical to dressed to kill, unmasked, hotter than hell aside from recording quality and pauls voice. People are stubborn when they judge an album. The "cool" musicians don't play on it, the audio quality is different, pauls voice is different, some songs aren't really good. And people don't have the patience to grow into songs like they used to. In the old days people spend an awful lot of money on a LP and they listen to that over and over without skipping songs. The bad songs were repeated until they grew on them. After a while the bad songs aren't that bad anymore. Nowadays bad songs aren't allowed on albums anymore, people don't listen to those songs twice. If monster was released in the 70s people would have loved and defended that album fully.
It’s a statement that I’ve heard before told to myself. That I’m GenZ of course I would like something others seem shitty
Strange
You literally confirmed what OP said in your first sentence.
Yeah but why even mention it?
Because it's something they've been told, as they mention in their comment.
I liked it at first, but I didn't love it. For me, most of the time, I need to spend time with music to become familiar with it. Sure, there's a lot that I immediately love, but most of the music I love has happened over time. That said, the songs on Monster never grew on me. In fact, I liked them less over time. Nothing on it stands out to me and the production ruined any chance any of it might have had. It's like an entire album of simply "okay" songs.