KISS made the announcement they would continue as digital avatars at the end of their final show, on December 2 at New York City's Madison Square Garden. Original KISS guitarist, Ace Frehley, spoke with Ultimate Guitar about whether he will be getting paid for the Spaceman make-up being used as part of the KISS avatars.
Frehley: "I get paid for the usage for merch and stuff. And I would consider this avatar stuff a merchandise ploy. But I just saw something the other day on YouTube that Gene is having second thoughts about the whole avatar thing. But who knows with those guys – every day is a different story with those guys. And to be totally honest with you, I really don't follow what they do very closely – because I'm more involved with my own career. I can't believe… or I don't understand why they haven't recorded a record in 20 years. And I've done, I don't know… six or seven. Pretty much I have to create to keep things fresh. Even though I don't get a chance to play sometimes a lot of the songs I've written on my most recent albums live, it gives me an outlet to create. Because I'm still like a little kid when it comes to rock n' roll."
Read more for the interview here.
Learn more about the new era of KISS in the videos below:
Ace Frehley recently announced the release of his new studio album, 10,000 Volts, due out on February 23. Produced by Ace and Steve Brown (Trixter), the 11-track 10,000 Volts sees Ace perform electrifying, hard-hitting, riff-heavy rock'n' roll.
He also released the first single and title track. Written and produced by Ace and Steve Brown, the track kicks off with a surging riff, and Ace's swaggering delivery takes hold and never lets go. It culminates on the chantable chorus, “She hit me like 10,000 volts, when I saw her face,” giving way to a fret-burning guitar solo. Stream/get the single here
The accompanying visual for the single was directed by Alex Kouvatsos from Black Wolf Imaging and shows Ace and his band performing the powerful, riff-heavy track live. Watch below.
Pre-order the new album here.
10,000 Volts tracklisting:
"10,000 Volts"
"Walkin’ On The Moon"
"Cosmic Heart"
"Cherry Medicine"
"Back Into My Arms Again"
"Fightin’ For Life"
"Blinded"
"Constantly Cute"
"Life Of A Stranger"
"Up In The Sky"
"Stratosphere"
"10,000 Volts" video:
Rock ‘n’ roll and heavy metal simply wouldn’t sound, look, or feel the same without Ace Frehley. Among hundreds of accolades, The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inducted him in 2014 as a co-founder and the original lead guitarist of KISS. Guitar World named him in the Top 15 of its “100 Greatest Heavy Metal Guitarists of All Time” and plugged the lead from “Shock Me” on the “50 Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time.” Magnifying the imprint of his catalog as a solo artist, Foo Fighters cut a fan favorite cover of “Ozone,” and he even jammed out “New York Groove” alongside The Roots on NBC’s The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. The late Dimebag Darrell of Pantera proudly sported a tattoo of Frehley on his chest, while Tom Morello of Rage Against The Machine celebrated him on X/Twitter as “My first guitar hero.”
10,000 Volts upholds an incredible legacy for Frehley, spanning 50-plus years in the limelight. Back in 1978, he delivered his solo debut, Ace Frehley. It reached platinum status and exploded as “the highest-selling of the four KISS solo albums in the Soundscan era.” In 1987, he dropped Frehley’s Comet. Following Anomaly in 2009, he went on to make history once again. His 2014 Space Invader LP captured #9 on the Billboard 200 and emerged as “The only solo album by a past or current KISS member to reach the Top 10 on the chart.” 2016’s Origins Vol. 1, bowed at #1 on the Billboard Top Hard Rock Albums Chart and in the Top 5 of the Billboard Top Rock Albums Chart. He notably maintained his momentum with Spaceman [2018].
