Sonic Boom
by Kiss
User Score
7.5

Generally favorable reviews- based on 45 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 35 out of 45
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 45
  3. Negative: 6 out of 45

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  1. MarkSeaton
    Mar 4, 2014
    5
    I refused to believe in the hype. I knew this wasn't going to be the "best KISS album in 30 years", however the promise of an happy band coming off a tour and into the studio excited me. I thought Paul producing was a plus. I thought this one would be a solid to good KISS album and would have been thrilled with that. But like a lot of Gene's & KISS' pronouncements of recent years (NewI refused to believe in the hype. I knew this wasn't going to be the "best KISS album in 30 years", however the promise of an happy band coming off a tour and into the studio excited me. I thought Paul producing was a plus. I thought this one would be a solid to good KISS album and would have been thrilled with that. But like a lot of Gene's & KISS' pronouncements of recent years (New costumes? New Stageshow? Neither looks too new to me fellas) it promises much, but under delivers. I've listened to this album in the car, in the shower, at home, on my iPod thingy, on my PC, loud and soft, to work, from work, long drives and short, in order and random, but it's just not there. Sigh. Look, I didn't get Live to Win either with it's sugary production, soft guitars and saccharine lyrics. It was so sweet and girly it made my teeth hurt, but in retrospect it does show where Paul is at as a producer and artist. So maybe it's me then, maybe I was expecting too much, maybe I've moved on, listening to Metallica and Motorhead and Motley Crue and Tesla and Iron Maiden, listening to these bands of my younger years that have progressed and grown whilst still staying heavy, which it seems KISS haven't on Sonic Boom. Or maybe in trying to capture that 70's sound, they've missed and captured "old".

    So, on to Sonic Boom. Well it's all a bit... meh really. Sort of like Psycho Circus with the killer opening track that promises so much (Modern Day Delilah and Psycho Circus respectively) but has nothing really to follow it up. Bass sounds magnificent..magnificent i say!, but the guitars.... where are the damn guitars? Some guitars would have been nice. Song wise, this is probably Gene's best material since Creatures of the Night, but killer Paul songs (like the guitars) are absent from the proceedings. If you took the best parts of this, Psycho Circus, A$$hole and Live to Win, you'd have one great KISS album, but Sonic Boom on its own? One, MAYBE two songs you could picture them playing live but that's it, the rest is pretty much filler. Snore.

    I always believed KISS had one more killer album in them, but this sure ain't it. 10/10? Nah, it's middle of the road, it's not good, it's not bad, it's Asylum not Creatures of the Night, it's Unmasked, not Destroyer, it's Music From The Elder, not Revenge. It's not a terrible album, its just... meh. . 5/10. Maybe next time hey?

    Oh and "Danger you, Danger me, Danger us"? Are you kidding with that or what?    … Expand
  2. rebeccafdez
    Feb 9, 2016
    4
    They said it was going to be a great album!!! They said!! They ruined I Was Made For Lovin' You, Lick It Up, Love Gun and Rock And Roll All Nite, just to name a few. I must say Gene sounds as good as always in I Love It Loud. But this album is a big disappointment. They shouldn't have forced their classics to get more attention.

Awards & Rankings

87
#87 Most Discussed Album of 2009

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
57

Mixed or average reviews - based on 9 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 9
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 9
  3. Negative: 1 out of 9
  1. Boston Globe
    70
    Of course, substance is in the eye of the beholder, and the lyrics don’t much stray from Kiss standbys such as partying, sex and, naturally, rock ’n’ roll. The results are appropriately direct and unambiguous.
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  2. Entertainment Weekly
    75
    This Walmart-only three-disc set--which includes a CD of rerecorded hits and a live DVD--should remind Hall of Fame voters that the recent nominees deserve consideration for far more than just Simmons' fire-breathing abilities.
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  3. Los Angeles Times
    50
    The 11 new songs, Kiss' first since 1998's "Psycho Circus," hardly deviate from the band's time-proven formula.
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