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KISS avatar show (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Live Nation)
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KISS Avatar Show Set To ‘Blow People Away’, Says Paul Stanley

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KISS might be off the road, but they’re not done chasing spectacle.

According to Paul Stanley, the long awaited KISS avatar show is shaping up to be something far beyond the usual nostalgia play, and if he’s right, it’s going to hit harder than most live gigs ever could, speaking in a new interview, Stanley didn’t hold back (per Blabbermouth):

“This avatar show that’s going to be in Vegas is gonna blow everybody’s minds. It’s not like what some people have called holograms and all this kind of experimental and kitschy stuff. This is seeing us. This is as real as I am, and I think it’s gonna just blow people away.”

Not just another hologram gimmick

KISS are leaning on tech developed for ABBA’s ‘Voyage’ show, but Stanley is adamant this isn’t the same thing repackaged, “This is as real as I am.”

That’s a big claim, especially in a space that’s usually felt more novelty than necessity, but KISS have never played by the same rules. “There’s no reason for us to live within the boundaries of other rock bands… we are not that — we’re KISS.”

The band’s always pushed spectacle first, now they’re just removing the physical limit of being on stage.

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A full sensory overload

Gene Simmons, unsurprisingly, is pushing it even further:

“We’re gonna blow your socks off in a way multiple times more exciting than the Sphere… it’ll be mind-blowing.”

He’s framing it less like a concert and more like an assault on the senses, “If you see a dragon coming in to scoop you up and it breathes fire, there will be fire all around you, and you’ll feel the heat… you’ll be able to smell it.”

Why KISS skipped the Sphere

Interestingly, Stanley has already ruled out Las Vegas’ Sphere as the right fit, despite the venue’s scale, he feels it buries the band beneath the visuals.

“You forget that there’s a band on that little stage, so I’m not really sure how we would do it.”

That thinking explains the avatar move, instead of competing with technology, KISS are becoming it.

The future of KISS is digital

Backed by Pophouse Entertainment, the company behind ABBA’s virtual comeback, the project reportedly carries a price tag north of $200 million, the plan isn’t just Vegas either, Simmons has hinted at a global rollout.

If it lands, KISS won’t just be continuing after retirement, they’ll be rewriting what a ‘tour’ even means.

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