Artist: KISS
Title: “Rock The Nation”
Label: Image Entertainment
Release Date: 12/13/2005
Genre: Hard Rock
Rating: 8/10

KISS returns to the small screen following their “Rock The Nation” tour with a concert film that is sure to satisfy a large amount of their fans. The KISS of today is a little different than legacy fans might remember as Ace Frehley and Peter Criss have been gone from the group for a couple of years. In their place and their signature makeup is Tommy Thayer and Eric Singer on guitar and drums respectively. When this first became practice the original KISS fan in me was annoyed at this aspect but it was clear after some time that Ace and Peter simply were not going to be able to cut it or follow the directives lined out by Simmons and Stanley to keep this group running. I would have preferred these fine musicians join in and KISS carry on without the greasepaint, but in truth KISS in makeup is what fills the seats and allows them the larger than life personas that so many recognize. Having seen them in the live setting I can say that they do the original members justice and perform with an enthusiasm that Peter and Ace no longer seemed to have during their final appearances of their tenure. This DVD takes us to the front row of one of their performances on the “Rock The Nation” tour and it is a great follow-up to their last release of “Alive IV: KISS Symphony”. That particular DVD still had Peter but Thayer was already made up as the Spaceman. “Rock The Nation” was a show that if you were able to get by the other cast members now in famous makeup you were able to enjoy the concert as it featured a large amount of songs that had not been played in years. Songs like “Parasite”, “Love Her All I Can” and “Makin’ Love” had not been part of the live set for a long time and it was indeed a treat to hear them performed again. KISS also had begun the practice of adding non-makeup era songs to their set and this was a welcome change since so many good songs came out after their makeup removal in 1983. As a result we find “Lick It Up”, “Tears Are Falling” and “Unholy” on the film and these were MTV Staples at the time of their release. During this tour there were all sorts of added tunes and I felt KISS could have found a place for them on this double DVD. Sadly they did not and while the concert itself is done and shot well they did not add more of the tracks for the ardent KISS fan to enjoy.
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