Artist: KISS
Title: “The Second Coming”
Label: Image Entertainment
Release Date: 1/4/2000
Genre: Hard Rock
Rating: 8.5/10

The phenomenon that is KISS ruled the concert stage and record books on album sales during their heyday. Known mainly for the bombastic shows and presentation as well as catchy music there was literally no stopping them. The end of the 70’s saw core member Peter Criss leave and by the early 80’s Ace Frehley had moved on as well. The band chose to continue with new members and eventually found themselves wiping off the trademark face paint. It was still a great band, but the whole super-hero mystique and appeal would be gone. Years passed with KISS maintaining a steady release of albums, videos and selling out arenas but the fans always wondered if the makeup and original lineup would ever come back. The makeup idea was used as a teaser in the video for “Rise To It” from Hot In The Shade which finds Gene and Paul backstage in their glory days donning it before they hit the stage. They jibe how it will remain on and never off. I remember seeing this video and being on edge about it since it made me really crave a reunion of the original four. Fast forward to the KISS episode of MTV’s “Unplugged” show and fans are given a non-makeup reunion of the original four. The response was quite amazing for not only did we have the appearance of Ace and Peter but we were treated to an all out jam with new and old lineups. History was re-written that day and the wheels were set in motion on a reunion that was to be like no other. As a result we get this DVD that serves as a “Rock-umentary” of the classic KISS lineup, how they reunited and put together this world tour.
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