“I want to let the Kiss Army and all my rock fans know that my new ‘rock’ album will be coming out this fall,” Peter Criss tells Rolling Stone.
18 years after his first solo album, Criss is ready to release his next, featuring several notable collaborators. “I’ve got some really great players on it: Michael McLaughlin, John 5 on lead and rhythm guitar, Billy Sheehan, Piggy D [Matt Montgomery] on bass, and Paul Shaffer on B3 and piano. I am on vocals, drums and percussion. I also have great backup singers, like Dennis and Sharron Collins and Cathryn Manning from the Cat 5 Band.”
Criss was the album’s co-producer alongside Barry Pointer, who has worked with the likes of Ozzy Osbourne, Mötley Crüe and Dolly Parton.
“I had an absolute blast doing this album, and everyone was so much fun to work with — they were just amazing,” says Criss. “I will be doing a more in-depth interview closer to the release date in the fall.”
Criss is the co-founder and original drummer of legendary rock band Kiss, and he co-wrote and sang their 1976 worldwide hit “Beth”. After years of tension with band members, Criss left the group in 1982 and released a trio of solo records in the 80s and 90s.
He returned to Kiss for their 1996 reunion tour, but the pre-existing issues eventually resurfaced and he left once again in 2004. Though they didn’t perform when inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2014, Criss appeared onstage with the band for the final time.
“I never thought this could happen in my life,” he said that night. “I’d like to thank the band: Mr Stanley, Mr. Simmons, and the one and only Spaceman, Ace Frehley.… In and out of makeup, I’ll always be the Catman.”
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There was widespread speculation that Criss, as well as Frehley, would join Kiss when their farewell tour wrapped up at New York’s Madison Square Garden in December 2023, but the reunion never came to fruition. “I’m still sad about Ace and Peter, who even today can’t enjoy the fruits of their labor,” Simmons said earlier this month on Rick Rubin’s Tetragrammaton podcast. “They were equally as important as Paul and myself in the formation of the band and those first few years — there’s no question about it. It was a four-wheel-drive vehicle.”
In 2017, Criss played a solo show at New York’s Cutting Room – an event billed as his final concert. With new music coming out soon, perhaps more solo shows are a possibility.
So far, the title of the new album and exact release date remain unknown.
