Fresh off retirement, the band reveals that “a show” by their digital counterparts is four years away
During Kiss’ final concert earlier this month, the (allegedly) retiring band announced plans to continue on as digital avatars. On Friday, the Destroyer act revealed when their “new era” will begin: 2027.
“50 years is a long time, and what the future holds is in the making,” Kiss said in their latest promotional video trumpeting their digital forms. “A show is coming.”
Heralded as the big surprise to close out the band’s “final” gig at New York’s Madison Square Garden, Kiss premiered their avatars, created in collaboration with Industrial Light & Magic. “The future is so exciting,” Gene Simmons said in a behind-the-scenes video on the making of the avatars. Paul Stanley added, “We can live on eternally.”
It was unclear at the time in what capacity the avatars would appear — whether in a “live” performance like those Whitney Houston hologram shows or the ABBA Voyage gigs, or concerts hosted in some sort of metaverse — but the band’s latest update seems to suggest there will be actual gigs for their digital counterparts. (Swedish company Pophouse Entertainment, who produced the ABBA shows, have the same role on the future Kiss gigs.)
According to Blabbermouth, Pophouse CEO Per Sundin said that the company is still in the process of figuring out how best to use the avatars, which are enormous, fire-breathing versions of the Kiss members in full regalia. “Is it a Kiss concert in the future? Is it a rock opera? Is it a musical? A story, an adventure? These four individuals already have superpowers. We want to be as open as possible,” Sundin said.