KISS have revealed plans to continue performing as avatars.
The announcement of the new venture follows the band performing their final live show over the weekend at Madison Square Garden. That show has been universally acclaimed by attending media, with it being seen as a fitting farewell to one of the most successful live acts in the history of rock.
The final show of one of rock's biggest names would've been newsworthy enough, but KISS being KISS, they managed to surprise even the most clued-in of fans by closing the show with the debut appearance of their new avatars.
The giant avatars reportedly 'performed' the song God Gave Rock and Roll To You before the startled, sell-out crowd.
The performance was then followed by a press release confirming that the avatars will be the future of KISS as a touring entity.
The press release states that the appearance of the avatars at the MSG show is the band's way of "marking the end of its physical existence by crossing into the digital world.”
Speaking on the avatars, Gene Simmons comments “We can be forever young and forever iconic by taking us to places we’ve never dreamed of before. The technology is going to make Paul [Stanley] jump higher than he’s ever done before.”
Paul Stanley added "What we’ve accomplished has been amazing, but it’s not enough. The band deserves to live on because the band is bigger than we are … It’s exciting for us to go the next step and see KISS immortalized. I mean, we’ve spent 50 years building it to this point. And by working with ILM and working with Pophouse, we’re all sharing this vision of taking KISS to a completely different level beyond being just a music band. And we’ve always thought of ourselves as more than just a music band.
As per Metal Injection, the avatars were created by Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) and were both financed and produced by Pophouse Entertainment, the same company that did London's Abba Voyage show.
Pophouse Entertainment's CEO Per Sundin sees potential for the concept to allow for KISS to tour in multiple cities around the world, nightly, commenting to the Associated Press that "KISS could have a concert in three cities in the same night across three different continents. That's what you could do with this".
Watch the unveiling of the avatars below.
The band have posted a trailer to YouTube affirming the reports and introducing fans to the new era of KISS.
KISS performed live in Australia for the final time IRL in September with a massive concert in Sydney. They also performed live at the AFL Grand Final to significant fanfare.
The unveiling of the avatars follows Gene Simmons's previous suggestions that a 'Gen Z' version of KISS could take over from the band in the future. Whether that 'franchise' styled model is still in the band's plans remains to be seen.
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