Kiss is - and always will be - a live experiment. I mean, after their first three records, Kiss was almost dead. In fact, without the genius idea of Eddy Kramer to record a live album (Alive) at a time when Kiss wasn't selling albums, this New-York band would have disappeared. That's history of course ...

After 30 years of history, Kiss recently released its fourth live album : Kiss Symphony (see our review). But for the ultimate Kiss fans - like me - the DVD version was even more expected than the album itself. Why ? Well for the show, for the visual enlightenment, for Paul Stanley, for Gene Simmons, for the usual rock 'n' roll attitude, for the crowd, for the women (hehe), ...

Kiss selected Melbourne for this symphonic happening and many many U.S. and European fans were left behind. The DVD became a must for the Kiss Army. Paul, Gene, Peter ... and Tommy would not leave this moment of history in piracy hands. No way! They recorded this performance for all their fans ... a kind of Kiss gift for the last 30 years. Thank you guys :)

Even though it sounds like a "cliché", the DVD version is two thousand times better compare to the album. Of course - beside the show - there are tones of other images for the true Kiss fan ... that could not (logically) be found in the CD version :

- The Calm Before The Storm : where we see the band and David Campbell (orchestra's conductor) creating the symphony ...
- Kiss Lands In Melbourne : where three generations (hell yes!) of fans are waiting for the painted stars at the airport ...
- Kiss Meets the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra : to get the groove ...
- The Stadium Set, Kiss Fans Gets Ready, The MSO Gets Into Make Up, Kiss Interview, ..., ...., ....

Two DVDs, 3 hours and 40 minutes of Kiss Symphony (even though Act III has been placed on both DVD).

The production is topnotch. Between you and me, I don't know what happened to the mixing of the album version, but the sound of the DVD is enormous (very much like Metallica St-Anger album & the DVD). Here the orchestra is "plugged" and you clearly hear all the instruments of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. The "magic" takes place : the numbers of cameras, the pyrotechnics and all the classical stuff used by Kiss are a guaranteed fireworks. Who said Kiss is the hottest band in the world ???

Inside the DVD you can read this :
Somebody had this crazy idea to put a world renowned symphony orchestra on stage with the most outrageous rock band in the world ... who thought that an insane idea like this would ever works ? Your Presence Is Requested !

The metal DVD of the year ;-)