KISS Announces ‘New Era’, Plans To Continue As Avatars

KISS closed out the final performance of its “End Of The Road” farewell tour Saturday night (December 2) at New York City’s Madison Square Garden by announcing that they will continue as digital avatars.

During the encore, KISS‘s most recent lineup — founders Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons, along with guitarist Tommy Thayer and drummer Eric Singer — left the stage before the virtual KISS launched into a performance of “God Gave Rock And Roll To You”.

The KISS avatars were created by Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) and were financed and produced by the Swedish company Pophouse Entertainment, which is behind the successful “ABBA Voyage” show in London.

Per Sundin, CEO of Pophouse Entertainment, told the Associated Press this new technology allows KISS to continue their legacy for “eternity.” He explained: “KISS could have a concert in three cities in the same night across three different continents. That’s what you could do with this.”

Stanley said: “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.”

“We can be forever young and forever iconic by taking us to places we’ve never dreamed of before,” Simmons added. “The technology is going to make Paul jump higher than he’s ever done before.”

The KISS avatars Demon, Starchild, Catman and Spaceman are depicted as “superhero” versions of the band.

In addition to the avatar shows, KISS will continue through other ventures, including a KISS museum in Las Vegas, KISS cruises, an upcoming movie coming out and a cartoon show.

The purpose-built venue and the technology that delivers the “ABBA Voyage” concerts in London reportedly cost around $175 million before the show opened in May 2022.

Within 15 months, the show had generated more than $150 million in sales and sold more than 1.5 million tickets, according to Bloomberg.