Original KISS guitarist Ace Frehley has revealed that his new solo album will be arriving in February of next year
During a conversation with Jeff Napier from Nuvo, the original KISS guitarist, Ace Frehley, delved into his freshly wrapped-up album, “10,000 Volts,” with a tentative release date set for February 2024 through MNRK Music Group (formerly eOne Music).
Ace Frehley said: “It’s probably the best record I’ve ever done. I’m very excited about it. It’s the first time I ended up writing most of these songs with a good friend of mine, Steve Brown. He used to play in TRIXTER and has a group called RUBIX KUBE. Anyway, we live 40 minutes from each other, and my fiancée Lara hooked us up.
“I’d met him several times over the years, but just briefly, but she knew him when she was in her twenties, and she said, ‘You’ve gotta get together with Steve.’ He’s a great songwriter and guitar player. He sent me a song, and there was one line that just jumped out from his chorus, and it was ‘Walking On The Moon’.
“So I said, ‘Listen, let’s get together and rewrite this song, and the hook will be ‘Walking On The Moon’,’ because it wasn’t the end of the chorus he had prepared. So, we rewrote the song, and it came out great. We were actually gonna call the album ‘Walking On The Moon’ until we recorded a song called ‘10,000 Volts’, which came out amazing.
“I got Anton Fig, my old drummer, who played on my original ’78 solo album and most of my solo stuff, to play drums on that. So, working with Steve has made a huge difference in my playing and writing because when he and I put our heads together, it just clicks. If I’m at a loss for a chord or a verse or a line, he comes up with it and vice versa, and within three or four hours, we write a song.
“So that’s how the record’s been going,” Ace added. “Then, once you record the basic track, you gotta do the overdubs and double and triple the vocals, harmonies, and stuff. He’s an excellent engineer. So I didn’t have to pay an engineer to engineer this record. So I saved money on that, working with Steve as well, which is nice.”
When Ace Frehley was asked if making “Origins Vol. 2” had any influence on the way he put together the new album, he said: “It’s one thing doing an ‘Origins’ record because you don’t have to write the songs. Basically, I was picking songs that influenced me that were written by other people. So it’s a lot easier to do than when you do a regular studio record where all the songs are original.
“On this record, all the songs are original except for one. I did one cover of a song called ‘Life Of A Stranger’, written by a gal named Nadia. When she did the song, it was Europop, and it was very sparsely recorded. I listened to it and loved the melody, and I loved the lyrics. I played it for Steve, and he said, ‘We could kill this song with heavy drums and power chords and stuff and keyboards even.’ It came out great.
“All the other songs did as well. There’s really not a weak song on the record. Most people do a record, and they concentrate on three or four songs that they think might be singles, and then the rest of it is a lot of filler. But every song on this album I can hear on the radio. I hope DJs agree with me.”
Ace Frehley‘s upcoming all-original album will serve as the successor to “Spaceman,” which saw its release in October 2018 through eOne.
Ace Frehley‘s previous work, “Origins Vol. 2,” featured his renditions of iconic tracks such as THE BEATLES‘ “I’m Down,” DEEP PURPLE‘s “Space Truckin‘,” LED ZEPPELIN‘s “Good Times Bad Times,” THE ROLLING STONES‘ “Jumpin’ Jack Flash,” THE KINKS‘ “Lola,” and THE JIMI HENDRIX EXPERIENCE‘s “Manic Depression,” to name a few.
As a special bonus on Ace Frehley‘s covers LP, a version of KISS‘s 1975 hit “She” was also included. This Ace Frehley album boasted guest appearances from renowned musicians like CHEAP TRICK‘s Robin Zander, Lita Ford, and former KISS guitarist Bruce Kulick.
