Kiss/Elder: Demon World Battle Unreleased studio material from the recording sessions

KISS’s most controversial concept album, “MUSIC FROM “THE ELDER”,” has been released. This ultimate demo album, revealing the behind-the-scenes details of its creation, is here! This release features studio recordings made during the making of “THE ELDER.” This three-disc set brings together nearly every track in circulation, with the highest quality yet. While our previous release, “COMPLETE “THE ELDER” SESSIONS,” with a similar concept, has become a staple, new discoveries have been made since its release. It can no longer be called “COMPLETE.” This release, repackaged with these new material, is over an hour longer than the previous release, resulting in a definitive three-disc set. A change of direction that significantly altered the band’s fate. This release is recorded in roughly chronological order of the sessions. This is actually surprisingly important. “THE ELDER” didn’t start out as a concept album. At the start of the sessions, the band aimed to return to a classic hard rock style (to dispel distrust of “UNMASKED”) and planned to hire Rob Freeman as producer instead of Bob Ezrin. However, Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, and manager Bill Aucoin felt that this wasn’t enough and came up with a bolder change of direction: the concept album “MUSIC FROM “THE ELDER”.” They hired Bob Ezrin, their longtime friend and the highly successful producer of PINK FLOYD’s “THE WALL,” as producer. Moving to Ezrin’s farm studio in Toronto, they began work on the story album. However, Ace Frehley opposed the change. He was the only one who didn’t travel to Toronto, and most of the guitar solos that had already been recorded were scrapped. This change of direction also led to a definitive rift within the band. This album chronologically records those studio sessions. In other words, this album is not merely a collection of the original material for THE ELDER, but also a history album that traces the biggest turning point in KISS’s history through studio music. Let’s take a look at each disc. DISC 1: Hard Rock Sessions with a Plenty of Unreleased Songs The Early “Penny Lane Studios” Sessions DISC 1 covers sessions from the band’s “Hard Rock Project” period, before they changed direction. Many of the songs were scrapped due to later changes, and the album is dominated by non-album tracks. We begin with the “Penny Lane Studios” sessions in January 1981, the starting point of “THE ELDER” production. At this stage, no producer was yet selected, and three tracks were produced: “Deadly Weapon” (two takes), “Feel Like Heaven” (two takes), and “Nowhere To Run” (two takes). None of these tracks made it onto “THE ELDER,” but they weren’t completely discarded. “Deadly Weapon” was reused for “Love’s A Deadly Weapon” on “ASYLUM,” “Feel Like Heaven” was included on Peter Criss’s “LET ME ROCK YOU,” and “Nowhere To Run” was included on “KILLERS.” Following the sessions at Ace in the Hole Studio, the band hired producer Rob Freeman and continued working at Ace’s studio. Five tracks were left from this session: “Kix R 4 Kids (two takes),” “Only You,” “Untitled Instrumental,” “Heaven (two takes),” and “Don’t Run (two takes).” The tracks included on “THE ELDER” were “Only You” and “Don’t Run,” the latter being the original version of “Dark Light.” This song was co-written by Ace, Gene, Anton Fig, and Lou Reed, and is the only song sung by Ace. “Kix R 4 Kids” is an unreleased track that has yet to be completed, but “Heaven” was remastered by Ace as “Breakout” on “Frehley’s Comet” and completed by KISS as “Carr Jam 1981” on “Revenge.” DISC 2-3: Toronto Sessions After the Change in Direction: Ezrin Farm Studios/Sounds Interchange Sessions. Discs 2-3 contain demos recorded in Toronto after the band’s change in direction. In addition to five unreleased instrumentals, four tracks—”A World Without Heroes (2 takes),” “Just A Boy (11 takes),” “Escape From The Island (6 takes),” and “The Council Of The Elder”—are included. The Toronto sessions often saw the band work their way through to the final album, allowing viewers to enjoy the creative process of the tracks that made it onto the album. “Just A Boy,” in particular, features 11 takes, offering a variety of versions, from a raw, practice-style take with a countdown to a polished, alternate arrangement, ensuring a permanent archive. In fact, this release features fewer takes than the 23 featured on the previous album, “Shades 1702,” due to careful selection and organization by researchers. The previous release included many fragmented takes, and even minor retakes were split into separate tracks. This release omits difficult-to-distinguish similar takes, and includes only truly distinct, complete takes. Of particular note is “The Council of the Elder,” an instrumental long considered the original version of the final version of “Under the Rose.” While the intro is similar, this five-and-a-half-minute track develops into an aggressive section distinct from the album. This release marks its first CD release. The soundboard from Ace’s final live performance, “FRIDAYS,” concludes this release with a treasured soundboard, also available for the first time on CD. It features the TV show “FRIDAYS,” recorded at ABC Studios on January 15, 1982. There was no world tour accompanying “THE ELDER,” and this TV appearance was their only live performance. The three tracks performed were “The Oath,” “A World Without Heroes,” and “I” from “The Elder.” Each is exceptionally rare, with “The Oath” being particularly rare and remaining unreleased for 30 years. This TV appearance also marked the band’s final live performance before Ace’s departure. Subsequent media appearances featured the band as a trio without Ace, or lip-syncing. By their next return (December 29, 1982, at a performance in Bismarck), Vinnie Vincent had taken over as second guitarist. This treasure trove of 42 takes spans two hours, 49 minutes, and 57 seconds. This three-disc set is over an hour longer than the previously hailed “Complete “The Elder” Sessions,” and boasts the highest quality yet. This ultimate demo album delves into the behind-the-scenes production of the conceptually bizarre “Music From “The Elder”,” a monumental historical documentary that musically documents the history of Ace Frehley’s departure. More than an hour longer than the previous release with a similar concept, this three-disc set offers a unique perspective. It includes unreleased tracks from the band’s early days as a standard heavy metal album, demos of album tracks, and even the only live performance from the “The Elder” era, the TV show “Fridays,” all preserved on a top-notch, updated soundboard. This is the ultimate definitive album! The definitive collection of unreleased studio material from the recording sessions for Music from The Elder Recorded at: Penny Lane Studios, Ace in The Hole Studio & Ezrin Farm Studios & Sounds Interchange January-July 1981 Invitation and start the recording of what will eventually turn into the legendary Music From The Elder. On this three disc set all the circulation, unreleased sessions that chronicle the creation of Music From The Elder are compiled. Disc:1 (70:25) 01. Deadly Weapon [Original Demo] 02. Deadly Weapons (Penny Lane Studio Demo – January 1981) 03. Feel Like Heaven [Original Demo] 04. Feel Like Heaven (Penny Lane Studio Demo – January 1981) 05. Nowhere To Run (Take 1 – Instrumental) 06. Nowhere To Run (Penny Lane Studio Demo – January 1981) 07. Kix R 4 Kids 1 08. Kix R 4 Kids 2 09. Only You (Demo) 10. Untitled Instrumental 11. Heaven 1 (Original Of Breakout – Carr Jam 1981) 12. Heaven 2 (Original Of Breakout – Carr Jam 1981) 13. Don’t Run (Original Of Dark Light – Alternate Endings) 14. Don’t Run (Original Of Dark Light – Fade Out) Disc:2 (52:34) 1. Untitled Instrumental 1 2. Untitled Instrumental 2 3. Untitled Instrumental 3 4. A World Without Heroes Take 1 5. A World Without Heroes Take 2 6. Just A Boy (Take 1 – Strings With Click Track) 7. Just A Boy (Take 2 – Bass With Click Track) 8. Just A Boy (Take 3 – Vocals) 9. Just A Boy (Take 4 – Keyboard) 10. Just A Boy (Take 5 – Strings) 11. Just A Boy (Take 6 – Strings And Play) 12. Just A Boy (Take 7 – Strings And Play) 13. Just A Boy (Take 8 – Bass) 14. Just A Boy – Nowhere To Run 15. Just A Boy (Full Demo – No Reverb) 16. Just A Boy (Full Demo – Reverb) Disc:3 (46:58) 1. Instrumental 1 2.Instrumental 2 3. Escape From The Island Take 1 4. Escape From The Island Take 2 5. Escape From The Island Take 3 6. Escape From The Island Take 4 7. Escape From The Island Take 5 8. Escape From The Island Take 6 9. The Council Of The Elder Live Recordings from Fridays, ABC Studios, Los Angeles 15th January 1982 10. The Oath 11. A World Without heroes 12.I