GENE SIMMONS On KISS Avatars: 'What I've Seen Will Blow Your Mind'

Gene Simmons says that what he has seen of the KISS avatar show will "blow" fans' minds.

The technology being used for the KISS avatars, originally developed for ABBA's "Voyage" show in London, will allow KISS to stay "on the road" in retirement.

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

Simmons addressed the KISS avatars in a new interview with Artists On Record Starring ADIKA Live!. Regarding what the avatar show will look like, he said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Look, part of the fun of Christmas is when you open your present, you're shocked and surprised and hopefully delighted. So why would I tell you in February what you're gonna get for Christmas?"

He continued: "There's so much hard work being done behind the scenes, and what I've seen will blow your mind. So in a very real way, our end is really like the caterpillar becoming the butterfly. The end is the beginning."

This past December, Simmons said that "about 200 million" dollars is being invested into the KISS avatar show.

Unlike the "ABBA Voyage" show, which recreates a 1970s-era ABBA concert in a custom-built London arena, KISS's avatars that appeared at the band's final concert in New York on December 2, 2023 will not be as grounded in reality as ABBA's digital replicas. According to BBC News, the KISS avatars will see the band appear as fantasy-based superheroes who are eight feet tall, breathing fire and shooting electricity from their fingers, while floating above the audience.

No details have been announced yet for KISS's plan with the band's avatars. "We're going to figure it out after the tour," Pophouse CEO Per Sundin said prior to the final show at Madison Square Garden. "Is it a KISS concert in the future? Is it a rock opera? Is it a musical? A story, an adventure? These four individuals already have superpowers. We want to be as open as possible."

The avatars will now be available for live shows around the world and in digital online settings, which some people collectively refer to as the metaverse.

KISS will reportedly become the first American band to go fully virtual and stage its own avatar show.

JOCOUP Creative, an experiential design firm co-founded by former Universal Creative director Thierry Coup and BRC and Universal Creative alumni Johanna "Jojo" Atilano, is also involved in the project. Coup has been announced as creative director of the KISS avatar show.