First Kiss avatar shows set to take place in 2027

Kiss have released a video suggesting that the first shows of their new avatar era will not take place until 2027.

After Kiss played their final ever show this month in front of 20,000 members of the Kiss Army at Madison Square Garden in New York city, they announced they would continue in avatar form.

Now it appears that fans will have to wait four years to see those high-tech shows.

The teaser clip, which can be viewed below, is accompanied with the caption: "50 years is a long time, and what the future holds is in the making." The video includes the wording: "2027 a show is coming."

As their final show approached, Kiss bassist Gene Simmons hinted at the band continuing in some form. He said: "I’m totally open to that idea. Why not pass the baton, pass the crown to four new, young people who are deserving?"

The avatar era was confirmed when a countdown clock on Kiss's official website expired and a short film entitled A New Era Begins was made available.

In the video, Simmons said: "The future is so exciting." Frontman Paul Stanley added: "We can live on, eternally!"

The Kiss avatar era follows in the footsteps of the hugely successful Abba Voyage show in London, in which the four members of the Swedish pop icons perform a greatest hits set as lifelike 3D projections.

A second video on the Kiss website shows how the avatars were made, while a third features a conversation between Kiss and representatives of Pophouse (the Swedish company behind the Abba show) and George Lucas's visual effects company Industrial Light & Magic.

"On December 2nd 2023, Kiss, as we know them, performed their final ever concert," the final film begins. "But behind the scenes, a new venture was unfolding."

Meanwhile, former Kiss guitarist Ace Frehley says he believes he will be paid royalties for the avatars' use of his Spaceman image.

He tells Ultimate Guitar: "I get paid for the usage – for merch and stuff. And I would consider this avatar stuff a merchandise ploy."