KISS bass/vocalist Gene Simmons spoke with DJ JC Green of Alfa Rock 105.7 FM and Metal Messiah Radio's Heavy Metal Thunder program this week to promote their March 12th show at Coliseo de Puerto Rico in Hato Rey. Simmons spoke about the band's follow-up to Sonic Boom and answered the burning question - will the original line-up (Simmons, frontman Paul Stanley, guitarist Ace Frehley, drummer Peter Criss) reunite once again? Excerpts from the chat follow:

Simmons on new album: "The new record, which we already started working on - we start recording in three weeks - is going to be the next step to Sonic Boom. Very similar, straight rock songs, no ballads, no keyboards, no nothing, just rock. We have brand new songs that we've been writing. We've been writing a lot and there's some very good material and that's what we are going to record. A lot of the songs have been written by the whole band together, so no outside writers, just the band doing what it did on the first three records; write the songs ourselves. Once you know who you are are and how you breath - because every song is like an animal - you try to bring life to the song so it becomes real. Once you know who you are, it's easy to do - just do what the animal does without thinking about what's popular, what a producer would do. You just do it like you would naturally do it. We have almost all the songs written. In fact we have too many songs; about 20-25 things that look and sound good. It's a very busy time, but the album is going to take precedence."

Simmons on a reunion with the original band members: "There will be one more time that we will play together. Some time in the future there will be a last show. Sometime in the future we'll be in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. There will be one more time when we do it together to honour the beginning. But you know when you run a long-distance race, not everyone can run a long race. Some people are only good for the beginning of the race. They don't have the passion and the will, the endurance. Not everyone can run a long distance race."

The interview with Gene Simmons will air on Metal Messiah Radio this Wednesday, March 16th after 6PM EST. For more info visit Metalmessiahradio.com.