Face-painted band Kiss

The flamboyant face-painted band Kiss are getting ready to rock again. They are hitting the road in Europe and will be playing their first U.K. arena tour in 11 years in May.

Guitarist Tommy Thayer says the band members are all looking forward to the experience.

"We have a whole new stage set that we used in the U.S. last fall. It's bigger; more bells and whistles. It's more bombastic than ever, if you believe it, but it is and it's a full scale video production that has never been seen before at a Kiss concert. So it's really over the top and we're really excited."

Meantime, the band are also working on new material - the follow up alblast year's "Sonic Boom."

Guitarist and singer Paul Stanley explains why they were inspired to get back in the studio.

"It's great to base everything we do on our past and see ourselves as a living legacy, you know, going on as the four icons that we are, but it seemed like the perfect time to go in the studio and proclaim that we also have some stuff that's new, that's equally good. It's classic, not because it's retro but because it's got a heart and a soul, you know, and there's blood pumping in it."

Kiss have sold more than 80 million albums worldwide and have been nominated for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.