Original KISS guitarist Ace Frehley has told Steve Palisin of MyrtleBeachOnline.com that he's shooting for 12 tracks on his next album, his first in 18 years, with a release in early summer. Studio work has spanned more than 6 months, and some of the songs go back 12 years.

Regarding the direction of the new material, Frehley recently told Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, "The stuff sounds real good, but everyone's been waiting for this record and I'm just trying to make it better. There are like two more tracks I want to cut, just to round things off."

Frehley said his biggest inspiration and his template for the new record is his 1978 debut.

"It's probably more like the first record than anything else," he said. "Most people cite that as the best Ace Frehley record and I've been listening to it and trying to figure out why. I'm trying to recapture some of that. I want this record to be extra special."

Frehley is currently on the road fronting a band that features second guitarist Derek Hawkins, drummer Scot Coogan (ex-BRIDES OF DESTRUCTION) and bassist Anthony Esposito (ex-LYNCH MOB).

While they all contribute with vocals, most of the burden is on Frehley, who historically has been shy at the mike.

"To me, singing is a necessary evil," he said. "I consider myself a guitar player and a songwriter, and because I write these songs I gotta sing them. I remember last year when I was thinking about putting the band together, some people were saying, 'Ace, you should get a powerhouse frontman.' But a lot of these songs I've been singing for years, either solo or with KISS. What's this front guy going to do when I'm singing lead? Play a tambourine," he said, cracking up.

On how he has improved as a player:

"I think I'm a little more accurate and more focused. When I drink and perform, I was maybe a little more animated, but there were more clinkers and I played sloppier and stuff. I'm just more focused now and more in charge."

On the current state of rock music:

"There are some good bands out there, but some of the screaming stuff lacks melody. I mean, if I have to choose between the two, I'll take something where I can pick out the melody — something where when you walk away from it, you can hum, something that will recirculate in your brain. Some of the best guitar solos are the slower ones. You can't really hum something when you're playing 3 million notes per second."

"I listen to a lot of the old stuff I used to listen to — HENDRIX, ZEPPELIN, THE WHO, CREAM, JEFF BECK — the stuff I grew up on. It still works today, whereas a lot of music when you play it today it really sounds really dated. A lot of the groups that influenced me, they still sound good."