Vinnie Vincent Responds to Fan Backlash by Announcing $500 Limited-Edition CD Singles
Former Kiss guitarist Vinnie Vincent has responded to criticism over the $200 price tag attached to a recent CD single by announcing plans for additional releases, this time priced at $500 each.
In a series of Facebook comments posted around the New Year, Vincent revealed that he intends to issue a slate of new recordings as ultra-limited CD singles, capped at 50 copies per title. The planned releases include newly recorded or revised versions of songs such as “Forbidden,” “Gypsy in Her Eyes,” “Back on the Streets,” and “Unconditional,” several of which he says will feature his own vocals. Vincent framed the pricing and format as a deliberate measure to prevent piracy, describing the project as a “master series” designed for a small, dedicated audience.
The announcement follows sustained online backlash to Vincent’s December release of “Ride the Serpent,” a single song sold for $200 plus shipping. When fans objected to the cost, Vincent defended the decision in blunt terms, arguing that the track’s artistic value exceeded that of many full-length albums. He also noted that the song had originally been priced even higher before he reduced the cost, citing broader economic pressures.
Vincent has long positioned his music as a premium product rather than a mass-market commodity. He has repeatedly stated that his work will not be made available on streaming platforms and that future releases will be limited to physical formats such as CD and vinyl. According to Vincent, scarcity is not merely a marketing tactic but an extension of his creative philosophy, one that prioritizes control, exclusivity, and what he sees as fair compensation for artistic labor.
Central to this approach is Judgment Day Guitarmageddon, a long-teased full-length album that would mark Vincent’s first major release since his 1996 EP Euphoria. While Vincent has claimed the album is complete, he has also suggested that it may never be released if fan support does not meet his expectations. In recent comments, he reiterated that possibility, stating that he is prepared to withhold the album indefinitely rather than compromise on pricing or distribution.
Vincent has described Guitarmageddon in sweeping terms, frequently comparing it to landmark rock albums of the late Sixties and Seventies. He has argued that the only difference between his work and those canonical releases is the passage of time, and has criticized fans for circulating or listening to leaked demos of unfinished material, which he says misrepresent the final project.
After a brief but highly visible stint in Kiss in the early Eighties, during which he appeared as the “Ankh Warrior” and contributed to albums including Lick It Up, Vincent formed the Vinnie Vincent Invasion in 1984, building a reputation as a technically virtuosic guitarist. Following Euphoria, he largely withdrew from public life, resurfacing intermittently, most notably at an Atlanta Kiss Expo in 2018.
Whether the proposed $500 CD singles will be released as announced remains to be seen.
