Vinnie Vincent Says His New Album Could Be Shelved Amid Ongoing Dispute

Vinnie Vincent has made it clear that compromise is not part of his plan for Guitarmageddon. The former Kiss guitarist has said he would rather shelve the long-awaited album entirely than release it through conventional means, even as fan support for his costly distribution model appears uncertain.

In December, Vincent unveiled a highly unusual strategy for the album’s rollout: each song would be sold individually on a signed and numbered CD for $200, plus shipping. Vincent said he would only ship a track once it reached 1,000 pre-orders. With at least 18 songs listed on his website—accompanied by the promise of more—the full album would cost fans a minimum of $3,600.

Defending the Price in the Streaming Era

The announcement was met with immediate pushback from fans, many of whom questioned both the price and the format. Vincent, however, has remained steadfast, arguing that decades of illegal downloading, streaming, and broader shifts in the music industry have left artists with few viable ways to be fairly compensated for their work.

He expanded on that position in a series of Facebook posts over the holidays, acknowledging that his plan may ultimately fail due to a lack of participation—but insisting that he will not revise it.

“There’s no money releasing a record like this with bootlegging thieves at my door. Unless I get compensated for my work, the album stays unheard,” Vincent wrote. “It comes down to this; if the fan support is not there—which it does not appear to be—this record will not be released.”

“The Greatest Album Never Heard”?

Rather than expressing frustration, Vincent framed the possibility of Guitarmageddon remaining unreleased as a point of pride. “Am I fine with that? Absolutely. 100%,” he continued. “It will be the greatest album of all time, never to be heard, never to be released. If people want my music, and think they’re punishing me by not buying it because of the price, it matters not to me. They’re the ones who will lose out.”

Vincent went even further, placing the album—at least in his own estimation—alongside some of rock’s most celebrated releases. “Guitarmageddon is one of the greatest rock albums of all time,” he wrote, citing classics such as Meet the Beatles, Led Zeppelin II, Are You Experienced, Truth, Wheels of Fire, and seminal Pink Floyd albums. “The only difference is these albums are generation tested and have the benefit of fermentation of time. But as for impact and perfection from the first song to last, Guitarmageddon is a classic.”

Whether the album ever reaches listeners now hinges not on critical reception, but on philosophy: Vincent’s refusal to bend in an industry that has moved decisively away from ownership toward access. In staking Guitarmageddon on an all-or-nothing approach, he has transformed the record into something closer to a statement than a product—one that may ultimately exist more as legend than as music heard, leaving fans to decide whether exclusivity is worth the price of admission, or whether this chapter of Vincent’s career will remain sealed by his own design.