"Monster", the 20th studio album from legendary rockers KISS, sold 56,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 3 on The Billboard 200 chart.

KISS' previous CD, "Sonic Boom", opened with 108,000 units back in October 2009 to enter the chart at No. 2. This marked the band's highest-charting LP ever.

KISS has notched nine Top 10 albums, according to Billboard.com. Its previous highest-charting set was 1998's "Psycho Circus", which debuted and peaked at No. 3 with 110,000 copies in its first week, according to Nielsen SoundScan. The group's other high-charting sets include 1975's "Alive!" (No. 9), 1977's "Love Gun" (No. 4) and 1992's "Revenge" (No. 6).

Described in a press release as a "12-track, straight-ahead rock 'n' roll album," "Monster" features collaborations among all four members — including co-founders Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons and longtime members guitarist Tommy Thayer and drummer Eric Singer — in an album that shows the band at the top of its game.

Stanley and Thayer were interviewed on this past Monday night's (October 15) edition of the nationally syndicated radio show "Rockline" with host Bob Coburn. You can now listen to the program at RocklineRadio.com.