Having made headlines around the world after declaring that rock n'r oll is dead, Gene Simmons of Kiss is not backing down.
Last month Simmons provoked outrage in an interview to Esquire - conducted by his journalist son Nick - that this generation had killed off rock n' roll.
"The death of rock was not a natural death," Simmons told the magazine. "Rock did not die of old age. It was murdered. Some brilliance, somewhere, was going to be expressed, and now it won't, because it's that much harder to earn a living playing and writing songs."
Since these comments came out though, Foo Fighters have used their Twitter and Facebook accounts to express their disagreement. The band posted a link to the interview alongside the caption, "Not so fast, Mr. God of Thunder."
However, as NME reports, speaking at recent event in Kansas City Simmons was asked to elaborate on his comments about the state of rock n' roll. The Kiss frontman announced: "I'm gonna ask you a question, and you decide, OK? From 1958 until 1988, it's 30 years, name hundreds and hundreds of classic rock acts. OK, I've got Elvis Presley, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin… on and on and on.
"Even Motown… Madonna, Prince, Michael Jackson. From 1988 until today, just give me five. You can't name [them]. Iconic [newer artists]? No. Nobody. How about that?"
Naturally for a 65 year old man who has made a living out of rock'n'roll, he feels that the internet is to blame. "I think it really comes down to when technology outpaces the laws of the land, it's the Wild West; people just go and grab territory and don't pay for it. It devalues new bands. It doesn't affect me – I make a living – but it's sad, because the next Beatles or the next Kiss, it does not have a chance."
Watch the video below of Gene Simmons on the death of rock'n'roll
Below: Photos of KISS live at Wembley stadium
