By the time Grunge became the dominant subgenre in Rock and Roll music in the early ’90s, Kiss had already been active for almost two decades and had sold millions of records worldwide. Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley were the only original members remaining, and, as they had in the ’80s, the group was trying to adapt their sound and image to appeal to new generations. In the ’80s, they stopped wearing makeup and wrote many ballads; in the early ’90s, the band attempted to change their sound slightly—at least on Revenge (1992), which could be considered their heaviest album.
During that time, many new groups were threatening the success of older bands like Kiss, and one of them was Nirvana. But what is Gene Simmons’ opinion on them?
What is Gene Simmons’ opinion on Nirvana
Although Grunge represented a threat to older Rock bands, Gene Simmons liked the music genre and respected their music. He likes Nirvana and even invited them in 1994, to be part of the Kiss’ tribute album “Kiss My Ass: Classic Kiss Regrooved” but the band refused the invitation.
In an interview with The Zak Kuhn Show in 2024, the interviewer mentioned Nirvana as one of the biggest bands from the past decades. Simmons noted that he is a major fan of them but doesn’t think they could be compared with bands like The Beatles.
“And from 1988 until today, it’s something like almost 40 years, certainly 35 years. Who are the new Beatles?” The interviewer mentions Nirvana and Simmons says: “Stop. We are blinded. I’m a major fan. If you walked down the street and asked a 20-year-old, ‘Who’s the bass player in Nirvana?’, they wouldn’t know what you’re talking about. Or, ‘Can you sing a Nirvana song?’ No, no. The Beatles and, to slightly lesser extent, The Stones and Elvis. Everybody knew The Beatles. If you hated rock music, you knew about them.”
“My point is if you randomly walk down the street and you ask the first young person you meet. (Like) a 20-year-old, and you say, ‘Name me anybody in Pearl Jam,’ good luck with that. ‘Name me or tell me a song. Hum a song.’ They [can’t]. “The masses have no idea who’s in Phish one of my favourite bands, or Pearl Jam. They wouldn’t have a clue, unless you’re a fan.”
He doesn’t think Kurt Cobain was a Rock icon
For years Gene Simmons has been saying that Rock and Roll music is dead since the 90s. He often mentions many Rock icons as examples, because the ones who appeared in the past 30 years are not as big as the oldest ones. Talking with Team Rock Radio in 2013, he mentioned artists like Elvis, Beatles, Rolling Stones, Hendrix and Led Zeppelin.
The asked the interviewer to mention a big Rock icon who appeared after 1984 and he said: Kurt Cobain. Simmons replied saying that he doesn’t think Cobain was a music icon. “Kurt Cobain – no, that’s one or two records, that’s not enough. Amy Winehouse – that’s one or two records, that’s not enough. What, just ’cause you died that makes you an icon? No, no.”
He did not always have good things to say about Cobain. He once compared the musician’s tragic end with his ex-bandmates Peter Criss and Ace Frehley. “When Ace and Peter, our beloved original members and brothers and all that stuff. When they succumbed to the cliche of cliches… drugs and alcohol. I mean, I can almost understand it if it was unique, but it’s like, ‘Really? Hasn’t it been done by everybody yet?’ At least when Cobain blew his head off, you go, ‘Ah, cool.’ You know: fast, thank you, bye. You’re not gonna torture anybody else. And he was not a happy camper by all indications, so…,” Gene Simmons said on The SDR Show:
He said Dave Grohl can play guitar just as well or better than Kurt Cobain
Whenever he talks about the idea of Rock and Roll being dead for decades already, Gene Simmons always mentions The Foo Fighters as being one of the last big Rock bands out there. He is a good friend of Dave Grohl, who was Nirvana’s drummer. In an interview with the Quietus back in 2015, the Kiss bassist and singer listed the album “The Colour and the Shape” (1997) as one of his favorites of all time.
“The thing about this band is that it came out of a grunge background, obviously Dave came out of Nirvana. But he can play guitar just as well or better than Kurt, sings great. The most interesting thing I find about Foo Fighters, and songs like ‘My Hero’, is that they are based in pop melodies. Not based in the blues. Which is really interesting, having that big wall of sound guitar thing with pop melodies and interesting lyrics.”
“Just an interesting band. This album just has the songs and it has the attitude. (…) Colour is a consistent record. It makes one statement. So what that means is that they can take that music and play it live and it should sound similar to that record, consistent. I would include more if I could, but when you pick an album, it’s not just a standalone item. It’s about what’s happening in your life, where you are and so on,” Gene Simmons said.
That record has famous tracks like “Monkey Wrench”, “My Hero”, “Everlong” and “Walking After You”.
