Gene Simmons was one of the co-founders of Kiss, serving as the band’s bassist, singer, and songwriter. Alongside Paul Stanley, he was part of every era of the band from its formation in 1973 until their retirement 50 years later, in 2023. The band also achieved fame with two other equally important original members: guitarist Ace Frehley and drummer Peter Criss. But they also enjoyed commercial success with later members like Eric Carr, Bruce Kulick, and Vinnie Vincent.
During their five decades of existence, Kiss released 15 studio albums and Gene Simmons once revealed which were the two he believes are the best the band ever made.
The 2 albums Gene Simmons said are the best Kiss ever made
“Destroyer” (1979)
“In hindsight, Kiss never really spent enough time in the studio. Destroyer is okay”, Gene Simmons said when asked by Classic Rock by Classic Rock in 2024 which was the best album he ever made.
Simmons believes that Kiss’ first albums had a raw sound and that the fourth one, “Destroyer”, was really when they decided to make an arranged album. “We got big success – raw, mistakes, untuned guitars and all. Then we decided to do an arranged album with Bob Ezrin and do a ballad with a string quartet with kids singing on it.
“If you were a Kiss fan I’d understand why you were angry. Yet, it all comes down to songs, either the songs connect with the DNA of a band, or they don’t. When it first came out some people were really happy with Detroit Rock City and some people were upset with Beth. They were released as the single. Detroit Rock City as the A-side, but the b-side, Beth, became the Number One record.”
Gene Simmons continued:
“Everything has been a gamble. When we first put on the make-up, that was a gamble. When we decided not to do la-di-dah music or wear tie dye t-shirts, not to sit on the stage with acoustic guitars and incense singing about birds and trees, it was all a gamble,” Gene Simmons told Music Radar in 2012.
At the time the band still had the original line-up also featuring Paul Stanley, Peter Criss and Ace Frehley. Produced by Bob Ezrin, some of the most famous tracks are “Detroit Rock City”, “King of the Night Time World”, “God of Thunder”, “Shout It Out Loud” and “Beth”.
Kiss “Revenge” (1992)
“I like Revenge, but Kiss was always more about the live experience,” Gene Simmons told Classic Rock, noting that the band was stronger when playing live. That album, released in 1992, represents a completely different era for Kiss. The band had already abandoned their makeup for a few years and had a different drummer and lead guitarist. It was the era of the rise of grunge bands, which influenced Kiss to create a record that didn’t really sound much like their previous work. It was more somber and heavier on some tracks.
When the record was released, Simmons explained to Shout! magazine why they tried to do something different. “The record is a much darker record than anything we’ve done in the last 10 to 15 years. No planned reason for it, it just sort of happened that way. And ‘Revenge’ is a title that flew out of Paul’s mouth one day. We all said, ‘Yes, I don’t know what it means. But it feels like the right word’.”
Gene Simmons continued:
“Because there are song titles like ‘Thou Shalt Not’, ‘Spit’, ‘Paralyzed’, ‘Though Love, ‘Heart Of Chrome’. It’s a kick in your pants kind of record. It could have just as well been called ‘Guitar From Hell,’” Gene Simmons said.
“Revenge” is considered by most fans the greatest album released by Kiss in the 1990s. It was the first one to feature the drummer Eric Singer, who replaced Eric Carr in some tracks. Some of the most famous tracks from that record are “Unholy”, “God Gave Rock N’ Roll To You II” and “I Just Wanna”. Besides Singer and Gene, were also part of that record Paul Stanley and the guitarist Bruce Kulick.
Kiss came to an end officially as a band in 2023. They played their final show at the Madison Square Garden in New York City, where the group was formed. Besides Gene and Paul, the final Kiss line-up also had Eric Singer on drums and Tommy Thayer on lead guitar.
