Ace Frehley mocks KISS avatars and insists they’re ‘not rock and roll’

In completely unsurprising news, original KISS guitarist Ace Frehley has criticised his former band’s plans to live on as avatars.

At the conclusion of their last ever show at New York’s Madison Square Garden on 2nd December, KISS officially launched their new avatar era with the digital incarnations of the band performing ‘God Gave Rock and Roll to You II’ on the screens.

The KISS avatars imagine the band as superheroes, and they have been created by Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) and financed and produced by the Swedish company Pophouse Entertainment, which is behind the ongoing ABBA Voyage show in London.

In a new interview with German publication Rock Antenne, Ace Frehley raised the subject of the avatars unprompted.

Voicing his disproval, Frehley said: “I’m happy (KISS’s career is) over, because I’m not gonna be compared to them anymore but I don’t get this avatar thing that they’re gonna do.

“I mean, I saw some of it on a video on YouTube last night. It kind of looked like it was geared towards children. And it’s not rock and roll.

“I get up on stage without backing tracks, plug my amp into it, plug my guitar into a Marshall and go. That’s it. It’s always been that way and always will be.”

Asked if he watched the livestream of the final concert, Frehley said: “I watched (a video of the) Indianapolis (concert), and I’m not impressed. But that’s me.

“Tommy Thayer is not a bad guitarist. He just is more mechanical than me. Nobody can copy my solos the way I play them, because I’m sloppy and nobody can move like me. Nobody.

“I’m surprised the fans bought Tommy pretty much, because I think for several years that Tommy was in the band, people didn’t even know it wasn’t me. I used to get phone calls from people and say, ‘Hey, KISS is playing in town. Can you get me tickets?’ I go, ‘I’m not in the band anymore.’ They go, ‘You’re not?’

“Because when I quit the band the second time, they did not make a big press release. They kind of buried it and just made the transition.

“But the last tour I did with KISS, Tommy Thayer was bringing me sandwiches and he was a tour manager and a gofer. But he’s not a bad guitar player. I’m actually friends with Tommy — just all the guys in the band.

“I’m good friends with Eric Singer. Me and Gene (Simmons) are very close. When Gene put out his ‘Vault Experience’, I went on the road with him. I went to Australia with him. Before we made it really big, me and Gene used to room together. So Gene has a soft spot in his heart for me.”

Last month Ace Frehley premiered his ’10,000 Volts’ music video, the title track and lead single of his new studio album.

Released on Friday 23rd February 2024, the 11 track ’10,000 Volts’ album is Frehley’s first release since September 2020’s ‘Origins Vol.2’.