Gene Simmons is looking back on the complicated history he shared with Ace Frehley, remembering both the struggles that affected KISS and the enormous influence the guitarist left behind. Frehley died on Oct. 16, 2025, at age 74 after a fall at his New Jersey home.
According to Blabbermouth, in a new interview with The Moynihan Report, Simmons spoke candidly about the tensions between KISS’s original members. He said those problems did not center on money but rather on personal struggles with drugs and alcohol. Even so, Simmons made one point clear: KISS would not have become what it did without Frehley and drummer Peter Criss.
Gene Simmons Remembers Ace Frehley After His Death
Simmons described Frehley’s death as heartbreaking, especially because of the guitarist’s influence on generations of musicians. He pointed to players connected to bands such as Pantera, Pearl Jam, and Metallica as examples of artists shaped by Frehley’s style. Simmons also recalled how difficult the pressures of touring and fame could become for his former bandmate.
According to Simmons, Frehley once told him that he needed to leave KISS because continuing to tour could destroy him. Frehley left and returned to the group multiple times over the years, creating a complicated relationship with his former bandmates and fans. Yet Simmons stressed that affection remained underneath those conflicts. When KISS received a Kennedy Center Honor in December 2025, the surviving members left an empty chair in Frehley’s memory, while his daughter Monique attended to honor her father.
The Spaceman Helped Define the Sound and Look of KISS
Frehley joined Simmons, Paul Stanley, and Peter Criss in the original KISS lineup, helping define the band’s sound and image with his “Spaceman” persona and distinctive guitar work. Despite lineup changes and disagreements, his influence remained central to KISS. The four original members later reunited publicly when the band entered the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014.
The death of Ace Frehley brought renewed attention to everything he contributed during those early years. His playing inspired other guitarists, while his image helped turn KISS into one of rock’s most recognizable bands. Simmons may speak openly about the difficult moments, but he also continues to credit Frehley as an essential part of the group’s story. For fans, that mixture of conflict, friendship, and music makes the original KISS lineup especially enduring. The band survived lineup changes and disagreements, but Frehley’s place in its history remains impossible to separate from the sound and spectacle that made KISS famous.