Ghost’s Tobias Forge has hit back at Gene Simmons’ assertion that “rock is dead”, arguing that new bands will continue to rise to the top.
The KISS bassist and singer has spoken multiple times in recent years about his belief that the genre is no longer producing major new artists, dating back to comments in 2014 in which he accused record labels of failing to adequately support rock musicians.
In 2021, he returned to the topic, saying that contemporary artists may be popular, but that does not mean they are “iconic”, saying new bands “haven’t taken the time to create glamour, excitement and epic stuff”.
Simmons also pointed his finger at the younger generation of music fans, accusing them of “killing the thing that you love”, despite appearing to be more critical of the streaming model and its low pay for artists.