Kiss' Gene Simmons says he likes "all kinds" of music, shares love for death metal, ABBA, The Killers and Tame Impala

News
By ( Classic Rock ) published

Kiss bassist Gene Simmons names the ten albums that have changed his life and shares additional love for some unexpected artists

Kiss' Gene Simmons and ABBA
(Image credit: OLLE LINDEBORG/AFP via Getty Images, Medios y Media/Getty Images)

Gene Simmons has shared the love for several surprising artists, including Tame Impala, The Killers and ABBA, the latter of which he praises for their "undeniable songwriting".

The Kiss bassist offered his opinions on various musicians while in conversation with Goldmine, which saw him name the top ten albums that changed his life.

Elaborating on why he chose to include ABBA's Greatest Hits album in the mix, he says: "Yes, we like death metal, and yes, I like The Killers and I like Tame Impala — I like all kinds of things. 

"But what is it that rises to a level of greatness no matter the musical genre, it’s the ability to craft songs that are forever. I was going to say The Bee Gees, but it pisses off a lot of people, but those songs are undeniable.

"So if I’m riding in my car and ABBA music comes on, I turn it up and that’s the sign of greatness. Undeniable songwriting. You just can’t touch it. That’s why I have to pick ABBA because it’s just undeniable. I could have said The Four Seasons or The Beach Boys because there’s a wealth of great material."

Other records on Simmons' list include Led Zeppelin's 1969 self-titled album, The Who's Tommy, the Jeff Beck Group's Truth/Beck-Ola, and of course, his own album, Kiss's Destroyer, among others.

"The truth is we all like all kinds of music" he adds. "What’s interesting is in the dressing room, we put on all kinds of music. There have been artists who have had those kind of standalone songs and you just go, “Wait a minute.” Things like The Sun Ain’t Gonna Shine Anymore by The Walker Brothers. Undeniable. I love The Raspberries, too.

For Simmons' full list visit Goldmine.

Liz Scarlett
Liz Scarlett
Content Editor

Liz manages Louder's social media channels and works on keeping the sites up to date with the latest news from the world of rock and metal. Prior to joining Louder as a full time staff writer, she completed a Diploma with the National Council for the Training of Journalists and received a First Class Honours Degree in Popular Music Journalism. She enjoys writing about anything from neo-glam rock to stoner, doom and progressive metal, and loves celebrating women in music.