For 40 years, KISS has been enthralling fans with its hard-rock sound, over-the-top look and pyrotechnic shows. Although Gene Simmons has claimed in Esquire magazine that "rock is finally dead," KISS is one of the genre's most enduring bands. Here's a look back at the group over the years. Left to right, Paul Stanley, Peter Criss, Gene Simmons and Ace Frehley pose for KISS' first album in 1974. 
Gene Simmons, KISS' long-tongued bassist and vocalist, sits backstage in Detroit with Larry Harris in May 1975. Harris co-founded Casablanca Records, KISS' record label. 
KISS' trip to the top was guided by manager Bill Aucoin, left, who sat down with the band for an NBC documentary, "Land of Hype & Glory," that aired in 1978. At center, with Peter Criss, is NBC's Edwin Newman. 
The band's chart success was based on constant and energetic touring -- concerts that were then turned into some best-selling live albums. In 1977, the band released "KISS Alive II," displayed here by a coy Simmons. 
The band expanded its reach into movies with "KISS Meets the Phantom of the Park," a 1978 film that aired on NBC. Though the movie has become a cult classic, the band wasn't happy with the way it turned out. 
In 1978, the four members of the band each released solo albums on the same day. Though the records all sold respectably, only one of them -- Frehley's -- produced a big hit, "New York Groove." Simmons concluded his album with "When You Wish Upon a Star." 
Among the contributors to Simmons' solo album was his girlfriend at the time, Cher. Here the couple attends the premiere of "Kramer vs. Kramer" in December 1979. 
Kiss performs on stage, circa 1981. Peter Criss, the band's original drummer, was replaced by Eric Carr in 1980. Left to right: Gene Simmons, Ace Frehley, Eric Carr and Paul Stanley. 
Lead guitarist Ace Frehley left the band in 1982 and was replaced by Vinnie Vincent. The new lineup -- left to right, Simmons, Stanley, Vincent and Carr -- pose here in 1983. 
In late 1983, the band decided to go without its famous makeup, first in an appearance on MTV and then on tour. Simmons had trouble coping. "(I) didn't know how I was supposed to act, because the non-makeup version of the band was an entirely new idea," he wrote in his book, "Kiss and Make-Up." Left to right, Simmons, Vincent and Stanley play London's Wembley Arena in 1983. 
Simmons has been with former Playboy Playmate Shannon Tweed since 1983. The two married in 2011 and co-starred in the reality show "Gene Simmons Family Jewels." Here, the two attend the Oscars in 1985. 
KISS received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1999. The four original members, who had reunited in 1996, were on hand for the unveiling. 
The band, especially Simmons, has shrewdly marketed KISS' image and logo, placing it on everything from action figures to, well, caskets. The KISS Kasket sells for $5,000, comes in two different designs and is wildly popular among fans. Would you rather be cremated? Don't worry, there's a KISS urn as well. 
Simmons' reality show, "Gene Simmons Family Jewels," ran for seven seasons, from 2006 to 2012. The A&E show followed the adventures of Simmons and his family, including wife. Here, left to right, Simmons, wife Shannon Tweed, son Nick and daughter Sophie attend the premiere of "Oblivion" in 2013. 
Earlier this year, 40 years after KISS' first album, the members of the band were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Left to right, inductees Paul Stanley, Peter Criss, Gene Simmons and Ace Frehley celebrate at the induction ceremony in April.
- Gene Simmons asserts that "rock is dead" in Esquire interview
- It didn't have to happen, he adds: "It was murdered"
- The Who declared rock dead in 1972
- Blogs, Twitter come to rock's defense
(CNN) -- Add Gene Simmons to the list of people pulling the plug on rock 'n' roll.
In an interview with Esquire conducted by his son, Nick, legendary rocker and KISS frontman Simmons said that -- thanks to a crumbling business model, including "file-sharing and downloading" by fans who believe they "were entitled to have something for free" -- "rock is finally dead."
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Corgan: God is the future of rock music "I am so sad that the next 15-year-old kid in a garage someplace in St. Paul, that plugs into his Marshall and wants to turn it up to 10, will not have anywhere near the same opportunity that I did," Simmons said. "He will most likely, no matter what he does, fail miserably."
Simmons blamed a lack of industry support, piracy and a lack of appreciation for "the creators."
"It's very sad for new bands. ... They just don't have a chance," he said. "You're better off not even learning how to play guitar or write songs." Today's songwriters and creators are more likely to work behind the scenes than practicing and testing their material out on stage, he added.
"The death of rock was not a natural death. Rock did not die of old age. It was murdered," he said.
Simmons, of course, is far from the first to lament the decline of rock. In 1972, the Who sang "Rock is dead, they say" in "Long Live Rock," a finger in the eye to those who believed the music wasn't what it was a few years earlier. In 2009, guitarist and "Underground Garage" host Steven Van Zandt gave a speech at SXSW, "A Crisis of Craft," that observed that one reason nobody's buying records is "because they suck."
In blogs and on Twitter, reaction was largely negative to Simmons' statements.
"Business models for the music industry will come and go. But rock will never die," wrote Bill Brenner.
"So What's This About Rock Finally Being Dead? I Beg to Disagree, Gene Simmons," was the headline of a column by Alan Cross on "A Journal of Musical Things."
And the Foo Fighters were probably the pithiest.
"Not so fast, Mr. God of Thunder," the Dave Grohl-led band tweeted.
Simmons, however, doesn't think there's much future in the genre.
"It's clear that longevity is practically dead, and new artists that stand the test of time ... are so rare as to almost be nonexistent," he said.
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