Kiss, the band that made glam rock’s penchant for face painting and art, is going virtual. 50 years after it all started, the band’s current quartet of members hung up their thick-soled boots with a farewell performance at Madison Square Garden. The phrase “gone but not forgotten” can certainly be used when discussing Kiss and their influence on music. However, as it transpired, we’re not quite at that stage yet. Yes, the members of Kiss physically left the stage for the last time in December 2023, but that’s not the end. Such is the band’s iconic status and enduring appeal that future Kiss concerts will involve virtual avatars.
Much like Abba did with their virtual show in London, Kiss will continue entertaining audiences around the world without having to be on stage. The Kiss avatars made their debut at the farewell concert in New York. After Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Eric Singer, and Tommy Thayer left the stage, the avatars emerged. The virtual versions of all four members performed God Gave Rock ’n’ Roll to You, and with that, a new era was born (see video below). As the Guardian’s Michael Sun described it, we’re now witnessing the “afterlife” of Kiss.
From Long Kiss Goodbye and Virtual Hello
What’s interesting about this transition is that it’s been happening for more than a decade. The members morphed into mechanical and digital beings back in 2012 when the Kiss slot game debuted in Las Vegas. The band had been featured in movies, magazines, and more a long time before they were the focus of slot game developers. However, the live slot game was the first step towards the band’s transition into virtual reality. Indeed, the popularity of the original Kiss slot game has inspired countless spinoffs.
Fans can play KISS in some of the most popular slots online, with Play’n Go’s Kiss: Reel of Rocks rocking Canadian casino gamers since 2021 with its 50,000x jackpots. Spinning alongside more than 2,000 other slots at one of Canada’s online casinos has kept Kiss in the limelight and inspired the virtual avatars we see today. Of course, the band’s legacy doesn’t live and die with its virtual personas, Kiss has influenced artists around the world for generations.
Kiss Will Live On Forever
Nirvana and Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl has said Kiss “inspired” him to become a “rock’n’roll musician.” In fact, Esquire contributor James S. Murphy went so far as to argue that Kiss created Indie rock. His 2014 came out on the eve of Kiss being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In it, he argues that Kiss inspired a “whole lot of boys” born “outside of big cities.” In his opinion, people like Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain weren’t inspired by Iggy Pop or Velvet Underground but by Kiss and their “spirit of rebellion.”
Some might agree with Murphy, others may have a different view. What can’t be denied, however, is that Kiss is an iconic band that’s stood the test of time. Even in the wake of countless line-up changes and two farewell tours, the band still has a place in modern culture. Whether or not the virtual era will be as successful as the previous remains to be seen. One thing that’s for sure is that famous black and white face paint will be forever immortalized in the virtual world.
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