Ace Frehley (KISS) has paid tribute to MOUNTAIN‘s Leslie West, who died Wednesday at the age of 75.

The iconic guitarist, vocalist, songwriter and storyteller suffered cardiac arrest at his home near Daytona, Florida on Monday (December 21) and was rushed to a hospital, where he never regained consciousness.

Earlier today, Ace took to his social media to write:

“I lost a dear friend yesterday, he was Leslie West the lead guitarist from MOUNTAIN…Probably best known for their hit ‘Mississippi Queen’…He was an amazing guitarist, and I was awaiting a call from him, since I did a remake of one of his songs on ‘Origins Vol. 2’…but now I’ll never get a chance to hear what he thought of the cover…It’s so sad, we’ve lost so many great guitar players this year…

He concluded:

“My prayers are with his family & friends during this holiday season! He was one of the great guitarists and a good friend over the years!!! He will be missed in the Rock & Roll Community! I’m sure he’s up in R&R Heaven w/all the other musicians we’ve lost!… R.I.P Mr. West!”