Paul Stanley recently offered a candid look at the transformation of KISS following the exit of original members Ace Frehley and Peter Criss. Speaking on The Magnificent Others podcast with Billy Corgan, Stanley revealed how the band found renewed energy with the addition of Tommy Thayer and Eric Singer.
During the conversation, the KISS frontman addressed the turmoil that led to a significant turning point for the band.
“By ‘Psycho Circus,’ we knew the end was coming and what we would do,” Stanley explained. “Again, to have created something so wonderful with Peter and Ace and Gene, then to see it just in such terrible shape and the acrimony and everything, it was so difficult.”
Despite the internal conflicts, Stanley remained committed to moving forward. He emphasized how the support of longtime manager Doc McGhee played a crucial role in the band’s next chapter.
“The people that were glad that we went away were the ones who hated us, and they were the ones who were angry when we came back,” he said. “But I wanted to continue. I couldn’t imagine it (retiring) quite honestly. But Doc was one of those people going ‘You can you can continue.’ And what Tommy and Eric brought to the band was the spirit that Ace and Peter no longer had. So that’s as important as the music.”
New Blood, New Energy
Stanley didn’t just praise the emotional commitment of Thayer and Singer—he highlighted their consistency and musical excellence as well.
“They also brought the music,” Stanley said. “Those guys we could play on any night any song we felt like. We adhered to a certain set list because the show was built almost like a theater presentation. So it had an arc and it started a certain way and went on. But what they were bringing was so fortifying and so much like the biggest vitamin B12 shot ever.”
Far from viewing the post-Frehley and Criss era as a downgrade, Stanley sees it as a rebirth of sorts—a chance to honor the legacy without reliving the past drama.
“It was that pride and joy in being in the band and also respecting the legacy,” he concluded. “They didn’t come in to reinvent the wheel. What they brought to the band was what I always hoped. And in the best way I can say that when we would be on stage on any night, I would really think this is the band I always hoped for.”
