Kiss co-founder Paul Stanley has publicly mused about a future in which neither he nor Gene Simmons are part of the lineup, but former guitarist Ace Frehley can't see the value in a version of the group that doesn't include any original members.

"That's the most ridiculous statement I've ever heard them make. I think the only reason they make those statements at this juncture is to try to validate the fact that they have two other guys in the band that aren't the original members," said Frehley. "They're trying to rationalize to the fans, 'Well, you know, we replaced Peter and we replaced Ace and eventually we're gonna replace ourselves. That's like Mick Jagger saying, 'Yeah, after me and Keith die, the Stones will continue on with two other guys.' It's a joke."

Frehley was responding in part to comments Stanley made in 2014, when he admitted that he felt like Kiss "went astray" when they introduced new "characters" into the band after Frehley and Criss' initial departures in the early '80s. As Stanley sees it, it's the original makeup that matters for the fans who turn out to the shows, regardless of who's really behind it.

"We really built these four images. And, arguably, you can go anywhere in the world and people know who Kiss is, regardless of whether they know who those people are," Stanley said. "So to give up that because we found that those guys were no longer either capable or wanted to give it 100 percent, well, then who loses out? The fans ... Those images are the images that will continue when I'm not here either."

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