After five decades of performing with KISS, Gene Simmons is ready to let it all go as he revealed that his current tour with the legendary metal band would be his last.
In an interview with the New York Post, the 72-year-old rocker revealed the reason why he's retiring, saying "Rock 'n' Roll's dead."
Explaining why uttered such a powerful phrase, Simmons said fans stopped paying for music since the internet, social media, and the streaming era dominated the world.
"Artists earn hundredths of a percent of a cent. Can't keep up with downloading, legislation, minimum wage laws. Write songs and be a performer, it's now pennies for your work," he said.
The frontman also revealed that his age is a big factor in his retirement because it's hard for him to keep up with the theatrics of their shows like wearing 40 pounds of armor and 7-inch platform heels.
"I can't sit in a chair picking a guitar like blues musicians. I know you can't stay on the stage too long. Better get off while the getting's good," he added.
This is not the first time Simmons opened up the topic of retirement as he previously spoke to Chaoszine about how he envisions the band's final tour.
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As reported by NME, the rocker said he still doesn't know how it would end because they have never retired before, so he's comparing the experience to "painting or writing a book."
Earlier this month, they added 100 more cities to their tour and he's not sure how long is it going to take.
Speaking about why the band would retire in a separate interview, despite announcing that they would stop performing in 2018 but went on to dominate the world with tours again, the singer said it's because of "pride and self-respect and a love and admiration for the fans."
He added that he had seen a lot of bands who continue touring too long and they tend to forget the lyrics, so in their case, KISS would quit performing while they're on top doing the best they can.
According to their official website, their next show would be at the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, Australia, on August 20, before performing in cities like Sydney, Adelaide, Perth, Brisbane, Gold Coast and many more.
They'll return to the US on September 21 before their last scheduled tour date for "KISS Kruise Xi Week 2."
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