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Alice Cooper hits back again at Gene Simmons’ rock death knell: “I don’t think rock is ever gonna die”

“I think it’s kind of healthy that rock bands now are not number one, number two or number three. We’re back to the point of being rebels again.”

Alice Cooper in Oslo June 2022

Image: Per Ole Hagen via Getty Images

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Alice Cooper has hit back against Gene Simmons’ frequent claim that rock is dead, stating that he doesn’t think the genre will ever truly die, and that rock living outside of the mainstream might not be such a bad thing after all.

READ MORE: Gene Simmons responds to those who aren’t a fan of Kiss: “You have to take these things with a grain of salt – not everybody like Jesus”

In a recent interview with LA Weekly, Cooper brings up Simmons’ oft-stated claim that rock is dead, providing a more balanced interpretation of the genre as a whole.

“Gene Simmons said rock is dead but I think he was talking financially. I think there are kids in garages right now learning Guns N’ Roses, learning Aerosmith, learning Alice, learning Ozzy… Young 16-year-old kids rocking, just rocking. That’s healthy. That’s really healthy. I don’t think rock is ever gonna die.

“When you talk about hard rock, like the Stones, The Who and all that, that’s the only music that’s lasted. Grunge was here for a while. And punk was here for a while. Emo was here and all this, but hard rock bands just kept going. So if you’re in a hard rock band, you can go as long as you want to go.”

Cooper concluded that rock being outside of the cultural mainstream, rather than dominating the charts, might give it that much needed “outlaw” edge:

“There was a time when we first started playing, that rock bands were outlaws. We were on the outside looking into the party and we weren’t invited to the party. It was more pop music and dance music and disco. I think we’re back to that point. I think it’s kind of healthy that rock bands now are not number one, number two or number three. We’re back to the point of being rebels again.”

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