THE BEAST

David Lee Roth   has fired back at   Gene Simmons   over the   KISS   bassist/vocalist's recent comment about the   VAN HALEN   frontman.

Roth   performed as the opening act for the February/March 2020 North American leg of   KISS 's farewell tour, but is not making any appearances on the rescheduled   KISS   shows which kicked off on August 18 in Mansfield, Massachusetts.

Asked in a new interview with   Rolling Stone   about   Roth 's absence from the   "End Of The Road"   trek,   Simmons   said: "It bears noting that during   Dave 's heyday, nobody did what he did. He was the ultimate frontman. Not [ Robert ]   Plant , not   Rod Stewart , nobody. He took being a frontman way beyond anything. And then, I don't know what happened to him… something. And you get modern-day   Dave . I prefer to remember   Elvis Presley   in his prime. Sneering lips, back in Memphis, you know, doing all that. I don't want to think of bloated naked   Elvis   on the bathroom floor."

Earlier today (Friday, August 20),   Roth   shared a black-and-white photo of a little kid wearing sunglasses and sticking his tongue out with his middle finger extended, and he superimposed the text " Roth   to   Simmons :".

In a January 2020 interview with   Eric Blair   of   "The Blairing Out With Eric Blair Show" ,   Paul Stanley   was asked what the best part was of having   Roth   opening for   KISS .   Stanley   said: "Well,   Dave 's got so many great songs. All the   VAN HALEN   catalog is terrific, and that's what he's doing. So, people get to hear all those great songs, and it was something that really appealed to us."

Simmons   has repeatedly taken credit for "discovering"   VAN HALEN   and flying the band to New York to record a 15-song demo at   Electric Lady Studios , with   Gene   at the production helm. But he ended up not working with the group after his   KISS   bandmates and manager,   Bill Aucoin , expressed little interest in his demos. "I gave the demo back to the band, told them I had a tour to go on and afterward I would try to get them a record deal, but until then, I tore up our contract and set them free," he said. "It didn't take them long to get on   Warner Bros. "

In March 2020,   Roth   postponed the final six shows of his Las Vegas residency due to the coronavirus pandemic.

KISS 's rescheduled   "End Of The Road"   dates run through October.