History YMMV / Kiss

* LoveItOrHateIt: "I Was Made For Loving You" tends to elicit strong reactions; KISS fans often condemn it as a trendy cash-in on the {{Disco}} movement, but on the other hand, it's frequently their top song on Apple Music.

* OffendingTheCreatorsOwn: The "lightning bolt" rendering of the double-s in the band's logo has been seen by some as similar to the logo of the Nazi SS, leading them to jump to the conclusion that the band are some how neo-Nazis or Nazi-sympathisers. In reality both Gene Vincent and Paul Stanley are Jewish and have relatives who either survived or died in the Holocaust.

** The whole band has seen a reappraisal in later years, seeing as a lot of rock's most credible and legendary performers post-1970's has claimed inspiration or appreciation of them.

*** KISS has never, ever done a disco song.

** KISS has never, ever done a disco song.

* "I Was Made For Loving You", the {{disco}} song that just about everyone in the USA pretends has never existed, is the most popular KISS song in Germany by far to the point that many don't even know any other KISS songs.

** In the 90s, Tommy Thayer is in a KISS tribute band called "Cold Gin" and took the role of Ace Frehley. And guess which member he remplaces (makeup included) ?

** Specifically, The various editions of the ''Rolling Stone Album Guide'' give good ratings to ''Alive!'' and ''Destroyer''... and that's about it.

** Specifically, The various editions of the ''Rolling Stone Album Guide'' give good ratings to ''Alive!'' and ''Destroyer''...and that's about it.

** According to the ''Decibel Geek Podcast'', this is also the case with ''I had Enough'' from the Animalize album. The reason why its not played in concerts anymore is because, apparently, the band and Bruce Kulick in particular end up completely exhausted by the end of it.

* EpicRiff: You know the house is gonna come down when "Detroit Rock City" and "Rock and Roll All Nite" (and others!) start playing.
** According to the ''Decibel Geek Podcast'', this is also the case with ''I had Enough'' from the Animalize album. The reason why its not played in concerts anymore is because, apparently, the band and Bruce Kulick in particular end up completely exhausted by the end of it.

** Gene Simmons: is he the single [[RatedMForManly Manliest]], [[EvilIsCool coolest looking]] and most badass and LeadBassist ''ever'', or a greedy [[ItsAllAboutMe megalomaniac]] [[RatedMForMoney who wastes his money]] [[TheMerch on everything he finds?]] Or is he a little bit of both?

* CrossesTheLineTwice: It seems to have always been Gene’s modus operendi; in particular, his interview with NPR’s Terry Gross is a prime example.

** To some fans, the years without make-up were the whole dork-age.
** To others, any time when the line-up doesn't include Criss AND Frehley.

** For ''many'', the 1979-1981 period, from ''Dynasty'' to ''Music for the Elder''. To be specific...

* AwesomeEgo: While the truth of Gene Simmons' self-centered personality has been a turn-off for some fans, others may see it as a charming extension of the band's bombastic presentation, especially given that despite how unabashed he is about it, Simmons is [[AtLeastIAdmitIt pretty earnest about it]] all the same, which makes it [[LoveToHate hard to be completely mad with him]].

** Many people forgot that "New York Groove" (the most well known track in Ace's 1978 solo album) was a song by Argent, ''originally'' by Hello.
** The PowerBallad "God Gave Rock n' Roll to You", which was ''also'' originally by Argent. When KISS covered it, they added a "[=II=]" to the title, possibly to differentiate the two songs more clearly, as KISS' version has completely different lyrics except for the chorus.

** Heck, any lead guitarist not named Ace to an extent. Vinnie Vincent in particular. Vinnie's contributions are generally liked, but his playing style is ''wildly'' divisive; he's either an incredibly original and unique guitarist who was forced down by the rest of the band, or he's an atonal, utterly tuneless hack who can't play anything that isn't an aimless, chromatic mess with gratuitous whammy bar abuse (which wasn't really that pronounced during his time in KISS when Gene and Paul had final say over his solos, but his work in the Vinnie Vincent Invasion, when he had complete control over his playing style, is a different story).

* NightmareFuel: Gene Simmons' bass solo before "God of Thunder" at live concerts. Truly terrifying (the aftermath is on the cover of ''Alive II''.)

** Gene Simmons: is he the single [[RatedMForManly Manliest]], [[EvilIsCool coolest looking]] and most badass and LeadBassist ''ever'', or a greedy [[ItsAllAboutMe megalomaniac]] [[RatedMForMoney who wastes his money]] [[TheMerch on everything he finds?]]

** Heck, any lead guitarist not named Ace to an extent. Vinnie Vincent in particular. Vinnie's contributions are generally liked, but his playing style is ''wildly'' divisive; he's either an incredibly original and unique guitarist who was forced down by the rest of the band, or he's an atonal, utterly tuneless hack who can't play anything that isn't an aimless, chromatic mess with gratuitous whammy bar abuse (which wasn't really that pronounced during his time in KISS, but his work in the Vinnie Vincent Invasion is a different story).

** The song "Shandi" was a huge hit in Australia, and to this day the band always performs it during live performances in that country. In the United States, "Shandi" is a mostly-forgotten song and only reached 47 on the Billboard charts at the time of its release.

** In the 90s, Tommy Thayer is in a KISS tribute band called "Cold Gin" and took the role of Ace Frehley. And guess which member he remplaces (makeup inclued) ?

*** ''Dynasty'': It's unarguable that it was perhaps the biggest commercially successful studio album in the entire history of the band (if one ignores the ''Alive'' compilations), but what most people don't know is that, in the long run, ''Dynasty'' itself ''almost destroyed the band when it was first released''. With [[NewSoundAlbum the shift to the far more mainstream disco genre]], although the album proved to be a commercial success, it pretty much alienated the fans that had followed the band since its early beginnings, resulting in nearly empty arenas and stadiums when the band went on tour, something unheard of when it came to KISS concerts and their particular fame.[[note]]In fact, they ''lost'' money during this tour, as each concert cost no less than ''ONE million dollars each'' ![[/note]]
*** ''Unmasked'': After promising a return to the heavier sound they were known for they proceeded to release ''Unmasked'', which was a critical flop due to the still present "pop sound". To make matters worse, the following album was...

*** ''Creatures of the Night'', while successful critically due to being the heaviest KISS album yet and featuring the band's strongest songs in some time, didn't fare any better on the commercial and on the tour side of things (many people also attribute this to two founding members, lead guitarist Ace Frehley and drummer Peter Criss leaving the band around the same time).

** Ace is probably the fan favorite. Having the best 1978 solo album helps.

* JerkassWoobie: Gene Simmons, of all people. Start with having polio as a child.

* EarWorm: Several. "Rock and Roll All Nite" and "I Was Made for Lovin' You" are very good examples of this.