10/17/2025
The Rock n Roll music community is deeply saddened at the news of Ace passing. Although we are profoundly grateful to Ace Frehley — the Spaceman — who helped define what it meant to be a rock & roll guitar hero. His death today is a personal wound for so many in the rock and metal world, yet it also feels like the lights just dimmed a little and the guitar amp spewed static white noise instead of the explosion of a distorted 6 string or**sm of sound, reminding us of the enduring power of his legacy. When Ace joined Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, and Peter Criss in 1973, KISS was a band trying to break through…in a different bombastic way! And from the start, Ace brought something unique: a wild, atmospheric tone; a swagger, and sometimes calculated stumble, in his soloing; a cosmic stage persona that made every show feel like a journey into another world! He invented the persona of The Spaceman (or “Space Ace”)—the silver-star makeup, the pyrotechnic guitars, the smoke and lights bursting forth during his solos. He didn’t just play guitar, he lived it, he embodied it! Ace played on KISS’s early essential records: KISS (1974), Hotter Than Hell, Dressed to Kill, Destroyer, Love Gun, among others. On Love Gun (1977), he debuted as a lead vocalist with “Shock Me,” a song born of a near‑fatal onstage electrocution incident in Lakeland, Florida in 1976. That moment of danger turned into one of the band’s most enduring moments — Ace turned survival into art! His solo 1978 self‑titled album went platinum and produced “New York Groove,” one of his most beloved hits. He left the band in 1982, driven by creative differences and personal challenges, and embarked on a solo path (including Frehley’s Comet). But he never disappeared. In 1996, the original KISS lineup reunited to global acclaim, and Ace once again held the Spaceman mantle until 2002. In 2014, Ace was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame along with his KISS bandmates — a fitting recognition of the seismic impact he had on rock music! Over the decades, he continued to record, tour, and inspire. His 2025 solo record Origins Vol. 3 was a reminder that his creative fire still burned bright! For anyone who picked up a guitar in the 1970s or 80s: Ace was the template. He wasn’t the cleanest or most polished — sometimes his notes bent too far, sometimes his solos were raw or ragged — but that was part of the appeal. He had feel, he had presence, he had heart. He made you believe you could make a guitar roar! When I first heard the wail of his solos, I thought: that’s what a rock-n-roll fantasy sounds like! His vibrato, his tone, his screams — they were fuel for dreams. Every kid who looked at his first to***co sunburst Les Paul, and later the cherry sunburst Les Paul, with smoke billowing out of it thought, “I want that in my hands… NOW! Tonight the rock and metal world is in mourning — not just for what he did, but for what he meant. Legends die, but influences echo. From classic rock stalwarts to shredders in the 80s, from alternative guitarists to modern metal players and fans — nearly every one of us carries a shadow of Ace’s influence. Tonight, I feel grief. I feel anger that someone so vital, so luminous, is gone. But I also feel gratitude — gratitude for every riff, every solo, every moment when his guitar voice soared above the chaos and said, “SHOCK ME… ACK!” Rest in riffs, Spaceman! Your journey through the cosmos continues, and your music will echo forever. ⚡️🤘❤️🤘⚡️ -The Metal community Photos by :Aimee Chiofalo
