I'm not much of a fan of the current incarnation but the original band (with whatever session guys they used, not unlike almost every other band in existence at the time) was a fun rock band who wrote some good, catchy songs and were better than their detractors argued and not as groundbreaking as their religious devotees would insist. I was a huge fan from about the age of 11 to 18 and have seen them tons of times over the years. The reunion tour brought back all the fun for a little while as well.
Gene's bombastic belief in himself and the band probably says more about his upbringing than being about anything KISS ever did, and the chip on Paul's shoulder was probably there long before he ever met Gene (growing up with a deformity can do that to some) but KISS has always done best when they stayed true to what they were right from the beginning: 4 guys who wanted to rock, have fun, and get laid, rather than have some normal job. Their pissing off half the musical world while being wildly successful in their longevity has always been a source of humor for lots of their fans who, like the band itself, try not to take it all so seriously most of the time.
And I not only bought The Elder (disappointing as it was) but I saw them at ABC Studios in Hollywood when they performed three songs from the album on Fridays. To this day that's the loudest in studio experience I've ever had.
