Kiss rocker Gene Simmons has hit out at music critics calling them an “unnecessary life form”.

Speaking to the BBC promoting the band's new album 'Sonic Boom', the 60-year-old expressed dissatisfaction with scathing reviews for past records.

The Demon told them: “We own some very big houses that critics have bought us with their bad reviews.

"Critics are an unnecessary life form. There's a large Kiss cemetery at the back of our houses where we bury them."

Elsewhere in the interview, Simmons said he was proud of the Kiss' latest release 35 years into their career.

"We made Kiss, with our look, all the pyrotechnics of our live show, the epitome of everything we wanted from a band.

"And now here we are 35 years later and I think we've released one of the best records of our career," he said.

Meanwhile, Kiss performed at the Verizon Centre in Washington last night as part of their North American tour.

(by Scott Colothan)