Episode Three of Loudwire's "50 Years of Heavy Metal" video series explores the almighty importance of KISS on heavy metal's development, despite what the youth of today may think about the divisive group.

Yes, we do read the comments and we've seen that a lot of you dear Loudwire readers are downright repulsed by the very mention of the band and can't restrain yourself when it comes to weighing in with your thoughts about a band you don't even care about.

To a certain degree, we get it. If you haven't been indoctrinated into the KISS Army by a parent or some other elder family member who was there to witness the band's ascent to superstardom in the '70s, it feels like it was one of those "you just had to be there" type of moments.

Certain public remarks and antics made by the band's constants — Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley — come off as out of touch and crude to the younger generation, who then use these bits as fodder to further mock them.

So, what you need is a reason to respect what they've done, which is our intention here.

KISS are perhaps responsible for inspiring more kids to start a band than any other group in history. The appeal of the band spoke directly to a young audience in the '70s, who saw comic book-like characters walk off the page and onto the stage, in front of never-before-seen groundbreaking concert productions.

Listen, you wouldn't have these gigantic shows you're used to today from bands such as Ghost, Rammstein, Slipknot and so many others. They've got respect for KISS and, for other reasons outlined in the video at the top of the page, you should too.

We're not saying you have to love everything Gene and Paul have done or stand for, but a sense of understanding is desperately lacking in our comments section.

Sorry kids, KISS are important to metal!

50 Years of Heavy Metal - Episode Two: The Truth About Satanism in Metal