It's Official: KISS And NIRVANA To Be Inducted Into ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME

KISS and NIRVANA were announced as two of next year's inductees into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. Joining them in the 2014 class of inductees are Peter Gabriel, HALL & OATES, Linda Rondstadt and Cat Stevens, while the E STREET BAND (Bruce Springsteen's backing group) will be given the Award For Musical Excellence.

Those artists will be inducted on April 10 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

Tickets to the event will go on sale in January, and the ceremony will air on HBO in May.

Said KISS' Paul Stanley: "The spirit of rock and roll for me has always meant following the paths I choose regardless of what my critics or my peers think. For 40 years, KISS has built an army that apologizes to no one and I'm honored to be inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame knowing we have remained true to ourselves and our fans."

Added Gene Simmons: "To the KISS Army, Ace, Peter, Eric Carr, Vinnie, Mark, Bruce, Tommy and Eric Singer, Bill Aucoin, Doc McGhee and to my partner of 40 years, the ever-youthful Paul Stanley... and all the members of the KISS family. This honor is for you. 40 years of rockin' and still going strong."

2013 marked the second consecutive year where members of the public were invited to vote alongside the artists, historians and music industry insiders that make up the Hall Of Fame's voting body.

Voting ended on December 10 on RollingStone.com, with the Top Five acts compiled from those votes onto a "fan's ballot" that will count as one of the more than 600 total ballots turned in.

Gene Simmons has often been the first to credit KISS' legions of fans for their success and admits that the love and support the band has been given by their "Kiss Army" remains beyond their wildest imaginations. "KISS fans are beyond anything we ever dared hope for, in terms of fans," he said. "We were gonna be happy with just being able to sell a record and, and doing our music, but to get this kind of loyalty is beyond anything we ever expected."

This year marked the first appearance of NIRVANA on the ballot. NIRVANA was the only act this year to land on the ballot in its first year of eligibility.

KISS was previously nominated in 2010, while DEEP PURPLE got their first chance last year. Both were seen as glaring hard rock omissions equal to that of RUSH, who were finally inducted with the class of 2013 after years of fan outcries.