5 Legendary Rock Bands That Wouldn’t Exist Without Kiss
After the death of Kiss guitarist Ace Frehley, members of other rock bands responded with an outpouring of tributes. While many critics initially dismissed Kiss as gimmicky, some people discovered a love of music when they first heard the band. Just as The Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show inspired a new generation of artists, Kiss spurred many to start making music.
Mötley Crüe
At a glance, Kiss’s influence on Mötley Crüe is readily apparent. Just like Kiss, Mötley Crüe wore makeup, platform shoes, and dark hair while performing.
“[When] I grew up, I loved KISS,” Mötley Crüe co-founder Nikki Sixx told Loudwire. “They influenced me as a songwriter. KISS gave Mötley Crüe one of their very first tours. They’ve done a lot of great stuff for me in my life.”
While they have feuded over the years, they also toured together. Sixx said he would always be grateful to Kiss for giving them that opportunity early in their career.
“Kiss and Ozzy (Osbourne) were the two bands that gave us our first shot,” he told Go Upstate. “I look back, and it was a short amount of dates (with Kiss). It was four or six dates, but they gave us our first taste of playing up and down the (West) coast and on big stages. We’ll always remember that. They’re fond memories.”
Pearl Jam
After Frehley’s death, Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready posted a tribute online. He noted that not only did Frehley inspire him to start playing guitar, but he also used the guitar solo on “She” to write “Alive.”
“All my friends have spent untold hours talking about KISS and buying KISS stuff. Ace was a hero of mine and also I would consider a friend. I studied his solos endlessly over the years,” wrote McCready in a statement, adding, “I would not have picked up a guitar without Ace and KISS’s influence. RIP it out Ace, you changed my life. Thank you.”
He noted that the time Frehley joined Pearl Jam onstage was a “dream come true.”
Pantera
Pantera guitarist Dimebag Darrell told Guitar World that Kiss’s music inspired the way he played guitar.
“Man, I get all wound up just talking about Kiss!” he said. “Ace’s vibrato is what really grabbed me, and I always try to apply that to my playing. He could squeeze so much out of a single note that one note could take the place of 12.”
Dimebag got a tattoo on Frehley on his chest and was later buried in a Kiss Kasket donated by Gene Simmons.
Alice in Chains
Alice in Chains’ former lead vocalist, Layne Staley, got his start in a glam metal group. Jerry Cantrell, the co-lead vocalist, said he grew up on bands like Kiss.
“Music was something that was always in our house from a very early age,” Cantrell said, per Rolling Stone. “By that time, I was heavily into rock, like AC/DC and Kiss and all the English metal. And I grew up on bands that wrote good riffs. I just wanted to play guitar, write songs, and I’m proud to have sprung from the community and so many of my friends. Thirty-three years later they are still going, and the heart of the band is intact. And the reasons and the meaning behind why we all do it, where we all come from and what that means, that’s not lost on any of us.”
Rage Against the Machine
Rage Against the Machine’s Tom Morello spoke at Kiss’s induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. In his speech, he said Kiss was his favorite band growing up. He said they made him want to make music.
“Influence? Simply put, Kiss is the band that made me and millions of others love rock and roll,” Morello said. “What Elvis and the Beatles were to previous generations, Kiss were to us. They propelled millions of young people to pick up instruments. Their influence is everywhere.”
Morello believes Kiss has inspired countless artists across genres.
“From Metallica to Lady Gaga, Kiss have inspired thousands of artists of diverse genres, some of whom may be on a Hall of Fame trajectory themselves,” he said. “They’ve been a formative influence on members of Tool, Pearl Jam, Alice In Chains, Slipknot, Garth Brooks, Pantera, Foo Fighters, Motley Crue, Lenny Kravitz, White Zombie, Soundgarden, Nine Inch Nails…and Rage Against The Machine, to name just a few.”
