(Credits: Far Out / Apple Music)
Sat 8 November 2025 18:16, UK
Way back in 1973, when Kiss first slapped on their greasepaint and donned their monochromatic glitter clobber, few could have predicted the commercial juggernaut and touring machine the hard rock monster would balloon to 50 years on.
They were an ambitious bunch. Kiss never hid their goals, chiefly to become rich and famous, and they achieved it in spades. Alongside their rock royalty and comic book get-up, Kiss likely beats any competition hands down in lucrative licensing deals.
The Kiss explosion around the Destroyer era saw the band accept obscenely large cheques for a mountain of merchandise that persists to this day, lunchboxes, bedsheets, Kiss Krunch breakfast cereal, video games, condoms, and even an official ‘Kiss Kasket’ to rest for eternity in the tongue-flicking company of demon bassist Gene Simmons.
Kiss’ creative output similarly reflects a certain pragmatic utility to their quest for stardom. Having floated around the New York music fringes as Wicked Lester to no avail, Simmons and frontman Paul Stanley eyed up the emerging glam scene as a fast track to the charts. Recruiting feline Peter Criss on drums and space man Ace Frehley for lead guitar, Kiss jumped into the world of theatrical spectacle and finally found their route to fame. And boy, it worked, eventually standing as one of the biggest selling artists of all time with over 75 million claimed record sales under their bedevilled belt.
The eternal kerching of cash registers would pull Kiss toward the trends of the day. Following a string of respectable rock escapism, disco would dollop all over 1979’s Dynasty, Music from “The Elder” jumped into fantasy wizardry, masks were off during their hair metal pomp, and a flirtation with grunge would colour 1997’s Carnival of Souls: The Final Sessions, grizzled goatees an’ all.
Be it creative curiosity or bandwagon hopping, Kiss’ myriad incarnations and flavours—as diverse as their official food products—were ultimately always anchored to the power of the riff.
An appreciation for the eclectic way one can wield the coveted riff plays a central role in Kiss’ otherwise practical approach to songcraft, leading their starry-eyed singer to reveal the guitarist he felt embodied such artistic dexterity.
“Jimmy Page, to me, is the consummate guitarist,” Stanley told Guitar World in 2023. “He’s Beethoven. He paints with music in a way that’s just so stellar. And I know there’s a lot of British guitar players that we talk about where people say, ‘Who is better, this guy, or that guy?’ Well, I’ll tell you this – there’s only been one of those players who has been able to spread and work outside of the idea of what he was initially defined as, and that’s Jimmy”.
Most rock roads lead to Led Zeppelin. The archetypal 1970s arena strutter, Page’s brew of exotic influences and dashes of folk mysticism yielded a string of lauded LPs packed with transportive power, pointing to intrepid terrain that Kiss and numerous eager rock devotees would follow. “He’s not rock or metal; he’s true world music that encompasses so much,” Stanley concluded.
“His love of music is palpable; he’s an amazing showman and a consummate all-around lead and rhythm guitar player”.
Related Topics
The Far Out Led Zeppelin Newsletter
All the latest stories about Led Zeppelin from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.