KISS was the definitive predecessor for heavy metal. Yes, there were others: Deep Purple, Blue Oyster Cult, The New York Dolls, Black Sabbath, etc.,. But KISS made it mainstream, sellable, and popular. One of my favorite bands, I've seen them many times.

And I never get why people argue over music. Music is like food: there's a lot of different varieties but, from filet mignon to Doritos, it all has a role. I love The Who, The Doors, AC/DC, Led Zep, The Beatles, Styx, Garth Brooks, ELO, Kate Bush, Jethro Tull, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Rush, Aerosmith, ABBA, Vivaldi, Celtic Thunder, Metallica, Tori Amos, Wings, Front 242 , Fort Minor, Helloween, John Williams... They all have different roles and different places.

I believe the band you are looking for is Led Zeppelin. KISS was just a hard rock band with Arthur Brown's theatrics.

Really, metal didn't become mainstream until the NWOBHM hit the states.

You get it now. :thumb:

It's a little bigger than that - KISS was part of a small group of Detroit bands that preceded American metal. The MC5, the Stooges, and Alice Cooper all deserve mention as well. The Detroit connection is important because more went into metal than just music. There was a mindset in the Motor City that couldn't be found in New York or Hollywood (look what Hollywood produced on the late 70s and 80s).

On the other side of the Atlantic, Birmingham was the sister city. Starkly industrial, the guys in Black Sabbath and Priest both said the constant pounding of the factories ingrained something in them subconsciously that ultimately came out in their music.

Kiss rocks

His voice was my favorite of the four. That's a great video, too. I was going post it in here but you beat me to it.

Who looks at "Yahoo" these days?

What?
And did you really mean to say THE definitive predecessor?

I think you may be a little confused.

Yeah, that's what drugs do to you.

God, I gotta stop getting loaded and posting on CP...

I view KISS like I do a great popcorn movie,sit down turn off your brain and enjoy the ride.

Again, you're selling them short, Nikki Sixx says their songwriting was a huge influence and the drummer from prog rock (read;highbrow) band Dream Theater says "they were the Beatles of our generation"...

http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment...s-still-scoff/

They were big musical influence on Rivers Cuomo from Weezer...

http://www.weezerpedia.com/wiki/index.php?title=KISS

I've already mentioned how Mike McCready from Pearl Jam is a huge fan and admittedly ripped off Ace Frehley for his solo on "Alive"

They also had crossover appeal with Garth Brooks covering "Hard Luck Woman" at his shows all of the time and even performed it live with KISS.

Scott Ian of Anthrax, for one, says they're just as important as Aerosmith and Led Zeppelin...

http://radio.com/2013/03/19/anthraxs...b-pretty-lame/

And finally, what about this lineup for a cover album, Lenny Kravitz with Stevie Wonder, Maynard James Keenan, Tom Morello, The Mighty Bosstones, Lemonhead, Dinosaur Jr... if their music was worthless pap would these artists have bothered?

When people say "yeah they just influenced stage shows and image"... it just doesn't ring true, of the dozens of rockers I've seen praise KISS, not one of them said "yeah, it was just they hype I bought into, not the music.

Geez...c'mon...

I don't think appearing on a cover album is much evidence of anything, and certainly someone playing a cover of one of your songs doesn't make you Aerosmith, Led Zep, or JFC...the Beatles.

Also, I never said their music is "worthless pap."

I'm sure they were a big influence on Nikki Sixx, but keep in mind that guy has done enough drugs to kill a horse. Motley Crue even used heavy makeup in their early years, and you can definitely see the influence in MC's concerts.

And Zep was just a blues band with electric instruments. You can spin things many ways. I'm not saying KISS was "Mozart meets Beethoven" but they have their place in history.