Rock listeners were receiving their first taste of what heavy music was meant to sound like at the start of the 1970s. Even while The Rolling Stones and The Doors began to create sound frameworks that were far more avant-garde than what listeners had become used to. It took bands like Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin to steer rock in a new path. They wrote tunes that were far thicker than most people imagined. While America would reply in kind, Steven Tyler’s relationship with his American peers was not quite pleasant.
Tyler was already writing songs that were too similar to his heroes before Aerosmith had got off the ground. Critics dragged Aerosmith through the dirt in the band’s early reviews because of their obvious parallels to The Rolling Stones. It was with Tyler and guitarist Joe Perry serving as an American proxy for Mick Jagger and Keith Richards.
While Tyler was unafraid to flaunt his inspirations, another New York band was attempting to alter the theatricality of rock & roll. Kiss turned rock & roll into a spectacle the first time they touched the stage. They did so putting as much emphasis on their stage effects as they did on their musical ability.
Even though the bands crossed paths on the touring circuit, Tyler’s relationship with the band quickly soured. According to the vocalist, the cause of the split was due to a quarrel among the personnel backstage. He claimed, “I remember when we went out with Kiss in ’76 or something.” “I hated them ever since one of our roadies got into a knife fight with their guys.”
Despite their characteristics, both bands share many commonalities. Many Kiss and Aerosmith deep cuts, both developed during the golden age of rock and roll. They followed a similar template, with Steven Tyler and Perry functioning from a little more bluesy base than Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley.
Both groups were also able to change their sound along the road. Kiss and Aerosmith were both recognized as senior statesmen of the genre by the time the 1970s gave way to the hair bands of the 1980s. They gave songs like ‘Lick It Up‘ and ‘Love in an Elevator‘ respectively reaching high points during the decade.
Even though both bands avoided each other during the event, Steven Tyler didn’t appear to change his mind about how he felt about their performance. He labeled them “[a] comic book rock band [with] spackled faces [and] a couple of hits.”
Regardless of Tyler’s criticisms, Perry has remained close with the members of KISS. He even showed up during one of their shows wearing Simmons’ signature dragon boots to play the song ‘Strutter‘. However, Perry subsequently confessed that the contrasts between the two bands are night and day when they hit the stage. He stated, “It’s two different animals.” [Kiss] chose the theatrical route and used rock ‘n’ roll as a type of soundtrack, but for Aerosmith, the music is our show.”
