Kiss: The rock band that Slash “never clicked with”
Every part of Slash radiates rock n’ roll from the moment he steps onstage. Even though Saul Hudson never liked being the centre of attention, his ability to silence a room with his guitar prowess has been putting modern guitarists to shame for decades. Although Slash is known to be a fan of all kinds of music, not every rock band has gotten his seal of approval.
Then again, Slash has never been a snob when picking the acts he wants to work with. Throughout his time outside of Guns N’ Roses, Slash has turned in time working with Michael Jackson, Carole King, and Nine Inch Nails, all the while delivering solos that perfectly serve the song regardless of the genre clash.
When working on his first scales, though, Slash was indebted to the artists that came before him. Throughout his time working on primary lead lines, what kept the young guitarist going was listening to artists like Aerosmith and Led Zeppelin, taking the sound of a Les Paul and making it sound like the personification of sex, drugs, and rock and roll.
At a time when most guitar players were still concerned with being the next Eddie Van Halen clone, Slash took a different approach, bringing a rootsy flair back into rock n’ roll and making every single hair metal band look like pinups by comparison. Looking at the groups that came before, Slash usually saw pale imitations of what Kiss was doing back in the day.
Years before the Sunset Strip became the centre of the hard rock world, Kiss made some of the most striking rock music on the other side of the country. Looking to put together the perfect rock and roll circus, Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley were determined to make music that could echo through the bowels of an arena, creating soon-to-be anthems on tracks like ‘Detroit Rock City’.
Even though Slash could acknowledge the decent guitar work behind the scenes, he admitted that he was never in love with the music Kiss would play. When talking about his musical upbringing, Slash thought that the over-the-top visuals of their live show were starting to become distracting.
When talking about artists like David Bowie adopting stage personas, Slash would say that he never quite got it with Kiss, telling Revolver, “I never really related to [it] because it was always very animated to me…Although I love Rocky Horror, for bands to sort of put on that whole sort of persona on top of the music, for some reason, it never really clicked with me. So, for me personally, it’s always been pretty stripped down. You know, I never wanted to get real colourful”.
However, that didn’t stop Slash from putting his spin on the traditional rock and roll look. Even though he admits to donning the top hat because he wanted to hide his face from the crowd, the headwear would become his signature look throughout his career, always being seen with his hair in his face and shredding licks without a care in the world. Although Kiss may not have been Slash’s first love, he created a rock and roll persona without even trying.
