Kiss is one of the live bands that other acts were absolutely terrified to follow. It wasn’t just that their songs were great; the make-up, overall look of the group, pyrotechnics, and infectious stage presence meant that audiences were hooked the moment they went on stage. There is a reason that people fill their houses with Kiss memorabilia and have followed the band on tour; put simply, they couldn’t get enough.
They open every gig with, “You wanted the best, you got the best,” and subsequently, they had high standards when it came to live shows. As such, any musical outfit they were scared to follow must be a band worth their salt. While there are few outfits Kiss wouldn’t consider themselves capable of going toe-to-toe with, Paul Stanley reflected on the sheer power that Van Halen had in their sound and why bands were terrified of having them open.