KISS certainly went out with a bang. In 2020, the hard rock band known for its wild live shows outdid themselves with a concert so explosive it set two world records in one go. On New Year’s Eve 2020, KISS appeared in Dubai, the Arab Emirates, for what the group billed as “the largest and most bombastic celebration in our and anyone else’s history” (via SiriusXM). The band known for such outrageous behavior as using their own blood for a comic book — just a bit of the messed-up reality of KISS — didn’t disappoint.

The famously face-painted, spandex-and-leather-wearing band formed in New York in 1973 and began its rise to global fame mostly on the strength of epic live performances that included fire-breathing, smoke machines, and fake blood galore. KISS included pyrotechnics in its shows early on and things only got more elaborate as the years progressed. But that night in Dubai, KISS took it to epic levels that earned the band two spots in the Guinness World Records for highest flame projection and most flame projections at a concert launched at once.

KISS isn’t the only rock act to make it into the Guinness World Records. For instance, Van Halen got in for being the highest paid band for a single performance for receiving $1.5 million to play the U.S. Festival back in 1983, but it seems fitting that KISS’s entries are for something so close to its heart. When KISS started out, the band had a stage persona closer to Glam rockers the New York Dolls, but quickly morphed into something no one had seen before.

Read More!