Greta Van Fleet might be one of the names that come into your head when someone mentions Led Zeppelin ‘sounding like’ bands, but, no, this article isn’t about them. [Plus, Robert Plant seems to like them.]
However, when a band decided to ‘imitate’ Zeppelin in the 80s, they weren’t as lucky as Greta Van Fleet since they couldn’t escape Jimmy Page’s harsh words about their music.
The guitarist even openly accused the band in question of ‘ripping off’ Led Zeppelin’s sound, so, let’s get into who these rockers were and whether they succeed in becoming the next Led Zep.
After singer Lenny Wolf got signed into Polydor in mid-80s, he decided to put together a band and collaborate with producer Bob Rock, who’s known for his later works with Bon Jovi.
Wolf and co. called themselves Kingdom Come, a biblical reference, and their debut single, ‘Get It On,’ stirred rumors when radio stations started playing soundbites in 1988. The song, apparently, sounded like Led Zeppelin so much that people speculated that it could be a surprise reunion, under the disguise of another band.
However, that wasn’t the case, and when that fact became clear, the backlash started. ‘Get It On’ received mixed reviews while many critics and fans started dubbing the band as ‘Kingdom Clone.’ Their debut song eventually got into so much trouble that, even Jimmy Page had to get involved and say a few things about Kingdom Come ‘imitating’ their style.
While answering Q Magazine’s questions in 1988, Page was asked about the bands influenced by Led Zep’s sound and whether inspiring others felt like a ‘compliment.’ The guitarist, however, didn’t feel it was much of a compliment, especially when it came to Kingdom Come:
“Obviously it can get to the point where it gets past being a compliment and it can be rather annoying, when you’ve got things like Kingdom Come, actually ripping riffs right off, that’s a different thing altogether.”
After receiving backlash from critics, fans, and Page, the band still carried on as they released their sophomore album ‘In Your Face’ in 1989. Still, that didn’t do much to ease the Led Zeppelin comparisons, as the record suffered commercially.
The band collapsed following a tour to promote their second record, and, with the exception of Wolf, all the band members called it quits. The singer has tried to put together Kingdom Come with new members ever since, as he even released the band’s 13th studio album back in 2013.
