1976 studio album by Kiss
Destroyer
is the fourth studio album by American
hard rock
band
Kiss
, released on March 15, 1976, by
Casablanca Records
in the US. It was the third successive Kiss album to reach the top 40 in the US, as well as the first to chart in
Germany
and
New Zealand
. The album was certified gold by the
RIAA
on April 22, 1976, and platinum on November 11 of the same year, the first Kiss album to achieve platinum.
[1]
The album marked a departure from the raw sound of the band's first three albums.
Background
[
edit
]
After attaining modest commercial success with their first three studio albums, Kiss achieved a commercial breakthrough with the 1975 concert album
Alive!
It was the first album by the band to be certified gold.
[2]
The success of
Alive!
, which spent 110 weeks on the charts, benefited not only the struggling band but also their cash-strapped label
Casablanca Records
.
[3]
[4]
Kiss signed a new contract with Casablanca in late 1975, partly because the label had been very supportive from the start of the band's career. The contract was for two albums, an indication that Casablanca was unsure if the group could duplicate the accomplishments of
Alive!
[5]
Songwriting and recording
[
edit
]
"Beth" marked a musical departure for Kiss, with its heavy use of an orchestral section. The song became a No. 7 hit for the group.
This song, with its call-and-response verses and anthemic chorus, is typical of the hard rock songs on
Destroyer
.
Rehearsals for
Destroyer
began in August 1975, while the group was embarked on their supporting tour for
Alive!
Bob Ezrin
, who had previously worked with
Alice Cooper
, was brought in to produce the album. The band felt that Ezrin was the right person to help them take their sound to the next level and to maintain the commercial success they had achieved with
Alive!
[6]
Before meeting with Ezrin, the band had written and recorded a 15-song demo in the Magna Graphics Studio in August 1975. The first
demo
recorded during the
Destroyer
sessions was "Ain't None of Your Business"
[7]
featuring
Peter Criss
on vocals. The plodding, heavy song, written by
country
songwriters Becky Hobbs and Lew Anderson, was rejected by the band and later appeared on the 1977 debut album by
Michael Des Barres
' band
Detective
. Although this song was rejected, other outside songs and suggestions were accepted by the band. In particular,
Kim Fowley
and Mark Anthony became important contributors during the songwriting process.,
[8]
bringing in the title and basic structure of the song "King of the Night Time World" from their previous band Hollywood Stars' then-unreleased 1974 album
Shine Like a Radio
(which also featured the original version of the Alice Cooper song "Escape" from
Welcome to My Nightmare
).
[9]
Ezrin flat out rejected most of the material, as only heavily re-worked versions of "God of Thunder" and "Detroit Rock City" made it to the album, and one song "Mad Dog" was pilfered for lyrics to "Sweet Pain" and a riff for "Flaming Youth". Other songs from this demo were re-worked for the following album
Rock and Roll Over
and
Gene Simmons
'
1978 solo album
while others remained unreleased until the 2021 release
[10]
of
Destroyer
as a 2CD set and Super Deluxe box set.
[11]
The first recording sessions for the album took place on September 3?6, 1975 at
Electric Lady Studios
in
New York City
, during a brief break between the
Dressed to Kill
and
Alive!
tours. The basic album tracks were recorded during this time.
[12]
The majority of the recording sessions for
Destroyer
took place in January 1976, after the conclusion of the
Alive!
tour.
[13]
Ezrin introduced to Kiss sound effects, strings, screaming children, reversed drums (on "God of Thunder") and a children's choir. The song "Great Expectations" uses the first phrase of the main theme from the second movement of
Beethoven
's
Piano Sonata No. 8 in C minor, Op. 13
(known as
Sonata Pathetique
), but the songwriting is credited to Simmons and Ezrin.
During the recording sessions, Ezrin resorted to numerous tactics designed to increase the quality of music Kiss recorded. Because none of the group were trained musicians, Ezrin halted the sessions at one point to provide lessons in basic
music theory
.
[14]
To instill a sense of discipline, he wore a whistle around his neck and exhorted the band with sayings such as, "Campers, we're going to work!"
[15]
When Simmons stopped playing during the recording of an
outro
, Ezrin yelled at him, saying, "Don't you ever stop a take unless I tell you!"
[16]
Paul Stanley
later compared the experience of working with Ezrin as "musical
boot camp
" but said that the group "came out a lot smarter for it."
[17]
Simmons echoed the sentiment by stating, "It was exactly what we needed at the time."
[18]
Destroyer
is the first Kiss album to prominently feature outside musicians, such as members of the
New York Philharmonic
. One musician not credited was
Dick Wagner
, from Alice Cooper's band, replacing
Ace Frehley
on the track "Sweet Pain". Wagner also played the acoustic guitar found on the song "Beth".
[19]
The success of
Alive!
and
Destroyer
enabled the band to embark on their first tour of
Europe
.
Artwork
[
edit
]
The cover art for
Destroyer
was painted by fantasy artist
Ken Kelly
. Kelly was invited to a show and given a
backstage pass
. He said of the performance, "It blew me away."
[20]
Kelly was later commissioned by the band to draw the cover for 1977's
Love Gun
.
Kelly's original version of the album cover was rejected by the record company because they felt the scene was too violent looking with the rubble and flames. Also, the original version had the members of Kiss wearing the
Alive!
costumes. The front cover shows the group striding on top of a pile of rubble, and a desolate background spotted with destroyed buildings, some of which are engulfed in flames. The back cover shows a similar scene, but with more buildings on fire. The front of the inner sleeve featured a large Kiss logo and the lyrics to "Detroit Rock City". The other side displayed the lyric "Shout it out loud", as well as an advertisement for the
Kiss Army
fan club.
Reception
[
edit
]
Destroyer
sold well upon its release on March 15, 1976, and was certified gold on April 22. Although exact sales figures are not known, Stanley stated that the album initially sold 850,000 copies in the US, well over any of Kiss's first three studio albums.
[29]
After peaking at No. 11 on the
Billboard
200
album chart on May 15,
Destroyer
quickly fell and by August was at No. 192.
[30]
The first three singles?"Shout It Out Loud", "Flaming Youth" and "Detroit Rock City"?failed to ignite sales any further, though "Shout It Out Loud" did give the band their first No. 1 record, in Canada. The band and Ezrin cited fan backlash as the reason
Destroyer
did not meet sales expectations. Ezrin also stated that the "grassroots rock press" was particularly critical of the album.
[29]
Rolling Stone
referred to "bloated ballads", "pedestrian drumming" and "lackluster performances" in its review.
[31]
Robert Christgau
, writing in
The Village Voice
, felt that it was Kiss's "least interesting record" and criticized producer Ezrin for adding "only bombast and melodrama".
[28]
It was not until radio stations started playing the
B-side
of the "Detroit Rock City" single "
Beth
", that the album started to sell as expected. The ballad, which according to Simmons was deliberately put on the B-side to force stations to play "Detroit Rock City", started receiving numerous listener requests and became an unexpected hit. "Beth" (co-written and sung by Peter Criss) was re-released as the fourth single in late August, and it peaked at No. 7 on the
Billboard
Hot 100
singles chart on September 25. It was the group's first Top 10 song in the US and reignited sales of the album.
On November 11, 1976
Destroyer
became the first Kiss album to be certified platinum.
[32]
The album was re-certified at the double platinum level on September 9, 2011 and is the band's best selling in the post-1991 Soundscan era, selling 726,000 copies in the United States from 1991 to March 4, 2012.
[33]
The album has received recognition in later years. In 1989,
Kerrang!
magazine listed the album at No. 36 among the "100 Greatest Heavy Metal Albums of All Time".
[34]
In
The Rolling Stone Album Guide
(2004),
Rob Sheffield
referred to
Destroyer
as "the inevitable arty concept album, from the drink-smoke-drive-die saga 'Detroit Rock City' to the touching 'Do You Love Me?'".
[26]
The album was also featured in
1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die
.
[35]
In 2006, it was placed at No. 60 on
Guitar World
magazine's list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Albums of All Time.
[36]
Greg Prato of
AllMusic
described
Destroyer
as "one of Kiss' most experimental studio albums, but also one of their strongest and most interesting."
[21]
Pitchfork
's Jason Josephes said that it is "easily one of the best albums in the Kiss canon" and credited Ezrin for ushering along "even more of an art/hard rock album than Kiss's previous efforts."
[25]
Canadian journalist
Martin Popoff
, described
Destroyer
as a "no party album, looming darkly, ponderous, almost haunting at times, basically uncommunicative and puzzling due to its stylistic over-extension" and judged it a "success of early no-chops metal".
[23]
In 2012,
Rolling Stone
ranked it at No. 489 on its list of
the 500 greatest albums of all time
, calling it "a ridiculously over-the-top party-rock album that just gets better with age".
[37]
Destroyer: Resurrected
[
edit
]
In anticipation of the 35th anniversary of the release of
Destroyer
, producer Bob Ezrin approached Simmons and Stanley about doing a remix and re-release of the original album. With their approval, Ezrin acquired digital copies of the original 16-track analog master tapes. In addition to re-equalizing elements of each song, Ezrin also added in some parts of tracks that had been omitted from the original mix. These include some additional vocals on "Detroit Rock City" and "Beth", and the substitution of a guitar solo by Frehley on "Sweet Pain" for the one from the original that had been performed by Wagner (a version of "Sweet Pain" with Frehley's solo was included as track 6, while the original version with Wagner's solo is appended as a "bonus" track at the end of the new CD).
[38]
Ezrin also used digital manipulation to fix an incorrect lyric (changing "down 95" to "doin' 95") on "Detroit Rock City". The resulting album, titled
Destroyer: Resurrected
, was released on August 21, 2012.
[39]
It featured Ken Kelly's original cover artwork before alteration by Casablanca for the 1976 release.
Destroyer: Resurrected
met with mixed critical reception. William Clark of
Guitar International
wrote: "Each track sounds crisper, clearer and louder, which are always welcome qualities when you're listening to a classic album of the likes of
Destroyer
".
[40]
However,
Circus
magazine in a joint review with
Aerosmith
's contemporary release of
Rocks
praised
Rocks
while stating that
Destroyer
"stinks." The album returned to the Billboard charts, debuting at No. 11 the week after its re-release. In 2019, the record was released in orange translucent vinyl, retailed exclusively by
Walmart
in the U.S..
Track listing
[
edit
]
Original release
[
edit
]
All credits adapted from the original releases.
[41]
[42]
[43]
Side two
Title
| Writer(s)
| Lead vocals
|
---|
5.
| "
Flaming Youth
"
| Ace Frehley
, Paul Stanley,
Gene Simmons, Bob Ezrin
| Paul Stanley
| 2:59
|
---|
6.
| "Sweet Pain"
| Gene Simmons
| Gene Simmons
| 3:20
|
---|
7.
| "
Shout It Out Loud
"
| Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Bob Ezrin
| Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons
| 2:49
|
---|
8.
| "
Beth
"
| Peter Criss
, Stan Penridge, Bob Ezrin
| Peter Criss
| 2:45
|
---|
9.
| "Do You Love Me?"
| Paul Stanley, Kim Fowley, Bob Ezrin
| Paul Stanley
| 3:33
|
---|
10.
| "Rock and Roll Party"
| Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Bob Ezrin
| instrumental
| 1:25
|
---|
Total length:
| 34:11
|
---|
- Rock and Roll Party appears a few seconds after "Do You Love Me?" as a
hidden track
on the original vinyl pressing.
[44]
Destroyer: Resurrected
(2012 remix)
[
edit
]
Title
| Writer(s)
| Lead vocals
|
---|
1.
| "Detroit Rock City"
| Paul Stanley
,
Bob Ezrin
| Paul Stanley
| 5:15
|
---|
2.
| "King of the Night Time World"
| Paul Stanley,
Kim Fowley
,
Mark Anthony, Bob Ezrin
| Paul Stanley
| 3:21
|
---|
3.
| "God of Thunder"
| Paul Stanley
| Gene Simmons
| 4:17
|
---|
4.
| "Great Expectations"
| Gene Simmons
, Bob Ezrin
| Gene Simmons
| 4:24
|
---|
5.
| "Flaming Youth"
| Ace Frehley
, Paul Stanley,
Gene Simmons, Bob Ezrin
| Paul Stanley
| 2:59
|
---|
6.
| "Sweet Pain"
| Gene Simmons
| Gene Simmons
| 3:21
|
---|
7.
| "Shout It Out Loud"
| Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Bob Ezrin
| Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons
| 2:51
|
---|
8.
| "Beth"
| Peter Criss
, Stan Penridge, Bob Ezrin
| Peter Criss
| 2:46
|
---|
9.
| "Do You Love Me"
| Paul Stanley, Kim Fowley, Bob Ezrin
| Paul Stanley
| 3:40
|
---|
10.
| "Rock and Roll Party"
| Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Bob Ezrin
| Instrumental
| 1:26
|
---|
11.
| "Sweet Pain"
| Gene Simmons
| Gene Simmons
| 3:18
|
---|
- Rock and Roll Party appears a few seconds after "Do You Love Me?" as a
hidden track
on the original vinyl pressing.
- Sweet Pain (track 6) solo by Ace Frehley, previously unreleased
- Sweet Pain (track 11) - Solo by Dick Wagner, from the original release (omitted from vinyl version)
Personnel
[
edit
]
- Kiss
- Additional musicians
- Production
Charts
[
edit
]
Certifications
[
edit
]
Accolades
[
edit
]
Publication
|
Country
|
Accolade
|
Year
|
Rank
|
Rolling Stone
|
U.S.
|
The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time
[62]
|
2003
|
496
|
Blender
|
U.S.
|
The 100 Greatest American Albums of All Time
[63]
|
2002
|
50
|
Guitar World
|
U.S.
|
The 100 Greatest Guitar Albums of All Time.
[36]
|
2006
|
60
|
Release history
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"American album certifications ? Kiss ? Destroyer"
.
Recording Industry Association of America
.
- ^
Leaf and Sharp,
Behind the Mask
, pp. 67?68.
- ^
Gill,
Kiss Album Focus
, p. 178.
- ^
Lendt,
Kiss and Sell
, pp. 40?41.
- ^
Gill,
Kiss Album Focus
, p. 181.
- ^
Gill,
Kiss Album Focus
, pp. 183?184.
- ^
"Sound file"
(MP3)
.
Kissfaq.com
. Retrieved
June 22,
2022
.
- ^
Gill,
Kiss Album Focus
, pp. 185?189.
- ^
"Shine Like A Radio: The Great Lost 1974 Album | Light In The Attic Records"
. Lightintheattic.net. October 29, 2013. Archived from
the original
on November 23, 2021
. Retrieved
June 13,
2014
.
- ^
"Review: KISS Destroyer 45th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition"
. November 16, 2021.
- ^
Linnaeus, Carl (2014).
Kiss - den osminkade sanningen
. Bokfabriken.
ISBN
978-9-187-30189-6
.
- ^
Gooch and Suhs,
Kiss Alive Forever
, p. 64.
- ^
Gill,
Kiss Album Focus
, p. 185.
- ^
Leaf and Sharp,
Behind the Mask
, pp. 253?254.
- ^
Leaf and Sharp,
Behind the Mask
, p. 255.
- ^
Leaf and Sharp,
Behind the Mask
, p. 256.
- ^
Leaf and Sharp,
Behind the Mask
, p. 252.
- ^
Gill,
Kiss Album Focus
, p. 188.
- ^
Leaf and Sharp,
Behind the Mask
- ^
"Ken Kelly & Kiss"
. Archived from
the original
on September 27, 2007
. Retrieved
August 6,
2007
.
- ^
a
b
Prato, Greg.
"Kiss - Destroyer review"
.
AllMusic
. Retrieved
2022-01-26
.
- ^
[1]
[
dead link
]
- ^
a
b
Popoff, Martin
(October 2003).
The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 1: The Seventies
.
Burlington, Ontario
, Canada:
Collector's Guide Publishing
. p. 162.
ISBN
978-1894959025
.
- ^
Larkin, Colin
(2006).
Encyclopedia of Popular Music
. Vol. 4 (4 ed.).
Muze
. p. 875.
ISBN
0195313739
.
- ^
a
b
"Kiss: Destroyer: Pitchfork Review"
.
pitchforkmedia.com
. Archived from
the original
on February 19, 2003
. Retrieved
August 8,
2011
.
- ^
a
b
Sheffield, Rob
; et al. (2004).
Brackett, Nathan
; Hoard, Christian (eds.).
The New Rolling Stone Album Guide
(4th ed.).
Simon & Schuster
. pp.
460?1
.
ISBN
0-7432-0169-8
.
- ^
Cohen, Jason (1995). "Kiss". In Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig (eds.).
Spin Alternative Record Guide
.
Vintage Books
. p. 212.
ISBN
0-679-75574-8
.
- ^
a
b
Christgau, Robert
(June 14, 1976).
"Christgau's Consumer Guide"
.
The Village Voice
. New York
. Retrieved
May 27,
2013
.
- ^
a
b
Leaf and Sharp,
Behind the Mask
, p. 258.
- ^
Gill,
Kiss Album Focus
, p. 202.
- ^
Milward, John (June 3, 1976).
"
Destroyer
album review"
.
Rolling Stone
. Archived from
the original
on May 27, 2007
. Retrieved
August 9,
2007
.
- ^
Gill,
Kiss Album Focus
, pp. 203?204.
- ^
"KISS Concert History Online - Interviews - Paul Grein"
.
www.kissconcerthistory.com
. Retrieved
2022-10-01
.
- ^
Barton, Geoff
(January 21, 1989). "Kiss 'Destroyer'
".
Kerrang!
. Vol. 222. London: Spotlight Publications Ltd.
- ^
Robert Dimery; Michael Lydon (February 7, 2006).
1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die: Revised and Updated Edition
. Universe.
ISBN
0-7893-1371-5
.
- ^
a
b
"Guitar World's 100 Greatest Guitar Albums Of All Time"
. Rate Your Music. Archived from
the original
on July 15, 2012
. Retrieved
November 11,
2010
.
- ^
"500 Greatest Albums of All Time Rolling Stone's definitive list of the 500 greatest albums of all time"
.
Rolling Stone
. 2012
. Retrieved
August 23,
2019
.
- ^
"Discography ? "Destroyer: Resurrected" (2012)"
. The KissFAQ. Archived from
the original
on October 25, 2012
. Retrieved
September 21,
2013
.
- ^
"KISS' 'Destroyer' Deluxe Edition Set for August 21 Release"
. Ultimate Classic Rock. 2012
. Retrieved
July 8,
2012
.
- ^
"Destroyer: Resurrected Breathing New Fire"
. Guitarinternational.com. Archived from
the original
on September 20, 2012
. Retrieved
September 18,
2012
.
- ^
Kiss
(1976).
Destroyer
(LP Sleeve). Los Angeles, California:
Casablanca Records
. NBLP 7025.
- ^
Kiss
(2012).
Destroyer (Resurrected)
(LP Sleeve). Los Angeles, California:
Casablanca Records
. B0017201-01.
- ^
Kiss
(2021).
Destroyer- 45t Anniversary Edition
(CD Booklet). Santa Monica, California:
Universal Music Enterprises
. 060243818414.
- ^
"
Destroyer
track details"
. Kissfaq.com. Archived from
the original
on July 13, 2011
. Retrieved
September 21,
2013
.
- ^
"The Complete KISS Album Chart Action, 1974?"
. The KISSFAQ
. Retrieved
August 6,
2007
.
- ^
"Top RPM Albums: Issue 4140a"
.
RPM
.
Library and Archives Canada
. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
- ^
Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970?2005
(in Japanese). Roppongi, Tokyo:
Oricon Entertainment
. 2006.
ISBN
4-87131-077-9
.
- ^
"Charts.nz ? Kiss ? Destroyer"
. Hung Medien. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
- ^
"Norwegiancharts.com ? Kiss ? Destroyer"
. Hung Medien. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
- ^
"Swedishcharts.com ? Kiss ? Destroyer"
. Hung Medien. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
- ^
"Official Albums Chart Top 100"
.
Official Charts Company
. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
- ^
"Kiss Chart History (
Billboard
200)"
.
Billboard
. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
- ^
"Ultratop.be ? Kiss ? Destroyer"
(in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
- ^
"Ultratop.be ? Kiss ? Destroyer"
(in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
- ^
"Dutchcharts.nl ? Kiss ? Destroyer"
(in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
- ^
"Offiziellecharts.de ? Kiss ? Destroyer"
(in German).
GfK Entertainment Charts
. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
- ^
"Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100"
.
Official Charts Company
. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
- ^
"Swisscharts.com ? Kiss ? Destroyer"
. Hung Medien. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
- ^
"Kiss Chart History (Top Catalog Albums)"
.
Billboard
.
Retrieved February 20, 2024.
- ^
"Kiss Chart History (Top Tastemaker Albums)"
.
Billboard
. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
- ^
"Recording Industry Association of America ? June 12, 2014"
. RIAA. Archived from
the original
on April 14, 2014
. Retrieved
June 13,
2014
.
- ^
"The RS 500 Greatest Albums of All Time"
.
Rolling Stone
. 2003. Archived from
the original
on January 6, 2007
. Retrieved
August 6,
2007
.
- ^
"100 GREATEST AMERICAN ALBUMS ? KISS #50"
.
Kiss Online
. 2003. Archived from
the original
on October 31, 2007
. Retrieved
August 6,
2007
.
- Bibliography
- Gill, Julian (2005).
The Kiss Album Focus, Volume 1
(3rd ed.). Xlibris Corporation.
ISBN
1-4134-8547-2
.
- Gooch, Curt; Jeff Suhs (2002).
Kiss Alive Forever: The Complete Touring History
. New York: Billboard Books.
ISBN
0-8230-8322-5
.
- Leaf, David; Ken Sharp (2003).
Kiss: Behind the Mask: The Official Authorized Biography
. New York: Warner Books.
ISBN
0-446-53073-5
.
External links
[
edit
]
|
---|
|
Studio albums
| |
---|
1978 solo albums
| |
---|
Live albums
| |
---|
Compilations
| |
---|
Box sets
| |
---|
Video albums
| |
---|
Tribute albums
| |
---|
Concert tours
| |
---|
Films
| |
---|
Merchandising
| |
---|
Related
| Management
| |
---|
Songwriters
| |
---|
Articles
| |
---|
Bands
| |
---|
Albums
| |
---|
|
---|
|