Kiss – Destroyer (1976)

Yell! Review:

Evil Argento here to interrupt this review, because Destroyer (Resurrected) was released today. You can head on over to the iTunes store if you’re interested in hearing 2012 remixes of the songs and “Sweet Pain” with the original guitar solo. While my colleague here gave Destroyer 3.5 skulls, I’m not sure I would give it more than 2.5. I’m a huge KISS fan, and this is not one of my favorite albums. Maybe it’s too experimental, but I’d rather listen to The Elder, except for a few songs here. Obviously there are classic tracks here, but the rest I could do without. I also interviewed Paul Stanley shortly before Sonic Boom came out (I’d direct you to the interview, but that would lead you to my former employer’s website, and I don’t want to send you there), and when I asked him what his favorite KISS album was, without hesitation he stated, “Destroyer.” So, if you love this album, at least you’re in good company.

Rock Hard \m/

After their breakthrough live album Kiss Alive which made them superstars, Kiss released their best studio album which garnered them equal accolades. Destroyer is Kiss’s most successful studio release and contains many of their greatest songs. Bob Ezrin produced and you see his influence on this album as the band moves from harder rock to more of a pop rock feel that was the genesis of all those hair bands from the ’80s.

Kiss is the epitome of style and flash over substance, but they do it so extremely well that you forget that they put out some good music. The biggest attraction to them for me, as I was only 8 when they achieved their fame, wasn’t all the make-up and platform shoes, but was the simple, catchy, and repetitive lyrics and music lines that grabbed your attention.

The great songs are all here. “King of the Night Time World”, and “Shout It Out Loud” were easy to sing as the chorus was repeated so often. “Beth,” the ultimate rock ballad, was the most popular song off the album and describes what a rock musician goes through when he has to choose between his girl and his band. “Detroit Rock City,” my favourite Kiss song, sings about a fan leaving their concert speeding away in his car high on the buzz who kills himself in an accident. The song relays all the sound effects of the crash for added effect.

Overall, this is their best studio album and should be the one you try out when deciding to listen to the first “over-the-top” make-up and flash pop/rock band from the ’70s that foreshadowed the hair band generation of ’80s.