Kiss: Destroyer

When it comes to iconic rock icons, Kiss certainly ranks among the top. With their trademark face paint and eccentric outfits, along with their on-stage use of pyrotechnics, smoking guitars and fake blood, they managed to capture the attention of the world. Of course, the positives always come with the negative, but this isn’t a history lesson about the band, nor about the demonization of rock and metal music. (That is a story in and of itself).

I’ll admit, I haven’t listened to the majority of KISS’s albums. I’ve always enjoyed a number of individual songs such as: “Heaven’s on Fire” and “Rock and Roll All Nite” and of course, “Detroit Rock City”, but never sought out to actually listen to their accompanying albums. I figured if I was going to do so, I’d begin with arguably KISS’s most famous album “Destroyer”.  Now, I wasn’t even born when this album was release, so I won’t’ pretend to understand the setting at the time or the atmosphere of the era, but I do know that “Destroyer” would not only go on to be a worldwide hit, but it would also change the game of hard rock. Whether you love them or hate them, their influence on the hard rock and especially heavy metal world is unparalleled.

Off topic, but many of my favorite horror films are from the 50’s and 60’s. They didn’t relay on FX or modern Hollywood magic (they had the magic available at the time of course) Instead, they relied on good writing and excellent acting. Give me vintage “House on Haunted Hill” of “Invasion or the Body Snatchers” any day! When they needed to convey terror and suspense, it was the actors who were responsible to create those feelings. They put their heart and soul into the writing and acting, which birthed so many classics of that time. So where am I going with this?

Okay, well although I listen to some hard rock from the 60s and 70’s, albeit sporadically, the one comparison I notice with many albums is that the atmosphere of those albums are very similar to the classic horror films. What I mean is that, the Stones, Beatles, Zeppelin, Floyd; they created a certain atmosphere that captured the sound of the time. Sure the music itself is stellar, but you can feel their hearts and souls infused into that music, which is why their albums still hold merit to this day. I mean, there’s a reason why 40-50 years later, kids are still wearing their apparel and rocking out to their albums. (I don’t think today’s top 40 trendy artists' staying power will last 20 years let alone 50.) The first thing I noticed when listening to “Destroyer” was that atmospheric feeling that the album created. I felt as though the album had captured the magic of a live venue and replicated it on the record, without actually having any live components. The essence of their brand of hard rock is on display on “Destroyer” and the essence is exactly why their legacy is still going strong to this day.

The music on “Destroyer” is based on a steady flow of catchy rock riffs, that occasionally carry a groovier sound to them. At times, I sense an almost Black Sabbath influence in the guitar work. The opening of “Detroit Rock City” pretty much sums up the ability to immediately hook the listener. From there, the songs begin to vary from the aforementioned hard rocking opener, to “God of Thunder”, which has a doomier, bluesy sound to its core and “Shout it Out Loud”, which is more melodic in nature. The drums on “Destroyer” are not exactly the bee’s knees, but they don’t have to be. Peter Criss’ work is more than effective to help maintain a steady beat and provide the right amount of energy for the entire album. As for the bass, I was impress with Simmons’ bass right out of the gate on “Detroit Rock City” and it continues throughout the entire album. I’m not sure I really need to get into detail about Gene Simmons’ vocals. Other than being legendary themselves, they are the main attraction on display. The perfect blend of energy, anger, rock n’ roll, but still has the ability to actually sing.  

To say this album is a landmark album of the entire music industry would be selling it short, but it is what it is. If I’m being honest, there are a couple songs that I’m not wild about on this album, but nothing that I think is bad by any means. As I mentioned before, aside from a handful of individual songs, I never actually listened to one of the actually corresponding albums of said songs. I suppose I stacked the deck a bit when I chose “Destroyer” as I knew it’s legacy, but I’m willing to bet when I listen to a few other KISS albums, I’ll begin to further my understating as to why the KISS army has had their boots on the ground for nearly 45 years. This is a no brainer for all hard rock fans, but for metal fans alike. 

Highlights: “Detroit Rock City” “God of Thunder” “Shout it out Loud” “King of the Night Time World”

Rating: 4.5