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
