KISS Retrospective part 5:Destroyer(1976)

With the success of "ALIVE!", KISS were about to enter the mainstream in a big way. Now with a little bit of money, the band joined up with Alice Cooper producer Bob Ezrin. What Ezrin would do in his recording and writing for the band would more than catapult them to superstardom. It also mark the beginning of another trilogy of classic albums before the gigantic "ALIVE II". However, as a whole how well does Destroyer hold up?

     Track List

1. Detroit Rock City- Right away, you can tell KISS are back and bigger with the extended opening of someone cruising down the road right into their definitive opening track. With the callback vocals, Genes awesome bassline and a great melodic yet simple solo, this song has it all. Even as the studio version, the production is done extremely well with  the bass drums and guitar in equal volume and all sounding very full.                              

                 

 2.King Of The Nighttime World- the band launches right into a great pop rock tune. This is another song that sounds absolutely huge and is very catchy. 

3.God Of Thunder- Three for three so far and this is easily one of KISS' best songs bar bone. A heavy groove and Genes wicked dark vocals this one is pure 70s heavy metal! Even the solo has this very dark feel i like and feels very different for anything else theyve done.           

4.Great Expectations-This one never hit me right. Its got alot of an orchestral feel but the vocals feel off and it feels like such a left turn from the rest of the album besides "Beth". It just doesn't me like most of the other songs.

5.Flaming Youth-Another terrific pop rock number that shouldve been a hit. Its got a great uplifting vibe to it and this great pumping old school rock n roll feel.

6.Sweet Pain- This one also felt alittle flat to me as well it just doesnt exactly feel like it goes anywhere. I will say the acoustic guitar additions are a nice tough but it just does't have the power like most of the album has so far.

7.Shout It Out Loud-Another major song for the band. They seriously fire on all cylinders here with such a great chrous with piano giving it some extra depth. Overplayed but also welcome.

8.Beth-This is the mega hit from the album ironically sang by Criss. Its an okay ballad where i feel myself always drawn to the actual orchestration as there is alot of great sounds going on in the background. 

9.Do You Love Me-Personally, this song isnt bad but its not a great closer an album this colossul deserves. Its got a more laid back sleazy vibe to it that i do dig but is not a hard hitting tune. 

Overall, and I know ill get shit for this, I give "Destroyer" a 6.5 out of 10. While the songs that are good on this album are absolutely great, it feels too soft and disjointed to be considered a real rock juggernaut as a whole to me anyways. Regardless, the hits spawned from this album really helped KISS propel themselves even further and later in '76 they would sort of go back to their roots..