I’m not the biggest fan of early Kiss, and I only own Alive and Destroyer. I really like the Vinnie Vincent period as he brought that edge to the band, and those albums resurrected the band’s career. This version is the 45th anniversary reissue with an extra disc of demos and it sounds really good. They have gone to town on this one, and if any of the early Kiss albums deserve that treatment, its Destroyer.
Everything about this album screams comic book hero – especially the cover, and the inclusion of the track God Of Thunder which emphasizes the point. The album opens up with Detroit Rock City – one of Kiss’s best tracks and one of my favourites. King Of The Night Time World is next and Paul and Gene’s knack of writing a catchy hook and chorus is very evident here. God Of Thunder is a very weak track and is all about the image. Great Expectations closes out Side 1 and is another very weak track.
Flaming Youth opens up Side 2 and is not a bad tune with a simple Ace solo. A Gene track follows with Sweet Pain and it’s not a bad tune, again with a nice short and to the point Ace solo. One of the big singles from the record was Shout It Out Loud, and it’s a really good track with the big hook and chorus and a superb melody to the main opening riff – you can’t go wrong with this one. The other big track from the record was surprisingly Beth, not a rocker as you would expect but a ballad and sung by Pete Criss. The album closes out with a typical Kiss bubblegum track, Do You Love Me, with the big sing-a-long take line and it feels very much like a Phil Spector produced track.
The other disc is full of demos and different takes, and if you’re a Kiss fan then you will be in heaven. A word of warning, I am on my third copy as the first two were very noisy pressings.
8/10 from The Grooveman.
