DESTROYER
ALBUM DIVE
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Released March 15, 1976, DESTROYER, the “iconic and mysterious” 4th studio album by KISS, was the first studio release after their breakthrough double live album ALIVE!, which chronicled their first 3 studio albums in a live concert setting and really brought the power and spectacle of the live KISS concert experience of the mid 1970’s to the masses.
Paul Stanley vocals, rhythm guitar
Gene Simmons vocals, bass
Peter Criss drums, vocals
Ace Frehley lead guitar, backing vocals
Side one
1 Detroit Rock City
2 King of the Night Time World
3 God of Thunder
4 Great Expectations
Side two
5 Flaming Youth
6 Sweet Pain
7 Shout It Out Loud
8 Beth
9 Do You Love Me
10 Rock and Roll Party
Released 3/15/1976
Label Casablanca
Producer Bob Ezrin
Getting winded from tying your shoelaces is “the saddest thing about getting older” after coming to grips with the glaring realization that KISS just isn’t quite as awesome at middle age as it was upon hearing it for the first time in early childhood. But having said that, KISS was most definitely one hell of an exciting place to start one’s journey into the realm of metal.
We’re going to ask that you go ahead and lower any “Great Expectations” you may have had for this episode, because only a “fly by the seat of our balls kinda podcast” such as ours would dare to take on something like this.
Get ready for a “sobering moment”, remember that “Iconic” is the word of the episode, find out which Slayer album included “Fluoride Westone”, discover “how many people it takes to make KISS sound good”, and remember that “it’s nothing but 7’s” when you JOIN US for some “Rock and Roll Spiderman” as we embark on our trip through CHRONICLES II with PART I: the 4th studio album by “the hottest band in the land”, DESTROYER.
“In fairness, I guess if they didn’t have the make-up, what would they have? A different career?”
DETROIT ROCK CITY
The sound of a busy diner, the dishwasher clanging around dishes and silverware while the local news reports a story about a driver who was killed in a head on collision before moving on to other news.
One of the most iconic riffs in all of rock and metal. We’ll say “metal”, because in the mid to late 70’s, this was probably the closest thing to identify as metal.
“First I drink, then I smoke…”
One of the finest and most iconic twin guitar harmony solos in KISStory. Whether you like KISS or not, you have to appreciate the Iron Maiden, Thin Lizzy twin guitar vibe in this song that has since become a staple in all subgenres of heavy metal.
“I’ve got to laugh ‘cos I know I’m gonna die…WHY?”
KING OF THE NIGHT TIME WORLD
From the wreckage that closed out Detroit Rock City comes the 2nd track. Hearing these 2 songs back-to-back always brings back memories of ALIVE II that they released in 1977 (with side 4 made up exclusively of newly recorded, newly released studio tracks).
GOD OF THUNDER
“Okay…”
Okay, so the general rule (it would seem) for any artist (especially a band like KISS who were considered controversial during the 1970’s) is that adding the sound of children’s voices helps to make any song sound exponentially creepier.
The funny thing about this song is that Paul Stanley wrote it to prove that he could write a Gene Simmons song, and it actually sounds like a Gene song. It’s heavy, it’s creepy, and the sound effects are as unsettling and off-putting as the diabolical nonsense that kid in the background is chanting.
GREAT EXPECTATIONS
Go ahead and lower your expectations. This song is more than a bit cringey compared to the first 3 tracks on Destroyer. There are anthemic moments to it, especially in the chorus, but this really sounds like it would be more fitting on Gene’s solo album from 1978…especially with the myriad of overtly sexual, double entendre implications about what his “mouth, fingers, and hands” can do.
FLAMING YOUTH
Definitely a rock n roll anthem for disenfranchised youth, done in a way that only KISS can do. An exceptional palette cleanser after being forced to ponder exactly what Gene’s “mouth, fingers, and hands” can do.
SWEET PAIN
A strange concept for a kid to try and wrap their tender, uncorrupted minds around, since, as kids, “love” was understood as something that only family provided. The sexual component of “love” was not understood at all and was nowhere in the equation, especially BDSM!
SHOUT IT OUT LOUD
Once again, a huge KISS anthem, and once again, the ALIVE II version of this is infinitely better.
(Also, this is track 7, for anyone who’s keeping track or is just really into 7’s.)
Perhaps our appreciation of KISS would have been much greater had we seen them live in concert during their peak in the mid to late 70’s.
That’s the one thing about KISS: their studio albums don’t really capture the spirit of them as a band and the power of their show like their concert albums (and live performances) do.
“You’ve got to have a party…
Turn it up louder!”
BETH
Super strange that this would have even been included on the album as it doesn’t really seem like a KISS song at all, relative to their earlier output. But then again, Nothing Else Matters sure as hell didn’t seem like a Metallica song relative to their earlier output either. Perhaps that’s how you “diversify your target demographic”, which in this case translates to getting the ladies interested in KISS.
DO YOU LOVE ME?
In some ways, this might be the heaviest Paul Stanley song on the album. A tale about rock and roll groupies who “love” everything that goes along with a rock star except the actual person that IS the actual rock star. Maybe the guys in KISS were deeper in their emotions than we give them credit for. They’re not just pieces of meat; they want to be appreciated.
ROCK AND ROLL PARTY
The weird “hidden track” back at the end of the album before hidden tracks became commonplace in the 90’s at the end of CDs.
It sounds like the inside of an arena during a KISS concert where a super twanglified fan is teetering on the verge of blacking out. If you listen closely, it sounds like bits of “Great Expectations” mixed in with some of the audience noise and Paul’s stage banter from KISS ALIVE!
Can YOU make out what’s being said?
“We gonna have ourselves, a rock and roll party…”
(Actually, this sounds like the banter from the tail end of Deuce on Alive!).
Show Notes:
(00:01): “I have a list of what we’ve done…”/ #SlayerOfTheEpisode / “For our April Fools Day episode…“Everything that sucks about R.E.M.”/ “Staaaaaaaahhhhhhhp! Shut uhhhhhhhp!”/ #REMSucksASMR / “Sobering moment…”/ #Harold / “Let’s do…the things and the stuff…” / #BBQASMR / #LimpBrisket / “You’ve gotta let it rest for like an hour…”/ “Sleeping bag…with a “tent over it…” / “Next time I go out on a date, I’m gonna ask a girl if I can put my steak in her sleeping bag…” / #Whoops / ***WARNING: #listenerdiscretionisadvised *** / ***”This show contains mushrooms, alcohol, and retardation…”***
(05:36): ***WELCOME BACK TO THE METAL NERDERY AVERAGE DOUBLE TEAM PODCAST!!!*** / “That’s the saddest thing about getting older…”/ “And frankly…tiresome.” / ***PATREON US at www.patreon.com/metalnerderypodcast ***/
#PatreonShoutout #MetalNerderyPatreon / “It’s a life hack…if you need puss, you put that shirt on…” / GET YOUR MERCH AT metalnerdery.com/merch / ***VOICEMAIL US AT 980-666-8182!!!*** / #KenFromConnecticut and some comments regarding #Mastodon and #Ozzy / #WellPlayYourShittah / “We’re a fly by the seat of our balls kinda podcast…”/ The laziest tattoo choice / #Turnstile HOLIDAY / “This would have been good for the next episode…”
(14:49): “Barbecued or fried? There’s a big difference…” / #PsychicSlayerOfTheEpisode / #markthetime / #Slayer AT DAWN THEY SLEEP (Hell Awaits – 1985) / “7’s…it’s 7’s…nothing but 7’s…”/ “Flouride Westone? Is it Chemical Warfare, maybe? / “To be fair…it’s been about an hour…” / “We should probably go ahead and admit: this is a Chronicle event…”
(18:13): #TheDocket METAL NERDERY PODCAST PRESENTS: KISS – DESTROYER / (***NOTE: We actually did a KISS Inside The Metal on our first Chronicles episode a few years back…***) / “I remember all the cool kids at school had this…” / Released March 15, 1976 / “There must be something about producers named Bob…”/ #BobSeven /
“It’s iconic looking and mysterious…this was like ‘Pre-metal’…”/ “Their show is a big part of what metal is now…”/ “When we were kids, that was probably the closest thing (to metal)…” / DETROIT ROCK CITY / “They’re at the #WaffleHouse…”/ “Alive! Too, btw (NOT AliveII)” / “That’s an iconic riff…”/
(29:15): “Oh yeah, it ends with a crash…”/ KING OF THE NIGHT TIME WORLD /
“I’m sorry, it’s so hard not to hear Al Gore when he sings…” / GOD OF THUNDER / #KingVolumeRecords (“When the drummer brings a riff to practice…” – you can find it on #Instagram) / #TheSDRShow #GaSDigital #GeneSimmonsFromKISS #MichaelJacksonJokes / GREAT EXPECTATIONS (“Just lower ‘em…way down…”) / “See what his mouth can do (and his fingers…and his hands…) / “It’s like a bad version of The Beatles…” / “You guys go on and on about how good #KISS is…” / “No, I talk about their stage show and I thought they were cool…I had the lunchbox, y’know…”
(37:30): FLAMING YOUTH / “Think about how many people LOVE this band though…”/
#ReMasked / SWEET PAIN / “It’s definitely 70’s…” / “In fairness, I guess if they didn’t have the make-up, what would they have? A different career?” / “Yeah…”/ SHOUT IT OUT LOUD / “I think I understand now why it was only appealing to me as a 6-year-old…”/ “The next song is probably the best song they ever wrote…”/ BETH / “That’s how many people it takes to make KISS sound good…” / DO YOU LOVE ME? / “This is what you wanted…I wanted the best…you got the best…” / “It’s instrumental…that’s why it’s better…”/ “I’m sure they’re WAY better live…” / “They were Rock ‘n’ Roll Spiderman”/ NOTE: Beth was the B-Side to Detroit Rock City, not Shout It Out Loud / “As a kid, it worked.” / THANK YOU FOR JOINING US!!! / #untilthenext #outroreel #ChroniclesII