Kiss News

By Daniel Eriksson / Gibson.com

On March 15 it�s been forty years since Kiss released their fourth studio album, Destroyer. The album came on the heels of Kiss' breakthrough live album Alive, and it solidified the band's status as one of the biggest rock acts in the world. But that was not the case initially. Many fans were disappointed with the band's new polished sound, feeling they�d lost the raw spontaneity of their first three releases.

Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Peter Criss, and Ace Frehley enlisted the help of Canadian producer Bob Ezrin to help out in the writing and recording of Destroyer. Ezrin played an integral part in shaping their song ideas in to rock classics, as well as instilling a work ethic that Paul and Gene in particular has held on to for their entire career.

�The thing I always loved about Destroyer is it pushed the envelope and pushed the parameters of what we could do. It pushed us to the limit and yet everything stayed true to us because it was all comfortable, there was nothing forced or contrived,� Stanley said in Kiss' authorized biography Kiss: Behind The Mask (p. 114).

Ezrin share writing credits on eight of the album�s ten songs. Bringing Ezrin on board helped push the band members to new levels both as musicians and songwriters. �Every one of them were punching above their weight class on Destroyer. This was really a huge leap forward for all of them. Gene's bass playing was so impressive on Destroyer; it was really reaching beyond what he had ever played before. And he practiced and practiced. And Ace's guitar playing was so much more controlled and lyrical. And Paul's [guitar playing] too -- you know, I think Paul always had a lyrical style, he just didn't have as much of an outlet in some of the older stuff. Paul's vocals - I think he grew up as a singer at the moment we were doing Destroyer, said Ezrin during an interview with KissFAQ.

Destroyer contain some of Kiss� biggest songs and live favorites. The Stanley-penned but Simmons-sung �God of Thunder� is certainly the one song I wait for every time I go to a Kiss show! An anecdote about that song is that the kids you hear in the intro are actually Ezrin�s sons.

Ezrin was able to experiment quite a bit in the studio, helping the band create some of their most ambitious songs ever, like for example �Great Expectations.� The song, which Gene Simmons says was written on bass, uses orchestrations borrowed from Beethoven, and a children�s choir (the Brooklyn Boys Choir).

Looking back at Destroyer�s track list you automatically assume that songs like �Detroit Rock City,� and �Shout it Out Loud� were monster hits, but that was actually not the case. Destroyer did reach gold status just a month after its release, buoyed by the success of Alive, but it quickly lost ground after that. But as most of you already know, that would quickly change once radio stations picked up on the b-side to �Detroit Rock City� � �Beth.� The song, which was recorded with drummer Peter Criss on vocals, became the band�s first Top 10 hit in the US.

Bob Ezrin would use guitarist Dick Wagner as a backup during the recording sessions if Ace Frehley wasn�t around at the moment, and Wagner ultimately ended up playing the guitar solo on the song �Sweet Pain.� It was decisions like this that didn�t sit too well with the band�s hardcore fans. But when Ezrin remixed the album for the 35 year anniversary edition he actually came across Ace's solo and put it on the new release. Frehley talked about what he learned from the Destroyer sessions in Kiss: Behind The Mask (p. 69): �The production of the music called for me to play in a more restrained way, but I learned a lot from Ezrin. I didn�t feel restrained at all doing that record, and I think it was some of the best playing I�ve ever done.�

Destroyer ultimately helped Kiss break in to the main stream and broaden their fan base, allowing them to tour Europe for the first time. It�s a very ambitious recording that, even though it might not be solid all the way through, showed that Paul, Gene, Ace, and Peter weren�t afraid to try new things instead of just sticking to the basic formula of their first three studio albums. Besides, who can argue with classics like �Detroit Rock City,� �God of Thunder,� and �Shout it Out Loud?�

Do you remember?

As rock masterpiece turns 40, original lineup looks back with producer Bob Ezrin

By Kory Grow / Rolling Stone

When Paul Stanley thinks about Destroyer, Kiss' high-concept fourth album, turning 40, the only word he can summon at first is "unbelievable." "It's stunning," the singer-guitarist tells Rolling Stone. And then he regains his humor. "To think that it was 40 years ago is absolutely mindboggling. Because I'm only 40 now."

"It seems like yesterday," drummer Peter Criss says. "I do believe, personally, that album was Kiss's 'Stairway to Heaven.' Let me overstep my bounds [laughs]. But I do believe it was our 'wow' album."

From the opening scene-setting radio broadcast foretelling a Kiss fan's death before the anthemic "Detroit Rock City" to the album's big-beat closer, "Do You Love Me?", and impressionistic, avant-garde hidden track "Rock and Roll Party," Destroyer proved that Kiss were more than costumed headbangers. It presented a wide swath of emotions, from the moving mega-ballad "Beth," which won the People's Choice Award that year, to the boot-stomping, blood-spitting "God of Thunder" to the R&B rave-up "Shout It Out Loud," all of which became concert staples for the group. And even though the fantastical sleeve art presented the group, which also included vocalist-bassist Gene Simmons and guitarist Ace Frehley, as a jaunty foursome on a Wizard of Oz�styled journey of destruction, the songs proved they reveled in positivity. It was a turning point.

The group recorded the LP in a couple of sessions with producer Bob Ezrin, whose prior credits at that time included smash records by Alice Cooper, Lou Reed and Aerosmith. "We had done three albums, all that sold far less than what we expected," Stanley says. "Then our manager, Bill Aucoin, gave us the idea of creating a sonic souvenir, almost like something you would bring home from the circus, a memento that captured what you had experienced. That became [1975's] Alive! Finally, we'd had a hit. Bill said, 'You could easily go back to where you were if we don't come up with something that really ups the ante.' He suggested we work with Bob Ezrin."

The producer pushed the group to new heights, and helped them craft their commercial breakthrough. Although Alive! was the group's first gold record, Destroyer was its first to sell a million copies in less than a year. It's since been certified double-platinum.

To celebrate the legacy of the record, Rolling Stone spoke with Kiss' four original members, as well as Ezrin and cover illustrator Ken Kelly.

"It's a cinematic album," Stanley says. "It's an album that takes what was the norm and turns it into IMAX. The screen suddenly widened and what we were doing had such atmosphere."

CLICK HERE to read the rest of the story.

On this day in KISSTORY - March 15, 2012, KISS attended the Grand Opening of the KISS by Monster Mini Golf in Las Vegas .

Report from Vegas News:

Do any KISS fans remember around the end of January a hockey team called the Huntsville Havoc were having an auction for some special KISS themed hockey jerseys? Well I contacted them and it turns out they were also selling customized jerseys! So here's mine with my last name on it and the number ten (my birthday is Oct 10 or 10/10).

John Erigo

KISS will return to the Cheyenne Frontiers Days in Cheyenne, Wyoming on July 29th!

CLICK HERE to buy tickets now!

KISS IS EVERYWHERE!

Thanks to Jim Neff for sending the strip to us!

We'll shout it out loud, FanFave's new KISS foam signs ROCK!

CLICK HERE to order the KISS Sign now!

Don't miss out on what's sure to be an exciting 2016 season! Make sure to purchase your season tickets and check out our exclusive season ticket holder amenities!

CLICK HERE to purchase Season Tickets now!

Gene Simmons -- yeah, the tongue wagging guitarist from the band KISS -- is opening a restaurant in sleepy Dallas suburb The Colony. His buddy Paul Stanley is in on the deal, too. The two are the rock, and, alright, the roll, in restaurant chain Rock and Brews. 

It's the first free-standing Rock and Brews in Texas and debuts Monday, March 14. You'll find it nestled near the behemoth Nebraska Furniture Mart, down the street from the under-construction Toyota headquarters, and only a few thousand feet from the nearest McMansion. The Colony doesn't exactly scream glam rock like its famous KISS counterparts do. But the restaurant is hip.

Now I know what you're thinking: There's already a music-inspired restaurant with wings and burgers; it's called Hard Rock Cafe. Tell that to Simmons -- well, I politely did -- and he shrugs off the idea. 

"Respectfully, the best thing you can do when you're running a race," he says, is to "not see who else is running behind you." And while Hard Rock Cafes have launched hundreds of restaurants in places like Austria, Norway, Egypt, Fiji and Indonesia, Rock and Brews is only in North America and touches a mere seven states so far. Its partners -- a host of real estate and chain restaurant guys, beyond Simmons and Stanley -- seem content to multiply without exploding like a ball of fire at a KISS concert.

The kitchen staff makes its own pizza dough and salad dressings; they pickle the onions in-house and make veggie burgers from scratch. CEO Michael Zislis is quick to say the menu of tacos, sandwiches, pizzas and fried stuff is driven by a made-from-scratch mentality.