KISS - Destroyer: Resurrected (back to black)

[RustyShackelford]

I know most of you wont care about this, but im a huge KISS fan and i was stoked to see this today.

This is KISS’s 1976 multi-platinum, landmark album Destroyer: Resurrected, newly remixed from the original master tapes by the album’s original producer, Bob Ezrin. Ezrin pulled the tapes from the vaults and painstakingly remixed the entire album, enhancing the sound and bringing out its rich texture and vibrancy, while keeping the integrity of the original recording intact. Destroyer: Resurrected will also include rare and unreleased recordings rediscovered during the remixing process, plus the originally intended cover artwork.

Hot on the heels of their breakthrough hit album Alive!, KISS released their fourth studio album Destroyer which is considered the most ambitious studio recording of KISS's '70s catalog. Bob Ezrin, who had previously worked with Alice Cooper, was brought in to produce the album and among the production flourishes Ezrin introduced to KISS were sound effects, strings, a children’s choir, reversed drumming and the eerie, echoing sounds of screaming children over Gene Simmons’ vocals on “God of Thunder.” Upon its release, Destroyer reached the No. 11 position on the Billboard Top 200 and, with the help of the surprise top-10 hit “Beth,” was their first album to go platinum.

Originally released as the B-side to the single “Detroit Rock City,” “Beth,”–the heart-yearning ballad co-written and performed by drummer Peter Criss–was quickly picked up by radio nationwide and became the first top 10 for KISS, climbing all the way to the No. 7 position on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. While going through the original tapes, a forgotten vocal piece that was originally edited out in the final mix of “Beth” was discovered and now, for the first time, the complete original vocal recording has been restored and is included in the final mix. Other rediscovered gems include a complete, alternate guitar solo for the track “Sweet Pain,” now heard for the first time since it was originally recorded. The newly remixed “Sweet Pain” with the original guitar solo will be included as a bonus track. In addition to the treasures found buried in the hours of recordings, KISS classics such as “Detroit Rock City,” “Shout It Out Loud,” “Do You Love Me?” and “God of Thunder” were painstakingly remixed by Ezrin as he fleshed out the drums and guitars, bringing out the bottom end to the bass, making his mixes tight and tough.

In addition, Destroyer: Resurrected will now be issued with the originally intended cover art thought too controversial for the time. Created by artist Ken Kelly, the “brown” cover depicts KISS dressed in their ALIVE! costumes and standing on rubble in front of a burning city in ruins. At the time, the record company thought it was too violent and settled for the tamer “blue” version known today. This release also marked the first time that a comic-book illustration of the band appeared on the cover, confirming that the band was transforming from hard rockers to superheroes.

Just ordered mine from Hot Topic with the BOGO 50% off sale

[wasteland76]

Nice !!!

[travis]

will be at Hot Topic

[Guest]

This is sick! I want it!

[monsterrod]

Holy shit. My wet dream has cum to fruition.

[RustyShackelford]

will be at Hot Topic

It's already there. Ordered mine today

[kingnikko5]

Awesome. Just ordered this for my dad as a early birthday present. I hope he hasn't heard of or seen anything of this news on it. It would be awesome to bust it out for him and see the look on his face when he has no idea what it is yet lol. But... with how big of a fan he is, I can't be surprised if he has four copies already framed and signed in gold and silver with Paul's sweat on one and Gene's blood on another or something!! Lol Thanks again!

[romanos27]

Ordered. The best Kiss album by far (IMHO), so I'm glad they finally are doing something cool with it.

[RustyShackelford]

hell yeah, this is definitely the best album. no question!

[idreamofpunk]

Sorry, that goes to Hotter Than Hell. If they want to go back and remaster those tapes and press it, then I'll be the first in line.

By the by, as much as I love it, would anyone be interested in a copy of ALive III on red vinyl? I'd be willing to let it go for the right offer.

Just throwing that out there.

[KennyFuckingPowers]

Favorite band of all time, so im pumped! As for this being the best album, in my opinion, its not at all. But at the same time it all depends what version of KISS youre talking about. In my opinion Revenge is the best album the band ever made.So heavy for its time. Bruce and Eric killed it. But if you are talking about the orignal line up, for some reason Love Gun is the one I always go to first. Might be because of Shock Me. But Destroyer is easily right behind Love Gun, if not tied. Creatures of the Night was also a phenomenal 'makeup years' album even though it wasnt the original line up.

[RustyShackelford]

Love gun is my (very close) number two

[KennyFuckingPowers]

Rock N Roll Over is so tight as well.

[romanos27]

Does anyone actually have a copy of this yet? I got the email telling me mine shipped from HT yesterday, so I should have it by mid-week. I'm pretty stoked about this one. Hoping it sounds as good as the "new" cover looks.

[RustyShackelford]

Mine should be here tomorrow

[selfreliable]

I am on the fence about this, as I just finished reading Ace's book and realizing that most of the guitar wasnt done by him at all so saying the new found solo on it doesnt sell me on it. Although I do enjoy the new cover it isnt selling me on buying this album for a third time (original with inserts, remasterd 98 cd) and doubt that the new Ezrin remaster is much better than the one done 14 years ago. Also, as far as the extra vocal layers and others, the band has been on record in the past saying that Bob wanted to keep piling track on track of stuff to each song and they had to fight tooth and nail to strip it down to what it ended up being, having him put them back on it doesnt excite me.

Also, as far as the best KISS album, Destroyer is up there, but isnt the top one in my eyes. KISS, Revenge, Carnival of Souls (please press this) Creatures of the Night, and my personal favorite Dynasty (take away I Was Made) are all better.

[romanos27]

I am on the fence about this, as I just finished reading Ace's book and realizing that most of the guitar wasnt done by him at all so saying the new found solo on it doesnt sell me on it. Although I do enjoy the new cover it isnt selling me on buying this album for a third time (original with inserts, remasterd 98 cd) and doubt that the new Ezrin remaster is much better than the one done 14 years ago. Also, as far as the extra vocal layers and others, the band has been on record in the past saying that Bob wanted to keep piling track on track of stuff to each song and they had to fight tooth and nail to strip it down to what it ended up being, having him put them back on it doesnt excite me.

Also, as far as the best KISS album, Destroyer is up there, but isnt the top one in my eyes. KISS, Revenge, Carnival of Souls (please press this) Creatures of the Night, and my personal favorite Dynasty (take away I Was Made) are all better.

Hmmm. Okay, I guess we'll have to disagree on this one. Different strokes...

[selfreliable]

Hmmm. Okay, I guess we'll have to disagree on this one. Different strokes...

Thats one of the things that I like about KISS. They have so many different sounds and while I do prefer the heaviness of COTN, Revenge and COTS, I love Dynasty for some reason. I know it has an overall dancy feel to it, but Ace's song really shine (Save your Love is a personal favorite), Gene's contributions (Charisma fits his personality so well) were good and even Peter's two songs are good. Paul was the weak spot of the album. Compared to Destroyer having Beth (never cared for it) and Great Expectations (seriously why the fuck was this song recorded?) and Ezrin's kids (and the sound effects) ruining an otherwise great song, Destroyer just doesnt hold up to me. I totally get why others say it is the best, and it is a great album, but just not my personal favorite.

[KennyFuckingPowers]

I am on the fence about this, as I just finished reading Ace's book and realizing that most of the guitar wasnt done by him at all so saying the new found solo on it doesnt sell me on it. Although I do enjoy the new cover it isnt selling me on buying this album for a third time (original with inserts, remasterd 98 cd) and doubt that the new Ezrin remaster is much better than the one done 14 years ago. Also, as far as the extra vocal layers and others, the band has been on record in the past saying that Bob wanted to keep piling track on track of stuff to each song and they had to fight tooth and nail to strip it down to what it ended up being, having him put them back on it doesnt excite me.

Also, as far as the best KISS album, Destroyer is up there, but isnt the top one in my eyes. KISS, Revenge, Carnival of Souls (please press this) Creatures of the Night, and my personal favorite Dynasty (take away I Was Made) are all better.

Dynasty?! Theres a few on there I love but overall I cant say it is one of the best. Carnival of Souls too, its good but once again, only a couple of songs I like. Im actually listening to Creatures right now. Awesome record. I also forgot how good Crazy Nights is. But like romanos said, different strokes

[KennyFuckingPowers]

Thats one of the things that I like about KISS. They have so many different sounds and while I do prefer the heaviness of COTN, Revenge and COTS, I love Dynasty for some reason. I know it has an overall dancy feel to it, but Ace's song really shine (Save your Love is a personal favorite), Gene's contributions (Charisma fits his personality so well) were good and even Peter's two songs are good. Paul was the weak spot of the album. Compared to Destroyer having Beth (never cared for it) and Great Expectations (seriously why the fuck was this song recorded?) and Ezrin's kids (and the sound effects) ruining an otherwise great song, Destroyer just doesnt hold up to me. I totally get why others say it is the best, and it is a great album, but just not my personal favorite.

Dude thank god Im not the only one who hates Great Expectations. When I saw it was on Alive IV I was like "why the fuck is this on here?!" But I absolutely agree, so many sounds this band has made which makes them great. Its awesome to see a good Kiss discussion going on on this board with this generation haha. Sometimes I feel like Im the only person in their 20's who love this band

[RustyShackelford]

You're not the only one in his 20s who loves KISS.

[idreamofpunk]

Kiss was my first concert when I was 10. Reunion Tour, 7/16/1996, Dayton, Ohio. I've seen them ten times total, and loved every time, but I'm past the point where I feel I need to own everything anymore. I purged the majority of the cds I had. I had some french import 7"s (Dynasty era), a bootleg demos 7", and some other random bullshit like a promo 7" for Flaming Youth with the picture sleeve.

I'm content with the records I have and the cds I've kept (KISS, Hotter Than Hell, Rock and Roll Over, Love Gun, Ace Frehely, Paul Stanley, both the remastered and the original cd release of Music From The Elder, Creatures of the Night, Lick It Up, Smashes, Thrashes and Hits (for the rerecorded versions of some songs), Revenge, Unplugged, You Wanted The Best You Got The Best, and Carnival of motherfucking Souls, and the relatively new-ish Alive! Boxset with I, II, III and the millenium concert), especially Pauls signed solo album cd, and my glow-in-the-dark Creatures of the Night LP.

[KennyFuckingPowers]

Kiss was my first concert when I was 10. Reunion Tour, 7/16/1996, Dayton, Ohio. I've seen them ten times total, and loved every time, but I'm past the point where I feel I need to own everything anymore. I purged the majority of the cds I had. I had some french import 7"s (Dynasty era), a bootleg demos 7", and some other random bullshit like a promo 7" for Flaming Youth with the picture sleeve.

I'm content with the records I have and the cds I've kept (KISS, Hotter Than Hell, Rock and Roll Over, Love Gun, Ace Frehely, Paul Stanley, both the remastered and the original cd release of Music From The Elder, Creatures of the Night, Lick It Up, Smashes, Thrashes and Hits (for the rerecorded versions of some songs), Revenge, Unplugged, You Wanted The Best You Got The Best, and Carnival of motherfucking Souls, and the relatively new-ish Alive! Boxset with I, II, III and the millenium concert), especially Pauls signed solo album cd, and my glow-in-the-dark Creatures of the Night LP.

yeah when I was growing up whatever money I had Id spend on Kiss shit. However now, I dont NEED everything they put out. I may pass on this to be honest. But I would like to complete my cd collection of theirs. Have basically everything except 3 releases maybe. The Alive box set is soooo good. Bleecker Street Records in Manhattan has so much sick Kiss LPs. Its incredible what they have. Like stuff I didnt even knew existed.

[idreamofpunk]

See, I didn't even check Bleecker when I was in there. Lack of real spending money, and I'm much further removed from the Kiss fanaticism of my youth.

What cds do you still need?

[selfreliable]

I kick myself all the time for passing up a chance to own the symphony lps for 12 bucks back in the day. My local store had it on clearance and I kept waiting for the price to go down more until someone else finally bought it. I too used to be like everyone else here and had to have everything they put out(cds, toys, magazines, etc etc) but eventually stopped. I am trying to collect all the original albums with full inserts and posters and have quite a few of them including The Originals with all inserts. I am trying to track down a OG copy of the ST for a decent price as I just have the repress with the added song.