For rock fans, the summer of ’76 became the season of KISS, thanks in part to the release of their fifth LP, Destroyer.  The hard rock quartet had stirred the soup with a handful of studio offerings and an electrifying Alive album that chronicled the band’s potent concert performances.  However, it was this studio set, produced by the venerated Bob Ezrin, that took more chances, broadened the group’s musical mind, and inspired both a live show and a culture that remains iconic 45 years later.

Essentially, this four-CD/blu ray audio collection is the best possible celebration of this monumental record, and indoctrination for potential KISS enthusiasts.  The lengths to which Universal Music and the band have gone to provide the ultimate KISS time capsule is worthy of praise.  It starts with the box, itself- the classic Ken Kelly painting on the cover- shimmering, as the four costumed kissers, with elongated legs and platform kicks, flex atop the burning landscape below- and just gets better.

The original album, here remastered, sounds every bit as audacious as in ’76, guided by themes of limos and leather, groupie love, true romance, and, of course, thunderous, god-like rock-and-roll.  “Detroit Rock City” (and its conceptual subplot- a crash set to music- later borrowed by Phish on “Demand”) leads the carnage that includes two now-classics among the ten tracks, on opposite ends of the KISS meter: the undying arena anthem “Shout It Out Loud” and the poetic treacle of “Beth.”  Ezrin pushed hard, leaning on the four to expand their sights; bringing in the New York Philharmonic, adding sonic embellishments, and affecting the brusque, embodiment of populous rock with big hooks to match their big looks.

The additional discs, including an awesome Steven Wilson remix on blu ray audio, and troves of memorabilia are each and all quite valuable in conveying the totality of the KISS experience.  The attention to detail amidst the 68-page book and the replica KISS Army fan kit- with posters, pics, trading cards, stickers, iron-ons, membership certificates, and more- is wonderfully nostalgic and fun; not to mention what was a precursor to a merchandising barrage catering to an enlisted fanatic devoted to living fast, dying young, and being buried in KISS casket.  As for the bonus music, it’s brimming with unreleased demos and outtakes, and a very raw live ’76 show from Paris; the concert disc so raw sonically, it reminds, ironically, how rough and brash KISS was beneath the glitter, and how far Ezrin’s production went to elevating the group’s intentions. 

KISS is a band whose illustrious career often is characterized as a grandiose spectacle as much or more than anything musical.  The dynamic visuals and costumes that accompany the live show are impossible to forget.  Yet, underneath the makeup and the majesty is the music; the songs of Destroyer that rose out of the rubble 45 years ago, still resonating today.