Kiss - Destroyer

In 1975, after two years and three albums, Kiss was falling apart due to lack of significant sales. That year, they put out a live album called Alive! and things changed quite a bit. Suddenly, the band was a hot ticket and the tickets were selling like pancakes, since Kiss was seen as a major live act. Come 1976, Kiss recorded and released Destroyer, which went on to sell a few million copies and included many hits, including their highest ever charting single, Beth, written and sung by drummer Peter Criss.

Kiss - Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Ace Frehley and Peter Criss - made history with this album since it catapulted them to worldwide fame and secured their name forever as being in the big leagues or, as Simmons would put it, showing people "how the big boys do it." This album included something for everyone and, with songs such as Detroit Rock City, Beth, God of Thunder (sung by Gene but actually written by Paul Stanley) and Do You Love Me, it gave many gems to the Kiss Krown (sorry, couldn't help writing that!).

Albums with few songs are many times seen as a blatant disregard for the fans who've been waiting to hear new material from their favorite band. Destroyer, being an album with only nine songs, could very well be seen as such, but one has to remember that this was 1976 and, since February 1974, Kiss had had a total of three studio releases and one live record, so it's not like they had been resting in their laurels. If they were not touring, they were making albums. Add to that the fact that the album has 9 songs which are amazing, and you've got a total hit, not just in terms of sales, but in the hearts of the fans.

Reasons to go to Detroit or anywhere else to get this album:

1) Gene gets his second alter ego (after The Demon) with God of Thunder.
2) Paul sings it softly in Great Expectations (a song you don't expect from Kiss) and hard in Detroit Rock City, so we are able to get a bigger picture of his singing palette.
3) Kiss hits it REALLY big with the softest ballad they ever released, Beth, which was sung by the one who sang the least number of songs in their albums, drummer Peter Criss.

Destroyer really cemented Kiss in rock culture and rightly so. It is a solid album which showcases how hard-hitting the band could be but never forgetting that their soft side was always present.