KISS Destroyer… "This sure ain't the scuzzy Kiss we all came to love." Creem Magazine July 1976

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Episode 587. We go back to July 1976 and read and react to the Creem Magazine review of Destroyer…

After three near-perfect studio albums and an excellent live summing-up LP that finally put them in the platinum, Kiss have pulled an abrupt change in direction that goes over about as well as a lead Buckinghams.

As the prime purveyors of desensitized stupidity in the twilight of the behavioral sink, Kiss could not be matched. Their 70s treatments of Chuck Berry succeeded where others of the same "mentality" fell short because they alone had a true insight into the realities of day-today teenage dumbness not unlike a latter-day Beach Boys. Songs like "Strutter," "Deuce," "Strange Ways," and the great "Rock 'N' Roll All Night" could only be created by drainage experts of the first degree, and several of their tunes have already become bar band classics.

So just when they're starting to truly make it big, on their own terms no less, what do they do but hire on Alice Cooper producer Bob Ezrin to mold them into the next Billion Dollar Babies. His influence, while not altogether dippy, is still unfortunate, having deprived them of much of their rusty coathanger appeal while filling the album with cute Cooperish touches like giggle children effects, female backup singers, and worst of all: strings!

While there are still several good cuts — "Detroit Rock City," "Shout It Out Loud," and Kim Fowley's "Do You Love Me" — the only way you can get to them is to skip around because Ezrin, in his guiding wisdom, has stuck a totally ludicrous ballad on either side along with other random atrocities like the tubular bells in "Do You Love Me" and the aforementioned kiddie voices which ruin an otherwise fine "God Of Thunder." Ezrin takes several writing credits as well, which may explain such Alice-like baby anthems as "Flaming Youth" and the token inclusion of the words "rock 'n' roll" in nearly every song.

This sure ain't the scuzzy Kiss we all came to love (and hate) so well and, while Destroyer is selling faster than reds do at one of their concerts, I still think they're making a big mistake in the long run.

Rick Johnson

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Since launching in 2012 Three Sides of the Coin has been viewed or listened to over 8,000,000 times. Three Sides of the Coin has been joined by special guests including Gene Simmons, Eric Singer, Ace Frehley, Bruce Kulick, Vinnie Vincent, Blackie Lawless, Rob Halford, Alice Cooper, Ted Nugent, Dennis DeYoung, Buck Dharma, Lydia Criss, Eddie Trunk, WWE/AEW Superstar and lead singer of Fozzy Chris Jericho, Angel lead guitarist Punky Meadows, Five Finger Death Punch members Jason Hook and Jeremy Spencer, Vinnie Vincent Invasion and Slaughter lead singer Mark Slaughter, Twisted Sister’s Dee Snider and Jay Jay French, comedian Craig Gass, KISS’ former business manager Chris Lendt, KISS art director Dennis Woloch, Head of KISS Security Big John Harte, the Black Veil Brides Andy Biersack, Ron Keel, Frank Munoz associate producer for Ace Frehley's Anomaly album, award-winning songwriter Adam Mitchell, Ed Kanon (Peter Criss' drum tech), Kevin Valentine (drummer on KISS' Psycho Circus album) and many, many more.

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