KISS - Destroyer - (1976) - (Casablanca NBLP-7025) - Vinyl - {First US Pressing} 24-Bit/96kHz + 16-Bit/44kHz

Coming on the heels of the band's breakthrough album Alive!, Destroyer is easily the most ambitious studio recording of the band's 70s catalogue. Bob Ezrin, who had previously worked with Alice Cooper, was brought in to produce the album. Among the production flourishes Ezrin introduced to KISS were sound effects, strings, screaming children and reversed drums as well as a children's choir. Destroyer is the first KISS album to prominently feature outside musicians, such as members of the New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra. However, one musician was not credited: Dick Wagner, from Alice Cooper's band, replaced Ace Frehley on tracks such as "Sweet Pain" (as Frehley did not want to interrupt a card game he was playing during recording sessions for the song). Wagner also played the acoustic guitar found on the song "Beth". The cover art for Destroyer was painted by fantasy artist Ken Kelly. Kelly asked to see KISS perform live first to gain inspiration. He was invited to a show and given a backstage pass. He later said of the performance, "It blew me away". Kelly was later commissioned by the band to draw the cover for 1977's Love Gun. Little known facts about the album: Only on the early first run the inner sleeve had the opening to the side while all later printings opened at the top. The children’s voices on “God Of Thunder?” Bob had purchased walkie-talkie set, that included a headset in a space helmet whose sound Bob liked, as toys for his sons. He asked them to make monster sounds through them and recorded the results. Thus David Ezrin and his brother Josh, who was three at the time, ended up on a KISS recording! Bob also used other effects, notably the binaural microphone that recorded 360 degrees which was used for the “Detroit Rock City” introduction. The album was closed with and unlisted tenth track that has become known as “Rock And Roll Party.” This unlisted track closes the “Destroyer” album and is something of a teaser, finishing the album with a bit of audio illustration much as the storyline of “Detroit Rock City” starts it. Its official title is “Rock And Roll Demons”. As was the case with the audio narrative and story in the introduction to “Detroit Rock City,” this piece is the work of Bob Ezrin who looped one of Paul’s raps from the “Alive!” album and overlaid effects from the choir from “Great Expectations.” There wasn’t much reasoning behind the creation of the piece. According to Bob Ezrin, “It was necessary to round off the experience if you were listening to the album from top to bottom and that you really needed something to close the book”. On many reissues and releases this un-credited piece often gets omitted.