The pressure was on Kiss for their fifth release, and the band knew it. Their breakthrough, Alive!, was going to be hard to top, so instead of trying to recreate a concert setting in the studio, they went the opposite route. Destroyer is one of Kiss' most experimental studio albums, but also one of their strongest and most interesting. Alice Cooper/Pink Floyd producer Bob Ezrin was on hand, and he strongly encouraged the band to experiment -- there's extensive use of sound effects (the album's untitled closing track), the appearance of a boy's choir (Great Expectations), and an orchestra-laden, heartfelt ballad (Beth). But there's plenty of Kiss' heavy thunder rock to go around, such as the demonic God of Thunder and the sing-along anthems Flaming Youth, Shout It Out Loud, King of the Night Time World, and Detroit Rock City (the latter a tale of a doomed concert-goer, complete with violent car-crash sound effects). But it was the aforementioned Peter Criss ballad, Beth, that made Destroyer such a success; the song was a surprise Top Ten hit (it was originally released as a B-side to Detroit Rock City). Also included is a song that Nirvana would later cover (Do You Love Me?), as well as an ode to the pleasures of S&M, Sweet Pain. Destroyer 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. ~ Greg Prato, Rovi

1		Detroit Rock City
2		King of the Night Time World
3		God of Thunder
4		Great Expectations
5		Flaming Youth
6		Sweet Pain
7		Shout It out Loud
8		Beth
9		Do You Love Me
10		[Untitled]

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