With the album ‘Alive’ in 1975, Kiss finally broke through and were on their ways to be Rock Gods!! But their next album needed to make a statement. It needed to capture the band like none of their other albums had been able to do. Famed record producer, Bob Ezrin, was brought in to man the boards all based on the work he was doing with Alice Cooper. Kiss needed that same energy and success. And did Bob deliver? Oh hell yeah he did!! ‘Destroyer’ was released on March 15, 1976 and with songs like “Beth”, ‘Detroit Rock City” and “Shout it Out Loud”, Kiss was on top. They had made it! A now platinum selling artist, a massive touring act and they were starting to reach heights they only dreamed about. At first thought, the album was slow out of the gate until “Beth” was played on the radio…it was the B-Side to “Detroit Rock City” and then Bam!! Everything changed. To celebrate this pivotal album, Kiss delivered the 45th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition Box Set which we’ve already reviewed and it is jammed pack with goodness. This time we have the 2-LP Deluxe Edition Colored Vinyl which we are discussing. It isn’t as jammed pack but it is still pretty great for what it is.

One thing I really like about this set is the gatefold. It is stunning. When you open up the gatefold and there are the members of Kiss in full gear on their choppers, you get excited. It is really cool.

I bought this as well as the box set because my goal is to have at least one of everything they’ve released on vinyl. Now, I have Destroyer on vinyl as well as Resurrected, but since there is a second vinyl with unreleased tracks, I had to have this to complete the collection too. This deluxe set gives you the remastered album and then a second LP of unreleased tracks. You get 6 demos and 6 studio rarities and they are all great. Now you don’t get a 68 page hard cover book, but instead you get a 20 page booklet (paperback basically).

So sit back and let’s go through the box set in detail with a lot of pictures to show you the beauty of this set.

LP ONE: ORIGINAL ALBUM REMASTERED:

First up is the remastered original album. And let me tell you it sounds fantastic. The car crash from “Detroit Rock City” is is crystal clear, the choir in “Great Expectations” soars and if you crank it up loud, it rocks out like never before. I will not go in to detail with this album as I have reviewed it before as you can click on the links below to see the full Kiss Review Series below. This is one of my favorite albums and favorite Kiss albums and I will say after listening to this remastering, it still is one of my favorite albums of all time!! I love the Casablanca label on the CD with Neil Bogart in the left side and the palm trees on the right. A classic label and I’m glad they brought it back for this set. However, that label is so damn dark you can barely read it. My only gripe.

LP TWO: DEMOS AND RARE STUDIO TRACKS:

A-Side has 3 Paul Demos and the first is “God of Thunder and Rock and Roll” which you guessed it, is the original title of “God of Thunder” which Gene sings. Paul was the original writer of the song, but Bob Ezrin thought it fit better with Gene so they slowed it down and re-wrote the lyrics and now it is a Gene classic. But I really enjoy Pauls version as well. It’s a lot of fun as it is a little faster tempo and it does sound cool with Paul. Then you get the early demo of “Detroit Rock City” before it was flushed out and had the story of the car crash added to it;. Another fave of mine. You can definitely hear that this is a classic waiting to happen. It just needed a little tweaking. Lastly for Paul is “Love is Alright” which has no lyrics other than “Love is Alright” at the chorus. Very unfinished instrumental, but who knows, with a few fixes and some lyrics maybe it could’ve been something.

Then you get 3 Gene Demos and first is “I Don’t Want No Romance” which is so not a Kiss song, but not bad. Listen closely and it reminds me “Got Love for Sale” from the Love Gun album. But this version is why it wouldn’t work because it doesn’t have any thing even related to Kiss. Second you get the very cool title of “Rock n Rolls Royce” which I think would become “Love ‘Em and Leave Me” off Rock & Roll Over. Gene thought the title sounded cool and he loved the play on words. He wrapped a whole song around it The last Gene track is “Star” with its heavy bass and a groove that chugs along, but lyrically it wasn’t ready and the music still needed a lot of work. An interesting little track.

The flip side starts off with an acoustic version of Beth which honestly, I already thought it was acoustic with only the piano, but they basically add an acoustic guitar to this one and it is Dick Wagner on guitar, not Ace. Next up is the mono single edit of “Shout it Out Loud”. On the promos sent out to radio, you always got a stereo version on one side and mono on the other depending if you were an AM or FM radio station. Then you get a live studio instrumental version of King of the Night Time World and an instrumental version of “Detroit Rock City” and both are great to hear them in that form. Lastly, you get a very early rawer version of “Flaming Youth” and an alternate mix of Shout It Loud.

20-PAGE BOOKLET:

The booklet gives you the Story of Kiss Destroyer although a little less of a story than the 80-page book in the Super Deluxe Edition. You get some back stories on the band, the writing of the album, pre-production and recording sessions, naming the album, album design and artwork, the backlash from the album and the legacy of the album as well. You also get a ton of pictures, just not as many and not as glossy as the other book either. If you are on a budget though, this works.

If you are a vinyl collector, you can’t go wrong this set as you do get the re-mastered version of the album and you get 6 unreleased demos as well as a number of unreleased studio takes on songs. All really cool to listen to. You do get a booklet with some of the information that you will enjoy reading and seeing the pictures. My Overall Score is a 4.0 out of 5.0 Stars only for the fact you don’t get a 3-LP set like they did for Creatures which was more bang for your buck. I think they learned from this one to add another LP so that was smart. Still a hell of a piece to add to the collection.

The Kiss Review Series:

1. Wicked Lester and the Progeny Demo Sessions (Bootleg)
2. Kiss – Kiss (1974)
3. Kiss – Hotter Than Hell (1974)
4. Kiss – Dressed to Kill (1975)
5. Kiss – Alive! (1975)
6. Kiss – Destroyer (1976)
7. Kiss – “Flaming Youth” 45 Promo Single – Bonus Edition (1976)
8. Kiss – “Beth” – 7″ Single – Bonus Edition (1976)
9. Kiss – Special Kiss Album For Their Summer Tour (1976)
10. Kiss – The Originals (1976)
11. Kiss – Rock & Roll Over (1976)
12. Kiss – “Calling Dr. Love” – 7″ Single – Bonus Edition (1977)
13. Kiss – Love Gun (1977)
14. Kiss – “Christine Sixteen” – 7″ Single – Bonus Edition (1977)
15. Kiss – Alive II (1977)
16. Kiss – Double Platinum (1978)
17. Kiss – Paul Stanley (1978)
18. Kiss – Gene Simmons (1978)
19. Kiss – Peter Criss (1978)
20. Kiss – Ace Frehley (1978)
21. Kiss – Best of Solo Albums (1978)
22. Kiss – Kiss Meets the Phantom of the Park Movie (1978)
23. Kiss – Dynasty (1979)
24. Kiss – “I Was Made For Lovin’ You” (1979) – 12″ & 7″ Singles (Bonus Edition)
25. Kiss – Unmasked (1980)
26. Peter Criss – Out of Control (1980)
27. Kiss – Music From The Elder (1981)
28. Kiss – Killers (1982)
29. Kiss – Creatures of the Night (1982)
30. Kiss – Lick It Up (1983)
31. Kiss – Animalize (1984)
32. Wendy O. Williams – WOW (1984) (Bonus Edition)
33. Kiss – Animalize Live Uncensored (1985)
34. Kiss – Asylum (1985)
35. Kiss – “Tears Are Falling” 7″ Single (Bonus Edition) (1985)
36. Kiss – Creatures of the Night (1985 Re-Issue)
37. Vinnie Vincent Invasion – Vinnie Vincent Invasion (1986)
38. Black N’ Blue – Nasty Nasty (1986)
39. Ace Frehley – Frehley’s Comet (1987)
40. Kiss – Exposed VHS (1987)
41. Kiss – Crazy Nights (1987)
42. Kiss – “Crazy Crazy Nights” – 12″ Single (Bonus Edition)
43. Kiss – “Reason To Live” – 12″ Picture Disc (Bonus Edition)
44. Kiss – Chikara (1988)
45. Kiss – Smashes, Thrashes & Hits (1988)
46. Kiss – Hot In The Shade (1989)
47. Kiss – “God Gave Rock And Roll To You II” (1991) – 12″ Picture Disc
48. Kiss – Revenge (1992)
49. Kiss – Alive III (1993)
50. Kiss – “I Was Made For Lovin’ You (Live)” (1993) – CD Maxi Single (Bonus Edition)
51. Kiss – Konfidential VHS (1993)
52. Kiss – Kiss My Ass: Classic Kiss Regrooved (1994)
53. Kiss – MTV Unplugged (1996)
54. Kiss – You Wanted the Best, You Got the Best!! (1996)
55. Kiss – Greatest Kiss (1997)
56. Kiss – Carnival of Souls: The Final Sessions (1997)
57. Kiss – Psycho Circus (1998)
58. Kiss – The Second Coming Documentary (1998)
59. Eric Carr – Rockology (1999)
60. Mark St. John – Mark St. John Project (1999)
61. Eric Singer Project – ESP (1999)
62. Bruce Kulick – Audiodog (2001)
63. Kiss – Kiss Symphony: Alive IV (2003)
64. Gene Simmons – Asshole (2004)
65. Kiss – Rock the Nation 2004 World Tour: Instant Live (Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre Charlotte, NC 7/28/04) (2004)
66. Kiss – Rock the Nation Live! DVD (2005)
67. Kiss – Alive! The Millennium Concert (2006)
68. Paul Stanley – Live to Win (2006)
69. Kiss – Kissology: Volumes 1 to 3 (2006-2007)
70. Kiss – Jigoku-Retsuden (2008)
71. Kiss – Sonic Boom (2009)
72. Kiss – Monster (2012)
73. Kiss – The Casablanca Singles 1973-1982 (2012)
74. Kiss – Kiss 40 (2014)
75. Kiss – Kiss Rocks Vegas (2016)
76. Kiss – Kissworld: The Best of Kiss (2017)
77. Kiss – Off the Soundboard: Tokyo 2001 (2021)
78. Kiss – Off the Soundboard: Live in Virginia Beach July 24, 2004 (2022)
79. Kiss – The Albums Ranked From Worst to First (2021)
80. Kiss – Destroyer: 45th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition (2021)
81. Kiss – Destroyer: 45th Anniversary 2-LP Deluxe Edition (Colored Vinyl) (2021)
82. Kiss – Creatures of the Night: 40th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition (2022)
83. Kiss – Creatures of the Night: 40th Anniversary 3-LP Deluxe Edition (Colored Vinyl) (2022)

The Bootleg Series:

1. Kiss – ‘Accept No Imitations’ (Bootleg Series) – Album Review (ASYLUM TOUR)
2. Kiss – Look Wot You Dun to Me (Bootleg Series) – Album Review (CRAZY NIGHTS TOUR)
3. Kiss – The Summer of Satan: The Devils Ride Out! (Bootleg Series) – Album Review (DESTROYER TOUR)
4. Kiss – Return to Capital Center (Bootleg Series) – Album Review (DYNASTY TOUR)
5. Kiss – With Fire & Thunder (Bootleg Series) – Album Review (HOTTER THAN HELL TOUR)
6. Kiss – Northhampton PA March 19th, 1975 (Bootleg Series) – Album Review (DRESSED TO KILL TOUR)
7. Kiss – The Hottest Show On Earth (Bootleg Series) – Album Review (THE HOTTEST SHOW ON EARTH TOUR 2010)
8. Kiss – All the Way to the Ball Room (Bootleg Series) – Album Review (Australian Tour 1995)
9. Kiss – Kiss of Thunder (Bootleg Series) – Album Review (The Rising Sun Tour 2006)
10. Kiss – Agora Ballroom 1974: The Cleveland Broadcast plus Bonus Cuts (Bootleg Series) – Album Review (THE KISS TOUR)
11. Kiss – Hotter Than Hell: Radio Broadcast 1976 (Bootleg Series) – Album Review (ROCK & ROLL OVER TOUR)
12. Kiss – The Tickler (Bootleg Series) – Album Review (LICK IT UP TOUR 1983)
13. Kiss – Barbarize (Bootleg Series) – Album Review (ANIMALIZE WORLD TOUR 1984 – North American Tour)
14. Kiss – They Only Come Out At Night (Bootleg Series) – Album Review (ANIMALIZE WORLD TOUR 1984 – EUROPEAN TOUR)
15. Wicked Lester and the Progeny Demo Sessions (Bootleg)
16. Kiss – Black Diamond: Lafayette Music Room, Memphis, TN April 18th, 1974 – FM Broadcast
17. Kiss – End of the Road: In Allentown 2020 (PPL Center, Allentown, PA, 4th February 2020) (End of the Road Tour) – Blu-Ray
18. Kiss – ‘Monster Tour: Simpsonville 2013’ (Charter Amphitheatre at Heritage Park, Simpsonville, C – 13th August 2013) – Blu-Ray
19. Wicked Lester – The Original Wicked Lester Sessions (Bootleg)
20. Kiss – The Ritz on Fire (August 12, 1988, The Ritz, New York City. A radio broadcast – Crazy Nights Tour)
21. Kiss – Kiss My Axe 1978: Live from the Los Angeles Forum in California, August 25, 1977 (Love Gun Tour)

Kiss – The Box Set:

1. The Box Set (Part 1 of 6)
2. The Box Set – Disc One 1966-1975 (Part 2 of 6)
3. The Box Set – Disc Two 1975-1977 (Part 3 of 6)
4. The Box Set – Disc Three 1976-1982 (Part 4 of 6)
5. The Box Set – Disc Four 1983-1989 (Part 5 of 6)
6. The Box Set – Disc Five 1992-1999 (Part 6 of 6)

Gene Simmons – The Vault:

1. Part 1 – The Grand Opening
2. Part 2 – Disk 1
3. Part 3 – Disk 2
4. Part 4 – Disk 3
5. Part 5 – Disk 4
6. Part 6 – Disk 5
7. Part 7 – Disk 6
8. Part 8 – Disk 7
9. Part 9 – Disk 8
10. Part 10 – Disk 9
11. Part 11 – Disk 10
12. Part 12 – The Bonus Disk
13. Part 13 – The Best Songs of the Vault
14. Part 14 – The Worst Songs of the Vault
15. Part 15 – The Final Verdict