Kiss Announces Deluxe 45th Anniversary ‘Destroyer’ Box Set

Set for release on November 19th is Kiss' Super Deluxe 45th anniversary edition of the band's classic 1976 Destroyer album. Kiss – Destroyer 45th will be issued as a four-CD / Blu-ray Audio box set as well as on standard double black vinyl and limited edition yellow and red double colored vinyl, double-CD set, and across digital platforms.

Destroyer, which was Kiss fourth studio album and the followup to the band's 1975 breakthrough double album, Alive, was originally released on March 15th, 1976 and peaked at Number 11 on the Billboard 200.

The album was Kiss' first collection to sell one million copies in its first year and holds the title of being their all-time best selling studio album.

In addition to such instant classics as “Detroit Rock City,” “Shout It Out Loud,” “God Of Thunder,” “King Of The Night Time World,” and “Do You Love Me,” Destroyer also featured drummer Peter Criss on the ballad, “Beth,” which marked the band's first Top 10 hit.

According to the press release:

Disc One includes the original album newly remastered at Abbey Road Mastering, while Disc Two features 15 demos from Paul Stanley‘s and Gene Simmons‘s personal archives — nine of which are unreleased.

Disc Three is packed with studio outtakes, alternate versions / mixes and single edits – most notably a brand-new stripped-down mix for “Beth (Acoustic Mix),” and Disc Four contains an electrifying performance from the band’s visit to Paris France at the L’Olympia on May 22nd, 1976.

For the Blu-ray Audio disc, Steven Wilson was brought in to create a first-ever Dolby Atmos and 5.1 surround mix of the original studio album plus two bonus tracks “Beth (Acoustic Mix)” and “Sweet Pain (Original Guitar Solo)” the latter featuring Ace Frehley‘s original recorded guitar solo that was not released on the studio album (this track is available on the 2012 Destroyer: Resurrected project.)

Additionally, the Super Deluxe box features an extravagant array of collectable KISS memorabilia and ephemera, including a complete recreation of the original KISS Army Kit with the original folder.

Back in 2004, Peter Criss spoke with Eddie Trunk and offered up the backstory to “Beth”: “It was actually called 'Beck.' I wrote it with a gentleman named Stan Penridge in '68, that song was written. And it was about a guy in a band, whose wife was always callin' us and breakin' our chops for him to come home (laughs) and not practice. Then it got dormant for quite a few years. I sang it one day to Gene (Simmons) one day in the car, he liked it, next thing I know, we got up to working with Bobby Ezrin, he loved it, and he turned it into a masterpiece.”

Paul Stanley told us that whether dealing with its past, present, or future, Kiss should never be underestimated: “It really for me, resoundingly once again, I guess validates for me why this band exists. It's not a tepid recreation of the past, it's really an ageless beast that dominates at will. It's timeless.”

The tracklisting to the Super Deluxe 45th anniversary edition of Kiss' 'Destroyer':

DISC ONE:
DESTROYER: Original Album Remastered
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?

DISC TWO
DESTROYER-ERA: Demos
PAUL STANLEY DEMOS
1. Doncha Hesitate
2. God Of Thunder And Rock And Roll
3. It’s The Fire*
4. Detroit Rock City*
5. Love Is Alright*

GENE SIMMONS DEMOS
6. Bad, Bad Lovin’
7. Man Of A Thousand Faces
8. I Don’t Want No Romance*
9. Burnin’ Up With Fever*
10. Rock N’ Rolls Royce*
11. Mad Dog
12. Night Boy*
13. Star*
14. Howlin’ For Your Love*
15. True Confessions

DISC THREE
DESTROYER: Outtakes, Alternate Versions / Mixes, Single Edits
1. Beth (Acoustic Mix)*
2. Shout It Out Loud (Single Edit)
3. Flaming Youth (Single Edit)
4. Detroit Rock City (Single Edit)
5. Shout It Out Loud (Mono Single Edit)
6. Flaming Youth (Mono Single Edit)
7. Detroit Rock City (Mono Single Edit)
8. Beth (Mono)
9. King Of The Night Time World (Live Rehearsal Instrumental)*
10. Do You Love Me? (Mono Instrumental)*
11. God Of Thunder (Early Instrumental Mix)*
12. Ain’t None Of Your Business (Instrumental)*
13. Detroit Rock City (Instrumental)*
14. King Of The Night Time World (Alternate Mix)*
15. Great Expectations (Early Version)*
16. Flaming Youth (Early Version)*
17. Do You Love Me? (Early Version)*
18. Shout It Out Loud (Alternate Mix)*
19. Ain’t None Of Your Business (Outtake)*
20. Beth (Take 6 – Instrumental)*
21. Beth (Instrumental)*
22. Do You Love Me? (Alternate Mix)*

DISC FOUR
LIVE IN PARIS – L’Olympia – 22 May, 1976*
1. Deuce
2. Strutter
3. Flaming Youth
4. Hotter Than Hell
5. Firehouse
6. She / Ace Frehley Guitar Solo
7. Nothin’ To Lose
8. Shout It Out Loud / Gene Simmons Bass Solo
9. 100,000 Years / Peter Criss Drum Solo
10. Black Diamond
11. Detroit Rock City
12. Rock and Roll All Nite

BLU-RAY AUDIO:
DESTROYER: *Dolby Atmos 48kHz 24-bit, *Dolby True HD 5.1 96kHz 24-bit, DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 96kHz 24-bit, PCM Stereo 96kHz 24-bit
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?

Bonus Tracks:
10. Beth (Acoustic)
11. Sweet Pain (Original Guitar Solo)

* Previously unreleased