Destroyer (Kiss Album) - Reception

Reception

Destroyer sold well upon its release on March 15, 1976 and was certified gold on April 22. Although exact sales figures are not known, Stanley stated that the album initially sold 850,000 copies in the US, well in excess of any of Kiss's first three studio albums. After peaking at #11 on the Billboard album chart on May 15, Destroyer quickly fell and by August was at #192. The first three singles — "Shout It Out Loud", "Flaming Youth" and "Detroit Rock City" — failed to ignite sales any further, (though "Shout It Out Loud" did give the band their first #1 record, in Canada). The band and Ezrin cited fan backlash as the reason Destroyer did not meet sales expectations. Ezrin also stated that the "grassroots rock press" was particularly critical of the album.

Rolling Stone referred to "bloated ballads," "pedestrian drumming" and "lackluster performances" in its review. It was not until radio stations started playing the B-side of the "Detroit Rock City" single "Beth," that the album started to sell as expected. The ballad, which according to Simmons was deliberately put on the B-side to force stations to play "Detroit Rock City", started receiving numerous listener requests and became an unexpected hit. "Beth" (co-written and sung by Peter Criss) was re-released as the fourth single in late August, and it peaked at #7 on the Billboard singles chart on September 25. It was the group's first Top 10 song and re-ignited sales of the album. On November 11 Destroyer became the first Kiss album to be certified platinum.

The album has received recognition many years later. In 1989, Kerrang! magazine listed the album at #36 among the "100 Greatest Heavy Metal Albums of All Time". In 2003, it was ranked #489 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. In 2006, it was placed at #60 on Guitar World magazine's list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Albums of All Time. The album was also featured in 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.