5 Things You Didn’t Know About Kiss’ ‘Destroyer’

Kiss released a nuanced masterpiece, Destroyer, 40 years ago today. The record is home to their breakthrough hit, the moving ballad “Beth,” as well as the charging “Detroit Rock City,” foundation-rattling “God of Thunder” and R&B party rave-up “Shout It Out Loud.”

But while the LP has since been certified double-platinum and its biggest songs have become concert staples, the story behind the scenes contains enough factoids to fill a Kiss-themed trivia night. Rolling Stone interviewed the band’s four original band members, as well as producer Bob Ezrin and cover-sleeve illustrator Ken Kelly, to find out how the record was made and we uncovered many fascinating facts along the way.

Whether it’s the way Ezrin snuck Beethoven’s Sonata Pathétique into “Great Expectations” or the fact that “Beth” began as a song called “Beck” – as in “Becky” – that was far less sincere, we’ve collected five little known facts about the record. For more, read Rolling Stone’s oral history of Destroyer.