Kiss Announce ‘Destroyer: The Definitive Visual History’ Book for October

The 272-page volume covers the making of the band’s first platinum album and the tour that followed, with new interviews and never-before-published photos.

Kiss will release ‘Destroyer: The Definitive Visual History’ on Oct. 27, a 272-page deep dive into the band’s landmark 1976 album and its accompanying tour. Written by author Ken Sharp alongside Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons, the book features exclusive new interviews with Stanley, Simmons, and producer Bob Ezrin, plus never-before-published photographs and a track-by-track breakdown of the record.

What the Book Covers

The volume draws on interviews with more than 50 people to reconstruct the making of Destroyer, the album that broke Kiss into platinum territory and cemented their status as one of rock’s premier live spectacles. Among the more unexpected threads the book reportedly traces: the role actor Marlon Brando played in shaping the album’s direction, how David Bowie influenced the design of the subsequent tour’s stage, and the dare that gave rise to the Kiss Army.

For Sharp, Stanley, and Simmons, the project serves as a direct sequel to their 2013 collaboration ‘Nothin’ to Lose: The Making of Kiss 1972-1975,’ which covered the band’s formative years. ‘Destroyer: The Definitive Visual History’ picks up precisely where that book left off, carrying the story through one of the most consequential chapters in the band’s catalog.

Why Destroyer Still Matters

Released in March 1976, Destroyer represented a deliberate creative leap for Kiss. Producer Bob Ezrin, who had already shaped Alice Cooper’s theatrical rock records, pushed the band toward orchestration, ballads, and a more cinematic sound. The result divided some hardcore fans at the time but ultimately produced ‘Beth,’ the band’s biggest chart single to that point, and established a commercial template the group would follow for years.

A book of this scope arriving nearly five decades after the album’s release reflects the enduring fascination with that particular moment in rock history. Destroyer sits at the intersection of hard rock ambition and mainstream crossover, and the behind-the-scenes story of how it came together has never been told at this level of detail.

Kiss Kruise Vegas Returns in November

Separately, Kiss will host their annual fan weekend event in Las Vegas for the second consecutive year, running Nov. 13-15. The band will perform two shows headlining a lineup that also includes Night Ranger, Bruce Kulick, and Slaughter. Tickets and information are available at KissKruiseVegas.com.

What we know

• Kiss Destroyer: The Definitive Visual History releases October 27 and runs 272 pages.
• The book was written by Ken Sharp along with Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons.
• It includes exclusive new interviews with Stanley, Simmons, and producer Bob Ezrin.
• The book features never-before-published photos and a track-by-track deep dive into the album.
• More than 50 people were interviewed for the book.
• The book explains how Marlon Brando influenced the album’s direction, how David Bowie influenced the tour’s stage design, and the dare that led to the creation of the Kiss Army.
• The book follows the trio’s previous collaboration, 2013’s ‘Nothin’ to Lose: The Making of Kiss 1972-1975.’
• Kiss will host their Las Vegas fan event Nov. 13-15, with Night Ranger, Bruce Kulick, and Slaughter also on the bill.

The take

Ken Sharp is one of the more reliable chroniclers of classic rock’s golden era, with a long track record of deeply sourced band histories. His previous Kiss collaboration with Stanley and Simmons, ‘Nothin’ to Lose,’ was well-regarded for its granular detail and access, so expectations for this follow-up are reasonably high. The choice to focus specifically on Destroyer is smart: the album is arguably the most dramatically pivotal record in the Kiss catalog, the moment the band stopped being a cult phenomenon and became a genuine mainstream force. Bob Ezrin’s involvement as both a subject and interview participant adds significant weight, given how central his production choices were to the album’s sound and commercial trajectory. The Marlon Brando and David Bowie threads are genuinely intriguing angles that suggest the book goes well beyond standard rock biography territory. More broadly, this fits a pattern of legacy rock acts investing in premium archival publishing as a way to deepen fan engagement in the post-touring era. For Kiss, who officially retired from touring following their final show in December 2023, a book like this serves as both a cultural document and a way to keep the band’s story alive and commercially active.

Why it matters

For Kiss fans, this book represents the most comprehensive account yet of the album that transformed the band from a cult live act into a platinum-selling phenomenon. For the broader classic rock audience, it offers a rare, access-driven look at how one of the era’s most theatrical records actually got made, with primary sources including the key creative figures. As Kiss transitions fully into a post-touring phase, projects like this become the primary vehicle for keeping the band’s legacy in active conversation.

What’s next

Fans can pre-order ‘Destroyer: The Definitive Visual History’ now ahead of its October 27 release. Kiss will also headline the Kiss Kruise Vegas fan event November 13-15 in Las Vegas, with Night Ranger, Bruce Kulick, and Slaughter rounding out the lineup.

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