Kiss Alive! was a landmark live album. That album became the catalyst for the live-album explosion of the 1970s among many bands. KISS Alive II! would offer more of the live KISS experience. One issue: neither Alive! nor Alive II! was truly live. Both albums featured a lot of overdubs and rerecorded parts in the studio, according to the man who produced both albums, Eddie Kramer. Artificial crowd noise was the finishing touch for two live albums that went gold. The only ounce of the live performances was Peter Criss playing drums; the drumming was not touched up. Now one of the most sought after bootleg concerts was cleaned up and released: KISS Destroys Anaheim ’76. This time, the recordings were not overdubbed, and the album is incredible.

Recorded August 20, 1976, at Anaheim Stadium in Anaheim, California, in front of 42,000 fans during the Destroyer Tour. The album features a band clearly on the rise. They were starting to come into their own. The song that would launch the band into superstardom, “Beth,” had not taken off yet, as it was released in July 1976. “Beth” was not included on the set list at this point. In fact, there were no slow songs, except for the beginning of Black Diamond.

The album starts fast and continues a break neck pace throughout. It is a band that is full of energy, moxie, and all rock & roll. Standouts on the album is Peter Criss. His drumming is incredibly fierce and high-energy, and his drum solo during “God of Thunder” shows why he was one of rock’s best ’70’s drummers.

Ace Frehley also shines on the album. His solo after “Cold Gin” is top tier.  The solo is a  raw, high-energy style that was Taylor made for big arenas. Frehley shines from start to finish.

There is actually no stand out tracks on the album, it is that good. The bootleg tapes were found in a warehouse and cleaned up by Eddie Kramer who insisted that is all he did. No touch ups just a raw electrifying performance. The setlist is as follows: