(Credits: Far Out / Apple Music)
Mon 12 May 2025 21:00, UK
For most musicians who have been lucky enough to accrue a mass following, developing a complicated relationship with the hits is expected. While some of them may seem so inherently inescapable that they feel irreparably tainted, they’re also the undeniable makers of dreams—the ones that continue to make it all possible, even when they make the creators want to cover their ears and cower away in frustration. Incidentally, one of the biggest Kiss anthems was initially supposed to sound a whole lot different.
Most Kiss fans understand that, when catching them live, there’s a seemingly endless list of hits guaranteed to shake the floor. At the same time, the additional theatrics are as mesmerising as they have always been, embellished by an innate desire to tell a story with every song, bringing visuals to songs that would already hold their own without the overlayer of flamboyance.
In the beginning, however, this wasn’t as readily embraced as it is today. In most rock circles, no matter the time in history, countless bands face criticisms about rawness and authenticity, especially those in the more traditional spaces where others already have sturdy preconceptions about what rock should be and how others leading the way should present themselves. At first, Kiss’ eccentricity was seen by some as artificial.
According to Gene Simmons, this scrutiny made them feel like they were constantly being pushed “into the deep end of the pool whether you can swim or not”. This unexpected controversy made it difficult for them to gain traction, even with their growing group of admirers who understood what they were all about. “The early years of Kiss were far from glamorous,” Simmons explained. “We rode in a station wagon hundreds of miles every day. We would take turns driving and sleeping in the back.”
However, fighting against the grain, like freeing themselves from quicksand, Kiss soon became unstoppable, and by the fourth album, Destroyer, they had truly left their struggles behind, fitting the bill for the rockstar legends they were always destined to be. A part of this established venture was an anthem that would become well and truly theirs; a concert staple that was as much a moment as a monolithic success.
When Paul Stanley presented ‘God of Thunder’ to Bob Ezrin, he was enthralled, likely knowing immediately that this would be huge. However, surprisingly for Stanley, he felt it belonged in Simmons’ hands, and he swiped it from Stanley so Simmons could sing instead. Aside from consequently becoming Simmons’ signature song, Stanley wasn’t pleased about the decision at first.
“I was devastated,” Stanley told USA Today. “I was broken,” he added, continuing, “I brought the song in and I thought it was this signature song for me. We brought in a producer for many reasons, and one of them was to be the tiebreaker between Gene and I, because there certainly were times where Gene and I were at odds. So I played ‘God of Thunder’ and Bob goes, ‘That’s great, Gene is singing it,’ and we go on to something else. And I’m just there shattered.”
Eventually, however, Stanley came around to the idea, admitting that, in hindsight, “It couldn’t have been a better move.” Acknowledging how much it became a “character-defining” song for Simmons, Stanley said that he felt “lucky to be wrong”, likely appreciating how much of a heavy hand he had in something that became bigger than he ever imagined it could be.
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