| "God of Thunder" | ||||
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"God of Thunder" cover |
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| Song by Kiss from the album Destroyer | ||||
| Released | March 15, 1976 | |||
| Recorded | Electric Lady Studios, New York City, September 3–6, 1975 Record Plant Studios, New York City, January–February 1976 |
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| Genre | Heavy metal | |||
| Length | 4:13 | |||
| Label | Casablanca Records | |||
| Writer | Paul Stanley | |||
| Producer | Bob Ezrin | |||
| Destroyer track listing | ||||
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"God of Thunder" is a heavy metal song by the group Kiss from their album Destroyer. The song has also been featured on many of Kiss's live albums, including an up-tempo version on Alive II. Many various sound effects were used to make the song including explosions, clapping, zippers, overdubbed audience chatter and screaming children. Even though the song was written by Paul Stanley, who had every intention of singing it for Destroyer, Bob Ezrin, the producer, suggested slowing down the tempo and handing the lead vocals over to Gene Simmons.[1] The song was and is Simmons's "theme song" for the band. It was often performed live with blood-spitting, a bass solo, and a portion of the song being performed by Simmons on a high-rise above the audience. The song is not played today as it was replaced by "I Love It Loud" in 2008. During the Alive 35 tour, however, it was played in Athens, Greece. It was also put back in the setlist on the second leg of "The Hottest show on Earth tour" starting in Everett,WA.The kid in the recording of God of Thunder is Bob Ezrin's son, David.This pummeling rocker has come to be known as Gene Simmons' signature song, which is fairly ironic since it was written by Paul Stanley. "God of Thunder" was originally a frenetic up-tempo rocker, but it underwent a change when producer Bob Ezrin decided it would be a perfect vehicle for Simmons and his "Demon" stage persona. Indeed, the lyrics to "God of Thunder" seem tailor-made for this image as they lay out the first-person tale of a figure with godlike powers tied to rock & roll: "I gather darkness to please me/And I command you to kneel, before the/God of thunder and rock & roll/The spell you're under will slowly rob you of your virgin soul." Stanley's initial pop-tinged melody was darkened and slowed down to a mid-tempo throb that contrasted ominous verses built on slowly ascending phrases with a stomping, neo-operatic chorus full of sturm und drang. The result was a perfect vehicle for an ambitious, cinematic production, and this is exactly what Bob Ezrin gave it on Destroyer: the song is built on a cavernous, echo-drenched soundscape anchored by Peter Criss' militaristic drum work and fleshed out by squalling electric guitar riffs and a throbbing bass line. Simmons bellows out the lyrics in a gravelly roar that cuts through the heavy arrangement, and Ezrin dresses up the song with artfully placed bits of feedback and creepy, babbling child voices that were created by Ezrin recording his children chattering on walkie-talkies while listening to the song. All these touches gave Kiss' recording of "God of Thunder" a sense of gothic rock bombast that fully lived up to the larger-than-life lyrics. It was a bit too heavy to be a single but became a natural live showpiece for Simmons in an exciting, faster arrangement that became a highlight of the band's post-Destroyer shows (an exciting live rendition of this version can be found on Alive II). Since then, it has been covered by Entombed and used as background music for wrestling matches by "Stone Cold" Steve Austin.
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