Kiss will release a live album from their 1976 Anaheim Stadium show on Aug. 21. The release marks 50 years since that concert pulled in 42,000 fans. Montrose, Bob Seger, and Ted Nugent opened the show.
Eddie Kramer mixed the album from original multi-track master tapes. He’d worked on the band’s Alive! album and had recorded the Anaheim show with professional equipment.
The concert took place during the Destroyer Tour. It marked the debut of the group’s destroyed city stage set, complete with fire and blood-spitting. A smoking guitar solo lit up the stage. Confetti storms rained down on the crowd.
“That’s my favorite gig of all gigs with Kiss, because it was the biggest,” Peter Criss told Goldmine in 1996, as per AOL. “It was so exciting. I remember going down to the stage in golf carts, getting closer, and hearing the roar of the crowd and these people stomping on these metal seats through this huge stadium and the echo. I’ll never forget that sound. My heart pounded like it was gonna go through my chest. When I hit that stage and those bombs went off, forget about it…”
UMe will distribute Kiss Destroys Anaheim ’76 on CD, SHM-CD and three vinyl versions. The premium SHM-CD made in Japan arrives in a softpak case with a 60-page book. The package also includes unreleased photos and memorabilia tucked inside a slipcase. The two-LP picture disc comes with a coin and a 40-page book.
The rock group will host their second annual Kiss Kruise: Land-Locked in Vegas weekend on November 13-15 at Virgin Hotels. Two unmasked performances anchor the weekend. Night Ranger, Bruce Kulick, Slaughter, and an all-star tribute to Ace Frehley will also perform.