GearExpo UK 2026 Over 150 manufacturers took part in GearExpo UK, demonstrating everything from mics, synths and interfaces through to large-format consoles and high-end monitoring systems.

Plasmatic releases COGG, a FREE industrial destruction FX plugin for macOS and Windows
COGG is a free industrial destruction FX plugin for macOS and Windows released by the developer Plasmatic. Plasmatic says COGG turns any sound into something industrial, and that’s a pretty fair description. When we think of industrial sounds, they aren’t pretty sounds; they are unapologetically metallic, gritty, screeching, scraping, clunky, and none of that sounds [...]
View post: Plasmatic releases COGG, a FREE industrial destruction FX plugin for macOS and Windows

Short on booth space? AlphaTheta’s new CDJ-1500X multi player packs flagship features into a smaller footprintNot every DJ booth has room for a pair of full-size CDJs. With that in mind, AlphaTheta has unveiled the CDJ-1500X – a compact DJ multi player designed to bring the flagship CDJ-3000X experience to bars, smaller clubs, mobile DJs and home studios.
Despite its smaller footprint, the CDJ-1500X packs in many of the headline features found on its flagship sibling, while adding a few tricks of its own.

READ MORE: AlphaTheta DJM-V5 review: Are niche setups the future of DJ gear?

For starters, the CDJ-1500X features the same 10.1-inch capacitive touchscreen as the CDJ-3000X, making it easy to view playlists, waveforms, BPM, keys, cues, loops, and other information. The main waveform display includes visual indicators for vocal positions, BPM change points, and phrase structures.
Users can rearrange tracks in their playlists directly on the CDJ with the Playlist Edit function. There’s also a choice of dark and light display modes to suit the atmosphere of any gig.
Credit: AlphaTheta
Music doesn’t have to live on a USB stick, either. Alongside traditional USB playback, the CDJ-1500X supports rekordbox CloudDirectPlay, letting DJs access their cloud library over Wi-Fi, as well as StreamingDirectPlay for services including Apple Music, Beatport Streaming and TIDAL.
Notably, CDJ-1500X is the first AlphaTheta multi player that’s compatible with CoBeat, the brand’s new interactive service that allows your audience to scan a QR code and request songs from a pre-approved catalogue. Those requests will be shown directly on the screen of the CDJ.
Around the front, an illuminated USB bay houses two USB ports, while customisation options include 12 LED lighting colours and optional side panels for DJs wanting to personalise their setup.
Thanks to its smaller footprint and lighter weight compared to the CDJ-3000X (3.6kg vs 6kg!), the CDJ-1500X slots easily alongside turntables and your mixer of choice, making it equally at home in a compact home studio, a bar or a club installation.
As AlphaTheta puts it, “Because this type of setup is so adaptable, it’s also ideal for permanent installations in venues where different types of DJs play.”
The launch continues AlphaTheta’s recent push to bring its flagship workflow to more compact and accessible hardware. Earlier this year, the company released the DJM-V5, a mixer that distilled the essence of the flagship DJM-V10 into a smaller and more affordable format.

Learn more at AlphaTheta.
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iZotope is no longer a Native Instruments brand, as it joins Boris FXEsteemed plugin brand iZotope has been acquired by VFX software company, Boris FX. The merge means iZotope is no longer part of the Native Instruments family of brands, which was sold to InMusic in May 2026, and comprises Native Instruments, Plugin Alliance and Brainworx.
According to Boris FX and iZotope, all iZotope licenses and subscriptions remain “fully active.”
In case all of these acquisitions and mergers seem a little confusing, here’s a recap: In 2021, iZotope and Native Instruments formed a new music technology group backed by investment firm, Francisco Partners. In 2022, that group was given the name Soundwide, after acquiring Brainworx and Plugin Alliance, plus a new company called Sound Stacks (which appeared to never conduct any business). In January 2023, Soundwide laid off 8 per cent of its global workforce. In June 2023, Soundwide became Native Instruments, with iZotope, Brainworx and Plugin Alliance being part of the brand. In January 2026, Native Instruments entered preliminary insolvency. In May 2026, Francisco Partners sold the Native Instruments brand to InMusic, which at the time included iZotope, Brainworx and Plugin Alliance. Now, iZotope exits the Native Instruments brand and joins Boris FX.
……Got it? Great. So what does this mean for iZotope users? Right now, not a lot.
If you’re a subscriber or a license holder for any iZotope plugins, you can expect these to function as normal. In a statement, iZotope’s Todd Baker assures that all products and licenses “remain fully active, with uninterrupted support.” If you’re looking to buy iZotope plugins or upgrade, you can head to the iZotope website as normal to make purchases, and you can login to your account as expected. You cannot, however, purchase any iZotope plugins via Plugin Alliance (for now).
What happens to iZotope’s team and designers? Again, not a lot, says Baker: “There are no interruptions to plugin development. The talented engineers behind RX, Ozone, Neutron, Nectar, and the rest of the iZotope lineup are hard at work. This move provides the resources and focus needed to supercharge our roadmap of next-generation plugins.”
And if you’re wondering who or what Boris FX is, Baker has offered some insight. “Boris FX has spent over 30 years as a founder-led company building professional creative software, and its move into audio is already well underway. Trusted tools like Sequoia, Samplitude, and CrumplePop, found in music studios, mastering suites, and broadcast facilities worldwide, are also part of the Boris FX family.”
iZotope’s acquisition also seems motivated by a shared interest in AI-powered software. Over on Boris FX’s website, founder and CEO Boris Yamnitsky says: “iZotope is known for its smart and practical use of AI. Combined with Boris FX’s deep expertise in AI-driven audio and video tools, we’re positioned to move faster, innovate further, and create even more powerful tools for creative professionals.”
The most recent product released by iZotope was RX 12, which we reviewed in April 2026. There’s no indication on which plugin will be the first to come from the new Boris FX home, but it’ll no doubt be one to look out for.
Read the full statements from iZotope and Boris FX. 
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iZotope acquired by Boris FX Following the news of Native Instruments joining the inMusic brand line-up, Academy and Emmy Award-winning visual effects software developer Boris FX have announced their acquisition of iZotope.

Can digital avatars unlock a new career path for ‘behind-the-scenes’ songwriters? WeAreMetaMuse thinks so“Human heart, digital skin: that’s our motto,” says Kelvin Avon from his Hong Kong recording studio and creative hub. That tagline might sound like the pitch for some new sci-fi film, but Avon, a veteran music producer and artist manager, is actually describing the anatomy of Supa Soula – his very own custom-made pop star.
Supa Soula is the first in what Avon hopes will be a roster of digital artists signed to his ‘virtual’ record label, WeAreMetaMuse. His striking good looks and retro-futuristic dress sense were crafted in the 3D modelling software, Blender; his dance moves animated in Unreal Engine, a platform typically used for video game development and film production; and that ‘human heart’ is actually an amalgam of Avon himself and a tight-knit team of songwriters and musicians.
“We’ve known each other for close to 20 years and we have maybe 60 to 70 songs we’ve written together,” Avon says of the creative crew behind the project. “He’s a picture of all of us thrown into this one avatar. That’s where his name came from: he’s a digital super soul.”
Image: WeAreMetaMuse
Of course, the success of a music artist is often a team effort – whether that’s behind-the-scenes songwriters who pen the tunes, producers who shape the sound, or managers who build an artist into a ‘brand’. The crucial difference here, says Avon, is that everyone contributing to Supa Soula’s success, even the session musicians, gets a piece of the intellectual property.
“It’s a collective,” he points out. “We all own Supa Soula. So if we did, say, a brand deal then everyone would get paid. Now that streaming royalties have dried up, this gives behind-the-scenes creators a revenue stream that we didn’t have before.”
The original motivation for all this, says Avon, was simple frustration. “I’ve been in the business now for close to 25 years as a producer, artist manager, and mix engineer. What I found with a lot of the projects was that everything is at the whim of the artist.”
Getting someone signed, assembling a team, working for years to build some momentum, only for the artist to decide they wanted a different career, to raise a family, or to change management. “It seemed to happen more often than not,” Avon reflects. “I spoke to a lot of the producers and songwriters I collaborated with and we all had very similar stories.
“We’re artists ourselves,” Avon continues. “We’re creative. We make music, we just don’t go to the front of the stage. What we’re doing now is releasing music we’ve written that, for whatever reason, didn’t get picked up. Maybe it wasn’t on-trend, not commercial enough, didn’t fit the artist but actually I think a lot of this is the best stuff I’ve done. Without Supa Soula, these songs would never see the light of day.”
With an extensive catalog of unreleased material to draw from, finding the right songs to re-arrange and record for Supa Soula’s debut was the easy part. Perfecting the look, style, and movements of the avatar was a bigger challenge.
Image: WeAreMetaMuse
“We had to think: ‘How does he look? What race is he? Is he tall? Skinny or muscly? How does he dance? What outfits can we put him in?” Avon, who models and animates the avatar, describes a detailed production that took the character from fantasy to digital fact. And while he says generative AI was used for some of the visual ideation and early prototyping, he makes it very clear that all the music and the animation was done by hand.
“People want real artistry,” emphasises Avon. “Even when you’re seeing a digital avatar, people want a human to be behind it. So, the movement you see in the music videos is a human dancing in a motion capture suit. The guitars are real. The singing is real. The production is real.”
With an eight song EP and a series of accompanying music videos still in the works for Supa Soula, Avon is already looking to “grow the family”. Mei Mei, a female avatar aimed at appealing to the Chinese music markets, is the next phase. “I wrote for a lot of Chinese artists,” Avon says. “So, again, the songs are coming from my old demos, but we’re also bringing in a local producer and working with a Mandarin singer and with Mandarin musicians.”
Catchy songs and engaging videos are all well and good – but the fan interaction is also core to a pop star’s appeal. Asked how listeners can engage with these avatars beyond Spotify or YouTube, Avon has a ready answer.
Image: WeAreMetaMuse
“We’re thinking of gamification more than personal interaction,” Avon offers. “It’s possible to do something similar to the old-style ‘meet and greet’ but I think you’d lose a bit of the magic there. I think we need to gamify the interaction with the fans and, especially with younger audiences, they’re very used to digital worlds like Roblox and things like that.
“One of the ideas we’re playing with right now,” he continues, “is to give people the ability to go into Supa Soula’s studio and do their own remixes of his songs – but to do this as a game. Maybe there’s a competition and the best remix gets a release.”
Of course, digital avatars and ‘virtual’ pop stars are far from new. Avon readily admits that Supa Soula and WeAreMetaMuse are part of a tradition that extends from Gorillaz to Hatsune Miku. “We’re not breaking the mould here,” he concedes. “But I do think our ethos, and how we’re trying to build out this digital collective, that’s what’s special.”
In a world of fake AI bands, vocal clones, and band’s resorting to ‘psy-op’ marketing campaigns, the virtual avatar of Supa Soula is a little refreshing. Which parts of a creative project are human and which digital, where AI was used and where it wasn’t: these are the details that feel increasingly important in our modern world.
There will be many who will always prefer flesh and blood performers over virtual simulacra – and that’s just fine with Avon. “I see this as entertainment,” Avon says simply. “We’re not trying to pretend that this is a real person. It’s just some great music wrapped in a digital avatar who’s dancing and singing for you; if you like it, great, if you don’t, that’s ok.”

Learn more at wearemetamuse.com. 
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Yes, the Akai MPC Sample really is that good$399 / £339, akaipro.com
During a sneak preview of the MPC Sample at The NAMM Show in January, Akai’s team fed us the hype, promising it was a landmark moment for the brand. Like many who first laid eyes on the MPC Sample, I remained sceptical about what it could do, and whether it was just a gimmicky competitor to Roland’s SP-404 and Teenage Engineering’s EP-133 K.O II.

READ MORE: Loops, leaks and Roger Linn: How Akai’s MPC Sample became the most-hyped gear of 2026

But the truth is, after casually making beats on the $400 instrument for a couple of months, I’ve found the MPC Sample really is as good as Akai made it out to be.
Does it look like a toy? Sure. Is it actually fun to make music with? You bet your sweet pads it is.
Image: Simon Vinall for MusicTech
Beats out the box
It’s obvious what Akai wants you to experience when you first unbox the MPC Sample: immediacy.
The tiny 7.6 x 9.3-inch beat machine requires near-zero setup. My review unit came with a full battery, so I perused the quick start guide (a one-sheet document), hit the power button, and was making beats with the Sample’s 2GB library of built-in sounds in seconds, the tiny speaker just loud enough to keep me locked in. The battery reliably lasts for five hours, too, so I found myself picking it up multiple times in a week and bashing out a few beats before needing to plug it back in.
In fairness, having owned an MPC 2000XL and reviewed several other MPC products, I found the workflow familiar, but newcomers to the series will likely hit some hurdles. But that workflow is a major appeal for the MPC Sample, with its tiny LCD screen, 16 pads, and retro-inspired design. Compared to the EP-133 K.O II, the MPC Sample has more songbuilding features, which take some time to wrap your head around, but are plenty versatile and creative once you’ve sussed them out.
Happily, Akai has published a series of in-depth video tutorials, hosted by the brand’s Andy Mac. You can easily binge-watch these in an evening and learn to navigate the MPC Sample much quicker.
There’s also no additional software required to get up and running. You can update the device’s firmware via browser, which I used for upgrading the Sample to version 1.3. This was a breeze, but the browser app serves no other function, meaning you can run everything directly on the hardware. If you want new samples, load them onto an SD and pop it in. I love this approach, especially when many gear brands in 2026 require you to download companion apps to unlock further features of your hardware. With the MPC Sample, you unbox it, power it up, and it’s all there in front of you.
Image: Simon Vinall for MusicTech
A classic MPC workflow
Playing the MPC Sample is a blast. The 16 pads — which are RGB-backlit, velocity-sensitive and have polyphonic aftertouch — are a joy to use. It’s also fun to use classic MPC features, such as 16 Levels to play with a sample’s pitch and velocity, and the trio of K knobs, which let you make quick changes to your sounds, apply filters, and change global parameters of your project.
You can save up to 16 sounds per sound bank, with a total of eight sound banks on the MPC Sample. That means that, at any given time, you can have 128 sounds loaded onto the machine, with 32 voices of polyphony. Having that many sounds to play with is immensely freeing and almost overkill at times, but I’m not complaining!
Sampling is straightforward, too. You can record your sounds directly via the stereo inputs on the rear, via the built-in microphone, or load sounds from your SD card or internal memory. If you want to slice a drum loop into individual hits, for example, the Chop button will automatically slice it across the 16 pads. You can use the K knobs to quickly set new start and end points, apply filters, and even warp samples to timestretch them to your project’s current tempo. Note, however, that the timestretching engine isn’t that sophisticated, so your samples may occasionally sound a little distorted.
Looping a sample is easily done thanks to the dedicated Loop button, and the Shift button will allow you to quickly deploy functions such as resampling, time correction, Flex Beat, and more. There are secondary functions for almost every button on the MPC Sample, and there’s also the classic MPC fader to the left of the 16 pads, for quickly changing a track’s amplitude, effects parameters and more.
Swing and quantisation are also worthy of a shout-out here. The MPC family is revered for its implementation of swing, largely in part thanks to the work of legendary instrument designer, Roger Linn, who implemented swing tech into the MPC60 — the first ever MPC and the design of which inspired the MPC Sample. As such, real-time swing is implemented excellently into the MPC Sample, allowing you to apply it to specific tracks.
The microphone is fine, but not impressive. You might use it occasionally if you’re sketching out a demo track, but if you’re serious about recording a source, you’re better off just plugging a mic into the inputs on the rear.
Image: Simon Vinall for MusicTech
Pumped-up effects
Editing sounds is easily done once you’ve familiarised yourself with the MPC workflow.
The Pad FX, Knob FX effects engines are surprisingly intuitive. After quickly building a French house beat, I realise I’m missing some sidechain compression. Within a minute, I find and apply the Pumper effect to the beat’s main sample, and it pumps in line with the four-to-the-floor kick drums — instantly a groove.
I’m quickly frustrated, however, when I realise that effects can’t be applied on a per-track basis, nor can they be recorded into my sequence. A workaround is to resample a sound you’ve applied effects to, which isn’t exactly elegant, but instruments like this historically require some creative puzzle-solving.
Similarly, there’s no easy way to export your sounds to a DAW, nor can you output individual stems. There are ways around this, too, like soloing a track and recording that to your DAW, but that’s not exactly intuitive.
Image: Simon Vinall for MusicTech
Should you buy the MPC Sample?
In this price bracket, there are three strong options if you’re after a portable sampler: the MPC Sample, the Roland SP-404MKII, and the Teenage Engineering EP-133 K.O II. Each have their own quirks and workflows — you might find the SP-404 is more your style with its deep functionality and effects routing, or the EP-133 might attract you for its design and decidedly unserious workflow. However, the MPC Sample is my favourite of the bunch.
At $400, you’re getting the MPC that producers would’ve dreamed of having in the early 2000s. It’s immensely portable, surprisingly capable, and heaps of fun. It was tough for me to return my review unit, and I often found myself picking the Sample up occasionally throughout the day, just for a quick five-minute jam in between whatever else I was doing.
If you’re looking for your first sampler, the MPC Sample won’t disappoint. If you already produce music with a more accomplished sampler, the MPC Sample will feel limited, and perhaps frustrating at first. But once you understand what it can’t do, you’ll have plenty of fun with what it can do.

Key Features

16 RGB-backlit, velocity sensitive pads with polyphonic aftertouch
32-voice polyphony, stereo sampling
60 effects types with Flex Beat, Pad FX and Knob FX
Eight banks of 16 sounds (128 loadable at once)
2GB RAM, 8GB internal storage, microSD expansion
Built-in 3W speaker and internal microphone
Rechargeable lithium-ion battery, ~5 hours
23.6 × 19.4 × 5.0 cm

 
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Menura Audio’s MDFX Delay and Reverb units bring studio-grade effects to the DJ boothMenura Audio, the manufacturer behind the MDMX modular DJ mixer, has entered the effects space with the launch of its first digital hardware units: the MDFX Delay, a BPM-synced stereo delay, and the MDFX Reverb, a plate reverb designed for live manipulation in the DJ booth.
The best part of it all? You don’t have to wait for a unit to try them. The company has released a browser-based demo on its website, which runs the same DSP code as the hardware (via WebAssembly), allowing users to test out the effects in real time with identical controls.
“We built the MDFX for DJs who want studio-quality effects under their hands. They are made for live use, but full MIDI makes them just as capable in the studio,” says Menura Audio founder Jasper Lauter. “Sound quality is everything to us, so the browser demo lets everyone judge the sound and the features for themselves before backing the campaign.”

READ MORE: Need more character in your tracks? UJAM’s new Retrocraft plugin packs an entire vintage effects chain into one window

Notably, the MDFX units are designed as performance-ready tools that integrate directly into existing DJ setups. Each unit (both horizontal or vertical configurations are available!) can be mounted magnetically to the side or bottom of your mixer and connected via master insert or Aux Send.
“They extend the setup you already trust instead of replacing it,” says Menura Audio.
Control wise, both units lock to the music via tap tempo, MIDI clock or automatic BPM detection – which also works with vinyl – while three main knobs handle the essentials. An endless encoder and PARAM button provide deeper control via a circular display designed to remain readable in a booth environment.
The MDFX Delay spans everything from clean digital echoes to saturated, tape-style degradation, with tempo-synced delays stretching from single beats to four-bar repeats. It also includes stable self-oscillation, a reverse mode and a TAPE parameter for worn, 1970s-style tape echo character.
Meanwhile, the MDFX Reverb is a studio-grade plate built for live performance. A Freeze function allows DJs to lock and perform inside a reverb tail, while BPM-synced tremolo and shimmer turn the effect into something more rhythmic and playable than traditional reverb.
Both units feature 96kHz/32-bit float sound quality. Every parameter is controllable over USB MIDI, and there are 20 recallable presets that you can access via program change, as well as a built-in class-compliant USB audio interface. This means users can record the output straight into their DAW or smartphone without drivers and choose the source PRE (dry) or POST (processed).
The devices are also powered over USB-C, meaning they can even run from a power bank in mobile setups. The enclosure is CNC-milled aluminium, with solid metal controls designed to withstand touring use. Finally, each unit is hand-built and individually tested in Berlin.
The MDFX Delay and Reverb are currently on Kickstarter, with early-bird pricing starting at €340 per unit (retail €429). First shipments are expected in Q4 2026.

Learn more at Kickstarter.
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Credits.fm is a free, open music credits database to help artists get paid in the AI eraMusic royalties tech firm Notes.fm has launched Credits.fm, a “free and open music credits database” that aims to make attribution more accurate and, ultimately, help more artists get paid.
Designed to help the music industry organise, verify, and connect the data powering royalties and artist compensation in the age of AI, Credits.fm indexes more than 150 million song codes and credits across a growing network of music rights databases, collection societies, and registries.

READ MORE: Looking to monetise your sounds? STL Tones’ royalty platform is now open to all creators

Unlike traditional metadata databases, Notes.fm says Credits.fm is designed as an active infrastructure that can power royalty discovery, attribution, registration, and future payments systems. The platform is also designed to support both traditional search engines and new discovery systems built with emerging technology, with dedicated infrastructure optimized for LLM indexing and agent-based search.
Users can search credits across multiple domains including ISRC.fm, ISWC.fm and IPI.fm, while an open API + MCP functionality lets developers and companies using AI tools including Claude, Cursor, and ChatGPT to integrate verified music credits directly into their workflows.
The launch arrives as the music industry grapples with a growing problem: more than US$1 billion in music royalties goes unclaimed every year, often because of incomplete or inconsistent metadata. With licensed AI training expected to create new revenue streams for rights holders in the years ahead, Notes.fm argues that accurate attribution will only become more critical.
“The music industry is entering a moment where attribution matters more than any other time in history,” says Tim Luckow, founder and CEO of Notes.fm and co-founder of Stem. “As AI systems become a bigger part of how music is discovered, created and monetized, there needs to be a more reliable way to connect songs back to the actual humans creating them so they are able to get paid.”
“Better credits lead to better outcomes for the creative professionals making the music. With Credits.fm, we’re helping solve a decades-old problem at a time when it’s primed to get exponentially worse.”
The company says its platform has already helped identify more than $10 million in previously unclaimed royalties over the past year, including work connected to artists such as James Blake, Zach Bryan, Mt. Joy, and more.
Learn more at Credits.fm.
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The CDJ-1500X is AlphaTheta’s first budget-minded media player since the XDJ-1000MK2AlphaTheta fills the gap the XDJ-1000MK2 left in 2016 with a budget-minded CDJ built on 2026 hardware, including a new crowd-request feature called CoBeat.
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Tidal won't pay to those #music #producers who upload “wholly generated” tracks by #AI starting from end of June #MusicBusiness #Distribution

The Victor Willis Album Nobody Knows — The 1978 Disco Concept Album for His WifeIn 1978, while writing "Y.M.C.A." and "Macho Man," Victor Willis was also quietly shaping a disco concept album about Josephine Baker — for his wife, a then-unknown actress named Phylicia Allen.

Robinhood rolls out public blockchain, plans crypto trading for UK residentsThe company announced a suite of DeFi products, plans for launching crypto trading in the UK and its public mainnet after months of testing.

KISS 50th Anniversary of Destroyer Released in Limited EditionKISS Destroyer: The Definitive Visual History: Making And Touring The Legendary Album, Official And Authorized Book Set For October;  

KISS Unmasked Live Show Three-Day Kiss Army Event November 14-16 at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas

Celebrating its 50th anniversary, KISS’s Destroyer was originally released in 1976 and is considered to be one of the quintessential KISS albums. It is the band's first album to sell one million copies in its first year and holds the title of being their all-time best-selling studio album.

To mark the milestone, KISS has released limited edition vinyl pressings of "Destroyer." These include a purple liquid-filled vinyl and a metallic gold and purple fire vinyl. The metallic edition comes in an embossed jacket with gold ink details and includes a poster, while the liquid-filled vinyl features a die-cut circle on the back cover to showcase the liquid inside. Both editions highlight classic tracks like “Detroit Rock City,” “Shout It Out Loud,” “Beth,” and “God of Thunder”

Alongside the vinyl, KISS has launched a Destroyer 50th anniversary merchandise line. Items include a Destroyer jacket with an embroidered KISS logo, pullover sweatshirts, raglan-sleeved shirts, belts, and T-shirts featuring the album cover. Many of these items are exclusive to KISS Army members, with limited quantities available shopkissonline.com+1.

Publisher Insight Editions has set an October 27 release date for KISS Destroyer: The Definitive Visual History: Making And Touring The Legendary Album, Official And Authorized. The book was written by author Ken Sharp along with KISS co-founders Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons.

A press release describes the product:

“In 1976, Gene, Paul, Ace, and Peter stomped their platform heels into the mainstream with Destroyer, which catapulted them to superstardom. This official, authorized retrospective takes you behind the scenes at the recording sessions and backstage at the mind-blowing tour that followed, offering eye-opening insights into  Marlon Brando’s significance on the direction of the album, tensions in the sound studio, the destruction of Paul Stanley’s favorite guitar, creating the costumes, and the cover artwork, the photo shoots to promote the record, a dare that led to the birth of the KISS Army, David Bowie’s influence on the stage design, the band’s hijinks on tour, their encounters with Karen Carpenter, Margaret Hamilton, Paul Lynde, other stars of the day . . . and more!

“The book features interviews with more than 50 people, including exclusive new interviews with Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, and producer Bob Ezrin, who reveal all the sex, drugs, and rock ’n’ roll that went into making the record. It comes jam-packed with deep dives on all the songs—including demos that didn’t make the final cut and who titled “Beth”—and contains hundreds of photos, some never before published. Comprehensive tour information covers dates, venues, and key performances, and a complete timeline of recording and promoting the seminal album features world affairs and other cultural events, putting the band’s milestones in meaningful context.

“For the recording of Destroyer, Bob Ezrin was brought in as KISS's new producer, helping the band reach new levels, both sonically and creatively. The album also showed the band's growth as musicians and songwriters, experimenting with new sounds which came in the form of the softer side of songs like "Do You Love Me?" and songs heavy with orchestral arrangements, including "Great Expectations" and their Billboard No. 7 hit single "Beth." Following the breakthrough success of 1975's No. 9 Billboard charting Alive!, Destroyer was the KISS album that brought them to the forefront of the mainstream and transformed them into global rock icons. For its anniversary, UMe celebrates this album's legacy with a staggering amount of bonus material.” 

“Destroyer was pivotal for us, a real a raise-the-bar moment,” lead singer Paul Stanley reflected in an interview with Ultimate Classic Rock. “And interestingly, it wasn’t initially met and embraced in the way we had hoped because, let’s face it, it didn’t sound like Kiss Alive! But over time it became a part of who we are and who we’re perceived to be, and the songs just transcend, perhaps, the initial resistance to the sonics or the instrumentation.” He continued, “We had never used pianos, and I don’t mean as frills on a song, but we actually fortified guitars with pianos to make the chords bigger. And I think some people were thrown by all of that. But ultimately, more songs from Destroyer over the years have been in our shows and in the set than any others.”

Music journalist and author Ken Sharp, who penned the liner notes for Nothing To Lose: The Making of KISS 1972-1975, described Destroyer in an email.

“Destroyer is the album where KISS's sound turned from grainy black and white into full-blown Cinemascope, hard rock guitars mixed with pianos, strings, calliope, bells, and atmospheric sound effects to create a dazzling fantasia of sound and textures. Decades on, Destroyer is regarded as KISS's most ambitious and accomplished release.”

A recent email on the KissOnline.com website revealed the group will perform an unmasked live show as part of the three-day Kiss Army Storms Vegas event, celebrating the fan club's 50th anniversary. The event is scheduled to take place Nov. 14-16 at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas. Besides the Kiss Unmasked performance, the e-mail mentioned that a full schedule of activities will be announced soon, and that fans can expect "a special live performance from former Kiss member Bruce Kulick, along with other special guests, activities, exclusive experiences, and more.”

Paul Stanley of KISS is a lifelong Otis Redding fan. “Try a Little Tenderness” is one of his favorite records. In 2021, his side project, Paul Stanley’s Stone Station, recorded the album Now and Then, displaying the Star Child’s soul side.

On February 18, 1974, Casablanca Records held a party where KISS played live at the Century Plaza Hotel ballroom in Century City. I remember being introduced to Stanley, and we talked about Otis Redding, Solomon Burke, Philly soul, and the wonderful recordings Thom Bell produced. Stanley also mentioned he saw Love at the Fillmore East in New York as a teenager.

In August 2024, when I encountered Stanley at a grocery store in Sherman Oaks in the San Fernando Valley, he raved again about Redding.

“I was lucky enough to see Otis Redding and the Bar-Kays in the summer of 1967 in New York. He was part of the Rheingold Music Festival [on August 18]. Jimi Hendrix and the Monkees played there, too. I was fifteen and paid a dollar for my ticket. I went to see Bo Diddley, but he had some legal problems and couldn’t perform at the show. “Then Otis Redding came out with the full band and horns. The power and the urgency in his voice—I was thrilled! Right then, I knew I was witnessing something. I saw the difference between great and greatness.”

On that February 18, 1974, Casablanca Records held a party, I watched with Justin Pierce of The Hollywood Press, deejay Rodney Bingenheimer and met The Fugitive actor, David Janssen.

I remember thinking, “Here is a band whose first LP and career will either be over in 15 months or they’ll be with us for 50 years.” It was a loud, defiant showcase, and the food was incredible. Casablanca label head Neil Bogart sure knew how to throw a party.

For the February 15, 1975 issue of the now-defunct UK music weekly Melody Maker, I interviewed Paul Stanley, Peter Criss, and Gene Simmons of KISS.

Kiss: Kiss and Tell Melody Maker, 15 February, 1975

"We sold out two houses in Detroit at 12,000 each and were the biggest thing to hit the city since the Beatles. People were charging the stage; throwing jewelry at us, pills and everything else you could hope to imagine," reflected Kiss member Paul Stanley with just a hint of conceit.

In fact, the group does have a lot to be proud of, for within the span of about a year, the once obscure boys from New York City have attained a phenomenally loyal following both state side as well as in Japan.

"It wasn't too long ago when we were in the audience and paying. The whole premise of Kiss was that when you're paying to see us, we feel we owe you everything. It's an exciting brand of rock and roll that comes off as pure entertainment. And if you want the music, you can always listen to our albums."

The whole Kiss story started back in '73 when record company executive Neil Bogart was starting a new label called Casablanca. Bogart had been the man responsible for signing a majority of important acts in the sixties to his Buddah label, but he now felt it was time to broaden his perspective and look into the seventies.

Stereotype

Paul remembers: "We were basically a city band playing dances all over New York. It was the classical rock 'n' roll stereotype. And then Neil discovered us, and after listening to our demos, he asked us to be his first release on Casablanca. He promised us enough things to put together the exact kind of show we always hoped for.

"It was actually like a dream come true. With his assistance, we've been able to conceive what we feel is probably one of the most viable uses of theatrics. Our purpose was, and still is, to enhance the music rather than be pretentious."

Indeed, the whole Kiss consciousness is an awesome sight. Their show opens with the lighting of their huge KISS sign that can be seen throughout the arena. Then the band appears amid an onslaught of energy and thrust. The four piece outfit is each clad in a leather jumpsuit highlighted by Kabuki-like makeup utilizing heavy traces of black, silver, and red against a white base.

Bassist Gene Simmons looks at their approach from a unique perspective. "The band that first knocked me out was the Beatles. Up until then, one wasn't aware of the visual presence a group could have. Each had the same haircut, dressed the same, and if you saw one of them walking down the street, you knew that he belonged to that group. And that concept knocked me out, especially the fact that there was no frontman and each member was a quarter of the whole.

"People have told us that they see similarities in Kiss. Each one of us is so visual that we don't need a frontman. In previous bands we've been in, it was each one of us who stood out. Now it's a case where four people have gotten together as a cohesive and incredibly tight unit. It's also an added plus for the people in the audience."

Bizarre

With the Kiss image being so particularly intriguing and striking, one question everyone wanted to know was where the band got the idea for the bizarre use of heavy makeup. Stanley cautiously ponders the thought, "We've often been accused of being pretentious, but in actuality our concept of what we're doing is an effort to shy away from pretentiousness. The thing we do is very surface, for there are no built-in subtleties in our music or what we do on stage. We feel our whole image is based on the use of imagination.

"I think black leather is very tough and exciting. I'd much prefer something macho rather than coming on in pink satin. There isn't any attempt other than trying to perfect a stage act. It's a very positive trip. There's nothing negative about our show. Just go to a concert and see the kids dance in the aisles, singing along with us.

"We are, in essence, with the audience, for we feel we represent the looseness that everybody can identify with. When people look at us, they say, 'That's what's inside me.' They understand that's not what they look like, but rather what they feel like. "I think we are an extension of everything that happened before us. We're children of the last generation of rock. All my idols, the Stones, Who, Move, and the Kinks had a profound influence on my outlook on the world. When I first saw Peter of the Who, I knew that excitement could be attained, and we've tried to live up to that sort of archetypal image."

Drummer Peter Criss looks at it from a different angle: "I was always into Phil Spector, the Ronettes, early Stones, as well as early Motown with Marvin Gaye, the Four Tops, and all the other numerous talents. Therefore, all our influences owe to a melting pot, and what you get out is not blatantly derivative of any one area. At times, we have tinges of a lot of quality music that has gone down before us. In this age, it's extremely difficult to be original, if not impossible. What you can hope for is to have the right influences predominate throughout your work."

Rollicking

With their brash and assailing brand of rollicking rock, Kiss has admirably been able to succeed with almost any group they've been billed with.

Bogart, who signed the group, has been the one man credited with signing such diverse acts as Question Mark & The Mysterians, Terry Knight & The Pack, 1910 Fruitgum Company, Curtis Mayfield, Melanie, and the Isley Brothers, as well as being influential in bringing the English Charisma label to the US for distribution when he was president of Buddah.

His opinion of the band is flattering to say the least: "I've never been into hard rock until recently. But I can honestly say that Kiss is the first band that I've devoted myself 100 per cent to. In fact, they're everything I've been looking for in a rock band. Their visual show features a drum set that levitates six feet in the air, a lead singer who blows fire out of his mouth, and their wonderful use of makeup is just a shatteringly satisfying experience. Even more important is the fact that they're probably one of the best rock 'n' roll bands I've ever heard in my life."

Another incredible aspect of the Kiss story is the gigantic support they've achieved in Japan.

"It's nice for a band, other than a Japanese group, to put out an album with Japanese liner notes. If for nothing else, it gives our fantastic fans in the Orient something different, as well as being aesthetically pleasing. All the photos on our second LP, titled Hotter Than Hell, were from a party we had, which was something right out of Satyricon, even featuring naked women in bird heads. We felt that the Japanese sense of artistry would get off on it, and we understand it's been received quite favorably."

At the moment, the future looks bright indeed for the boys from Gotham City, who are now planning an exhaustive tour of England, Europe, and Japan that they are looking forward to with a sense of apprehension, as well as expectation.

"We've often been thought of as an English band by many fans in the States, so it'll be interesting to see how we go over there. But just the satisfaction in knowing that we're now reaching young teenagers all the way through 27 year olds means a lot to us."

(Harvey Kubernik is the author of 21 books, including 2009’s Canyon Of Dreams: The Magic And The Music Of Laurel Canyon, 2014’s Turn Up The Radio! Rock, Pop and Roll In Los Angeles 1956-1972, 2015's EveryBody Knows: Leonard Cohen, 2016's Heart of Gold Neil Young and 2017's 1967: A Complete Rock Music History of the Summer of Love.

Sterling/Barnes and Noble in 2018 published Harvey and Kenneth Kubernik’s The Story Of The Band: From Big Pink To The Last Waltz. In 2021 they collaborated on Jimi Hendrix: Voodoo Child for Sterling/Barnes and Noble. 

Otherworld Cottage Industries in 2020 published Harvey’s Docs That Rock, Music That Matters. His Screen Gems: (Pop Music Documentaries and Rock ‘n’ Roll TV Scenes) was published in February 2026 by BearManor Media. Kubernik is researching a multi-voice narrative study on the Beatles scheduled for a UK publisher with a planned summer 2027 publication date.   

Harvey spoke at the special hearings in 2006 initiated by the Library of Congress held in Hollywood, California, discussing archiving practices and audiotape preservation.

In 2017, he appeared at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio, in its Distinguished Speakers Series and as a panelist discussing the forty-fifth anniversary of The Last Waltz at the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles in 2023. Kubernik attended the November 1976 concert.   

Harvey was interviewed along with Iggy Pop, the Beach Boys’ Bruce Johnston, Love’s Johnny Echols, the Bangles' Susanna Hoffs, Victoria and Debbi Peterson, and members of the Seeds for director/producer Neil Norman’s documentary The Seeds: Pushin' Too Hard. In summer 2026, GNP Crescendo plans to release Norman’s film on DVD/Blu-ray). Author Miss Pamela Des Barres narrates).

Photo of Paul Stanley by Brad EltermanThe post KISS 50th Anniversary of Destroyer Released in Limited Edition first appeared on Music Connection Magazine.

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