God of Thunder (song)
"God of Thunder" is a song by Kiss from their album Destroyer. The song has also been featured on many of Kiss' 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. The song was written by Paul Stanley, who intended to sing it on the album, but producer Bob Ezrin suggested slowing down the tempo and handing the lead vocals over to Gene Simmons.[1]
| "God of Thunder" | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Single 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 |
| Genre | Heavy metal |
| Length | 4:13 |
| Label | Casablanca Records |
| Songwriter(s) | Paul Stanley |
| Producer(s) | Bob Ezrin |
Overview
The song was and is Simmons' "theme song" for the band. It has been 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.
Releases
- Original studio version on Destroyer
- Remixed studio version on Destroyer: Resurrected
- Live version on Alive II
- Live version on Gold
- Alternate studio version on Kiss Killers
- Alternate live version on Kiss Symphony: Alive IV
- Remastered version on Double Platinum
- Another live version on Kiss Alive! 1975-2000 (Best Buy exclusive track)
- Original demo version sung by Paul Stanley on The Box Set
- Original demo version sung by Paul Stanley on Kiss 40
- Unplugged country version on Kissology Volume Three
Personnel
- Gene Simmons - lead vocals/bass guitar
- Ace Frehley - lead guitar
- Paul Stanley - rhythm guitar
- Peter Criss - drums
- Bob Ezrin - keyboards, sound effects
- David and Josh Ezrin - voices
Cover versions and appearances
- Death released a cover of the song as a bonus track on the Japanese version of their 1991 album Human.
- The American doom metal band Rigor Sardonicous released a cover of the song on their album Risus Ex Mortuus.
- White Zombie released a cover of the song as a vinyl-only single in 1989, entitled God of Thunder.
- The Swedish death metal band Entombed covered this song on the Out of Hand single, and was later released on the Entombed compilation and Sons of Satan Praise the Lord compilation.
- A supergroup consisting of Rob Zombie (vocals), Ace Frehley (guitar), Slash (guitar), Tommy Lee (drums), Gilby Clarke (Guitar) and Scott Ian (bass guitar) played a cover of the song for the VH1 Rock Honors of Kiss.
- Iced Earth covered "God of Thunder" on their album Tribute to the Gods.
- Raging Speedhorn covered the song on their album How the Great Have Fallen.
- The Melvins covered the song for the Kiss tribute album Hard to Believe: Kiss Covers Compilation.
- Quintron and Miss Pussycat covered the song on their 2005 album Swamp Tech.
- Ripper covered the song on their 2009 album The Dead Have Rizen on Black Widow Records.
- The song is featured in the 2007 remake of Halloween.
- The Kiss Symphony version of the song appeared in the video game Tony Hawk's Underground[2]
- The song is featured on the soundtrack of the heavy metal-themed video game Brütal Legend.
- The song is featured on Rocksmith 2014 as part of Kiss Pack II DLC in October 2015.
- The song was used as entrance music for WCW wrestler Dale Torborg under the KISS themed gimmick, The Demon. The band performed the track live when the character made its debut, originally played by Brian Adams.
References
- "Song info". Retrieved March 4, 2011.
- "The Sounds of Tony Hawk's Underground - GameSpot.com". Au.gamespot.com. 2003-10-24. Archived from the original on 2013-10-03. Retrieved 2012-07-07.
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