Even though I'm not a Kiss fan, I have to admit there's a distinct, "OMFG!" aspect to that gatefold. It's gotta be a staged, doctored photo. All that fire and one of them would be getting cooked, and likely the venue would burn down. It is an effective picture though!
I can totally relate - we thought that it was way beyond cool, and I recall going over it (and the accompanying booklet) in minute detail many times while playing the album as an impressionable preteen. It took a while before I could accept any rock music performance that wasn't accompanied by explosions or jets of flames or levitating stages or more explosions.
Several I can think of.. ELO, Santana Lotus and Daft Punk and surely (m)any of the Blue Notes Music Matters qualify for a post here ... (note: not my pics but I do have the albums)
While the performance is no doubt staged (someone else noted that the guitars are unplugged) I think the pic could be the real deal. Bear in mind that those flame jets generally last a couple of seconds at most, and it's an awfully big stage.
Agreed, it was always so hard to keep this thing in good condition though. like folding up a damn map!
