THE BIRTHDAT EVE~誕生前夜 ALBUM REVIEW

 

Pleasure guaranteed on this excellent debut killer - 95%

By kluseba, August 5th, 2011

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DEVIL SOLDIER ~戦慄の奇蹟 ALBUM REVIEW

 

Traditional heaviness meets visionary innovation 

By kluseba, October 27th, 2011

The second strike of the more or less infamous Japanese heavy metal legend is not as groundbreaking as their first release but nevertheless a very strong record. There are still a few new interesting elements to find.

Some tracks on the record have a more progressive driven sound and Minoru Niihara's vocals strangely remind me of those of Rush's legendary vocalist Geddy Lee. This isn't a bad thing at all as he has a very unique high pitched and energizing voice. Just listen to the opener "Lonely Player" that also reminds a little bit of Van Halen.

The band has also some really unique guitar riffs by Akira Takasaki on the record that get a more and more technical and dystopian sound. The riffs of "Hard Workin'" remind me a lot of the progressive thrash icons Voivod and their legendary guitar player Denis d'Amour but Loudness created this very unique sound a few years before the Canadians did. I really felt as if I got stroke by a thunder when I listened to this track for the first time. Loudness show that they are still innovating on their second output and they are without a doubt ahead of the times.

Next to some straight traditional heavy metal songs that breathe the fresh energy of the wild early eighties and have not lost their charm at all nowadays such as "Loving Maid", the band also continued to write some diversified and rather calm epic tracks for this very solid release with the highlight being the closing title track "Devil Soldier". There are many melodic and memorable guitar riffs, a great pumping and energizing bass guitar, a solid and diversified drumming plus some great changes in style to find within this little gem.

The only reason why this album gets a weaker rating than the first is that it is less innovating and surprising with the exception of "Hard Workin" and that there is also a true catchy anthem missing on this release. But anybody that liked the first album of the band won't be disappointed with this one neither. This is entertaining, authentic and energizing traditional heavy metal from an exotic country with a couple of positive and even innovating surprises. If you have a chance to get your hands on of the rare copies of this record, don't hesitate if you are a heavy metal maniac.

Track List  ;

1. Lonely Player
2. Angel Dust
3. After Illusion
4. Girl
5. Hard Workin'
6. Loving Maid
7. Rock the Nation
8. Devil Soldier

***Disclaimer*** 

I do not own any copyright for any of this material!

Copyright belongs to Loudness and B & M Recordings! 

Purchase your remastered copy today!

LOUDNESS - DEVIL SOLDIER FULL ALBUM 

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GHETTO MACHINE ALBUM REVIEW

 

Tattooed women - part one: sonic psychedelics 

kluseba, June 24th, 2016

Written based on this version: 1997, CD, Rooms Records

TIn the middle of the nineties, Loudness was on the verge of falling apart and had drifted into obscurity. Aside from founding member and guitarist Akira Takasaki, this record features singer Masaki Yamada who had joined the band five years earlier after the failed experiment with Mike Vescera, drummer Hirotsugu Homma who had joined the band for the controversially discussed previous transitional record ''Heavy Metal Hippies'' that had mixed psychedelic world music elements with a sinister grunge sound and new bassist Naoto Shibata. All band members were experienced veterans of a declining Japanese heavy metal scene and tried desperately to unite forces and reinvent themselves on this album. This type of midlife crisis even affected band leader Akira Takasaki who had traveled to India and converted to Buddhism to find new motivations for not simply disbanding his band. While it was obvious that this band wouldn't stay together for a long period of time and that this record wouldn't put them immediately back on the map in a time where younger generations mostly just cared for the Visual Kei movement, groove metal or alternative rock after the decline of the grunge spirit, one should be grateful that Loudness didn't call it quits back in those days since the band has nowadays rekindled the passionate heavy metal spirit that made it so appealing. Aside from this historic context, one must though admit that the band's three records with this line-up in the late nineties are among the hardest to digest in Loudness' extensive career with a whopping twenty-eight studio records so far. Most people will dislike this album here but, a minority like me might appreciate it for what it is and a few selected exceptions could really dig this output.

It might not be a coincidence that all those three controversial records of the late nineties feature cover artworks with barely dressed or undressed women with eye-catching tattoos hence the title of my review. I'm usually not a supporter of doodles scrapping sensitive skins but the three cover artworks and models portrayed on them are at least tolerable. This also represents my view on these records. They weren't a truly convincing idea in the first place but aren't horrid either and actually quite listenable at times.

What we get on ''Ghetto Machine'' is a mixture of sluggish alternative rock with a few psychedelic elements recalling the grunge spirit of the early nineties. The listener is also confronted with angrier vocals and some chugging riffs here and there that are clearly inspired by groove metal. What you get here might not be as emotionally intense as Nirvana but it isn't stupidly aggressive music in the key of Pantera for bullies and rednecks either. This record is somewhere in between and while Loudness' identity crisis is quite obvious on this output, I prefer the band's positive attitude to initiate some actual changes over other veteran bands that either disbanded or continued releasing the same type of music over and over again. This record has at least a rather clear guiding line in form of mid-paced alternative metal tracks with a modern touch and a few psychedelic experiments.

While the guitar play is often less enthusiastic than usual, the bass guitar sometimes takes the lead and adds some charisma to the song writing. ''San Francisco'' is dominated by a somewhat repetitive but powerful bass line combined with some simple riffs that almost recall punk music. If the song was a little bit faster and if the chorus wasn't so repetitive, this would actually be a great song that could also come from Rage Against The Machine. Despite its flaws, this song is somewhat catchy and has an addicting groovy vibe. ''Love and Hate'' even opens with a bass line supported by psychedelic guitar effects and slow spoken-word vocals before this cool tune varies between speedier and slower parts. With a different vocalist, this song could easily come from Jane's Addiction or Red Hot Chili Peppers which aren't bad references in my book. The experimental ''Hypnotized'' with its extremely diversified guitar work somewhere between punk-driven riffs, psychedelic soundscapes and endlessly ecstatic solo passages is in the same vein and offers a lot to discover. This is probably my favorite tune on the album. On the other side, the equally experimental ''Jasmine Sky'' is a little bit too plodding and smooth in my book and hard to sit through if you're sober but it's questionable if the band members were actually in a normal state of mind when they recorded this unusually numbing tune that has a certain charm despite its flaws.

While a first contact with this release might confuse or even repulse fans of Loudness' earlier and later works, the underestimated ''Ghetto Machine'' is a true grower that picks some interesting bits and pieces from then-popular rock genres, puts them into a blender and manages to pull of a rather coherent record that is occasionally enjoyable to listen to if one accepts the diversified influences. If you like a weird Japanese take on a sound somewhere between Nirvana, Pantera and Rage Against the Machine, you will adore this record. It's definitely a rare gem and surprising addition to an extended collection of alternative rock and metal releases of the nineties. Those who are expecting a heavy metal release or something that sticks to a more traditional type of song writing should ignore this record.

In the end, the lyrics of my favorite song on this album called ''Hypnotized'' summarize this output rather well: ''Endless end and nameless friends, I feel so strange and blue, Colours changing everywhere, Can't you feel that you are dreaming? And I'm hypnotized, I'm so confused, I'm wasting your time.'' But sometimes one needs to lose its way to come back stronger than ever and that's why ''Ghetto Machine'' is both an interesting and important record.

Track List :

1. Ghetto Machine
2. Slave
3. Evil Ecstasy
4. San Francisco
5. Love and Hate
6. Creatures
7. Katmandu Fly
8. Hypnotized
9. Dead Man Walking
10. Jasmine Sky
11. Wonder Man

***Disclaimer*** 

I do not own any copyright for any of this material!

Copyright belongs to Metallica and Blackened Recordings! 

Purchase your remastered copy today!

LOUDNESS - GHETTO MACHINE FULL ALBUM 

( Poor Quality )

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DISILLUSION ALBUM REVIEW

 

Review: Live-Loud-Alive (reviewed by MetalMike)

Loudness has the distinction of being the first name on most people’s lips when the subject of "metal bands from Japan" is brought up. They may or may not have been the first Japanese band in America (Bow Wow and Earthshaker were around at the same time and imports of all three probably showed up within a short time of each other) but they were the first to get signed by a major label (Atlantic Records) and enjoy wide popularity during the ‘80s golden age.

Disillusion was the band’s fourth album and the first to be licensed outside of Japan (Music for Nations in the U.K., Roadrunner in the rest of Europe) and the vehicle by which I discovered them. I bought the U.K. version of the album because it was in the heavy metal import bin and had a cool samurai warrior on the cover and hoped for the best because that’s what you did back then. Musically, Loudness plays energetic, up-tempo heavy metal centered around the great riffs and fantastic lead work of guitarist Akira Takasaki. As soon as Loudness hit American shores, guitar aficionados had another idol to worship as Takasaki is supremely talented. The rest of the band members are no slouches either though as you might expect, singer Minoru Niihara sounds uncomfortable with the English version of the album’s lyrics. To be fair, he’s trying to inject emotion into vocal lines with words he’s learned phonetically, which is no easy feat. It was a bit of a surprise but understandable when the band replaced him with American singer Mike Vescera for 1989’s Soldier of Fortune album after the band’s previous albums hadn’t generated the kind of sales figures Atlantic expected (a move that ultimately didn’t work and Vescera was gone after the next album, On the Prowl).

Nevertheless, Disillusion contains some great 80s metal including "Crazy Doctor," "Dream Fantasy" and "Satisfaction Guaranteed," tracks you can sing along to even if you aren’t quite sure what you are singing all the time. Guitar fiends can jam to the instrumental "Exploder" and it is all wrapped up in a simple, no frills production that lets every instrument breathe. I can live without "Milky Way" and "Ares’ Lament," but no album is perfect, right? I’m biased because I’ve been listening to this one for more than 35 years but fans of 80s heavy metal and in particular of sweet, acrobatic guitar solos should find a lot to like as well.

Track List  :

1. Anthem (Loudness Overture)
2. Crazy Doctor
3. Esper
4. Butterfly
5. Revelation
6. Exploder
7. Dream Fantasy
8. Milky Way
9. Satisfaction Guaranteed
10. Ares' Lament

***Disclaimer*** 

I do not own any copyright for any of this material!

Copyright belongs to Loudness  and Nippon Columbia Recordings! 

Purchase your remastered copy today!

Loudness - Disulission Full Album

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LIGHTNING STRIKES ALBUM REVIEW

Play it loud - 85%

By ManillaRoad, January 22nd, 2009

Digging through my vinyl collection, I found a couple Loudness LPs that caught my interest. This album was particularly good and featured a solid representation of the band's style and sound. It also marks an interesting point in the band's career. This is their second English-speaking album, and they already had got a taste of commercial success outside of Japan. Musically, I think they continued to get better after this album, and ultimately reached a peak on Soldier of Fortune. In the overall discography, this album is certainly a high point in their relatively early career.

It is effective on vinyl because both sides open up with killer tracks: Let It Go and Shadows of War (called Ashes in the Sky on my version). The core of Loudness is guitar virtuoso Akira Takasaki, who is quite a master soloist with a strong rhythmic style. Sometimes I feel he wanted to imitate Eddie Van Halen, even with his flamboyant style of dress. Other times his musical stylings resemble a more melodic Yngwie Malmsteen shred attack. But the one thing Akira Takasaki is very good at is crafting powerful guitar leads and solid chord progressions.

The two bands that come to mind in comparison are Van Halen and AC/DC, and yet Japan's Loudness were peaking at a later date and managed to greatly differentiate themselves. Shadows of War is my favorite track on the album, opening up with a slick clean guitar passage and bursting out into an atmospheric riff romp that seems to have in mind a fight on the city streets. The guitar tone is very crisp for the year of the recording. Takasaki's guitaristic sensibilities shine through with piercing leads and James Bond chord progressions.

Worth mentioning is Minoru Niihara's competent if understated vocal performance throughout the album. It's a bit typical for Japanese male vocals, but at times he soars higher than expected in the Western style with a fluttering vibrato following closely behind. 1000 Eyes is a good rocker in the traditional Loudness style, meaning a catchy, accessible chorus and good songwriting throughout, with stylish guitar soloing.

I feel that a couple songs fall just a bit short, like Face To Face and Complication. Who Knows is a bizarre track that's like a rollercoaster ride full of ups and downs. A few of the tracks that I have already mentioned really nail it, and that is when Loudness is simply a pleasure to listen to. There aren't any bad moments on the album, and I would strongly recommend it to anyone who fancies themselves a traditional heavy metal fan. Moreover, if you are a serious guitar player, you're definitely going to want to hear what Akira Takasaki can do. If you only listen to one Japanese metal band, this is certainly one of the most historically important (along with Bow Wow) that you should check out.

Track List  :

1. Let It Go

2. Dark Desire

3. 1000 Eyes

4. Face to Face

5. Who Knows

6. Ashes in the Sky

7. Black Star Oblivion

8. Street Life Dream

9. Complication

***Disclaimer*** 

I do not own any copyright for any of this material!

Copyright belongs to Loudness and Alco Recordings! 

Purchase your remastered copy today!

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Angels of Death are marching closer... - 86%

By Brainded Binky, June 23rd, 2014

Loudness, despite being one of many bands to come out of the Land of the Rising Sun, was only one of two bands from Japan that ever gained a following in the U.S, the other band being EZO. Loudness was also one of those bands pressured by their American record label to make their music more appealing to the public ear. Despite that, they still managed to crank out quite a few songs that stayed true to not only their own style, but also to metal itself. In fact, this record, "Hurricane Eyes" has a lot more high-powered energy than the previous release, "Lightning Strikes". Sure, there are some songs on here that qualify as "sellout" material, but those can be ignored in favor of the good stuff on here.

On "Hurricane Eyes" we get kind of a mixed bag of songs. Some of them have that aggressive energy that we headbangers enjoy and/or are very quick paced, while others are just glossy 80's pop/rock material. But what we have for the good songs on here are songs such as "S.D.I." and "Strike of the Sword". The latter, in particular, has a very interesting chord pattern, and gives the song a more different vibe than other aggressive songs that Loudness and other bands have done in the past. "S.D.I." doesn't really have that kind of chord pattern found in 'Strike of the Sword", but it makes up for that with Akira Takasaki's super-fast arpeggios on the acoustic guitar, which can be heard after each verse of the song. Both of these songs are quite an improvement from the last album, "Lightning Strikes", which barely features anything fast, let alone anything that resembles complexity in parts of songs other than the solos. The songs on "Lightning Strikes" were good, but they weren't excellent, cos they certainly don't have the sheer power that "S.D.I." and "Strike of the Sword" do. It's like they wanted to improve their sound more than ever before, and they did.

Since they were on a major record label, Atco, you could also expect some wimpy and pathetic songs. "Rock and Roll Gypsy" is something completely unexpected, and it's not a nice surprise for us metalheads. It's a glossy, over-polished mess that contains a cheesy, synthesizer hook that you'd expect to come out of Phil Collins-era Genesis. The fact that it has the lyrics,"I'll make you feel good" in its catchy, sing-along chorus doesn't help much, either. The song is the complete polar opposite of the sheer aggression we get with "S.D.I.", and makes Loudness sound like a completely different band, making the album somewhat confusing to listen to. It kind of makes you wonder if you're listening to Loudness or the Americanized 80's version of Baby Metal. That's how far the label pushed them into making music fit for the radio and the bedrooms of teenage girls with posters of their poodle-haired prince charming on their wall.

Oh, did I mention the ballads? Yep, we've got two of them on here, "In My Dreams", and "So Lonely", cos clearly the kids in America want something sweet. "In My Dreams" actually isn't that way at all. It's not really wimpy and weepy "power ballad" so much as it is kind of mysterious and eerie-sounding. The backing vocals that come after each chorus in the song add to that creepy-sounding effect. "So Lonely" has kind of that same effect, except it's glossed over with synthesizers and it goes on one minute too long. The reason being is that the backing vocals are singing "oh no, no, no, no, no, no" over and over again, as if it were trying to get the listener to sing along until it fades out. Minoru Niihara's vocal performance in the song, and especially in the chorus, isn't bad, but still, when listening to it, you can't seem to ignore the synthesizers. If you want my opinion, I think "In My Dreams" is a better song, cos it's not so laced with sugar and it defeats the notion of a weak love song due to its eerie vibe. It's a good, out-of-the-ordinary ballad, yes, but since it is a ballad, it's also evidence of the label getting in the way of the music.

As much as there's some cheese that sneaked into the album just to make sure that Loudness becomes easier to relate to an American audience, there's still that aggressive power that some people in that American audience would enjoy. Of course it's more polished than anything Loudness had released previously, but you can still enjoy it for what it is. There's plenty of stuff on here for those who want power and aggression rather than commercial 80's pop/rock. This is an album I would recommend, but I would also say that if you want songs that borderline speed metal, then stay away from "Rock and Roll Gypsy".

Track List  :

1. S.D.I.
2. This Lonely Heart
3. Rock 'n Roll Gypsy
4. In My Dreams
5. Take Me Home
6. Strike of the Sword
7. Rock This Way
8. In This World Beyond
9. Hungry Hunter
10. So Lonely

***Disclaimer*** 

I do not own any copyright for any of this material!

Copyright belongs to Loudness and Alco  Recordings! 

Purchase your remastered copy today!

Loudness - Hurricane Eyes Full Album

( Poor Quality )

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LOUDNESS ALBUM REVIEW

 

1/2 Loudness, 1/4 EZO, 1/4 X Japan - 99%

By kgerych1995, April 19th, 2014

1992 was a bad year for Loudness to attempt to re-invent themselves. Grunge was all the rage, and Generation X no longer wanted to hear the things that made music in the previous era so great. Trading in aqua-net hairspray for flannel and fuzzed out guitars, while the singer whines about how shitty life is. Loudness, all the way out in Japan however, turned in a different direction by 1992, after going nowhere with the dismal "On The Prowl", exercise in pop metal. By the end of 1991, Loudness was left with mastermind and mainstay Akira Takasaki, and founding drummer Muneteka Higuchi, and their decision to bring in two new members effectively made Loudness a "super-group", drawing in former members of "X Japan" and "EZO" in early 1992.

Taiji Sawada and Masaki Yamada rounded out the lineup, and created a lean, killer album, with 1992's self titled outing. This is Loudness, Mach III, Louder, heavier and meaner than ever before. From the opening beat down that is the thunderous "Pray For The Dead" to moodier moments like the cool, bluesy "Love Kills", this pays for its self. "Everyone Lies" is my personal favorite from this album. The song starts out with a break from the heavy mold of the album for a short acoustic intro. Then a thundering drum fill cues in the song. The entire song is filled with anger and rage, and not the clichéd rage that is associated with modern metal music, because this is a very modern metal album for the time. No, this is true rage, and Yamada sings every word with enough venom in his tone to let you know that he is not screwing around. Taiji really shines on this song, with his bass solo breakdown in the middle of the song.

Other highlights include my runner-up for personal favorite, "Waking The Dead" , a fiery track that showcases Akira's craftsmanship when coming up with a riff. Seriously folks, this riff is a head crusher. Yamada's vocals are my only issues with this, they sound a tad strained in the chorus, which in a way goes good with his gritty, raspy vocal style. Another track worth mentioning is "Black Widow", with such a nasty, deep groove to it. This song never really kicks up a ton of dust, which is nice. It is a very groove based track, as are quite a few songs on this album. "Firestorm" is a raging torrent of a number, lyrics flying at you at a million miles per hour, and drumming fast enough to make Dave Lombardo blush.

But alas, the first of two problems I have with this album arises. The lyrics. I speak English and German, but sadly not Japanese, so I can't understand a lot of the lyrics on "Firestorm" and "Hell Bites", the two heaviest on the album and the only two songs that feature non-English lyrics. My only other gripe is the production. The drums are fairly thin in places, as is the bass, and are sometimes buried by reverb. At first, everything in the mix really meshes well, everything is very lush and full sounding, but as the speed picks up, the mix becomes slightly muddled. I had to dock a point for those two, mainly because they were small concerns on an otherwise perfect album.

To wrap things up, this is my go to album for anyone interested in Loudness. It eschews all of the novelty that "Crazy Night" brought to America, the blandness of the two Mike Vescera albums and sounds new and fresh, like a brand new band song after song. I know I sometimes seem to call a lot of albums "perfect", but this IS what I would call a perfect album, a perfect mix of old as well as new that sounds very fresh and original.

Track List   :

1. Pray for the Dead

2. Slaughter House

3. Waking the Dead

4. Black Widow

5. Racing the Wind

6. Love Kills

7. Hell Bites (From the Edge of Insanity)

8. Everyone Lies

9. Twisted

10. Firestorm

***Disclaimer*** 

I do not own any copyright for any of this material!

Copyright belongs to Metallica and Blackened Recordings! 

Purchase your remastered copy today!

Loudness - Loudness Full Album

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