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
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