Loudness is a Japanese heavy metal band formed in 1981 by guitarist Akira Takasaki and drummer Munetaka Higuchi. They were the first Japanese metal act signed to a major label in the United States. Loudness subsequently released 26 studio albums and nine live albums by 2014 and reached the Billboard Top 100 during their heyday as well as charting on Oricon dozens of times. Despite numerous changes in its line-up, with Takasaki the sole constant member, the band continued their activities throughout the 1990s, finally reuniting the original line-up in 2001. This incarnation released a further seven albums until November 30, 2008, when original drummer Munetaka Higuchi died from liver cancer at a hospital in Osaka at age 49. He was replaced with Masayuki Suzuki.
Mari Hamada is a Japanese heavy metal and pop rock singer. Since her debut in 1983, Hamada has been known as the "Heavy Metal Queen" of Japan. Throughout her career, she has released 25 singles and 23 studio albums.
Minoru Niihara is a Japanese singer. He is the original and current lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Loudness.
Outrage is a Japanese thrash metal band, formed in Nagoya in 1982. They made their debut in 1987 with a lineup of Yosuke Abe on guitar, Yoshihiro Yasui on bass, Shinya Tange on drums and Naoki Hashimoto on vocals. Hashimoto left the band in 1999, but the group continued as a three piece and he returned in 2007. With a career spanning four decades, Outrage are one of few Japanese metal bands to have never disbanded or paused activities.
The Law of Devil's Land is the third studio album by the Japanese heavy metal band Loudness. It was released in 1983 only in Japan and later distributed in Europe by Roadrunner Records. The CD reissue of 2005 contains two extra songs coming from the English version of the band's third single.
Disillusion is the fourth studio album by Japanese heavy metal band Loudness. It was recorded, mixed and mastered in London, England, in 1983 and released at the beginning of 1984. The sound engineer chosen for the recording sessions was the expert Julian Mendelsohn, who had previously worked with acts like Yes, Elton John, Jimmy Page and Bob Marley. The original Japanese version was licensed and released by Music for Nations in the UK and Roadrunner Records in Europe. Attention by major US labels for the band and the need to make their work accessible to Western audiences, prompted a new release of the album with vocal tracks sung in English on July 1, 1984. The English version opened the album with the instrumental "Anthem " by Akira Takasaki, which was missing in the original Japanese release.
Hurricane Eyes is the seventh studio album by Japanese heavy metal band Loudness. It was released in 1987 worldwide with standard English lyrics. A "Japanese Version" was subsequently released only in Japan later in the year with Niihara singing most of the lyrics in Japanese. The album was produced by the famous producer and sound engineer Eddie Kramer, who had worked with the likes of The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix and Kiss. The song "So Lonely", a reprise of "Ares Lament" from the album Disillusion of 1984, was instead produced by Andy Johns, another world-famous producer. This was the last Loudness album to enter the US Billboard 200 chart, where it remained for 4 weeks, peaking at No. 190.
Loudness is the tenth studio album by Japanese band Loudness. It was released in 1992 only in Japan, after the band had terminated the recording contracts with US labels. Original bass player Masayoshi Yamashita was replaced with former X Japan bassist Taiji Sawada and the American vocalist Mike Vescera with former Ezo singer Masaki Yamada.
The Everlasting is the twenty-second studio album by Japanese heavy metal band Loudness. It was released in 2009 only in Japan, after the death of original drummer Munetaka Higuchi, whose pre-recorded drum tracks were used on this album. It was also 15th and last album recorded by the original line-up. The song "I Wonder" introduces new drummer Masayuki Suzuki. The album also features a quasi-return to their 1980s sound in "Flame of Rock" and "I Wonder". The cover artwork is inspired by a Thailand's sculpture called "Budda Head in Tree".
Lazy is a Japanese rock band founded in 1973 by young classmates Hironobu Kageyama, Hiroyuki Tanaka and Akira Takasaki.
Rockshocks is an album of self-covers by the Japanese heavy metal band Loudness. The album, released in Japan in 2004, contains tracks taken from the first five studio album of the band from the 1980s, played again with a more modern sound and different musical arrangements than the originals. The album was published in the USA in 2006 by Crash Records, with three bonus tracks taken from the album Racing: "Exultation", "Lunatic" and "R.I.P.".
King of Pain is the twenty-third studio album by Japanese heavy metal band Loudness. It was released on May 19, 2010 only in Japan and marks the full-length debut of drummer Masayuki Suzuki. Guitarist Akira Takasaki would later say King of Pain was focused on featuring Suzuki. The album reached number 21 on the Oricon chart.
Eve to Dawn is the twenty-fourth studio album by Japanese heavy metal band Loudness, released on September 14, 2011. The album reached number 36 on the Oricon chart.
The Sun Will Rise Again is the twenty-sixth studio album by Japanese heavy metal band Loudness, released on June 3, 2014. A US mix of the album was released on October 7, 2015, in which the songs were remixed, and the album cover shows a blue-and-white rising sun design, instead of the traditional red-and-white. The tracks "Nourishment of the Wind" and "Got to Be Strong" are only released on the Japanese edition of the album, while "Rock Will Never Die" is only released on the US edition.
Japanese metal is heavy metal music from Japan.
Japanese rock, sometimes abbreviated to J-rock, is rock music from Japan. Influenced by American and British rock of the 1960s, the first rock bands in Japan performed what is called Group Sounds, with lyrics almost exclusively in English. Folk rock band Happy End in the early 1970s are credited as the first to sing rock music in the Japanese language. Punk rock bands Boøwy and The Blue Hearts and hard rock/heavy metal groups X Japan and B'z led Japanese rock in the late 1980s and early 1990s by achieving major mainstream success.
Legenda is the 21st studio album by Japanese singer/songwriter Mari Hamada, released on February 15, 2012, by Meldac/Tokuma Japan. The album continues Hamada's heavy metal sound that began with Aestetica in 2010, with Loudness guitarist Akira Takasaki returning as a guest musician. It is also the first album since Romantic Night to not feature longtime collaborator Hiroyuki Ohtsuki. The album is offered in two editions: a single CD and a limited edition with a bonus disc.
"Crazy Night" is the fourth single by Japanese heavy metal band Loudness, from their 1985 album Thunder in the East. Written by lead vocalist Minoru Niihara and guitarist Akira Takasaki and produced by Max Norman, the single was released by Nippon Columbia on December 1, 1984 in Japan and by Atco Records on November 1, 1985. The song was the band's big break in the American metal scene and has since become their signature song.
Diamond Star Halos is the twelfth studio album by the English rock band Def Leppard. It was released on 27 May 2022 through Bludgeon Riffola and Mercury Records, and is the band's first studio album in nearly seven years since 2015's Def Leppard. The album takes its name from the 1971 T. Rex single "Get It On" and includes imagery from Anton Corbijn, Maryam Malakpour, and Oliver and Joshua Munden.
Sunburst is the twenty-eighth studio album by Japanese heavy metal band Loudness. It is their first double album, as well as the first album released on their own label, Katana Music. It was released to commemorate the band's 40th anniversary. It was later released worldwide through earMUSIC on July 29, 2022.
