Loudness (band)
| Loudness | |
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| General information | |
| Genre (s) | Heavy metal , hair metal |
| founding | 1981 |
| Website | http://www.loudnessjp.com/jp/ |
| Current occupation | |
| Minoru Niihara | |
| Akira Takasaki | |
| Masayoshi Yamashita | |
| Masayuki Suzuki | |
Loudness is a Japanese heavy metal band.
history
Loudness ( ラ ウ ド ネ ス ) was founded by guitarist Akira Takasaki ( 高崎 晃 ), * February 22, 1961, and drummer Munetaka Higuchi ( 樋 口 宗 孝 ), December 24, 1958 to November 30, 2008, in May 1981 after the breakup of their previous band Lazy . Lazy had released a remarkable six albums and various singles in Japan between 1977 and 1980, was for Takasaki and Higuchi, who wanted to play heavier music, but too pop-oriented. The two were joined by Minoru Niihara ( 二 井 原 実 ), * March 12, 1960, who sang and played bass in the first line-up of the band Earthshaker in 1978, and Masayoshi Yamashita ( 山下 昌 良 ), * November 29, 1961, from Zephyr as bass player. In August of the same year the band went to the Chestnut Studio in Suzuka and released their debut album The Birthday Eve three months later . It was sung in Japanese, so it was hardly noticed outside of Japan. Nevertheless, it was a very big success and made a big impact on the Japanese rock scene.
On December 17, 1981, the band gave their first concert at the Asakusa International Theater in Tokyo. The 3000 or so tickets were sold out on the spot. The second album Devil Soldier followed in July 1982, in January 1983 The Law of Devil's Land , in November the first live album Live-Loud-Alive (recorded on September 24, 1983 in Nakano Sun Plaza in Tokyo) and in January 1984 Disillusion (recorded at SARM Studio in London), an English language version with a different cover and bonus track was released in April 1984. After the band had already given several concerts in the USA and Europe in 1983, a longer European tour followed in April / May 1984, which also took the group to Germany. This tour was captured in the live video Eurobounds . Akira Takasaki ( Tusk of Jaguar ) and Munetaka Higuchi ( Destruction ) in May 1983 had already released their first solo albums in April 1982 . In 1983 Higuchi also produced the first two albums by singer Mari Hamada and the band Make Up.
Equipped with a major global deal with Atco, the band met in August 1984 at Sound City Studio in Los Angeles to collaborate with producer Max Norman, who was best known for his work with Ozzy Osbourne , their fifth album, Thunder in the East , record. The singing was in English throughout. When the album was released in January 1985, it reached number 4 in the Japanese and number 74 in the US charts, where it could last 19 weeks straight.
In 1985 the band toured America for months, first as a headliner in smaller halls, then as the opening act for Mötley Crüe . As part of this tour, they played as the first Japanese band on August 14, 1985 in Madison Square Garden in New York. The 1986 album Lightning Strikes reached number 64 on the US charts. Tours followed (also in Europe) with bands like AC / DC , Poison and Stryper . In addition, the band played around 100 concerts in their Japanese homeland in 1985/86. Only in Japan was the second live album 8186 Live released in November 1986 (recorded on April 3 and 4, 1986 at the Yoyogi National Gymnasium in Tokyo in front of over 12,000 fans each time).
Their relative success in the USA moved the band to move more towards mass-compatible "Pop-Metal". However, the album Hurricane Eyes (1987) flopped in the USA and could not reach the top 100. As a result, the band initially concentrated more on the domestic market. The following albums, Hurricane Eyes - Japanese Version and Jealousy , were only released in Japan with Japanese lyrics. In order to have greater success in the US market, singer Minoru Niihara was finally fired in December 1988 and replaced by ex-obsession singer Mike Vescera. Niihara first released a solo album ( One ) in 1989 and then founded the band Ded Chaplin, which recorded three albums in the early 1990s. While it was possible to build on the old successes in Japan ( On the Prowl, for example, reached number 7 in the Japanese charts), the career of Loudness came to a complete standstill despite the American singer in the West, both Soldier of Fortune (1989) and On the Prowl (1991) flopped. During a US tour Vescera left the band during a dispute and was replaced by Masaki Yamada (MASAKI) (ex-EZO) for the remaining concerts. Bassist Masayoshi Yamashita also left the band soon after. Taiji Sawada, a former bassist in the band X Japan, which is extremely popular in Japan, joined him for him. After leaving Loudness, Mike Vescera sang with Yngwie Malmsteen, among others. Today he is back with his old band Obsession.
The quartet Takasaki, Higuchi, MASAKI and Sawada made a radical change in style from glam rock to hard sounds and in June 1992 released a new album simply called Loudness . It became the biggest sales hit in Loudness' career in Japan, reaching number 2 on the charts. After an equally successful tour, Sawada (suicide July 2011) left the band in early 1993, Higuchi followed in November 1993. MASAKI also left the band for a time. Higuchi then founded the band Sly with his ex-colleague Niihara, the Earthshaker guitarist Shara and the bassist Koichi Terasawa, which released four albums between 1994 and 1998. For the 1996 Sly album Key , Niihara and Higuchi worked again with producer Max Norman after around ten years. After Sly broke up, Niihara put together his new band XYZ → A in 1999, in which he still sings alongside his work at Loundess.
In 1994 a new loudness album, Heavy Metal Hippies , was released in the trio line-up Takasaki (who also played Bsss), MASAKI and drummer Hirotsugu Homma (also ex-EZO). Naoto Shibata (Anthem) then joined as the new bass player. This line-up recorded three other albums with moderate artistic and commercial success. Live the band only played "club gigs". It was Takasaki who finally reunited all of the founding members on the band's 20th birthday in 2001 and prompted them to continue. The comeback album Spiritual Canoe reached the Japanese Top 20 and the comeback tour in March and the "20th Anniversary Tour" in November / December 2001, both in larger halls, were sold out. Naoto Shibata regrouped his old band Anthem with Hirotsugu Homma after the split from Loudness. Masaki Yamada lives in New York and plays bass in the Firesign group.
In 2006 the band celebrated their 25th birthday and toured the USA and Canada for the first time since 1987 with the original line-up . On November 30, 2008, her drummer Munetaka Higuchi died at the age of 49 of liver cancer, which was diagnosed in the spring of 2008. The band initially played the 2008 concerts with substitute drummer Kozo Suganuma. After Higuchi's death, Masayuki Suzuki ( 鈴木 政 行 ), born September 26, 1972, became a permanent member. Even with the new drummer, the band regularly releases new albums and tours not only in Japan, but also through North America, Asia and Europe.
- Band members at Wacken Open Air 2016
Minoru Niihara
Akira Takasaki
Masayoshi Yamashita
Instrument line-up vocals:
- Minoru Niihara 1981 to 1988; 2000 until today
- Mike Vescera 1989 to 1991
- Masaki Yamada 1992/1993; 1994 to 2000
Guitar:
- Akira Takasaki 1981 to date
Bass:
- Masayoshi Yamashita 1981 to 1992; 2000 until today
- Taiji Sawada 1992/1993
- Naoto Shibata 1995 to 2000
Drums:
- Munetaka Higuchi 1981 to 1993; 2000 to 2008
- Hirotsugu Homma 1994 to 2000
- Kozo Suganuma 2008 (guest for the sick Higuchi)
- Masayuki Suzuki 2009 to date
Discography
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Chart positions Explanation of the data |
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Studio albums
- 1981 - The Birthday Eve
- 1982 - Devil Soldier
- 1983 - The Law of Devil's Land
- 1984 - Disillusion
- 1984 - Disillusion - English Version
- 1985 - Thunder in the East JP 4
- 1986 - Shadows of War
- 1986 - Lightning Strikes (international version by SoW, different cover, mix and vocals)
- 1987 - Hurricane Eyes
- 1987 - Hurricane Eyes - Japanese Version JP 34
- 1988 - Jealousy (mini-album, six songs)
- 1989 - Soldier of Fortune JP 18
- 1991 - On the Prowl JP 7
- 1992 - Loudness JP 2
- 1994 - Heavy Metal Hippies JP 29
- 1997 - Ghetto Machine JP 65
- 1998 - Dragon JP 49
- 1999 - engine JP 48
- 2001 - Spiritual Canoe JP 20
- 2001 - Pandemonium JP 27
- 2002 - Biosphere JP 45
- 2004 - Terror JP 88
- 2004 - Racing JP 60
- 2005 - Racing - English version JP 174
- 2006 - Breaking the Taboo
- 2008 - Metal Mad
- 2009 - The Everlasting
- 2010 - King of Pain
- 2011 - Eve to Dawn
- 2012 - 2 ・ 0 ・ 1 ・ 2
- 2014 - The Sun Will Rise Again
Live albums
- 1983 - Live Loud Alive
- 1986 - 8186 Live
- 1994 - Once and for All
- 1995 - Loud 'n Raw
- 2000 - Eurobounds - Remastered
- 2001 - The Soldier's Just Came Back
- 2002 - Loudness Live 2002
- 2009 - Live Loudest at the Budokan '91 (plus DVD)
Compilations
- 1986 - Never Stay Here, Never Forget You
- 1989 - Early Singles
- 1991 - Loud `N` Rare
- 1991 - Loudest
- 1991 - Loudest Ballard Collection
- 1996 - Best Songs Collection
- 1996 - Masters of Loudness
- 2001 - Best of Loudness 8688 - Atlantic Years
- 2001 - Re-Masterpieces
- 2004 - Rock Shocks (newly recorded greatest hits)
- 2005 - The Best of Reunion
- 2012 - Loudness Best Tracks - Columbia Years
- 2012 - Loudness Best Tracks - Warner Years
- 2012 - Loudness Best Tracks - Tokuma Japan Years
- 2012 - Single Collection
Singles
- 1982 - Burning Love / Bad News
- 1983 - Geraldine / In the Mirror
- 1983 - Road Racer / Shinkiro
- 1984 - Crazy Night / No Way Out
- 1985 - Gotta Fight / Odin / Flash Out (maxi single)
- 1986 - Let It Go / Dark Desire / Farewell (maxi single)
- 1986 - Risky Woman / Silent Sword / The Night Beast (maxi single)
- 1987 - So Lonely / Strike of the Sword (Japanese Versions)
- 1988 - Long Distance Love / Good Things Going
- 1989 - Dreamer and Screamer / Die of Hunger
- 1989 - You Shook Me / Faces in the Fire
- 1991 - Down ´n´Dirty / Take It or Leave It
- 1991 - In the Mirror / Sleepless Night
- 1991 - Slap in the Face / Down ´n´Dirty (Live) / Playin´Games (Live) / Find a Way (Live)
- 1992 - Black Widow / Racing the Wind
- 1992 - Slaughterhouse / House of 1000 Pleasures (Live) / SDI (Live)
- 1994 - Electric Kisses / House of Freaks
- 2004 - Crazy Samurai / RIP / Cyber Soul (Live)
- 2005 - The Battleship Musashi / Wolfgang Amadeus / More Than Machine / The Battleship Musashi [Battle MIX]
- 2010 - The Eternal Soldiers / The Danger Zone / The Eternal Soldiers (inst.) / The Danger Zone (inst.)
Videos and DVDs
- 1983 - LIVE-LOUD-ALIVE LOUDNESS IN TOKYO
- 1984 - EUROBOUNDS
- 1985 - THUNDER IN THE EAST Vol.1
- 1985 - THUNDER IN THE EAST Vol.2
- 1986 - LIVE IN TOKYO LIGHTNING STRIKES
- 1991 - VIDEO LOUDEST
- 1992 - BLACK WIDOW - ONCE AND FOR ALL
- 1992 - Welcome to the Slaughterhouse
- 2001 - The SOLDIER's just came back
- 2002 - 20th Anniversary PANDEMONIUM TOUR
- 2003 - LIVE BIOSPHERE
- 2003 - 20020324 LOUD'N FEST VOL1 at CLUB CITTA
- 2004 - LOUDNESS LIVE TERROR 2004
- 2005 - Rock-Shocking the Nation
- 2005 - LOUDNESS LIVE limited edit at Germany in 2005
- 2005 - LOUDNESS LIVE IN SEOUL 2005 12 05 OFFICIAL BOOTLEG DVD SERIES TWO
- 2007 - THANKS 25TH ANNIVERSARY LOUDNESS LIVE AT INTERNATIONAL FORUM 2006 112
- 2008 - The Legend Of Loudness ~ Live Complete Best
- 2008 - LOUDNESS LIVESHOCKS 2008 METAL MAD QUATTRO CIRCUIT
- 2009 - THE LEGEND OF LOUDNESS ～ Live Complete Best ～
- 2009 - Munetaka Higuchi Forever Our Hero
- 2010 - CLASSIC LOUDNESS LIVE 2009 The Birthday Eve ～ THUNDER IN THE EAST JAPAN TOUR
- 2010 - 樋 口 宗 孝 追悼 ラ イ ブ 2009 DVD Munetaka Higuchi Forever Our Hero
- 2011 - LOUDNESS WORLD CIRCUIT 2010 COMPLETE LIVE
- 2011 - LOUDNESS thanks 30th anniversary
- 2012 - Everlasting Munetaka Higuchi vol 2
- 2012 - LOUDNESS 30th ANNIVERSARY WORLD TOUR IN USA 2011 LIVE & DOCUMENT
- 2012 - LOUDNESS 2011-2012 LIVE ＆ DOCUMENT in JAPAN
- 2013 - LOUDNESS 2012 Complete DVD ～ Limited Edition Live Collection ～
- 2013 - LOUDNESS 2012 Complete DVD ～ Regular Edition Live & document ～
- 2013 - BEST MUSIC VIDEOS
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Loudness Bassist Passes Away. Accessed February 18, 2014.
- ↑ Loudness: Occupations. Accessed February 18, 2014.
- ↑ a b Chart sources: JP US