Loudness (band)
Loudness (Japanese: ラウドネス, Hepburn: Raudonesu) is a Japanese heavy metal band formed in 1981 by guitarist Akira Takasaki and drummer Munetaka Higuchi.[1][2] They were the first Japanese metal act signed to a major label in the United States. Loudness subsequently released twenty-six studio albums (five licensed in America) and nine live albums by 2014 and reached the Billboard Top 100 during their heyday as well as charting on Oricon dozens of times.[1][3] 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 2000. 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.
Loudness
Osaka, Japan
1981–present
Akira Takasaki
Masayoshi Yamashita
Minoru Niihara
Masayuki Suzuki
Mike Vescera
Masaki Yamada
Taiji Sawada
Hirotsugu Homma
Naoto Shibata
Munetaka Higuchi
Biography[edit]
1980–1984: From Lazy to Loudness[edit]
The band was formed by guitarist Akira Takasaki, bassist Hiroyuki Tanaka and drummer Munetaka Higuchi, coming off the split-up of the rock band Lazy in Tokyo in February 1980.[4] The three musicians, Takasaki in particular, were dissatisfied with the musical direction of their previous band and wanted to test their abilities in new areas. The rising movement of new Japanese heavy metal acts (Bow Wow, Anthem, etc.) fit the aspirations and musical tendencies of the young musicians.[5][6] Nevertheless, bassist Tanaka soon renounced to be part of the new metal group, searching success in the anime soundtrack business with the band Neverland. Takasaki recruited his childhood friend Masayoshi Yamashita as bass player[7] and, after a few auditions, the band found a singer in former Earthshaker member Minoru Niihara. He was a university student at the time.[8]
With this line-up, Loudness signed to the major record label Nippon Columbia and released their debut album, The Birthday Eve, in November 1981. Despite the reduced presence of the heavy metal genre in the Japanese media at the time[2] and the lack of a single to launch the album, The Birthday Eve and the concerts to support it were quite successful.[9] The flashy shred guitar work of Takasaki and the solid musicianship of the other band members soon became a trademark of their performances in the studio and on stage.[10] The band, excited by the good sales response in Japan, produced four studio albums in rapid succession,[11] while guitarist Takasaki found the time to start his solo career, releasing the album Tusk of Jaguar, which the other group members played in.
In 1983, after recording their third album The Law of Devil's Land, they embarked on their first United States tour, followed by a tour in Europe.[1] They moved to Europe to record their fourth album Disillusion, performing several concerts there, as documented in their second video Eurobounds. As an attempt to break in the international scene, the band re-recorded the vocal tracks of the album Disillusion in English language, releasing their first album outside Japan in 1984.[7]