Loudness

In my secondary schooling days in the 80’s, heavy metal reigned supreme.

It was the days of the rock gods having big hair, flashy clothes, spandex and sideshows performance to attract audience.

My more musically advanced schoolmates were proudly displaying their Loudness, Kiss, Twisted Sister, Iron Maiden, Bon Jovi and Def Leppard merchandise. I had this one friend who sadly I do not recall his name. He was an OKU with a slight limp on his legs. I think Saiful was his name. He exposed me to these foreign influence at Kota Raya in Johor Bahru, where these items were easily available.

Not wanting to be left out, I jumped on the band wagon and purchased Loudness, Hurricane Eyes cassette, their seventh studio album. It entered the US Billboard 200 chart, where it remained for 4 weeks, peaking at #190.

The band comprised of guitarist Akira Takasaki, bassist Masayoshi Yamashita, drummer Munetaka Higuchi and Earthshaker vocalist Minoru Niihara. Minoru produced the most melodic screams if there is such a thing. Akria guitar skills are unmatched and with the thunderous drums of Munetaka, they were indeed loud.

Their fifth album, Thunder in the East was their most successful record.

With the emergence of gritty and aggressive sound of grunge and alternative rock in 90s, Loudness slowly dwindled.

I have been looking for the cd in Malaysia for ages and with Allah SWT blessings I managed to get one on 8 April 2016. Rock on!.

Behold