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Any time a new LOUDNESS album comes out, I am excited! I have been a fan since 1982 and never wavered from the band. Most people, especially in America, think THUNDER IN THE EAST was their first album. Most people also think the band just resurfaced about 10 or so years ago when they decided to start doing shows outside of Japan again. Well, neither of those thoughts are accurate. In fact, the band LOUDNESS has not stopped since 1981. OK, there were many line up changes along the way, and  a 20+year absence to the World outside of their home of Japan, but none the less, the band is still going strong.

Led by the only member to have never left the band, guitar God(my personal favorite guitar player) Akira Takasaki, LOUDNESS comes roaring into 2018 with their new album RISE TO GLORY. Over the years LOUDNESS has had many styles, a diversified catalog of songs. Their earlier albums have moments of RUSH-like stuff going on, some straight up heavy songs too, sprinkle in a few power ballads and they really did cover it all. When the band decided to try the American and European market in the mid 1980’s, their sound became a little more commercialized. After many line up changes(they had members of other Japanese bands like X JAPAN, EZO and ANTHEM in the line up)the original line up reformed. Sadly along the way original drummer MUNETAKA HIGUICHI(RIP) passed away. As the original line up stayed together, their music got much heavier and faster, sounding nothing like that 80’s version of the band. So most people outside of Japan hadn’t really heard this change until recently. But the last album, THE SUN WILL RISE AGAIN, and their new album RISE TO GLORY seems to incorporate a little of all these styles. Trust me, that is a good thing!

So this new album REALLY showcases just how talented this band is. The aforementioned AKIRA TAKASAKI is just blistering all over this album!  SOUL ON FIRE, I’M STILL ALIVE and MASSIVE TORNADO are some of the songs that really showcase Akira’s amazing ability to be one of the fastest guitar players in Metal, but also technically sound and “clean”(meaning you really can hear EVERY note no matter how fast he plays). But just like any band there has to be other good players and great songs. LOUDNESS has MASAYOSHI YAMISHITA on bass and MASAYUKI “AMPAN” SUZUKI on drums and they tear it up on this album! There is not a lot of “in the pocket” playing here, these 2 are really busy during just about every song……….it’s fun to listen to. Vocalist MINORU NIIHARA really shines on this album too. Seems like there was a conscious effort to have the vocals stand out in a lot of these songs.

Being such a fan I do hear a lot of riffs from songs from the past, both older and newer style. They are masterfully wound together to create a really heavy album that never gets too heavy or too commercial – a really perfect blend. The song GO FOR BROKE almost has them all in one!!! There’s a cool instrumental song KARM SUTRA that even has some elements of Akira’s solo albums that he has released along the way. The song also has a strong drum outro.

All in all this is a really solid release by LOUDNESS and every time they release an album these days I am hoping it’s not the last one. When the band originally reunited for the album SPIRITUAL CANOE, that was supposed to be it – one and done. That was SEVENTEEN years ago!!!! So if we’re lucky LOUDNESS will just keep on going, Akira will keep on shredding, and we will be treated to quality heavy metal from this band for many more years to come.