heavy metal

REVIEW: Ozzy Osbourne – Live at Budokan (2002)

OZZY OSBOURNE – Live at Budokan (2002 Sony)

Ozzy’s last paint-by-numbers live album was almost two decades ago.  In actuality, you really only need a live one with Randy Rhoads and you’re golden.  But if you’re in the mood for downtuned Ozzy songs, Live at Budokan might be the way to go.

While the new rhythm section of Mike Bordin (Faith No More) and Rob Trujillo (Metallica) do have a positive impact on the sound, Zakk Wylde is tiring.  His constant divebombing all over Randy’s composition “I Don’t Know” just rubs the wrong way.  Then it’s an unremarkable song called “That I Never Had” from Down to Earth.  The most enjoyable thing about it is actually Zakk’s backing vocal.

Ozzy spaces out old songs with new ones so sleep doesn’t take you too soon.  “Believer” is a nice inclusion, since we’ve never had a version of it with Zakk on guitar.  There’s a novelty to it for that reason, so it’s notable.  A crap new song called “Junkie” acts as filler before “Mr. Crowley”.  They used to have an acronym in Star Trek that they would paint on pipes and conduits on the Enterprise:  “GNDN”.  Goes nowhere, does nothing.  That’s “Junkie”.  And “Crowley” just drags.

The last of the new songs here is “Gets Me Through”; the single, you know the one.  The one with the hilariously unimaginative lyric “I’m not the kind of person you think I am, I’m not the Antichrist or the Iron Man”.  We sure do miss Bob Daisley’s lyrical touch.  “Gets Me Through” might be the most paint-by-numbers of any Ozzy track since Zakk joined the band.

Get ready for a whole shit-ton of No More Tears stuff, as Ozzy rolls out four of ’em.  The title track is still great and doesn’t strain Ozzy as much as the earlier songs.  “Mama I’m Coming Home”, well sure, it has its fans.  “I Don’t Want to Change the World” is still a yawn and “Road to Nowhere” fares well.  The crowd sure loves ’em, those familiar hits.  They go nuts for “Crazy Train” which just doesn’t sound right tuned down like this.  Same with “Bark at the Moon”.  Ozzy closes with the only Sabbath track on the disc, “Paranoid”.  The double tracked vocals are obvious and annoyingly artificial sounding.  It’s cool hearing the Faith No More style of drumming all over it though.  Mike Bordin is a tremendous talent but was he the right guy for Ozzy Osbourne?

As the most unessential of all Ozzy releases, Live at Budokan should really be the last one to add to your collection.  If you care, it was available with two covers:  red printing, and black printing.  For extra pain, you could also go for DVD.  Best track:  “Believer”.

1/5 stars

 

REVIEW: Loudness – Masters of Loudness (1996)

LOUDNESS – Masters of Loudness (1996 Warner Japan, 2010 Wounded Bird reissue)

By 1996, Loudness already had three singers, 11 studio albums, and numerous EPs, compilations and live records.  15 years on from their debut album The Birthday Eve, it was time for an anthology.  Masters of Loudness is made up of 29 tracks (eight live ones) including all singers and all eras.  It uses Japanese mixes of some songs, different from their US counterparts, and what appears to be one exclusive new tune.

How the mixture is balanced can only be determined by a solid listen.

The original Loudness commences the anthology, which is mostly in chronological order but not entirely.  Minoru Niihara has always been a hell of a singer, and his melodic singing helps make “Angel Dust” accessible as a speed metal rocker can be.  Like a cross between vintage Scorpions and Priest, pedal fully to the floor.  It doesn’t matter that most of the words are in Japanese.  From the excellent Disillusion album, “Dream Fantasy” is included in all its Maiden-esque glory.  Not “Crazy Doctor” though — Masters of Loudness chooses to include some of the biggest and best songs in live form instead.  This is an unfortunate though popular strategy used on numerous anthologies and it is a win/lose proposition.  In the “win” column, it breaks up monotony, represents more releases, and allows you to hear lesser-known versions of popular songs.  On the other side of the coin, it means you don’t get the best known versions of the best songs.  You get, frankly, inferior versions of possibly the only songs you know.  And that’s why it’s unfortunate.

The third track “Speed” is one such live inclusion, from 1983’s Live-Loud-Alive.  It does allow you to hear how hot Loudness were on stage so early in their career.  The entire Thunder in the East album is bafflingly skipped over.  It is possible, from the Japanese perspective, that Thunder in the East is not as significant as it is here.  Instead we jump ahead to 1986’s Shadows of War (released here as Lightning Strikes) and 1987’s Hurricane Eyes.  The Japanese mix of “Let It Go”, their most commercial track, is notably different.  The vocals are more distant and there are additional shouts and bits of guitar included.  The US mix was more streamlined and polished for radio.  “Shadows of War” and “S.D.I.” are also Japanese mixes each awesome in its own right.  “Shadows of War” just has the vibe, right in the middle of darkness and light.  Meanwhile “S.D.I.” is an iconic thrash that goes down easy thanks to Minoru Niihara’s vocal prowess.

This anthology skips past the final release with Niihara (1988’s Jealousy EP) and picks up with new vocalist Mike Vescera, their first and only American member.  Strangely the first Vescera track is “Slap in the Face” which is actually from his last release with the band, a 1991 EP.  It’s biting and heavy, but the loss of Minoru Niihara changed not only the voice of Loudness, but also their identity.  Where they used to sound uniquely Japanese, Vescera made them sound like a band from anywhere.  He was and is a great singer with grit and remarkable range and power.  He could certainly take on Minoru in terms of vocal ability.  But they sounded less like Loudness.  That said, “Slap in the Face” is a heavy stomper that was perfectly in line with the direction bands like Metallica and Megadeth were going in the early 90s.

“You Shook Me” (their biggest track with Vescera) and “Demon Disease” represent 1989’s Soldier of Fortune album which still has a cult following.  Loudness only made two albums with Mike, and that era is unfortunately weighted too heavily on this set.  Nothing against the songs themselves, but this brief period gets far more disc time than all of the Niihara era.

Mike’s final Loudness album was 1991’s On the Prowl which mixed new material and new English re-recordings of selections from some of the older Japanese albums.  One of the new ones, “Down N’ Dirty” is predictably a stumble.  It sounds like some sassy band from Hollywood, not a band with the regal history of Loudness.  Trying to sound like Poison?  Perhaps.  At least “In the Mirror” and “Sleepless Nights” sound like Loudness, and they should, being re-recordings of the same songs from The Law of Devil’s Island.  Truthfully, Vescera sounds heroic here, like a true metal warrior come to rid the town of its evil.

A trio of live tracks with Vescera singing close off the first disc.  At the time of release these would have been considered rarities, but in 2009 a full live album with Vescera was issued called Live Loudest at the Budokan ’91.  These are cool live tracks and help fill in some songs that were missing from earlier.  The power ballad “Never Enough” is a remake of an old B-side called “Silent Sword”.  The cheese factor is cranked up, but let’s face it, this is the kind of song people were having hits with until grunge changed that forever.  Akira Takasaki’s guitar solo is delectable.  Then finally it’s “Crazy Doctor”, possibly the best riff that Akira ever wrote.  Vescera has no issues with the notes or the power necessary to deliver them effectively.  Finally the CD ends with a live cut of the very first song from the very first album:  “Loudness”.  It’s quite good and an excellent showcase of Mike’s abilities, not to mention the extended Takasaki solo, a composition until itself, where he shows Eddie Van Halen how guitar tapping is done.

Loudness changed once again, when Mike Vescera bailed to join Yngwie J. Malmsteen.  They also lost original bassist Masayoshi Yamashita at this time.  The second CD (mostly) represents the Masaki Yamada (E-Z-O) era of Loudness, their current singer at the time of release.  With that in context, you can understand why so much time is dedicated to Masaki, who only had two Loudness studio albums under his belt so far.

The first Masaki, 1992’s Loudness, has five of its ten tracks represented here.  They selected five of the best:  “Pray for the Dead”, “Slaughter House”, “Black Widow”, “Hell Bites”, and “Firestorm”.  By and large, the new Loudness was focused on heavy grooves.  Banging heads was a priority once again.  “Firestorm” thrashes as fast and heavy and any vintage Loudness classic.  The big difference was Masaki’s clearly noncommercial voice.  Unlike Vescera or even Minoru, you can’t really imagine Masaki’s songs on the radio.  It was, however, the 1990s, and Masaki was able to harness the altera-heavy going on at that time.

From the 1994 live album Once and For All, “Waking the Dead” is included, another song from the first Masaki album.  Then finally it’s “Crazy Night”, Loudness’ biggest and most beloved hit from Thunder in the East.  Strangely though, instead of the Masaki live version from Once and For All, we are back to Mike Vescera again.  It’s a fine version indeed, but this confusion could have been avoided by just putting the studio version on CD 1.  It’s probably confusing for the listener to be bouncing around from one singer to another.

There are four songs from the second Masaki album, 1994’s Heavy Metal Hippies.  This is when Loudness started their real 1990s evolution, focusing less on metal and loosely expanding into other styles.  They also lost two more members at this point.  Bassist Taiji Sawada, who replaced Masayoshi Yamashita in 1992, was out and Akira played bass on Heavy Metal Hippies.  Original drummer Munetaka Higuchi also left and was replaced by E-Z-O drummer Hirotsugu Homma.  By the numbers, at this point Loudness was actually more E-Z-O.  The change is audible in the music, still heavy, but less melodic and more modern (“Howling Rain” being an exception).  Though Heavy Metal Hippies was released only in Japan, they still managed to get a metal big namer to produce:  Chris Tsangarides.

The Loudness lineup solidified once more with bassist Naoto Shibata, who appears on the live tracks “Desperation, Desecration” and “S.D.I” from 1995’s Loud ‘n’ Raw.  Yes, “S.D.I.” is the only song to appear twice on this anthology.  Why “S.D.I.”?  Why not.  It’s important to have live versions of old classics, but with the new singer at the microphone.  Unfortunately in a comparison between Masaki and Minoru, Minoru wins.  He wrote the song for his own voice, and Masaki’s growly style is barely compatible.

Masters of Loudness saved the best for last:  “Master of the Highway”, an excellent song that seems to be an exclusive.  It puts the focus right onto the riff, a sharp Takasaki blitz of six-string chunk.  Masaki has never sounded so menacing as when growling this tune.

Black stars!
Coming down.
Power!
Pedal to the metal.
Night rider,
Machines of steel.
I am the master! Master of the highway!
Yeah yeah! Oh yeah!

As Masaki tears off through the “demon night”, he only turns up the menace further.  “You’re with the master!  Master of the highway!”  Akira then lays down a face melter of a solo, and before you can get back up, it’s all over.

Rare is the single track that is worth buying a 2 CD anthology just to get, but there it is.

It would be fascinating to be a fly on the wall and to know exactly what the thinking process is in making a release like this.  How was each track decided upon?  Why was there a Mike Vescera version of “Crazy Night” right in the middle of a disc that is otherwise entirely Masaki Yamada material?  Did somebody higher up say “Nope, we need a melodic version of the song, put on an earlier one”?  And why live versions of such big hits anyway?

Masters of Loudness can be broken down this way:

  • Suffers from too many live substitutions.
  • Minimizes the Minoru Niihara era in favour of later singers.
  • Breaks chronological order twice.

But it can also be said that Masters of Loudness has:

  • 29 awesome Loudness tracks.
  • One really smoking “new” track in “Master of the Highway”.
  • A representative slice of every Loudness lineup from 1981-1996.

As always, cost will be a factor and Japanese imports are rarely cheap.  If you can afford it, it’s worth picking up Masters of Loudness and of course, playing it loud.

3.5/5 stars

 

 

 

 

Saturday Live Stream: 6:00 PM E.S.T – Part 2! – Favourite Vinyl & Free Discussion

MORE VINYL!  MORE CHAT!  MORE COFFEE!

Last week was a lot of fun, wasn’t it?  Let’s continue!  Starting at 6:00 PM E.S.T., I’ll be going live on Facebook.  We’ll catch up with some general chit chat and then we’ll delve into another batch of my favourite records. This time I’ll include 7″ singles and cherished oddball releases.

In music news we have some tragic deaths and new releases.  Have you heard the new Rolling Stones single “Living in a Ghost Town”?

Let’s talk about this and more tonight at 6:00 PM Eastern Standard Time.  Facebook:  Michael Ladano

Saturday Live Stream: 6:00 PM E.S.T – Favourite Vinyl & Free Discussion

YOU SPEAK, WE LISTEN!

Someone last week requested that I cover my favourite vinyl on the next live stream.  At the same time, I received some feedback that going back to a discussion format like the early streams might be fun.  I’ve decided to do a bit of both.

For today’s live stream, starting at 6:00 PM E.S.T., I’ll be talking about some of my favourite records.  Why are they some of my favourites?  We’ll get into that and more.  But we’ll start with some free discussion about whatever you want.  How are you holding up now, two months into this crisis?

I read an interesting comment about new music during the crisis.  “I’d prefer not to get any new albums at this time,” went one comment, “because I don’t want to always associate that music with this time.”

Let’s talk about this and more tonight at 6:00 PM Eastern Standard Time.  Facebook:  Michael Ladano

REVIEW: Mötley Crüe – “Dr. Feelgood” (1989 cassette single)

MOTLEY CRUE – “Dr. Feelgood” (1989 Elektra cassette single)

I have a long history with collecting singles.  Record Store Tales Part 4: A Word About B-Sides was all about the discovery of exclusive songs, at the Zellers store in Stanley Park Mall.  The whole point in buying singles, to me, has always been acquiring rare tracks or rare versions of tracks.  Still, if you bought a single and the B-side ended up being on the album anyway, as long as it’s a good song, I don’t complain too much.

Back in 1989 we were all eagerly awaiting the release of Motley Crue’s forthcoming opus, Dr. Feelgood, their first “sober” album and first under the guidance of Bob Rock.  The first single was the title track, and on the little speakers of my radio, it crushed.  In Getting More Tale #656: The One They Call Dr. Feelgood, I had this to say:

“I tried to catch ‘Feelgood’ on the radio and record it, but failed. Instead I bought the cassette single at the local Zellers store. Considering how many tracks the band worked up for Dr. Feelgood, I hoped they would be releasing non-album B-sides. They did not. Instead, ‘Feelgood’ was backed by “Sticky Sweet”, probably the weakest album track.”

This single, bought at the very same Zellers store in the very same mall, is still fun to hit ‘play’ on.  The old familiar cassette test tone precedes the song, a fun nostalgic reminder of the old days.  Then the riff caves in your skull, with no “Terror ‘n Tinseltown” intro.  I suppose if you were a stickler, you could say this version of “Feelgood” without “T.n.T.” was exclusive to the single.  It was pretty easy to separate the two on CD though.

Although certainly overplayed today, I can remember what we all liked about “Feelgood”.  The heavy groove was refreshing and quite unlike other bands getting airplay that summer:  Bon Jovi, Def Leppard, and Aerosmith.  Then there’s Mick Mars’ solo and talkbox bit, still enjoyable.  I’ve probably heard it 1000 times, but “Dr. Feelgood” still plays good on air guitar.

Flipping the tape, the B-side “Sticky Sweet” perpetually sucks.  Motley Crue had a couple unreleased tracks to choose from that would have been better than “Sticky Sweet”, such as “Rodeo”.  But as revealed in an old issue of Hit Parader, some of those tracks were initially earmarked for a followup album called Motley Crue: The Ballads.  Regardless of the rationale, “Sticky Sweet” stinks like a poo stuck to the bottom of your shoe after you’ve already tracked it into the house.  In its favour, it does have a neat funky instrumental section in the middle, but that can’t save a shitty song.  And the thing is, even if an unreleased B-side was never in consideration, why couldn’t they have just picked a better album track, like “Slice of Your Pie” or “She Goes Down”?  Maybe they knew they were sitting on an album with five singles so they started by rolling out the shittiest B-sides?

Whatever!  The A-side may be timeless but the score must account for the atrocious B-side.

3/5 stars

 

Saturday Live Stream: 7:00 PM E.S.T – My Favourite Box Sets

Wanna see stuff from my collection?  All you have to do is ask.  This week the request was “Let’s see your favourite box sets”.  I’ve rounded up a few for show & tell.  I will go live on Facebook April 25 at 7:00 PM Eastern Standard Time. (If you missed last week’s live stream, Rare Box Sets, you can watch it here.)

The subject matter this week is My Favourite Box Sets.  Most of these you have seen on my site already but we are about to take a closer look.  I’ll be live for roughly an hour with these awesome box sets.  Rob Daniels from Visions in Sound will be going live after I’m done so I’ll be jumping over to catch his show!

Join me tonight at 7 PM E.S.T. for some rock and roll shenanigans!  Facebook:  Michael Ladano

REVIEW: Black Sabbath #1 – Rock-It Comics (1994)

BLACK SABBATH #1 – (1994 Rock-It Comics)

1979:  Ozzy Osbourne walks out on Black Sabbath, the band he has fronted for 10 years.  Things almost get physical, and then Ozzy pledges to rule the world on his own.  Tony Iommi swears to come out on top, with or without him.  Bill Ward looks down, knowing that it is truly time for a change.  Geezer Butler doesn’t want to give it up and recommends they call “that Dio-bloke”.

Malibu comics produced a highly fictionalized version of Black Sabbath’s early history in 1994, with stunningly rich artwork and co-written by one Terence “Geezer” Butler himself.  Understanding that this is a mixture of fantasy and history, “The Power of Black Sabbath” is a hugely entertaining comic.  The basic bones of the Sabbath story are there.  The gradeschool rivalry between Ozzy and Tony was real, but Tony never said “Give it up Osbourne, you sing like a girl!”  And it doesn’t matter because it makes for a good panel.  Meanwhile, a young Terry Butler is visited by a mysterious entity that allows him a brief glimpse at his own future.

As if like fate, the four members of Black Sabbath eventually merge together.  Their early history as “Earth” precedes the fame.  Dirty managers, “Blue Suede Shows”, and Jethro Tull stories are rolled out panel by panel.  “Why did I ever think about leaving Earth?” muses Tony, as a demanding Ian Anderson commands him to play a solo.  After another supernatural encounter, they finally settle on the name Black Sabbath.

Album by album their success grows, but they cannot shake their continuing and strange encounters with entities not of this world.  By the time of Never Say Die, tensions between Tony and Ozzy result in the temporary hiring of Dave Walker to replace the singer.  Ozzy eventually leaves permanently on his own “Crazy Train”.  Ending the story here, we learn that Geezer Butler has come to peace with the supernatural side of his life.

But that’s only half the book.  There’s still plenty more content of the non-illustrated variety.

An interview with Geezer Butler is about as revealing as ever.  Dig these insightful answers:

Q: Tell us about the new album.

A: It’s called Cross Purposes.  There are ten tracks on it.  We started writing it last February and finished in mid-July.  [He then runs down the band lineup.]

To its credit, Geezer claims that this comic is the most accurate portrayal of Black Sabbath to date, though it does include “poetic license”.

Next is a very cool gallery of photos that you couldn’t easily find anywhere in 1994.  These include full colour pictures of the Glenn Hughes lineup of Black Sabbath, and versions with Dio, Tony Martin, Vinnie Appice, and Bobby Rondinelli.  There are even a couple monochrome photos with Ian Gillan.  At the time these were some of the only pictures I owned of the band in these phases.

The next pages feature a discography, full colour with album art, lineups and tracklistings.  Included here is a warning not to buy Greatest Hits or Live At Last!  “You have an inferior product both in packaging and sound.  You are warned!”  Screw it, I’m buying Live At Last!  The last page is an autobiographical story by editor Robert V. Conte about buying his first Sabbath album Born Again (my favourite).  Within two weeks he had most of their records.

I’ve read a few critiques about this book complaining about the overly fictional portrayal of the band’s history.  I don’t think it particularly matters.  It’s obvious from the supernatural elements that this is not to be taken as gospel (pun intended).  The vibrant ink and colours capture the Black Sabbath members perfectly, and each panel is glorious to look at.  Not to mention it’s an oversized comic so every page has more bang for the buck.  The stylized dialogue keeps the story moving at a good pace, and though the story is but a brief overview, it’s fine for a single issue.

4.5/5 stars

Saturday Live Stream: 7:00 PM E.S.T – Rarities Galore

I hope you’ve been enjoying these Facebook live streams!  I sure have been.  This week’s stream will be Saturday April 18 at 7:00 PM Eastern Standard Time.  The idea behind changing days and times is to give different people an opportunity to watch.  (If you missed last week’s live stream, The Judas Priest Discography, you can watch it here.)

The subject matter this week is:  Rare Box Sets!  I have an armful dusted off to show off to you.  Some you may have seen on my site before, and some you might not even know existed.  I’ll throw in a rare album or two as time permits.  I plan on going for roughly an hour.  Rob Daniels from Visions in Sound will be going live after I’m done so I’ll be jumping over to catch his show!

No crazy stunts this time, but I will be trying out a new feature.  Whether it’s a bomb or not, we’ll see.  It’s called What the Hell is Mike’s Dad Watching on TV.

Join me tomorrow at 7 PM E.S.T. for some rock and roll shenanigans!  Facebook:  Michael Ladano

 

Disclaimer:  There will be NO half-moons this time.  I swear.

 

 

 

REVIEW: Loudness – Loudness (1992)

LOUDNESS – Loudness (1992 Warner Music Japan)

It’s safe to say that, while the Mike Vescera era of Loudness has its merits, the band was not the same after Minoru Niihara was let go.  Loudness were not the first Japanese metal band to utilize an American singer in an attempt at greater success.  When that didn’t pan out, Vescera left to join Yngwie Malmsteen.  Unfortunately, this lineup shift happened at the worst possible time in music history:  the 1990s.  The beginning of the grunge movement.

Also gone was bassist Masayoshi Yamashita, leaving only founders Munetaka Higuchi (drums), and Akira Takasaki (guitar).  Returning their focus back to Japan, Loudness sought new members already well known at home.  Taiji Sawada from X (called “X Japan” over here) joined on bass.  In a surprising move, they chose E-Z-O singer Masaki Yamada to front Loudness through the 90s.  Masaki’s style was a vocal shift, drastically different from Niihara and Vescera.  He was also known as a theatrical frontman, using exaggerated makeup and hair.  The name recognition wouldn’t hurt though.  E-Z-O put out two critically acclaimed albums in the US, one of which was produced by Gene Simmons of Kiss.

Having felt pressure to commercialize his music, Takasaki decided to go heavy.  What better way to proclaim that they’ve returned to center than by calling the new album simply Loudness?

“Pray for the Dead” opens with heavy, heavy 90s riffing like a cross between Pantera and Megadeth.  Takasaki was not fooling around.  His trademark divebombs soon give way to a slow grind.  Masaki’s growling presence is swiftly felt.  He might not sound like Minoru but he’s completely right for the new Loudness.  This is not the heavy, technical speed metal of the early albums.  “Pray for the Dead” is the new heavy; slowed down and emphasis on groove.  The difference between Loudness and all the rest of the slow, heavy alternametal bands of the 90s is Akira.  He continued to shred solos that would make most players scratch their heads trying to keep up.

Higuchi pounds his way into “Slaughter House” which wastes no time getting up to speed.  The first fast tempo track of the album gets into thrash territory, leaving Metallica in the dust.  Once again Akira blows minds on the solos, this one going neoclassical before duelling with Taiji on bass.  Not letting up, “Waking the Dead” is a vicious song due to Masaki’s vocal bite.

Loudness is relentless.  The best tune is the groover “Black Widow”, track #4.  It is here that Loudness and Masaki gel most perfectly.  It’s better than a lot of the heavy music coming out of Seattle at the same time.  The production is crisp but weighty.  The performances really jam, even though they’re quite technical.  “Black Widow” is a killer!

A “Kickstart My Heart”-like drum pattern opens a song appropriately called “Racing the Wind”.  This is in the neighborhood of Painkiller-era Judas Priest, but with a bass player who can really shred.  On “Love Kills”, the wah-wah pedal is broken out for some play, but the song otherwise chugs along slowly.  At the time, this was the kind of song that was in the right ballpark to be a hit.  “Hell Bites” then annihilates the senses: a blistering track with incredible musicianship from all around.  There’s that wah-wah again!  It’s the closest thing to an album epic when it goes through different tempos and riffs.  Outstanding track.

An interesting song is “Everyone Lies”, since the music was written by former bassist Yamashita.  At first, it’s not an outstanding track.  After a few listens, the heavy groove becomes unshakeable.  “Everyone Lies” is a serious banger, and it gives Masaki room to really bellow.  “So sick of bullshit, better get wise, everyone lies!”  Masaki was assisted in lyrics by Jody Gray, but this sure does sound like Takasaki’s statement towards old managers and record labels.

There’s a funky groove on “Twisted”, a song that could only have been written in the 90s.  The crazy thing is Taiji’s funk bass skills are phenomenal!  When Takasaki starts Vai-shredding all over it, I forget what band I’m listening to.  Especially when Gray raps.  But that is mercifully brief.  It just goes to show how all-encompassing that altera-rock phase was in the 90s.  It touched virtually every band in some way.  Loudness more than expected.

An absolutely insane thrash metal surgical strike ends the album on “Firestorm”, with lyrics split 50/50 between Japanese and English.  Metal doesn’t come much faster than this.  Hopefully the old fans were shitting themselves in happiness with new music of this velocity.

Although Loudness had returned to their roots in terms of playing fast, heavy music once more, there is no question that they also moved into another direction simultaneously.  Loudness is not The Law of Devil’s Land.  Solos aside, there is nothing as traditionally “metal” as early Loudness.  Masaki isn’t a melodic singer like Minoru.  Instead Masaki goes full blast.  Masaki is an acquired taste with a different style.  You’ll either like it or you won’t.

I like it.

4.5/5 stars

 

Rest in peace Munetaka Higuchi and Taiji Sawada.

 

REVIEW: Loudness – Lightning Strikes (1986)

LOUDNESS – Lightning Strikes (1986 Warner – US version)

Eager to repeat the success of 1985’s Thunder in the East, Loudness regrouped with the same production team (Max Norman and Paul Cooper) on the followup Lightning Strikes.  Taking their sound to even wider commercial limits, Loudness wrote a single for the new album, and hoped for American stardom.

When metal bands try their hands at commercial music, the results can be mixed.  Fortunately for Loudness, they had the ability.  Guitarist Akira Takasaki was in a pop rock band called Lazy when he was 17 years old and could write melody.

Lightning Strikes commences with the lead single “Let It Go“, a triumphant upbeat rock song that any band would have loved to write.  The song cannot be praised heavily enough for its sharp catchy riff or singalong melodies.  Singer Minoru Niihara delivers with a knack for a good yell.  Like icing, Takasaki lays down a melodic and technical solo for the sweet tooth.

Seconds up to bat is “Dark Desire”, a terrific track that encourages you to “start a fire with rock”.  This fire goes at a slow burn, but with another notable Takasaki solo as accelerant.  “1000 Eyes” is a bit more metal with its themes of storms and destruction, and screaming chorus to boot.  Check out some bass slaps from Masayoshi Yamashita too.  Then, like a high speed chase, it’s “Face to Face”, pure metal with no commercial considerations whatsoever.  It’s not particularly memorable but the chorus scorches.  The first side concludes with a textbook Takasaki riff on “Who Knows”, a different but decent melodic metal track.  It reminds me of some of the more interesting songs on side B of Iron Maiden’s Piece of Mind, but not as accomplished.

Some tricky stuff via the school of Yngwie Van Lynch is piled onto the front end of “Ashes in the Sky”, a phenomenal power ballad that would have been great on a Dokken album.  (This song was titled “Shadows of War” and served as the opening title track for the slightly different Japanese release.)  “Black Star Oblivion” picks things up with a speed metal track propelled by drummer Munetaka Higuchi.  The jagged chorus makes up for the ordinary verses.  Another memorable riff makes up the structure of “Street Life Dream”, which grinds along at a deliberate pace.  Closing with some dense and blurringly fast riffing, “Complication” sounds like its title.  It’s a bit too busy but certainly ends the album dramatically.

Lightning Strikes is not a bad album.  It has some great tunes, but it has a few that miss the mark.  It houses possibly their greatest song ever, “Let It Go”.  It’s a good album to have, but you just wish it was more consistent.

3/5 stars