A mind blowing fact to start with is that Loudness have released 26 studio albums and at least 9 live albums. This is album number four (which was also recorded in Japanese) and was released in ’84. Of course the main interest for me in the band is guitarist Akira Takasaki who is the EVH equivalent in Japan.
This album is very NWOBHM in style and sound, with a little bit of thrash thrown in – but with insane guitar breaks on every song. The first two tracks, Crazy Doctor and Esper, blast by with some ripping guitar. The third track, Butterfly, is a bit of a left turn with a funky guitar pattern and choppy riff that seems totally out of place, until the instrumental section where the song almost goes Prog, and then we get a Maiden gallop. A totally weird arrangement! Side 1 ends with a full on metal assault of Revelation.
Side 2 opens with Exploder, which is Akira’s Eruption moment as he entertains us with this little shred fest. Dream Factory is next and is my favourite track on the album. It has killer guitar throughout, and I love the picked chorus effect guitar in the verse. Milky Way has a nice riff with an odd drum pattern to change things up and a killer middle eight. Satisfaction Guaranteed has a stock Judas Priest riff and groove. The album closes out with Ares Lament, which I would describe as a metal ballad…and we all know how I love those. This is my favourite of the early albums.
8.5/10 from The Grooveman.
