Great Metal Albums of 1982: Loudness- Devil Soldier
Funny thing about Loudness, I spent the last three months of 1982 and the first three of 1983 in their home country, Japan, and never heard of them. Thinking back to my time there, I do not remember hearing any home grown music of any kind. The juke boxes in any bar I went to or even in the night clubs, all they seemed to play was Western music. My conclusion is that the Japanese are more receptive to Western music and for an act to make it there, it has to first make it outside of Japan. Loudness would certainly do that three years later but at this time, they would remain beyond my attention.
One thing that Loudness certainly prove with their second album, “Devil Soldier,” is that metal can rule no matter what language it’s sung in. As long as there is a great band behind a brilliant voice, great metal can break down barriers. Some of the songs are sung in the native tongue with some parts sung in English. Take “Rock the Nation,” I tried to follow along with the lyrics written down in English but they didn’t sound like English to me, except for parts of the chorus. Nevertheless, lead singer Minoru Nihara sings it very well and he is yet another singer whose talents haven’t been given the respect it deserves. I’m going to put my hand in the piranha’s tank and put him in the same class as Dio, Meine and Gillan. His vocals just come through on each and every song.
Talking about talent, guitarist Akira Takasaki has gotten some well deserved respect. Some have said that he copies other great guitarists but I don’t hear it. The closest he or the band in general come to copying is on the title track where the beginning of the song reminds me of Heart’s classic “Barracuda.” Thinking about it, I did see that song on at least one juke box when I was in Japan. Back to the subject, Akira lays down some good riffs on many songs, most notably, “Hard Workin'” and “Angel Dust.” When he’s not shredding, he does very well in accompaniment with the rhythm section. So, what do I think? Simply, this album kicks ass.
Track Listing:
- Lonely Player
- Angel Dust
- After Illusion
- Girl
- Hard Workin’
- Loving Maid
- Rock the Nation
- Devil Soldier
Minoru Nihara- vocals
Akira Takasaki- guitar
Masayoshi Yamashita- bass
Munetaka Higuchi- drums
In 1985, many in the West would say that thunder would come from the east and it did. However, in 1982, Loudness were still gearing up for their conquest with a great album in “Devil Soldier.” It’s proof to me that heavy metal could unite the world.
Next post: Whitesnake- Saints and Sinners
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This entry was posted on September 21, 2015 at 11:15 am and is filed under 1980s, Heavy Metal, Heavy Metal and the 1980s, Music, Rock, Uncategorized with tags Classic Rock, Devil Soldier, hard rock, Heavy Metal, Heavy Rock, Ian Gillan, Japan, Loudness, melodic rock, Ronnie James Dio, The 1980s. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
11 Responses to “Great Metal Albums of 1982: Loudness- Devil Soldier”
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September 21, 2015 at 2:35 pm
>My conclusion is that the Japanese are more receptive to Western music and for an act to make it there, it has to first make it outside of Japan.
There are many Japanese people who only like the domestic (Japanese) music scene. But, it’s true…bands from America and Europe are very popular here. And, no matter how famous someone is in their own country, they’re not truly famous until they’re famous in America!
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September 22, 2015 at 2:50 pm
I think you are spot on on both counts. Still, I ask myself, how could I have missed them back in 1982-3?
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September 21, 2015 at 10:37 pm
Interesting stuff, I know of them but never heard anything by them. The closest I got was owning a couple of Vow Wow tapes later on.
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September 22, 2015 at 2:51 pm
These guys are definitely worth the listen, for starters, try their best known album “Thunder in the East.” Though, this one is still a good one too.
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September 22, 2015 at 2:52 pm
I used to love Loudness! I’d never seen a Japanese metal band as a kid. I was intrigued! Never seen this album.
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September 22, 2015 at 7:35 pm
This is one of their earlier ones, their second. It is still a good listen. I still love Loudness.
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September 23, 2015 at 4:11 am
I saw Loudness in concert in both Florida and Tokyo.
Their success led Gene Simmons to find a Japanese band for his label…EZO. (EZO, by the way, got their name for the old name of the Japanese island that they’re from)
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September 23, 2015 at 9:04 pm
I was not aware of that! I liked EZO when they came out…amazing singer.
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September 24, 2015 at 3:11 pm
Neither was I, but nothing surprises me with Gene Simmons. I saw Loudness in Philadelphia and London, great both times.
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July 16, 2017 at 9:57 am
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July 17, 2017 at 6:08 pm
Yes by all means, please share!
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