Great Metal Albums of 1984: Loudness- Disillusion
No further proof is needed to support the fact that heavy metal had the world by the balls in 1984 than the album from Japanese metal greats Loudness, “Disillusion.” As far as I know, this was the first Loudness album to be sung in English. All previous albums had been sung in the band’s native tongue although that did not make them any less kick ass.
Thinking about the above statement, that leads to the one small problem with the album. Minoru Nihara’s vocals are sometimes difficult to hear. This is a shame because it is true he sings better English than what he speaks. I’ve heard interviews with him. What is a further shame is the fact that you can’t hear what a great voice he has. Some of you might remember that when I’ve posted about previous Loudness albums, I compared Minoru Nihara to the likes of Ronnie James Dio, Klaus Meine and Ian Gillan. He certainly belongs in the same league as those just mentioned.
While not being able to fully appreciate Nihara’s vocals on “Disillusion” is a little frustrating at times, it is only a small inconvenience because what does obscure the vocals is the brilliant guitar playing of Akira Takasaki. From the first note of the instrumental opener, he just shreds and riffs all over the album. The solos are superb and even his rhythm guitar parts are done amazingly well. He shines extremely well on the tracks “Butterfly” and his instrumental solo “Exploder.” However, my vote for the favourite track is still “Satisfaction Guaranteed” because Nihara’s vocals come through the clearest on it and he does a good job with them. Of course, Takasaki’s guitar playing guided by a good rhythm section help as well.
Track Listing:
- Anthem
- Crazy Doctor
- Esper
- Butterfly
- Revelation
- Exploder
- Dream Fantasy
- Milky Way
- Satisfaction Guaranteed
- Ares’ Lament
Minoru Nihara- lead vocals
Akira Takasaki- guitar
Masayoshi Yamashita- bass, taurus pedals
Munetaka Higuchi- drums
“Disillusion” put Loudness on the metal map in the West and set the stage for the following album which would propel them to greatness. It also proved that culture, race, or national borders had nothing to do with enjoying great metal.
BTW, I will be purchasing my tickets for Sunday’s Download tonight.
Next post: Triumph- Thunder 7
To get Rock and Roll Children, go to: https://crreadac.cf/current/ebooks-free-download-rock-and-roll-children-fb2-by-michael-d-lefevre.html
This entry was posted on May 3, 2018 at 7:00 pm and is filed under 1980s, Heavy Metal, Heavy Metal and the 1980s, Music, Rock, Uncategorized with tags Akira Takasaki, Classic Rock, Disillusion, Guitarists, hard rock, Heavy Metal, Heavy Rock, Ian Gillan, Japan, Loudness, Minoru Nihara, 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.
18 Responses to “Great Metal Albums of 1984: Loudness- Disillusion”
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May 3, 2018 at 7:12 pm
I have to re listen to my Loudness albums.
It has been decades.
I saw the Download line up. If I was only going one day, I prefer the Saturday line up.
But seeing Ozzy before he retires (supposedly) would be cool.
I can’t for Triumph Thunder 7. My first concert was this tour. One day I will do a concert from memory group of posts, and I will start with this one.
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May 3, 2018 at 9:00 pm
I would love to read that. I was hoping to go to Download for the whole weekend but my bank balance had other ideas. There are some bands playing on Saturday that I would have loved to have seen: Thunder, Corrosion of Conformity, L7 and even the Slash and Axl band, oops, Guns and Roses. However, seeing Ozzy before he finally retires is what clinched it for me. Kreator playing on Sunday had something to do with it as well. Definitely break out those Loudness albums.
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May 3, 2018 at 9:04 pm
There is a great Canadian band called Monster Truck on the Saturday.
I’ve seen Ozzy and Kreator, so the Saturday would have been my thing.
I know what you mean about the bank balance.
That’s why I love seeing great bands in bars for about 20 bucks.
Festivals are getting to be too expensive.
Then the camping. Whoa. 300 bucks(or whatever it is) each for a 10 x10 patch of lumpy grass.
No thanks.
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May 3, 2018 at 9:17 pm
I know, that’s why I’m calling it a day on my festival career after Bloodstock, unless I win the lottery of course. I would have gone to see Monster Truck on your recommendation.
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May 4, 2018 at 11:24 am
I haven’t seen Monster Truck live, but I have their albums and they are awesome. I would love the chance to see them live.
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May 4, 2018 at 12:24 pm
I regret not being able to see them live.
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May 4, 2018 at 11:34 am
I used to see Monster Truck early on at small bars for cheap.
Now they mostly do the big festival thing.
However, for Canadian Music Week they are playing a medium/large bar in Toronto so I hopefully will be seeing them again.
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May 4, 2018 at 12:25 pm
I want a full account of the day if you do.
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May 3, 2018 at 9:50 pm
Ah, ’tis the season for festival reviews! Looking forward to it. 🙂
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May 4, 2018 at 6:28 am
I’m glad you are Danica. It would have been nicer if I could have done the whole of the Download Festival instead of just one day.
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May 3, 2018 at 11:05 pm
I haven’t heard of these guys at all. Ever. Though that’s probably not surprising.
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May 4, 2018 at 6:29 am
There’s no time like the present, you will not be disappointed.
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May 5, 2018 at 7:33 am
Never heard of them myself but really enjoyed the track
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May 5, 2018 at 8:15 pm
Good, this album and “Thunder in the East” are their best albums. Start there and enjoy the listen!
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May 5, 2018 at 9:17 pm
Alexa seems to have a store of them 🙂
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May 6, 2018 at 8:19 am
There you go then, start there.
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May 5, 2018 at 1:08 pm
I don’t remember Loudness, but I do remember Vow Wow – remember them?
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May 5, 2018 at 8:16 pm
I remember Vow Wow and they will not be left out when I get to that year. In the meantime, have a listen to Loudness.
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