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Rise To Glory
''Rise to Glory'' ''-8118-'' is the twenty-seventh studio album by Japanese heavy metal band Loudness. It was released in Japan through Ward Records and in the US and Europe through earMUSIC. It was their first album released in the US since 1991's ''On the Prowl'' and their first in Europe since 2004's ''Racing''. All international editions contained their previous album of self-covers, ''Samsara Flight'', as a bonus disc, much like how the international version of ''Racing'' contained ''RockShocks'' (also a self-cover album) as a bonus disc. The first press edition in Japan contained a DVD featuring a special 35th anniversary show. The album debuted at number 13 on the Oricon weekly albums chart and at number 18 on the ''Billboard Japan'' Hot Albums Chart. Critical reception The album received mixed-to-positive reviews from music critics. Positive reviews praised the album's energy and raw sound, with Vito Tanzi of Cryptic Rock stating, "In high gear, 'I’m Still Alive' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Loudness (band)
is a Japanese heavy metal band formed in 1981 by guitarist Akira Takasaki and drummer Munetaka Higuchi. They were the first Japanese metal act signed to a major label in the United States. Loudness subsequently released 26 studio albums (five licensed in America) and nine live albums by 2014 and reached the ''Billboard'' Top 100 during their heyday as well as charting on Oricon dozens of times. Despite numerous changes in its line-up, with Takasaki the sole constant member, the band continued their activities throughout the 1990s, finally reuniting the original line-up in 2001. This incarnation released a further seven albums until November 30, 2008, when original drummer Munetaka Higuchi died from liver cancer at a hospital in Osaka at age 49. He was replaced with Masayuki Suzuki. Biography 1980–1984: From Lazy to Loudness The band was started by guitarist Akira Takasaki, bassist Hiroyuki Tanaka and drummer Munetaka Higuchi, coming off the split-up of the rock band Lazy ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Billboard Japan
''Billboard Japan'' is a sister organization of the U.S.-based music magazine ''Billboard''. It is operated by the Japanese Osaka-based company Hanshin Contents Link (a subsidiary of Hanshin Electric Railway), holding an exclusive licence from ''Billboard''s parent company to the Billboard brand name in Japan,"Hanshin Contents Link, the operator of Billboard Japan": and manages, among others, the website www.billboard-japan.com and several "Billboard Live"-branded music clubs located in the country. In February 2008, Hanshin Contents Link, under licence from ''Billboard'', launched the ''Billboard Japan'' Hot 100 music chart. As of 2016, the list of charts compiled by ''Billboard Japan'' also includes an albums chart named ''Billboard Japan'' Hot Albums, sales-only-based charts Top Singles Sales, Top Albums Sales, Top Jazz Albums Sales, and Top Classical Albums Sales, a radio-airplay chart named Radio Songs, an animation music Animation music is original music written specifically ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oricon
, established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan and Western music. It started as, which was founded by Sōkō Koike in November 1967 and became known for its music charts. Oricon Inc. was originally set up as a subsidiary of Original Confidence and took over the latter's Oricon record charts in April 2002. The charts are compiled from data drawn from some 39,700 retail outlets (as of April 2011) and provide sales rankings of music CDs, DVDs, electronic games, and other entertainment products based on weekly tabulations. Results are announced every Tuesday and published in ''Oricon Style'' by subsidiary Oricon Entertainment Inc. The group also lists panel survey-based popularity ratings for television commercials on its official website. Oricon started publishing Combined Chart, which includes CD sales, digital sales, and streaming together, on December 19, 2 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Crazy Nights
''Crazy Nights'' is the fourteenth studio album by American rock band Kiss, recorded from March to June 1987 and released on September 21, 1987, by Mercury worldwide and Vertigo in the UK. This was the second album to feature the line-up of Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Bruce Kulick, and Eric Carr. The album is notable for featuring heavy use of pop-metal keyboards and synthesizers. It was re-released in 1998 as part of the Kiss Remasters series and is the last Kiss album to have been remastered. A relatively high number of songs from ''Crazy Nights'' were performed live during its supporting tour, but during and especially immediately following the tour, most of those songs were dropped and were never performed again. Only the song "Crazy Crazy Nights" was retained in their setlist for the ''Hot in the Shade Tour'' which followed a couple of years later; it was dropped after that tour and would not return for nearly 20 years until the ''Sonic Boom Over Europe Tour''. This makes ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Minoru Niihara
is a Japanese singer. He is the original and current lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Loudness. His first band was Earthshaker, in which he played bass and sang. His vocal style was influenced by blues singers, but he adapted quickly his voice to the high pitch tones requested in a heavy metal act. He was selected after an audition to become the lead singer of Loudness in 1981 and his voice, together with the flashy guitar work of guitarist Akira Takasaki were recognized as a trademark of the band. Although the first three albums were sung using mostly Japanese lyrics, he started singing in English only on their 1984 album, '' Disillusion''. After Loudness released ''Jealousy'', he left the band in 1988 and was replaced by the American singer Mike Vescera. After working with several bands (including Ded Chaplin, Sly and X.Y.Z.→A), as well as his solo career, he returned to Loudness in 2001. He released two solo albums: ''One'' in 1989 and ''Ashes To Glory'' in 2006, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Babymetal
(stylized in all caps) is a Japanese kawaii metal band consisting of Suzuka Nakamoto as "Su-metal" and Moa Kikuchi as "Moametal". The band is produced by Kobametal from the Amuse talent agency. Their vocals are backed by heavy metal instrumentation, performed by a group of session musicians known as the "Kami Band" at performances. The band was formed in 2010, with the original lineup of Su-metal (vocal and dance), Moametal (scream and dance), and Yui Mizuno as "Yuimetal" (scream and dance), with the concept of creating a fusion of the heavy metal and Japanese idol genres. Originally a sub-unit of the Japanese idol group Sakura Gakuin, Babymetal became an independent act in 2013, following Nakamoto's departure from Sakura Gakuin. Babymetal released their eponymous debut album in February 2014. Their second album ''Metal Resistance'' was released worldwide in April 2016. Babymetal has also embarked on several tours, with a majority of their tour dates taking place outside o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Akira Takasaki
is a Japanese musician. He is best known as the lead guitarist and sole constant member of the heavy metal band Loudness. He is also the guitarist of the band Lazy, with which he first rose to prominence in the 1970s. Career He started his career as a guitarist, winning a TV contest for young music talents at the age of 14. He was rapidly put under contract to be part of the pop-rock band Lazy, of which drummer Munetaka Higuchi was also a member. Lazy produced five successful albums at the end of the 1970s, but Takasaki's musical style, oriented towards hard rock and heavy metal, did not gel with the band and in 1981 he decided to form his own band, Loudness, alongside bandmate Higuchi. The many heavy metal albums produced by Loudness brought him international fame and vast critical acclaim. He is the only member of Loudness that has been in the band since its inception, producing more than 20 studio albums in 25 years. Takasaki has also continued the production of solo wo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oricon Albums Chart
The Oricon Albums Chart is the Japanese music industry standard albums popularity chart issued daily, weekly, monthly and yearly by Oricon. Oricon originally published LP, CT, Cartridge and CD charts prior to the establishment of the Oricon Albums Chart on October 5, 1987. The Oricon Albums Chart's rankings are based on physical albums' sales. Oricon did not include download sales until its establishment of the Digital Albums Chart on November 19, 2016. In November 2018, Oricon began to include streaming in its album rankings, introducing a combined album chart based on album-equivalent units. Charts are published every Tuesday in Oricon Style and on Oricon's official website. Every Monday, Oricon receives data from outlets, but data on merchandise sold through certain channels does not make it into the charts. For example, the debut single of NEWS, a pop group, was released only through 7-Eleven stores, which are not covered by Oricon, and its sales were not reflected in the Or ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Heavy Metal Music
Heavy metal (or simply metal) is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the United Kingdom and United States. With roots in blues rock, psychedelic rock and acid rock, heavy metal bands developed a thick, monumental sound characterized by distortion (music), distorted guitars, extended guitar solos, emphatic Beat (music), beats and loudness. In 1968, three of the genre's most famous pioneers – Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath and Deep Purple – were founded. Though they came to attract wide audiences, they were often derided by critics. Several American bands modified heavy metal into more accessible forms during the 1970s: the raw, sleazy sound and shock rock of Alice Cooper and Kiss (band), Kiss; the blues-rooted rock of Aerosmith; and the flashy guitar leads and party rock of Van Halen. During the mid-1970s, Judas Priest helped spur the genre's evolution by discarding much of its blues influence,Walser (1993), p. 6 while Motörhea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
RockShocks
''Rockshocks'' is an album of self-covers by the Japanese heavy metal band Loudness. The album, released in Japan in 2004, contains tracks taken from the first five studio album of the band from the 1980s, played again with a more modern sound and different musical arrangements than the originals. The album was published in the USA in 2006 by Crash Records, with three bonus tracks taken from the album ''Racing'': "Exultation", "Lunatic" and "R.I.P.". Track listing All music by Akira Takasaki, all lyrics by Minoru Niihara #"Loudness" - 5:05 #"Crazy Doctor" - 4:21 #"In the Mirror" - 3:41 #"Crazy Night" - 4:33 #"Esper" - 3:50 #"Like Hell" - 4:00 #"Lonely Player" - 5:53 #"Street Woman" - 5:40 #"Angel Dust" - 4:32 #"Rock Shock" - 4:47 #"The Lines Are Down" - 5:02 #"Milky Way" - 4:27 #"Mr. Yesman" - 7:22 Personnel ;Loudness *Minoru Niihara - vocals *Akira Takasaki - guitars *Masayoshi Yamashita - bass *Munetaka Higuchi (December 24, 1958 – November 30, 2008) was a Japanese mus ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Racing (album)
is the nineteenth studio album by the Japanese heavy metal band Loudness. It was released in 2004 in Japan. On April 6, 2005, the band released the English version of the album, the first entirely sung in English since 2001. An international edition was released on August 9, 2005, published by Drakkar, with a different track listing, a different cover and little differences in the production of the solo parts. The album cover marks the return of the band's classic logo, which was originally used from 1985 to 1988. A special international release of the album contains as bonus tracks the entire ''Rockshocks'' album of self-covers from the 1980s. Track listings Music by Akira Takasaki, lyrics by Minoru Niihara Japanese release #"Racing" - 00:29 #"Exultation" - 4:42 #"Lunatic" - 4:06 #"Believe It or Not" - 4:52 #"Power Generation" - 4:03 #"Speed Maniac" - 5:19 #"Live for the Moment" - 4:39 #"Crazy Samurai" - 5:21 #"Tomorrow Is Not Promised" - 6:31 #"Telomerase" - 5:50 #"R.I.P." ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
