is the fourth studio album by Japanese heavy metal band

Loudness In acoustics, loudness is the subjectivity, subjective perception of sound pressure. More formally, it is defined as, "That attribute of auditory sensation in terms of which sounds can be ordered on a scale extending from quiet to loud". The rel ...

. It was recorded, mixed and mastered in London, England, in 1983 and released at the beginning of 1984. The sound engineer chosen for the recording sessions was the expert

Julian Mendelsohn Julian Mendelsohn is an Australian record producer, audio engineer and mixer. Early life After completing school in Australia, Mendelsohn moved to the United Kingdom. He secured his first job in 1974 at Milner Sound Fulham Rd. Chelsea, run b ...

, who had previously worked with acts like Yes,

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

, Jimmy Page and

Bob Marley Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981; baptised in 1980 as Berhane Selassie) was a Jamaican singer, musician, and songwriter. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, his musical career was marked by fusing elements o ...

. The original Japanese version was licensed and released by

Music for Nations Music For Nations (MFN) is a British independent record label focusing mainly on rock and metal. It was a subsidiary of the larger label distributor Zomba Records, which was a division of BMG and later Sony Music Entertainment. Launched in 1 ...

in the UK and

Roadrunner Records Roadrunner Records is an American record label focused on heavy metal and hard rock bands. Founded in the Netherlands in 1980, it is now a division of Warner Music Group and is based in New York City. History The label was launched in 1980 in t ...

in Europe. Attention by major US labels for the band and the need to make their work accessible to Western audiences, prompted a new release of the album with vocal tracks sung in English on July 1, 1984. The English version opened the album with the instrumental "Anthem (Loudness Overture)" by

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 ...

, which was missing in the original Japanese release.

Critical reception

In 2005, ''Disillusion'' was ranked number 290 in ''

Rock Hard "Rock Hard" is a single by the Beastie Boys, released by Def Jam Records on 12" in 1984. The track contains samples from the AC/DC song "Back in Black", which was used without obtaining legal permission, causing the record to be withdraw ...

'' magazine's book of ''The 500 Greatest Rock & Metal Albums of All Time''. In September 2007, ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

Japan'' rated ''Disillusion'' No. 40 on its list of the "100 Greatest Japanese Rock Albums of All Time". In 2019, "Exploder" was named the 21st best guitar instrumental by ''

Young Guitar Magazine ''Young Guitar Magazine'' is a Japanese guitar magazine first published in May 1969 by Shinko Ongaku Shuppansha (now Shinko Music Entertainment), with a focus on folk music. Starting from the 1970s, it started covering hard rock in the 1970s, a ...

''.

Track listing

All music composed by

, all lyrics by

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 ...

. English lyrics by

Tommy McClendon Tommy McClendon, also known by his stage name, Atomik Tommy M, is a Japanese born American musician, best known for his work with UFO from 1984-1988. Early life McClendon was born in Yokohama, Japan, and moved to Stockton, California when he ...

. ;Side one #"Crazy Doctor" – 4:13 #"Esper" – 3:45 #"Butterfly" – 5:12 #"Revelation" – 4:19 ;Side two #

"Exploder" (instrumental) – 2:29 #"Dream Fantasy" – 4:34 #"Milky Way" – 4:17 #"Satisfaction Guaranteed" – 3:39 #"Ares' Lament" – 5:30 ;2004 Japanese CD edition bonus tracks #

"Crazy Doctor" (live English version) – 4:18 #"Dream Fantasy" (live English version) – 4:37 ;2005 Japanese "Disillusion (English version)" CD edition bonus tracks #

"Eruption" – 3:14 #"Flash Out" – 4:07

Personnel

;Loudness *

– vocals *

– guitars *Masayoshi Yamashita – bass, Taurus pedals *

Munetaka Higuchi (December 24, 1958 – November 30, 2008) was a Japanese musician and record producer. He is best known as the original drummer of the heavy metal band Loudness, but first rose to prominence as a member of Lazy in the 1970s. Career From a ...

– drums ;Production *

– engineer *Stuart Bruce – assistant engineer *Geoff Pesche – mastering at Tape One Studios, London *Mikio Shimizu, Toshi Nakashita – executive producers

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Disillusion 1984 albums Loudness (band) albums Nippon Columbia albums Music for Nations albums Japanese-language albums