Back in the '70's, drummer Munetaka Higuchi and guitarist Akira Takasaki played together in a pop-rock band called Lazy. In an effort to pursue their musical aspiration even farther, they split from the successful group and launched Loudness in May 1981. The duo was joined by former Earthshaker vocalist Minoru Niihara, who was devoted to soul music at the time, and Takasaki's childhood friend Masayoshi Yamashita as the bassist.
The band went into the studio in August and three months later, the band's debut album, The Birthday Eve, hit the stores. It was as if the relentlessly wild arming by Takasaki in the intro of the opening track was an omen of things to come, as this album ended up making a historical impact on the Japanese rock scene.
Exceeding industry experts' expectations, a debut concert held at Asakusa International Theater attracted a sold-out show with an audience of 2,700. Watching the legendary concert which lasted more than 100 minutes, they were forced to realize that they could no longer say "hard rock is not marketable".
Their second album, Devil Soldier, was released in July 1982 and their third, The Law Of Devil's Land, followed in January 1983. Since there were no acclaimed Heavy Metal engineers in Japan at the time, an American, Daniel McClendon was tapped for these albums. Due to his contribution, the albums surpassed the quality of what was normally expected from an ordinary Japanese rock band. The style and technique had been established.
In July 1983, the band conducted their first American tour, followed by a European tour a month later. Enjoying the great response, the band felt confident on launching fully into a worldwide market.
In September, the 4th album, Disillusion, was recorded in Britain. It was a dream come true for the band to make an album abroad. Julian Mendelsohn, known for his work with Yes' "90125", was tapped as an engineer.
An A&R from Atlantic Records was impressed by the band's show held in the US between July 1983 and May 1984 which led to the band being signed with the label for an international record deal. Such an achievement was the first in Japanese music history. From August '84, they went into a studio in Los Angeles with renowned producer Max Norman, known for his work with Ozzy Osbourne among others, to record their first worldwide release, what was to later become Thunder In The East.
The record came out in January '85 and it went all the way up to No.4 on Japan's domestic chart. The band embarked on a US tour in April and a month later the album ranked its highest at No.74 on the US Billboard album chart. The record was on the chart for 19 consecutive weeks since its first entry on March 2. Those chart records hold an exceptional record which is still yet to be broken.
In August , they joined Mötley Crüe on their US tour as an opening act. On August 14, they became the first Japanese band in history to play at the prestigious Madison Square Garden in New York. In December, the band went into the studio to record its second release from Atlantic again with Max Norman.
Shadows of War was released in March '86. An American version of the record, Lightning Strikes, topped the band's previous effort on the charts and ranked No.64 on the Billboard chart. As the band kept touring all over the US, they earned a reputation as a great live band. In those days, when a heavy metal fan in Los Angeles would run into Japanese tourists, they would brag about how much they loved Loudness. Back then, LOUDNESS was a comparable figure to today's two biggest exports from Japan, MLB's Ichiro and Hideki Matsui.
The album Hurricane Eyes, released in August 1987, was produced by Eddie Kramer, one of the most renowned and respected producers in rock history. Everything released after "Thunder In The East" contained English lyrics but this time they decided to make a Japanese version for their fans back home. In May 1988, the mini-album, Jealousy, was released exclusively for the domestic market. At that point, Loudness was already an international act but their Japanese fans remained special to them.
Despite their continuing success, Niihara left the band in December 1988. The news came as a shock not only to the Japanese rock community but worldwide as well.
After countless auditions, the remaining band members came to the conclusion that they would never be able find a Japanese singer that could match Niihara's ability. Consequently, they hired former Obsession vocalist, Mike Vescera, in September 1989. The result was the album Soldier of Fortune, followed by On The Prowl in February 1991, which was a compilation of self-covers from the band's earlier works and additional new songs.
Vescera left soon after the release of Slap In The Face in October 1991. Yamashita also left and the second era of Loudness came to an end in 1992.
With Masaki Yamada of EZO coming on board, the band kicked off its third era. Bassist Taiji Sawada from X Japan also joined. X Japan was one of the major forces in the domestic rock scene since the early 90's and with him on board, Loudness was able to acquire a whole new fan base. June 1992's album, Loudness, debuted at No.2 on the domestic chart. The third-era lineup of Loudness toured extensively until January '93. However, Sawada and Higuchi decided to leave shortly after the tour. Loudness, for the first time in its history, was on the verge of falling apart.
Yamada, who once decided to leave, returned and the 4th era of Loudness began in 1994. With a former bandmate of Yamada, EZO's Hirotsugu Homma joining the band, they made Heavy Metal Hippies which Takasaki played bass on. During December's concert at Club Citta, the band formally announced that Naoto Shibata (Anthem) was brought on board. Finally, the lineup of the 4th era Loudness was complete.
With a new lineup, the band embarked on a domestic tour starting April 1995. A live album that captured the aggressive feel of the tour, Loud 'n' Raw, was released. Every member of the audience was credited on the cover sleeve, showing appreciation to their loyal fans. A show in Hong Kong was a great success.
In February 1997, the band flew to San Francisco to record Ghetto Machine, released in July. In response to the great demand from their Asian fans, the band flew back to Hong Kong in December and performed once again.
In August 1998, the band flew back to San Francisco to record Dragon. One month later, band embarked on a domestic tour entitled "LOUDNESS CLUB GIG'98 DRAGON" which kicked off in PENNYLANE 24 in Sapporo.
In May 1999, they held the "RISING DRAGON EURO TOUR'99" which included stops at Great Britain, Holland, Belgium, and Germany. In Holland, the band performed on the main stage of "DYNAMO OPEN AIR '99", the biggest outdoor heavy music festival in Europe which attracts more than 50,000 people every year.
In July 1999, their album Engine was released which became the last of the 4th era Loudness.
In 2000, Takasaki considered a reformation of Loudness to its original members and the news was formally announced in May. The band went into preproduction soon after. An album with the original lineup, Spiritual Canoe, hit the stores in March 2001. As the band embarked on a domestic tour, fans went crazy to see the four guys getting back together again and perform.
The band went on to record the albums Pandemonium soon after 'Spiritual Canoe' in 2001, Biosphere in 2002, Terror, Rock Shocks and Racing in 2004, Heavy Metal Hippies and The Battleship Musashi in 2005, and Breaking The Taboo in 2006. In 2008, Loudness drummer Minetaka Higuchi was diagnosed with Hepatocellular Carcinoma in April of that year while recording the album Metal Mad and couldn't tour with them as a result.
On November 30 2008, Munetaka passed away. In 2009, Loudness planned to release the album The Everlasting using the unique style of Munetaka in their drums for it. From a translated blog of guitarist Akira Takasaki: "From the vast amount of data (of drums recorded by Munetaka in the past), we will extract Munetaka's great groove and sound. On top of that, we're putting a new riff and rhythm. The new album will be based on Munetaka's groove at its maximum. I'm writing guitar riffs that would sound like nothing but Loudness. I'm trying to make it a gigantic rock album that would satisfy Munetaka, as he was always complaining 'This isn't loud enough' or 'This needs to be more heavier.'
Upon the album's release, they introduced a new drummer, Masayuki Suzuki. The band went on tour in 2009, presenting only material from their first four albums and announced a new album titled King of Pain, which was released in May 2010. Also in 2010, Loudness featured at the Bang Your Head!!! festival in Germany and did a brief European tour.
In 2011 Loudness celebrated their 30th Anniversary with a return to the US for a series of tour dates.
Pandemonium
Loudness Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The plans of Destruction whispered, again and again
Faithful hollow men, their strife was crying aloud
Waiting for the white moon to shine, and bring them
Their might
You believe it's coming wild
Can you believe right now? It's Pandemonium
Deep in the cracks we fall of Pandemonium
Staring at the black sun we know it's Pandemonium
We believe it's going wild
Trust me, freak show
It was like a twisted circus
Trust me, freak show
Out from the cries the charisma will say
Freak show, freak show
Keeping hate alive and well is all that matters now
Freak show, freak show
The time has come to recognize, there's no turning back
I can believe, right now it's Pandemonium
Everything's falling apart, it's Pandemonium
High from the skies we fall from Pandemonium
Looking in your eyes, I know it's Pandemonium
We believe it's coming wild
It's Pandemonium, it will never be One
It's Pandemonium, we'll go into the sun
It's Pandemonium, I cry, we've all got to run
It's Pandemonium, we cry, it's Pandemonium
The lyrics to Loudness’s song Pandemonium describe a world filled with chaos and conspiracy. The song begins by talking about conspiracies being made deep in the caves and plans of destruction being whispered over and over again. The men involved in these plans are described as hollow and faithless, solely focused on their own might and waiting for the white moon to bring it to them. The chorus emphasizes the sense of widespread chaos, with the word “Pandemonium” being repeated several times as an overarching description of the state of the world. The second verse describes the chaos as being like a twisted circus, with the “freak show” of destructive behavior being the main attraction. The lyrics suggest that this chaos is all that matters now and there is no turning back.
The song paints a picture of a dark and unsettling world, with little hope for redemption. The lyrics seem to suggest that we are all caught up in the chaos of this world and there is no escaping it. However, the song also has a sense of urgency and a call to action. The repeated use of the word “believe” suggests that the chaos can be overcome if we all come together in belief and work towards a better future, even though the world will never be the same again.
Line by Line Meaning
Conspiracies being made deep in the caves
Plans for destruction are being secretly made in the hidden depths
The plans of Destruction whispered, again and again
These whispered plans are for bringing about utter chaos and ruin
Faithful hollow men, their strife was crying aloud
The people involved are blindly devoted to a cause that only leads to suffering and their cries can be heard in their struggles
Waiting for the white moon to shine, and bring them / Their might
They anticipate that their plans will become stronger with the arrival of a crucial moon
You believe it's coming wild
There's a sense of foreboding and worry about this chaos coming uncontrollably
Can you believe right now? It's Pandemonium
The current state is one of great disorder and turmoil which people can hardly believe is happening
Everywhere we go, you know it's Pandemonium
This state of chaos seems to have spread everywhere the people go
Deep in the cracks we fall of Pandemonium
People are being swallowed and trapped by the depths of this chaos
Staring at the black sun we know it's Pandemonium
Even the sun seems affected and reflects the darkness and chaos
We believe it's going wild
The chaos is growing and getting out of control
Trust me, freak show
The situation feels like a crazy and unsettling performance
It was like a twisted circus
The chaos is so absurd and crazy that it feels like a circus that's gone wrong
Out from the cries the charisma will say
Amidst all the suffering and turmoil, someone charismatic will likely emerge and try to take charge
Freak show, freak show / Keeping hate alive and well is all that matters now
This chaos seems to have arisen out of a desire to hold on to hate and intolerance, and this is now the priority
The time has come to recognize, there's no turning back
The situation is at a point of no return and drastic action needs to be taken
Everything's falling apart, it's Pandemonium
All the structures and systems that people have trusted and depended on are disintegrating in this chaos
High from the skies we fall from Pandemonium
The fall from grace and the height of the chaos seems precipitous and inevitable
Looking in your eyes, I know it's Pandemonium
Just by looking at each other, people can see the chaos and destruction surrounding them
It's Pandemonium, it will never be One
This state of chaos is fragmented and will never be united or cohesive
We'll go into the sun
This seems to suggest that people are willing to go all the way, willing to burn and be consumed by the chaos until its end
I cry, we've all got to run
This state of chaos is so overwhelming that running away seems like the only option
We cry, it's Pandemonium
The situation is so hopeless and distressing that people can't help but cry and despair about it
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: LEIGH VINCENT ELLIOTT, OLUBOWALE VICTOR AKINTIMEHIN, R. WILLIAMS, JOHNNY DAVID MOLLINGS, LEONARDO V. MOLLINGS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
pauloing1 pauloing1
00:00 1 Ya Stepped On A Mine
03:44 2 Bloody Doom
09:41 3 The Pandemonium
14:16 4 Vision
19:13 5 What's The Truth?
23:22 6 Suicide Doll
30:08 7 Chaos
34:55 8 The Candidate
40:04 9 Real Man
46:09 10 Inflame
50:51 11 Snake Venom
pauloing1 pauloing1
00:00 1 Ya Stepped On A Mine
03:44 2 Bloody Doom
09:41 3 The Pandemonium
14:16 4 Vision
19:13 5 What's The Truth?
23:22 6 Suicide Doll
30:08 7 Chaos
34:55 8 The Candidate
40:04 9 Real Man
46:09 10 Inflame
50:51 11 Snake Venom
Moshlem 666
... 🤘 🇯🇵
Moshlem 666
... legendary long-lasting LOUDNESS 🇯🇵 (ラウドネス 🇯🇵) from Japan, Heavy-Metal institution ... 🤘 🇯🇵
sheldon Bazinga
Avec un parfait bon goût Loudness écoute ce qui se fait le mieux dans le monde du rock et restitue, parfois en lesaméliorant toutes les tendances, passant depuis 40ans du hard-rock au heavy-metal, du hard-FM au grunge, du Doom au trash avec le même souci de bien faire...C'est un beau parcours...
Moshlem 666
... 🤘 🇯🇵
Moshlem 666
... legendary long-lasting LOUDNESS 🇯🇵 (ラウドネス 🇯🇵) from Japan, Heavy-Metal institution ... 🤘 🇯🇵
Moshlem 666
... legendary long-lasting LOUDNESS 🇯🇵 (ラウドネス 🇯🇵) from Japan, Heavy-Metal institution ... 🤘 🇯🇵
Christopher Hagy
Great album👍 Thanx4Posting🎸
Moshlem 666
... 🤘 🇯🇵
Moshlem 666
... legendary long-lasting LOUDNESS 🇯🇵 (ラウドネス 🇯🇵) from Japan, Heavy-Metal institution ... 🤘 🇯🇵