Sunburst ～ 我武者羅

Japanese heavy metal legends Loudness are back with a thirty-first studio record to celebrate their fortieth anniversary in style. While the predecessor Rise to Glory -8118- had much promotion, was supported by several music videos and received an international release with a valuable bonus disc in form of thirty-fifth anniversary album Samsara Flight ~ 輪廻飛翔, the band's new output Sunburst ～ 我武者羅 barely received any promotion, didn't feature any singles or music videos and was only released in Japan on relatively obscure label Katana Music. The record was not even released on popular streaming platforms such as Spotify, so don't even bother researching this record there. This album further walks off the beaten path since it features two discs with sixteen new songs and eighty-five minutes of music. The valuable limited edition goes even one step further and features a live concert with eighteen songs from all eras of the band on DVD. As if that weren't enough, this stunning package comes around with a special booklet, a sticker and even a poster if you order the record from CD Japan. One also has to point out the gorgeous cover artwork by Iwata Keiichi who has collaborated with renowned bands such as Anthem and Jupiter in the past and managed to create the most beautiful cover artwork in Loudness' stunning career. Despite its limited release, Loudness has put much effort into this stunning package that should be purchased by anyone who claims to be a fan of the Japanese heavy metal emperors.

While Loudness deserves to be put on the same level as Western heavy metal legends such as Iron Maiden, Judas Priest and Saxon, there have been quite a few nasty comments about these legends based upon half-truths in recent years. Some people claim that the band is only living in the past and attempting to copy its successful style from the eighties. This is objectively wrong since the band has experimented with commercial hard rock and glam rock elements on Soldier of Fortune, with groove metal, funk rock and alternative rock sounds on Heavy Metal Hippies, with psychedelic rock incorporating Indian folklore on the trilogy Ghetto Machine, Dragon and Engine, with punk rock and nu metal soundscapes on Biosphere and with doom metal stylistics on Terror ~剥離~. This band has never stood still throughout all these years while being faithful to its very own heavy metal soundscapes.

Other people claim that the band has been losing some steam and that its members are getting old and should just call it quits. The boundless creativity with sixteen new songs and the dynamic live concert included here alone show that the band has aged gracefully as the group's rhythm section is still precise and tight, the vocals still sound charismatic and timeless and the adventurous and playful guitar play is even among the best you can find in rock and metal music. This group has always had much to say and shall continue to do so as long as it wants to.

Some naysayers mention that the band's lyrics and attitude flirt with far-right politics. To be fair, it's certainly true that Loudness are conservative patriots who are proud of their origins and positively promote their country and culture all around the world. Takasaki Akira, the founder, guitarist and songwriter of Loudness has however regularly been writing lyrics in English, has given himself the name Dario De Parma for his side project M.T. Fuji, has cooperated with Finnish heavy metal project Tuska20, has had an American singer in his band Loudness, has been living in India for long periods of time and has converted to Hinduism while living there. There is no proof whatsoever that this man has far-right political views loathing immigrants and desiring to conquer half of the Pacific as some people boldly claim. It's actually quite the opposite as he has always shown an honest sympathetic interest in foreigners and their cultures.

With those prejudices out of the way, let's focus on the music offered on Sunburst ～ 我武者羅. While the record doesn't include obvious singe candidates as on the immediate predecessor, the song material here is overall more consistent as it entertains from start to finish. While recent double albums of other genre bands had a few lengths, Loudness' effort sounds addictive, focused and gripping. The longest tune still has a reasonable length of just above seven minutes but there are also songs clocking in below four minutes to be found which makes for a quite balanced mixture. Stylistically speaking, this double album offers heavy metal alright but in different variations from melancholic slow-paced power ballads over slightly progressive doom metal monsters to energetic and precise anthemic tunes with strong melodic guitar play and catchy vocal lines.

There are several highlights worth being mentioned. On the first disc, we get to discover ''Stand or Fall'' that opens with sampes of sounds of nature before gloomy bass guitar play blends. The interesting transition continues with melancholic music box melodies and smooth otherworldly synthesizer sounds. As mid-paced rhythm section and guitar play kick in, occasional keyboard sounds evoking dramatic classical music passages continue the style of the opening section. Other experimental elements are added with sing-along passages and powerful backing vocals. The tight rhythm section, confident guitar play and catchy vocals keep all these different elements together and make for one of the best songs the band has ever written.

The opening sequences of ''The Sanzu River'' have a gloomy tone with dominant bass guitar sounds and longing distorted guitar sounds recalling psychedelic grunge elements from the early nineties. This adventurous tune however slowly shifts towards hard rock territory with gripping vocals recalling bands such as AC/DC. This atmospheric hidden gem might need a few spins to grow but certainly stands out stylistically from the rest of the material offered here.

The closing tune of the first disc ''Nihon no kokoro'' has sinister groove metal guitar sounds supported with haunting sound effects that wouldn't sound out of place on the soundtrack of a horror movie or video game. This same song however also features some of the fastest and heaviest passages on the record that are stylistically situated someplace between cold industrial metal and fierce thrash metal. This is the kind of song that could have been released by a band such as Over Kill in its experimental era in the nineties and early years of the new millennium.

On the second disc, we get to hear melodic power ballad ''All Will Be Fine with You'' that mixes uplifting lyrics with raw vocals complementing diversified guitar play with interesting changes in genre, pace and technique.

''The Nakigara'' on the other side is a gloomy doom metal monster with menacing bass guitar tones, psychedelic distorted guitar sounds, cinematic synthesizer sounds and dramatic choirs that make for an immersive atmosphere at its very best.

Album closer ''Wonderland'' opens with gloomy bell sounds before menacing, nervous and plodding musicianship enhances this atmosphere and takes the listeners on a adventurous voyage with inspired progressive and psychedelic rock passages that should even please fans of bands such as King Crimson and Pink Floyd.

As you can read, Loudness is still going strong forty years into its career on its thirty-first studio album that offers sixteen vibrant new songs and eighty-five minutes of passionate entertainment. The band's energetic heavy metal musicianship is complemented with playful psychedelic and progressive rock soundscapes on one side and gloomy doom and thrash metal eruptions here and there on the other side. The album doesn't include any fillers, entertains from start to finish and offers much replay value. The only thing that is missing is a truly memorable tune or potential single candidate that could stand the test of time. This release is a deep cut that is ony available in Japan but the band's faithful fans from all around the world should certainly make an effort to purchase this wonderful double album. Potential new fans or occasional listeners might as well start their discovery of these legends with this strong effort that presents the band's different soundscapes very well. I would like to congratulate the band on such a long and outstanding career and hope that these proud veterans will keep on releasing excellent new music in the future.

For a second, I thought that Loudness had gone the Iron Maiden route by releasing an unnecessary double album. And on the surface, it may seem that way. 'Sunburst ~ Gamushara' is barely eighty-five minutes long and could easily have been an even better hour-long album. However, Loudness did go through the effort of at least creating chapters that make sense stylistically within the album. Another reason to give the album the benefit of the doubt is that it is easily one of the best albums Loudness released in the twenty-first century. The key characteristic that makes it so good is spontaneity.

As much as I liked some of Loudness' recent albums, they were always attempting to be something. They often sounded like Akira Takasaki was trying to keep up with the times by favoring meaty, Pantera-esque riff work over melody, whereas 2018's highly enjoyable 'Rise To Glory' may have tried to overcorrect things a little in its old school-isms. On 'Sunburst ~ Gamashura', it seems like the band just wanted to write the best songs they possibly could, with little to no worry which metal trend it would fit. As a result, the album is the most successful blend of classic and modern Loudness the band has released thus far.

Interestingly, this change in approach has made the more contemporary-sounding songs a lot better as well. That might be a result of the more varied context, but twenty-first century Loudness had very few tracks as exciting as the dark, threatening galloper 'The Nakigara' or the heavy stomper 'Kaso Genjitsu'. They feel like an integral part of the album, however, because their sound is equally organic as the more traditional material, such as the yearning melodic opener 'OEOEO' (yes, seriously) or 'Hunger For More', which could have been on 'Thunder In The East'. It all fits and it all makes sense.

Creating chapters, as stated in the beginning of the review, is most obvious at the beginning of the second disc, as it starts with four tracks that are obvious nods to the band's seventies hardrock influences. Not the best songs on the albums from a compositional standpoint, although I really love 'Emerald No Umi' due to the massive, goosebumps-inducing riff that carries it, but the joy of playing them is tangible. I also wish all Loudness ballads were at least as good as 'All Will Be Fine With You'. Closer 'Wonderland' also feels like ballad, but more a doomy one, like 'Rain', which closed 'Rise To Glory'.

Takasaki dominates the songwriting on 'Sunburst ~ Gashamura', having written most of the music and lyrics, the latter of which were often written by singer Minoru Niihara on recent records. While I expected this to be a problem, 'Sunburst ~ Gamashura' easily features Niihara's best performance on a Loudness album in many years. Yes, his vocal cords still sound worn, but more care has been put into his vocal melodies this time around. Two of the album's highlights were contributed by other band members, however. The aformentioned 'The Nakigara' has contributions from drummer Masayuki Suzuki, while 'Stand Or Fall' is prime Masayoshi Yamashita. The way the song builds up to a quasi-prog hardrocker with excellent riffs is very reminiscent of 'Black Wall', another excellent composition by the bassist.

'Sunburst ~ Gamashura' is much better than I expected it would be. In fact, I am surprised Loudness still had an album this good in them. It is certainly my favorite album of theirs since '2012' and possibly since their self-titled thirty years ago. How little care the band has for what boxes to tick to still be seen as relevant really elevates the album above their other recent output. Even the most modern elements have found their way into the album organically and the songs are generally really good. Bonus points for the cover art, which might just be the first Loudness cover I actually like.

Recommended tracks: 'The Nakigara', 'Stand Or Fall', 'Nihon No Kokoro', 'Kaso Genjitsu'

Originally written for my Kevy Metal weblog