History Music / Loudness

* [[MunetakaHiguchi]] - Drums, co-founder (1981-1993, 2000-2008 - died in 2008)

* Munetaka Higuchi - Drums, co-founder (1981-1993, 2000-2008 - died in 2008)

* AllDrummersAreAnimals: Averted with Munetaka, who tended to stay out of trouble (at least in comparison to other rockers and metal artists of the time), and who was, by many accounts, TheSmartGuy and TheHeart.
* AmenBreak: Of COURSE Munetaka used this a few times.

* Minoru Niihara - Vocals (1981-1988, 2000-present)

* BreakupSong: So Lonely, Never Again/Losing You, although the former has since become a memorial song to Munetaka Higuchi for all intents and purposes.

* {{Guyliner}}: Masaki Yamada and TaijiSawada both often wore this onstage in both EZO and Loudness.

* {{Guyliner}}: Masaki Yamada often wore this onstage in both EZO and Loudness.

Meanwhile, in 1998 and 1999, original drummer Munetaka Higuchi led a group of various Japanese heavy metal / hard rock musicians for two albums (one studio, one live) of cover songs, dedicated to recently-deceased Music/{{Rainbow}} drummer Cozy Powell; among this group were three of the four original members of Loudness (Yamashita being the only one not included). Then in 2000, the original lineup of Loudness officially reunited. Their next studio album (''Spiritual Canoe'', 2001) mostly returned to the musical style of the band's earliest era (albeit with more modern production values), with the notable exception of one {{rap metal}} song; it also marked a return to major labels (actually the same one that released their first album) and a return to entirely Japanese lyrics (except for the occasional pieces of GratuitousEnglish). This was followed by another studio album the same year, this time with a [[NuMetal newer musical style]]. (Also in 2001, Takasaki recorded music for the anime series ''{{Geneshaft}}'', which was also released on the album ''Geneshaft Original Soundtrack'' and the single ''Shaft Drive'', both of which were released in the US by {{Geneon}}'s ill-fated music division.)

* AlbumFiller: More than a few times. [[YourMileageMayVary One could say]] that ALL of ''On The Prowl'' was AlbumFiller.

** Some people might argue the combination of the albums ''Ghetto Machine,'' ''Engine,'' and ''Dragon'' to be this as a drawn-out, disgusted reflection on the dark side of/aftermath of SexDrugsAndRockAndRoll by Takasaki as he was "coming down" off of that life. YourMileageMayVary.

* SillyLoveSongs: Almost way too many to list. That said, their love songs tend to avert a lot of silly tropes (and some are [[YourMileageMayVary VERY touching]]: these would be "The Love Of My Life" from ''Breaking The Taboo'' and "I Wonder" from ''The Everlasting'' (which is a RealLife TearJerker: the vocalist Niihara is singing to the now-dead Munetaka.)

The following year, the band recorded two songs and two instrumentals that were used in the anime movie ''Odin: Koshi Hansen Starlight'', also released on the maxi-single ''Odin''. Then they recorded their next full-length album (''Thunder in the East'') in Los Angeles; this was their first album to be released in the United States, was English-language only, and probably remains their most famous album. More touring in the United States followed, including as an opening act for [=~Mötley Crüe~=]. The band's musical style during this time gradually changed toward contemporary American {{hair metal}}.

** "Crazy Doctor" (1983-84) seems to be a condemnation of both Japanese mental health care/hospitalization (which at the time ''was'' HighOctaneNightmareFuel and in need of major reforms) and a cry for help from someone suffering mental illness yet trapped in the system, referencing [[NaziGermany Josef Mengele]].

* EpicRiff: Courtesy of Akira Takasaki, almost too many times to count. Courtesy of TaijiSawada, the bass version a few times in 1992-94.

** Yet another song from "Thunder In The East," "The Lines Are Down" is something [[FairForItsDay incredibly unusual for 1980s]] Music/HeavyMetal by a male band (and sadly, for the band itself, see later): an anti-rape song, seeming to start from the rapist's perspective then flipping to encourage the [[FinalGirl victim]] to [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil kill her rapist]] and escape.

!!{{Loudness}} (as artists) Provides Examples of:
* AnyoneCanDie: Munetaka Higuchi. While he was older than some examples of AnyoneCanDie, and died from cancer rather than from a sudden illness or accident, it still was a shock to some extent that he died of cancer at ''49.''
** Even more so for TaijiSawada, dying under suspicious circumstances at 45.
* ArtisticStimulation: Most likely, as per almost all non StraightEdge HR/HM bands.
* AuthorExistenceFailure: Munetaka Higuchi was one of the founders of the band as well as being its drummer, and had written/composed some of the lyrics and much of the drum sections before 2008. He was also a very deep inspiration to at least Niihara, as you can tell from the lyrics of the songs on "The Everlasting," the tribute to him, and every year the band holds a tribute concert for him.
** And now TaijiSawada is gone as well.
* BigEater: Minoru Niihara.
* CoolOldGuy: Munetaka Higuchi was this for the last few years of his life, complete with the grey mane hair. Minoru Niihara has now fit the role quite well...
* DeadArtistsAreBetter: Admit it, how many of [[YouSuck you]] who got into Loudness after 2008 only checked it out because of something related to Munetaka's illness or death announcements?
* FanDisservice: To some, Akira Takasaki's attempts at fanservice during the Yamada era. Shirtless? Good. Shirtless and showing off pit hair, chest hair, and a beard? Not unless the filthy hippie stereotype is FetishFuel for you.
* {{Fanservice}}: Masaki Yamada's tight pants and likely stuffed crotch.
** Of the nonsexual variety, Munetaka's drum solos. If you happen to like improvisational and yet incredibly hard rocking drumming, you can lose yourself in them,,,
* GuideDangIt: Loudness has been around longer than [[MostTropersAreYoungNerds many tropers have.]] While there isn't as much information out there (either false or questionable or true) due to its not being a popular band among {{FanGirls}} for the most part, so there's no issues with {{Fanon}} or WordOfDante, this also works against anyone wanting to know more about the band than what's made it to Youtube or what's on their albums.
* LargeHam: All of the vocalists at various moments.
* NeverSpeakIllOfTheDead: [[SchmuckBait Just TRY insulting Munetaka]] around Loudness fans. [[InternetCounterattack the results]] [[FlameWar will not]] [[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown be pretty.]]
** Same trope is going into effect for TaijiSawada, albeit to a ''slightly'' lesser degree due to his problems being far more obvious and far less legal than Munetaka's.
* NiceHat: TaijiSawada was in the band for a bit. The others and even he would occasionally go for the distinctly not NiceHat baseball cap, but other times, this trope was definitely in play. Also, in some performances, Akira Takasaki will wear one over either his shaved head or to contain his long hair, and Minoru Niihara has taken to wearing one to obscure his receding hairline.
* OutlivedItsCreator: The band, literally. Munetaka Higuchi was one of the founders of the band.
* PerformanceVideo: They have quite a few, including concert and tour footage as well.
* TheSixthRanger: Masayuki Suzuki.
* SuccessionCrisis: Not only was Munetaka one of the band co-founders, not only was he a major creative member for his times in the band, he was also one of the, if not ''the'', best heavy metal drummers in Japan right up until he became too weak to play. That said, Masayuki Suzuki seems to be more than capable of reaching Munetaka's level of technical skill on the faster songs, so the band's quality didn't change for the worse... except on slower songs such as "So Lonely" where you can definitely tell a negative difference.
* SurvivorGuilt: Something that Takasaki and Niihara especially seem to have dealt with a lot... and now have once more.
* ThoseTwoGuys: Yamashita and, now, Suzuki.
* TooMuchInformation: Minoru Niihara on his personal blog tends to go here. Being a BigEater, what goes in must come out... and he apparently likes to [[http://blog.goo.ne.jp/m-niihara/e/db786dd59470fd276608b6f55e846292 blog about]] [[http://blog.goo.ne.jp/m-niihara/e/3c7b053acc16872cd1dfb4c5c5cd2c59 both ends]] of said process.
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* [[RecordOfLoudnessWar Record Of]]… ([[IncrediblyLamePun *groan*]])

Loudness is a {{heavy metal}} band, founded in 1981 in Osaka, Japan.

** Yet another song from "Thunder In The East," "The Lines Are Down" is something [[FairForItsDay incredibly unusual for 1980s]] HeavyMetal by a male band (and sadly, for the band itself, see later): an anti-rape song, seeming to start from the rapist's perspective then flipping to encourage the [[FinalGirl victim]] to [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil kill her rapist]] and escape.

* CoverVersion: During the time when Masaki Yamada was in the band, "House of 1000 Pleasures" by Yamada's previous band EZO was in their live repertoire (featured on the 1993 live album ''Once and for All'' and on the 1992 concert video ''Welcome to the Slaughter House''). 1994 live album ''Loud 'n' Raw'' includes a cover of DeepPurple's "Speed King". As for other bands covering Loudness songs, {{Therion}} covered "Crazy Nights" on their 1999 album ''Crowning of Atlantis'', and there have also been two Loudness tribute albums (one from 2001, the other from 2003).

* TruffautWasRight: "Soldier Of Fortune." It's most likely a StealthParody of the BloodKnight and WarIsGlorious, but sometimes this is missed in how cool it sounds and what a rocking song it is.

* HollywoodThin: Both played straight and averted. In the 1980s and 1990s, all of the band members were HollywoodThin, playing the trope straight as per usual for Japanese metal bands. Averted with Minoru Niihara's return to the band: for a few years, he was markedly overweight, and now is at a normal weight for a 51 year old Japanese male.

In 1992, both Vescera and Yamashita left the band, and were replaced by Masaki Yamada (formerly of Sapporo-based band Flatbacker, later known as EZO) on vocals and TaijiSawada (formerly of XJapan) on bass. This lineup recorded their next studio album, ''Loudness'', the same year. This album was an abrupt shift away from the hair metal stylings of the 1986-1991 albums to a '''much''' heavier (even compared to their original style) {{thrash metal}}-influenced style (much like JudasPriest's 1990 album ''Painkiller''), as well as having elements of {{funk metal}} in two of the songs. This album was also the first one since 1988 (or since 1984 if not counting [=EPs=]) to have Japanese-language lyrics and the first one since 1988 (or since 1982 if not counting [=EPs=]) to not be released outside Japan the same year as it was released in Japan (although in 2005 it did get re-released in the United States).