History Music / Loudness

* MisogynySong: "Playing Games" from ''On The Prowl''
* MohsScaleOfRockAndMetalHardness: Can range from 2 to 9. Some songs can range as well: "S.D.I." on 'Hurricane Eyes,' for example, is a 7. "S.D.I." in the 1992 Yamada + Sawada version is verging on an 8. "S.D.I." 2010 JITB Festival Live? Niihara's screaming for almost all the song made it a high 8 bordering on a 9.

* AuthorAppeal: For Niihara, IntercourseWithYou and anti-war songs mainly. For Yamada, much of his lyrics were ReligionRantSong, OdeToIntoxication, or RoadSong. For Takasaki and Higuchi, anti-war songs and other types of the ProtestSong and AuthorFilibuster.

* FiveManBand:
** TheLeader: Akira Takasaki
** TheLancer: Minoru Niihara
** TheSmartGuy: Masayoshi Yamashita
** TheBigGuy: Masayuki "Ampan" Suzuki
** TheHeart: Munetaka Higuchi

* HarshVocals: Minoru Niihara and Masaki Yamada did this. [[HairMetal Mike Vescera tried]] but...

* IntercourseWithYou: Around one song per album, nevertheless not the most common theme for the band from 2001 onward. "Snake Venom" on ''Pandemonium,'' "Clima-XXX" on ''Spiritual Canoe'' and "Hell Fire" on ''King Of Pain '' are some examples of these though.

* LeadBassist: In 1992, Music/TaijiSawada joined the band.

* LongRunner: They are set to release a new album in August. It's chronological number in their studio discography? ''TWENTY-FIFTH''.
* LoudnessWar
* KavorkaMan / CasanovaWannabe: Minoru Niihara. Despite being, ahem, to put it nicely, a BigBeautifulMan from 2000 onward and having lost weight since to normal weight, but having due to age [[{{Gonk}} gained sallow leathery skin and MOOBS]], he writes pretty much every bit of IntercourseWithYou the band has come up with since he returned to it. And sings it. Whether this is nightmare fuel or fetish fuel is up to you. As is whether he is the KavorkaMan (is he singing about people and things he's done) or the CasanovaWannabe (things and people he merely wishes he could do).

** ''Pandemonium'' (November 2001) is pretty much an entire album devoted to WarIsHell, again, with TakeThat aimed at BOTH SIDES of UsefulNotes/TheWarOnTerror. Notable songs are "Ya Stepped On A Mine," the [[HarsherInHindsight eerily prescient]] "Bloody Doom," and "The Pandemonium."

* ReligionRantSong: A few. Some overlap with ProtestSongs (most notable being "King of Pain," which if the EpilepticTree that it refers to UsefulNotes/{{Jesus}} rather than to a PresidentEvil or a CorruptCorporateExecutive was true, would make it a Type 1). "Racing The Wind" is a type 1. "Broken Jesus" is arguably a type 2. "Apocalypse" is a type 1. "Babylon" is a type 2. "Desperate Religion" is a type 2 or 3.

* SillyLoveSongs: Almost way too many to list. That said, their love songs tend to avert a lot of silly tropes (and some are 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.)

* OdeToIntoxication: "Crazy Night," and "Rock and Roll Gypsy" are implied for alcohol, "Black Biohazard" implied for heroin, and "Hit The Rails" implied for either cocaine or methamphetamine. "Evil Ecstasy," (can you guess what substance?) "Burning Eye Balls" (substance unknown, [[EpilepticTrees possibly methamphetamine]]), "Junk His Head" (substance unknown, again), "Jack" (alcohol, specifically Jack Daniels whiskey), and "Rock Into The Night" (alcohol, it's almost TooSoon since this is on a tribute album for someone who ''died of liver cancer'') are all more explicit.

** ''Pandemonium'' (November 2001) is pretty much an entire album devoted to WarIsHell, again, with TakeThat aimed at BOTH SIDES of the WarOnTerror. Notable songs are "Ya Stepped On A Mine," the [[HarsherInHindsight eerily prescient]] "Bloody Doom," and "The Pandemonium."

This lineup did not last long; in 1993, both Sawada and Higuchi left, leaving Takasaki as the only original member still in the band. Higuchi was replaced by Yamada's former bandmate Hirotsugu "Hiro" Honma, and guitarist Takasaki temporarily took on the role of bassist for the next studio album (''Heavy Metal Hippies'', 1994). Afterwards, new bassist Naoto Shibata (formerly from the band Anthem) joined, and this lineup recorded three studio albums throughout the late 1990s (which, unlike all their earlier albums, were released by a small record company, "Rooms Records", owned by Tak Matsumoto of the band B'z). The band's musical style throughout 1994-1999 remained very heavy, but slower than on the self-titled album, with influences from contemporary musical styles such as GrooveMetal and PostGrunge.

* OdeToIntoxication: "Crazy Night," and "Rock and Roll Gypsy" are implied for alcohol, "Black Biohazard" implied for heroin, and "Hit The Rails" implied for either cocaine or methamphetamine. "Evil Ecstasy," ([[CaptainObvious can you guess what substance?]]) "Burning Eye Balls" (substance unknown, [[EpilepticTrees possibly methamphetamine]]), "Junk His Head" (substance unknown, again), "Jack" (alcohol, specifically Jack Daniels whiskey), and "Rock Into The Night" (alcohol, it's almost TooSoon since this is on a tribute album for someone who ''died of liver cancer'') are all more explicit.

* RearrangeTheSong: Repeatedly. Most {{egregious}}ly with ''On The Prowl'' (which almost entirely consists of rearranged songs) and ''Rockshocks'' (which entirely consists of rearranged songs). Another example would be "Ares's Lament" from ''Disillusion'' which shows up virtually unchanged as "So Lonely" on ''Hurricane Eyes.'' Also with "The Eternal Soldiers" for which the music is a complete remix of "Death Machine" from ''King of Pain'' even if the words are changed.

The original lineup consisted of Music/AkiraTakasaki (guitar), Music/MinoruNiihara (vocals), Music/MunetakaHiguchi (drums), and Masayoshi Yamashita (bass). Takasaki and Higuchi had formerly been members of the band Lazy (which also included singer [[JAMProject Hironobu Kageyama]]), which disbanded earlier that year; Niihara had earlier been the bassist/singer in the band Earthshaker (although he left before they made any records). The band's early musical style was in line with the first generation and second generation (such as the NWOBHM scene) of heavy metal, especially Music/{{Rainbow}} (Ritchie Blackmore having been one of Takasaki's main musical influences; notice that his previous band was named after a Music/DeepPurple song).

* 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 Music/DeepPurple's "Speed King". As for other bands covering Loudness songs, Music/{{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). One of Music/XJapan's very first live performances in the 80s (when the band consisted only of Yoshiki and Toshi) was "In The Mirror," and {{Galneryus}} once covered "Soldier of Fortune" in the Yama-B days.

* 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 Music/DeepPurple's "Speed King". As for other bands covering Loudness songs, Music/{{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). One of XJapan's very first live performances in the 80s (when the band consisted only of Yoshiki and Toshi) was "In The Mirror," and {{Galneryus}} once covered "Soldier of Fortune" in the Yama-B days.

* {{Guyliner}}: Masaki Yamada often wore this onstage in both EZO and Loudness. Music/TaijiSawada tended to wear it as an artifact of his far heavier makeup from his time in the VisualKei band [[XJapan X]].

This lineup did not last long; in 1993, both Sawada and Higuchi left, leaving Takasaki as the only original member still in the band. Higuchi was replaced by Yamada's former bandmate Hirotsugu "Hiro" Honma, and guitarist Takasaki temporarily took on the role of bassist for the next studio album (''Heavy Metal Hippies'', 1994). Afterwards, new bassist Naoto Shibata (formerly from the band Anthem) joined, and this lineup recorded three studio albums throughout the late 1990s (which, unlike all their earlier albums, were released by a small record company, "Rooms Records", owned by Tak Matsumoto of the band B'z). The band's musical style throughout 1994-1999 remained very heavy, but slower than on the self-titled album, with influences from contemporary musical styles such as {{groove metal}} and {{post-grunge}}.

* BannedInChina: Loudness has been ''banned from entering the USA,'' possibly permanently, due to either paperwork errors, the Trump administration, or some combination thereof.

* ReligionRantSong: A few. Some overlap with ProtestSongs (most notable being "King of Pain," which if the EpilepticTree that it refers to {{Jesus}} rather than to a PresidentEvil or a CorruptCorporateExecutive was true, would make it a Type 1). "Racing The Wind" is a type 1. "Broken Jesus" is arguably a type 2. "Apocalypse" is a type 1. "Babylon" is a type 2. "Desperate Religion" is a type 2 or 3.

** In the 1992-94 era, almost everyone was a WalkingShirtlessScene at times. AkiraTakasaki was in the ''Once And For All'' live, and TaijiSawada was in at least one photoshoot (which is the only place all of his tattoos can be seen).

The original lineup recorded seven more studio albums from 2002 through 2009 (a few of these have been released outside Japan). Munetaka Higuchi died of liver cancer in November 2008; one album (''The Everlasting'') with drums played by Higuchi was completed in 2009 by the other band members, and dedicated to Higuchi. Drummer Masayuki Suzuki joined in 2009, playing on one song on that album. The band has recorded one more studio album (''King of Pain''), has successfully toured the US and Southeast Asia, and is beginning work on a new album to be released in 2011 or 2012. Unfortunately, ex-bassist TaijiSawada died in July 2011.

* {{Guyliner}}: Masaki Yamada often wore this onstage in both EZO and Loudness. TaijiSawada tended to wear it as an artifact of his far heavier makeup from his time in the VisualKei band [[XJapan X]].

* LeadBassist: In 1992, TaijiSawada joined the band.

* 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.

* TakeThat: The band's memorial song for TaijiSawada is "Black Widow," which, if you know the circumstances of his death, is probably ''the'' most apt of his songs to play in memory. ([[DontExplainTheJoke His death was in part due to a]] BlackWidow.)

** TaijiSawada was a VisualKei bassist who first became famous with Music/XJapan which was one of the founding bands of VisualKei.

* ProtestSong: {{Loudness}} seems to love this trope:

!!{{Loudness}}'s Music Provides Examples of:

* {{Badass}}: Minoru Niihara. Just...Minoru Niihara. Despite his grief and pain, he decided to carry on the band along with Akira Takasaki in memory of Munetaka, and that's not even mentioning his vocal abilities.

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 MotleyCrue. The band's musical style during this time gradually changed toward contemporary American {{hair metal}}.

The original lineup consisted of Music/AkiraTakasaki (guitar), Music/MinoruNiihara (vocals), Music/MunetakaHiguchi (drums), and Masayoshi Yamashita (bass). Takasaki and Higuchi had formerly been members of the band Lazy (which also included singer [[JAMProject Hironobu Kageyama]]), which disbanded earlier that year; Niihara had earlier been the bassist/singer in the band Earthshaker (although he left before they made any records). The band's early musical style was in line with the first generation and second generation (such as the NWOBHM scene) of heavy metal, especially Music/{{Rainbow}} (Ritchie Blackmore having been one of Takasaki's main musical influences; notice that his previous band was named after a DeepPurple song).

* 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, Music/{{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). One of XJapan's very first live performances in the 80s (when the band consisted only of Yoshiki and Toshi) was "In The Mirror," and {{Galneryus}} once covered "Soldier of Fortune" in the Yama-B days.

** "Sweet Dreams" (1999) is NOT a MarilynManson or Eurythmics cover, but rather a protest song aimed at racist stereotyping of Japanese.

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

** "Racing" (2004) has "Misleading Man" which is a TakeThat at GeorgeWBush and has "Unknown Civilians" which is yet another WarIsHell song that is ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin, as well as a TakeThat at GeorgeWBush too.

** "S.D.I." (1987) which is a protest against the ColdWar arms race, which became a general anti-war anthem and one of the band's top songs. Minoru Niihara actually performed it as the opening song of a 2010 rock festival set.