Loudness (band)

Loudness
Loudness at Wacken Open Air 2022
Background information
Origin	Osaka, Japan
Genres	Heavy metal glam metal speed metal progressive metal
Years active	1981–present
Labels	Nippon Columbia Atco Warner Music Group Rooms Tokuma Japan Wounded Bird
Members	Akira Takasaki Masayoshi Yamashita Minoru Niihara Masayuki Suzuki
Past members	Mike Vescera Masaki Yamada Taiji Sawada Hirotsugu Homma Naoto Shibata Munetaka Higuchi
Website	loudnessjp.com

Loudness (Japanese: ラウドネス, Hepburn: Raudonesu) is a Japanese heavy metal band formed in 1981 by guitarist Akira Takasaki and drummer Munetaka Higuchi.^[1][2] They were the first Japanese metal act signed to a major label in the United States. Loudness subsequently released twenty-six studio albums (five licensed in America) and nine live albums by 2014 and reached the Billboard Top 100 during their heyday as well as charting on Oricon dozens of times.^[1][3] Despite numerous changes in its line-up, leaving Takasaki as the sole constant member, the band continued their activities throughout the 1990s, finally reuniting the original line-up in 2000. This incarnation released a further seven albums until November 30, 2008, when original drummer Munetaka Higuchi died from liver cancer at a hospital in Osaka at age 49. He was replaced with Masayuki Suzuki.