wretch

Set list
Fire Of Spirit
Hit The Rails
Crazy Nights
Heavy Chains
Never Change Your Mind
In The Mirror
Shadows Of War
Black Star Oblivion
Get Away
The King Of Pain
Crazy Doctor

encore
Let It Go
S.D.I.


Saw LOUDNESS last night in Santa Clara. Wow, what an amazing show! I've followed LOUDNESS since 1983 when I picked up "Law Of Devil's Land" after hearing a lot of tracks off Ron Quintana's Rampage Radio show on KUSF. The world of mainstream Heavy Metal was JUDAS PRIEST, IRON MAIDEN and the SCORPIONS. Rampage Radio opened my ears to the underground. LOUDNESS was very unique. All the songs were sung by vocalist Minoru Niihara in Japanese. Even tho you couldn't understand a lyric he was singing about, the riffs of Akira Takasaki were enough to translate to the universal language, METAL!

LOUDNESS to me was a combination of a Japanese SCORPIONS/VAN HALEN at a rapid speed. The first four albums ("Birthday Eve," "Devil's Soldier," "Law Of Devil's Land" & "Disillusion.") were classics. "Thunder In The East" (which is a good album in it's own right) was more mainstream sounding to appeal to the US/Mtv radio market and is probably the most recognized on American soil. No surprise last night that the band threw more selections off that album (and "Lightning Strikes") this time around compared when the band hit San Francisco in 2006. A good sizable crowd showed up and for ONLY $12 at the door, they got more than they paid for!

Akira was just SHREDDING and it was evident why this guy was compared to the likes of Yngwie Malmsteem, Marty Friedman and even Eddie Van Halen during his era. Minoru Niihara echoed Klaus Meine in antics and vocal comparisons (was kinda funny him calling Santa Clara, San Jose, but it was too far off) but LOUDNESS as a band throws the influences and has a sound of their own. The crowd at the Avalon ate up every Akira lick and fist banging / imaginary finger soloing was the order of the evening. The band was touring the US for their 13th anniversary. Here's to hoping that we're graced for another 7 years. This band hasn't lost it's appeal or their presence to amaze.