Thunder in the East (album)
| Untitled | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [1] |
| Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal | 7/10[2] |
Thunder in the East is the fifth studio album by Japanese heavy metal band Loudness, and the first released by a major American label after the contract signed with Atco Records, then a subsidiary of Atlantic Records. Aside from being the band's first all-English release, it is the first Loudness album produced by Max Norman, who also produced Lightning Strikes in 1986 and Soldier of Fortune in 1989. Thunder in the East features the single "Crazy Nights", the band's biggest hit in America, and the power ballad "Never Change Your Mind".[1] This album marked the first time a Japanese band entered the US Top 100 chart, where it remained for 23 weeks, peaking at No. 74.[3]
The album cover introduced the band's signature logo, which would be used in majority of their discography. The Rising Sun background would also be used in the band's albums Breaking the Taboo and The Sun Will Rise Again. The 2005 remastered version includes the bonus tracks "Gotta Fight" and "Odin", which were originally released as singles for the 1985 anime film Odin: Photon Sailer Starlight.
Track listing
All lyrics by Minoru Niihara and all music by Akira Takasaki, except "Heavy Chains" lyrics and music by Masayoshi Yamashita.
- Side one
- "Crazy Nights" - 4:04[4]
- "Like Hell" - 3:44
- "Heavy Chains" - 4:18
- "Get Away" - 3:53
- "We Could Be Together" - 4:35
- Side two
- "Run for Your Life" - 3:59
- "Clockwork Toy" - 3:55
- "No Way Out" - 4:01
- "The Lines Are Down" - 4:57
- "Never Change Your Mind" - 4:09
- 2005 remastered CD edition bonus tracks
- "Gotta Fight" - 3:46
- "Odin" - 5:16
Personnel
- Band members
- Minoru Niihara - vocals
- Akira Takasaki - guitars
- Masayoshi Yamashita - bass
- Munetaka Higuchi - drums
- Production
- Max Norman - producer
- Bill Freesh - engineer
- Ray Leonard - assistant engineer
- Bernie Grundman - mastering
- Paul Cooper - executive producer
- George Azuma - supervisor
- Hiroyuki Munekiyo, Mikio Shimizu - coordinators
References
- ^ a b Rivadavia, Eduardo. "Loudness Thunder in the East review". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 13 July 2011.
- ^ Popoff, Martin (1 November 2005). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 2: The Eighties. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. p. 202. ISBN 978-1894959315.
- ^ "Thunder in the East - Loudness". Billboard. 1998. Retrieved 28 March 2010.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "Loudness - Thunder in the East". Encyclopaedia Metallum. Retrieved 28 March 2010.