Loudness — Hurricane Eyes

intothewellsabyss
Jul 14, 2023
4 min read

𝐅𝐑𝐎𝐌 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐑𝐘𝐏𝐓𝐒 - 𝐂𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐁𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐏𝐀𝐒𝐓 𝐀𝐋𝐁𝐔𝐌 𝐑𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐄𝐒 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘 𝐨𝐟 𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐃 𝐑𝐎𝐂𝐊 & 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐕𝐘 𝐌𝐄𝐓𝐀𝐋…

36 years ago this week, we felt the “Strike of the Sword”!

On July 13th in 1987, Loudness released their seventh full-length studio album, “Hurricane Eyes” via ATCO in North America.

Background:

It was released worldwide with standard English lyrics. A "Japanese Version" was subsequently released only in Japan later in the year with Niihara singing most of the lyrics in Japanese.

The album was produced by the famous producer and sound engineer Eddie Kramer, who had worked with the likes of The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix and KISS.

The song "So Lonely", a reprise of "Ares Lament" from the album “Disillusion” (1984), was instead produced by Andy Johns, another world-famous producer.

Background:

Most would have you believe that the original lineup of Loudness had already peaked by 1987 and were creatively and commercially going downhill. While the commercial side of things was out of their control, creatively Loudness were still writing great songs. Though they did have one more EP in them, "Hurricane Eyes" is the final album of the original Minoru Niihara era of Loudness (until he later rejoined). As previously mentioned, the album was recorded by Kiss and Jimi Hendrix producer Eddie Kramer with one track by Andy Johns. Though not as heavy or complex as "Disillusion" or noteworthy as some might consider "Thunder in the East", it is thoroughly enjoyable from start to finish. The commercial bent is obvious on some songs, but it doesn’t really harm the impact of the songs.

(Akira Takasaki – guitars)

Like most Loudness albums from the classic era, the band recorded lyrics in both English and Japanese.

Though "Hurricane Eyes" represents a peak effort to break into the American market, and some songs verge on Dokken homages, it’s a strong album loaded with hooks and enviable guitar theatrics & riffs. And regardless of some of the more radio-friendly material, it also boasts the thrash-like “S.D.I.”, a speed metal riff-fest that remained in the Loudness set list long after after Minoru was let go. The technical playing on “S.D.I.” is outstanding. The guitar solo is pure Eddie meets Yngwie. “S.D.I.” opens the English version of the album, but closes the Japanese. Although, it works excellently in either configuration.

(Minoru Niihara – vocals)

The English album continues with “This Lonely Heart”, a hook-laden hard rocker anchored by a solid riff and soaring chorus, sounding like something you'd expect from George Lynch and company. The album title "Hurricane Eyes" comes from a lyric in “This Lonely Heart” but what you’ll remember mostly is that indelible chorus. Keyboards are poured into “Rock ‘N Roll Gypsy”, an obvious choice for a radio single. Though it didn’t hit the charts you can certainly hear the effort in it. On the Japanese version of the track, the keyboards are present but not mixed in as prominently. It’s the better of the two mixes, with more of that Akira Takasaki guitar up front.

“In My Dreams” is the first power ballad, with focus on the power part. Akira has some sweet anthemic guitar melodies in his pocket for this very Scorpions-sounding track. This gives way to another blitz of a song, though not as over the top as “S.D.I.” was. “Take Me Home” has similar urgency but more deliberate pace. “Strike of the Sword” is in similar metal territory with a fab Akira riff.

(Masayoshi Yamashita – bass)

Another homage to Dokken, “Rock This Way” is a mid-tempo ditty within hit territory. You could imagine this being written for the concert stage, so you can have a singalong chorus — “Rock this way!” Picking up the pace, “In This World Beyond” is a bit more complex though retaining an insanely cool chorus. The Loudness guys really developed an absurdly good chorus-writing ability by this point! But stick around to be strafed out of the sky by Akira’s machine-gun solo. “Hungry Hunter” returns us to mid-tempo rock ground.

The American album ends with “So Lonely”, a re-recording of “Ares’ Lament” from 1984’s "Disillusion", also in the closing position. Disillusion didn’t get a lot of attention outside Japan, and “Ares’ Lament” was a clear highlight. Though the structure is essentially the same, “So Lonely” is a tamed version” of the more traditional metal original. Keyboards are added, replacing the Akira-shred of the original. The chorus is beefed up and placed front-and-center. It suits "Hurricane Eyes" and though it’s merely a tamed down version, it’s still quite excellent. It’s a demonstration of how you can take a song and tweak it into a different direction.

(Munetaka Higuchi – drums)

Noteworthy:

For all of you diehard music nerds, former Angel and Giuffria keyboardist/founder Gregg Giuffria (Angel, Giuffria) performed all keyboards on the album, while Steve "Zeus" Johnstad (Mayday), David Glen Eisley (Dirty White Boy, etc), and Tod Howarth (Frehley's Comet) performed background vocals and gave assistance with the English lyrics.

(Gregg Giuffria – keyboards)

(Tod Howarth – background vocals, English lyric assistance)

(David Glen Eisley – background vocals, English lyric assistance)

(Steve "Zeus" Johnstad – background vocals, English lyric assistance)

This was the last Loudness album to enter the US Billboard 200 chart, where it remained for 4 weeks, peaking at No. 190.

A Music video was filmed for the song “This Lonely Heart”. The music video opens with the band playing on a stage in the middle of a desert under a large Japanese flag. Minoru Niihara sings while the band plays. Clips of a group of women traveling through the desert feature throughout.

Links to Artists, Albums, and Music Videos:

▶ Listen to “Hurricane Eyes” via Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/album/hurricane-eyes/336668979

▶ Listen to “Hurricane Eyes” via Spotify: HURRICANE EYES (2009 Remastered Version) https://open.spotify.com/album/4sklJyoiQMJjcNRzC3XZAc

▶ Watch the official Music video for “This Lonely Heart”: https://youtu.be/oxIqBXpkwU0

▶ Follow Loudness on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100044278066838

Note: The reviews shared here are for historical reference. The views and opinions expressed within are not always supported (in full or in part) by Into the Wells. — E.N. Wells

Loudness — Hurricane Eyes

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