The Japanese metal institution that is Loudness, which has been rocking pretty hard for nearly forty years now, unleashed this raging heavy metal opus of theirs entitled "Rise to Glory" quite recently and if fist-pumping choruses, face-melting riffs, and crashing drums appeal to you, then this cursed 13-track effort might just be right up your alley.

 

While the band’s back catalogue has been somewhat hit-or-miss in terms of quality and longevity, "Rise to Glory" is a well-written, cohesive, and solid album that seems much more focused and disciplined than the last few records of theirs. There is a certain structure, variety, and depth to the album that has been lacking for some time and it is nice to see that Loudness are now firmly back on track. Despite the fact that these guys have been belting out proper heavy metal for decades now, the energy, passion, and reckless enthusiasm is still very much intact nowadays as evidenced by the irresistible "Soul on Fire" and the pummeling "I’m Still Alive" just to list a couple of examples.

 

Other strong and memorable cuts include "Go for Broke" and the epic "Why and for Whom". While I still struggle with the vocals courtesy of Minoru Niihara from time to time, which is to say that they do have their limits in terms of range and power, they get the job done. The booming and bombastic production underlines and emphasizes the heavy nature of the material and there really is no other way to phrase it than this is true and intense heavy metal with a certain melodic sensibility to it that harkens back to the dawn of that glorious decade known as the 1980s. Not each and every tune is a winner, but all in all this is a cool album with an uplifting aura to it. Check these guys out if you worship bands such as Judas Priest, Accept, Raven, and Dio.

 

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