Thunder in the East (album)

1985 studio album by Loudness

Thunder in the East

Studio album by

Loudness

Released| 21 January 1985
Recorded| September–October 1984
Studio| Sound City Studios, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Genre|

* Heavy metal
* glam metal

Length| 41:35
Label| Nippon Columbia (Japan)
ATCO (U.S.)
Music for Nations / Roadrunner (Europe)
Producer|

* Max Norman
* Paul Cooper

Loudness chronology
| Odin EP
(1985)  | Thunder in the East
(1985)  | Lightning Strikes
(1986)

|
|

Singles from  Thunder in the East

1. "Crazy Nights" / "Like Hell"
Released: 1 December 1984 (Japan)
1 November 1985 (US)

Japanese edition cover
Professional ratingsReview 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, best known for his previous work with Ozzy Osbourne, 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[citation needed] 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.

The chant of "M-Z-A!" featured in the single "Crazy Nights" came about when producer Norman asked lead vocalist Niihara to come up with something to sing over the main riff between the chorus and next verse. "M-Z-A!" means nothing, and it was intended to be replaced with another line in post-production. When Niihara could not come up with anything to replace it, the "M-Z-A!" chant survived.

In 2017, the album was re-released on limited edition red vinyl.[4]

## Track listing

[edit]

All lyrics are written by Minoru Niihara; all music is composed by Akira Takasaki, except "Heavy Chains" by Masayoshi Yamashita".

Side oneNo.| Title| Length

|
|

1.| "Crazy Nights"| 4:04[5]
2.| "Like Hell"| 3:44
3.| "Heavy Chains"| 4:18
4.| "Get Away"| 3:53
5.| "We Could Be Together"| 4:35
Total length:| 20:34

Side twoNo.| Title| Length

|
|

1.| "Run for Your Life"| 3:59
2.| "Clockwork Toy"| 3:55
3.| "No Way Out"| 4:01
4.| "The Lines Are Down"| 4:57
5.| "Never Change Your Mind"| 4:09
Total length:| 21:01

2005 remastered CD edition bonus tracksNo.| Title| Length

|
|

11.| "Gotta Fight"| 3:46
12.| "Odin"| 5:16

2015 30th Anniversary Edition bonus tracksNo.| Title| Length

|
|

11.| "Crazy Nights" (Unreleased Demo M4)|
12.| "We Could Be Together" (Unreleased Demo M2)|

2015 30th Anniversary Edition DVD 1No.| Title| Length

|
|

1.| "DVD Documentary"| 2:05:00

2015 30th Anniversary Edition DVD 2No.| Title| Length

|
|

1.| "Thunder in the East 1985 U.S. Tour Live"| 1:34:00

## Personnel

[edit]

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

## See also

[edit]

* 1985 in Japanese music

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b Rivadavia, Eduardo. "Loudness Thunder in the East review". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 13 July 2011.
2. ^ 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.
3. ^ "Thunder in the East - Loudness". Billboard. 1998. Retrieved 28 March 2010.
4. ^ "Loudness - Thunder In The East (Rocktober 2017 Limited Edition Red LP)". Recordstoreday.com. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
5. ^ "Loudness - Thunder in the East". Encyclopaedia Metallum. Retrieved 28 March 2010.

* v
* t
* e

Loudness

* Akira Takasaki
* Masayoshi Yamashita
* Minoru Niihara
* Masayuki Suzuki

* Hiroyuki Tanaka
* Mike Vescera
* Taiji Sawada
* Masaki Yamada
* Hirotsugu Homma
* Naoto Shibata
* Munetaka Higuchi

Studio albums|

* The Birthday Eve
* Devil Soldier
* The Law of Devil's Land
* Disillusion
* Thunder in the East
* Shadows of War / Lightning Strikes
* Hurricane Eyes
* Soldier of Fortune
* On the Prowl
* Loudness
* Heavy Metal Hippies
* Ghetto Machine
* Dragon
* Engine
* Spiritual Canoe
* Pandemonium
* Biosphere
* Terror
* Racing
* Breaking the Taboo
* Metal Mad
* The Everlasting
* King of Pain
* Eve to Dawn
* 2･0･1･2
* The Sun Will Rise Again
* Rise to Glory
* Sunburst

EPs|

* Odin
* Jealousy

Live albums|

* Live-Loud-Alive: Loudness in Tokyo
* 8186 Live
* Once and for All
* Loud 'n' Raw
* Eurobounds
* The Soldier's Just Came Back
* Loudness Live 2002
* Live Loudest at the Budokan '91

Compilations|

* RockShocks

Singles|

* "Crazy Night"

Supporting tours|

* Guns N' Roses 2020 Tour

Related articles|

* Discography
* Lazy
* Sly
* Ezo
* Anthem
* X Japan

Authority control databases |

* MusicBrainz release group

|

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