Pandemonium ~降臨幻術~

Loudness' second record after the reunion of the classic line-up is once more a quite surprising release. It's an incredibly energizing record without any ballads or calmer tracks and would be best categorized as alternative rock, recalling groups such as Foo Fighters, Jane's Addiction, Pearl Jam, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Queens of the Stone Age. Don't believe that these references make this album any mellower than usual, the opposite is actually the case since this record is easily the heaviest the band has released since the self-titled Loudness output nine years earlier.

The guitar sound is much more distorted, simple and straight than usual but still features high-quality musicianship as used from band leader Takasaki Akira. The rhythm section takes no prisoners and is unusually brutal and fast. The vocals sound even more strained, high-pitched and aggressive than usual and blend in perfectly. Even the song titles and the cover artwork underline the band's red hot attitude.

Right from the start, the incredibly fast and dystopian ''Ya Stepped on a Mine'' makes you feel as if you had stepped on a mine indeed. This killer track sets the tone, goes straight to the point and starts fifty-six minutes of hellish alternative rock relentlessly. Among the most outstanding tunes, I would cite ''The Candidate'' that mixes nerve-firing guitar sounds with odd psychedelic breaks in a way that recalls Red Hot Chili Peppers' One Hot Minute to give a precise reference. ''Inflame'' on the other hand is the only track that has an almost uplifting tone and could come from a punk band like The Offspring, without however losing the ferocious speed that is this record's guiding line.

The album certainly isn't easy to digest but it's quite homogeneous and one of the band's most successful experiments throughout the nineties and early years of the millennium. If you dig fast, heavy and yet atmospheric and technically appealing rock and metal music, you should definitely check out this unfairly overlooked and underrated gem. Crank up the volume to this and party hard to this!

You can love or hate them but Loudness has been there to be loved or hated for over 25 years. Pandemonium is a typical classic rock/metal album that the band hailing from Japan is all about.

“You stepped on a mine” starts the album of with a very nice guitar solo as the intro, followed by a typical fast paced classic heavy metal song. Pandemonium gives you quite a mix of styles of songs, “Bloody Doom”, “Chaos” and “Suicide Doll” are more experimental funky metal tracks with excellent guitar work as always by Akira Takasaki. Other songs like “The Pandemonium” and “The candidate” are not as heavy and lean more towards the hard rock. An exception to this is “What’s the truth” which is more like an early and not as heavy Testament song and clearly is my favorite.

Throughout the complete album the highlight definitely is the excellent guitar work of Akira Takasaki. I do have to say that I find the vocals most of the times to be hard to understand and distracts me from listening to the song as a whole.

The best way to describe this album is as a mix of elements of glam, rock, metal, and sometimes funk. Not really my cup of tea.