Racing ~ 音速

After several more modern records inspired by alternative rock and metal after the reunion of the original line-up, Loudness rediscovered its roots by recording new versions of their classic songs from the early years for the excellent Rockshocks release. This seemed to have an impact on the band's songwriting as well since Racing goes back to the band's heavy metal style of the eighties with an extra dose of speed and thrash metal. Racing doesn't take any prisoners and offers a ferocious ride through fourteen new songs with a generous running time of sixty-eight minutes.

There are no fillers to be found on this fast, heavy and relentless record but it's also difficult to point out any particular tracks on this strong release. One song that really surprised me was the ferocious ''Lunatic'' which is one of the most aggressive songs in Loudness' impressive career. The song title and lyrics do the musicianship justice but despite all the chaos, passion and speed, one has to point out the excellent musicianship in this band with a perfectly coordinated thunderous rhythm section, a singer that pushes his hoarse yet melodic voice to the limit and a guitarist that perfectly balances skills and emotions. The direction of this album and this song in particular can be described as organized chaos and offers the best elements of this contradiction that isn't one in Loudness' case.

Another honorable mention goes out to the anthemic ''Live for the Moment'', maybe the song with the greatest single, party and live potential on the record. The track sounds like a sped-up version of Loudness' classic heavy metal songs in the mid-eighties and exemplifies the band's identity. There are few bands that have released so many high-quality records in short time spans over such an extended period of time and Racing clearly is one of these. Loudness truly lives for the moment.

Any fan of heavy, speed and thrash metal should check this album out and try to purchase it in combination with the excellent Rockshocks record. Some fans of old date might have criticized the first few experimental albums after the reunion of the classic line-up three years prior to this output but Racing is both a glorious return to the band's initial heavy metal style and a step forward thanks to a solid dose of energy. This album certainly doesn't reinvent the genre but it deserves more credit than it gets and is among the best heavy metal records of the decade.