Customer Reviews

Heavy Metal Hippies

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Loudness, a hard rock/heavy metal band formed in 1981 in Japan, had already seen several lineup changes (including a brief stint by an American) by the time Heavy Metal Hippies was released. For some fans, the band was never the same since original vocalist Minoru Niihara was sacked in the late 80's for the aforementioned American singer, Mike Vescera. Though reverting to an all-Japanese lineup for 1992's eponymous album (vocalist Masaki Yamada replacing Vescera), most interest (at least in America) for Loudness was gone. However, guitarist Akira Takasaki, by this time the only remaining original member, still soldiered on with what was now arguably his band, releasing HMH in 1994.

This album has been criticized by most fans for many things, most notably for the title of the album- naming it almost anything else would have been better. Also, this was the first Loudness album without original drummer Munetaka Higuchi. Replacing Higuchi here is drummer Hiro Homma, ex-bandmate of Yamada while they were in the band EZO. In fact, this album is unique in the Loudness catalog for having more original members of EZO than Loudness- maybe it should have been an EZO album instead. But all of this has to do with the internal politics and otherwise frivolous aspects of the band- what about the music? Read on.

A major complaint about HMH is that this was the album where Loudness went "grunge". I balk at using that term, mostly because of the implications that it brings. No, this is not the album where Loudness became the new Pearl Jam or Nirvana. If I had to compare this to a "grunge" band, it would be the early metal days of Alice In Chains. More accurately, this album is comparable to Dehumanizer-era Black Sabbath: chuggy, de-tuned guitar riffs, a slower tempo, and still very heavy. Most songs even sound like a continuation of the ideas on the self-titled record, an album that curiously most fans seem to enjoy. The main differences on HMH from previous works are the drumming, which include a more bass drum-intensive style, generally slower tempo-ed songs, and the production, which is more raw (as was the trend in the mid-90's). However, Takasaki's legendary guitar tone and riffs are still here (he takes over on bass, too, with the departure of Taiji Sawada).

The biggest contributor to HMH's poor reputation is probably the lead track, "Howling Rain", which admittedly drags for a while and is therefore not a great album opener. The next track, "Freedom", is very reminiscent of "Twisted", off of the s/t album. Also, "Eyes Of A Child" sounds like a heavier, less hair metal-y version of "Faces In The Fire", from 1989's Soldier Of Fortune. It's not until the sixth track where the title Heavy Metal Hippies starts to make sense. This track, "House Of Freaks", opens with a psychedelic middle-eastern riff rife with flanger, and breaks into a mid-tempo rocker, with Takasaki using a large, if not appropriate amount (for the 90's) of wah-pedal effects. This song is probably the most offensive to traditional Loudness fans. The next track starts out almost like late-80's Metallica covering "Crazy Train", but immediately explodes into a speed metal song reminiscent of "Firestorm" from s/t or "SDI" from 1987's Hurricane Eyes. There is a take-it-or-leave-it ballad entitled "Light In The Distance", which still manages to have some heavy guitar work (after all, Takasaki is a riff-master).

Bottom line: do I recommend Heavy Metal Hippies? This is a toughie, because it really depends. I personally like it, but acknowledge it is far from Loudness' best. For people interested in getting in to Loudness, this is not a good starting point; I would recommend Thunder In The East, or for the more ambitious, Disillusion. For fans of 80's Loudness curious about their 90's stuff, I would listen to the self-titled album first, and if you're happy with the direction Loudness took, then pick up HMH. For those who can't stand anything Loudness did after Niihara left, then guess what? You won't like this album either. Finally, for those who love the s/t album, you will at least find some gems on HMH. 3 1/2 stars.

In some ways, you have to feel a little sorry for Japanese metal icons Loudness. They (or their record company) never seemed quite satisfied with the band's success. They were always changing the formula, from singing in English to hiring an American vocalist to jumping on that most unfortunate of American musical trends - grunge. By 1994 the market for the traditional heavy metal that Loudness did so well was decidedly cold, so the band tried their hand at grunge with the ridiculously-titled Heavy Metal Hippies.

For Heavy Metal Hippies, Loudness was back to an all-Japanese lineup, but the only original member left was guitar wizard Akira Takahashi. Honestly, the lineup for this particular stinker really couldn't have mattered less. It's never pretty when metal bands try to go grunge (see Dokken's Dysfunctional or Pink Cream 69's Change), and Heavy Metal Hippies is no exception. This band needs to be screaming about Shadows of War and having Rock and Roll Crazy Nights, not wallowing in melody-free guitar sludge and catering to Generation X whiners. They're too good as musicians for this sort of thing, and they lack the integrity of the Seattle bands. Loudness doing Soundgarden is entirely unconvincing, and doesn't do anyone any good.

Unless you're the most dedicated of Loudness fans, I can't recommend Heavy Metal Hippies at all. As a grunge album it's bad, as a metal album it's worse, and as a Loudness album...it's just better off forgotten.

Edition Notes: Wounded Bird reissued Heavy Metal Hippies in 2005. If I'm not mistaken, this is the first time the album has been issued in the US. Like all Wounded Bird reissues, the album has not been remastered nor is there any bonus material. Of course, I don't think I'd necessarily want to hear b-sides from this particular album.