Lightning Strikes

Loudness | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 1, 1991)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Atco
• ASIN: B000002JLB
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #173,660 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Japanese reissue of the heavy metal act's 1986 album. 9 tracks including 'Let It Go', 'Dark Desire' & 'Ashes In The Sky'. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Another Great Album from an Underrated Metal Power, October 13, 2000

By 

L. Everitt (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Lightning Strikes (Audio CD)

Loudness was always one of the most underrated of metal bands in the 80s, and LIGHTNING STRIKES was yet another in a string of great albums they released during the decade.

Listen to the power metal intensity at the beginning of "Complication," the lush grooves of "Street Life Dream," or Minoru's fierce raging in "Ashes in the Sky." Another reviewer noted here that Loudness was pretty standard 80s metal- that is WRONG. No other band I know of at the time was playing power metal with this kind of precision, this kind of sophistication. These guys were flat-out great musicians, and this extended beyond guitarist Akira Takasaki. The rhythm section really was the foundation of this group. And Minoru was a tremendous singer, a fact that would have been more readily evident had his english been flawless.

LIGHTNING STRIKES is not quite on par with the legendary releases, DISILLUSION and THUNDER IN THE EAST, but it's also not far behind. 9 songs, not too long, and all very tight, professional and--most importantly--powerful.

Check it out and discover a band that was more progressive than many gave them credit for, and was certainly not just another face on the 80s metal scene.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Consistant, April 26, 2004

By 

The Bus (NC, United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Lightning Strikes (Audio CD)

I finally picked this one up. I purchased Thunder In The East as a new release on cassette a LONG LONG time ago. Keep in mind, these were the days BI, (before the internet) and I was also quite young and didn't know anything about Loudness at the time. In the days where MTV actually played videos, I happened to catch the Crazy Nights video one late night on headbangers ball, and went out the next day and got Thunder In The East, which to this day remains my all time favorite album PERIOD. Anyways, fast forward a couple of years and I happen to catch the video for This Lonely Heart and ran out and picked up Hurricane Eyes and also loved it. Little did I know that Lightning Strikes had come out in the middle of those two, and it wasn't until a number of years later that I figured this out.

Fast forward to last week, when I got Lightning Strikes, finally. The first song was very surprising, I thought it was very 80's, very much "pop" metal. I was kind of disapointed. But then came the second song, and then the third, and thankfully, all the "pop-ness" of the first song was contained in the first song. During the first song, I was like, how can this be? It was a big change from thunder in the east, and it was also a lot different than anything on hurricane eyes. Don't get me wrong, the first song is good, it just wasn't a good loudness song.But the rest make up for it. I wish I would have bought this years ago.

So bottom line, if you like Thunder in the East, you'll like Lightning Strikes, or if you like Hurrican Eyes, you'll like lightning strikes. And if you don't have Thunder in the East, BUY IT TODAY. It's by far the best Loudness CD ever.

Keep On Rockin.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great 80's hair metal, August 20, 2003

By 

Undertaker - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lightning Strikes (Audio CD)

I was a fan of classic metal, but I didn't know what a Japanese band would sound like. I kept hearing that the music was good, but the vocals were not so hot. I finally bought this album, and the vocals are fine, and understandable. This is one of the best 80's heavy metal groups I've ever heard. Musically, they pretty much blow away all the west coast L.A bands. The guitar is the best, and most original shredding since Eddie Van Halen and Randy Rhoads. The rest of the band smokes as well. If you like classic heavy metal, you will love this group. It just goes to show that good metal is universal.