Customer Reviews

Soldier of Fortune

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

For the uninformed, the junk called 'Nu Metal' today has caused a backlash of sorts in the live rock clubs, and has revived the metal of the 80's and early 90's. I'm a guitarist in a *working* metal band who is enjoying this surge and I must say I don't understand the bashing of this disc from some of the previous reviewers. From a strictly musical POV 'Soldier Of Fortune' is first rate; from Akira's guitars to Mike's vocals, the bass, drums, lyrics, engineering, production, composition, etc. all are AAA+. I **highly** recommend 'Soldier Of Fortune' because it simply **rocks**.

I have had Soldier of Fortune for many years. This is a good disc from Loudness. I used to listen to it a lot when I first got it. I still consider it to be listenable and enjoyable. The album contains a total of ten tracks. It is in a hard rock musical direction. I do admit that Loudness sounds somewhat different because former vocalist Minoru Niihara doesn't sing on this disc. I've always liked Minoru Niihara's unique vocal style. His vocals really added something interesting to their overall sound. Mike Vescera is a pretty good singer. His vocals do tend to be scratchy, though. I think that he does a good job on the power ballads. Akira Takasaki doesn't disappoint when it comes to the guitar duties. He's an impressive and talented guitarist. I've always liked his clean sound. This album contains some cool riffs and meticulous guitar solos. The album's musicianship, songwriting, and production are tight and satisfying. Most of this disc contains straight-ahead rockers. There are also two power ballads and a fast metallic tune. My favorite tracks are "Danger of Love," "Twenty-Five Days," and "Lost without Your Love." "Danger of Love" sports some nice keyboard work while the power ballad "Twenty-Five Days" contains a very good and well-constructed guitar solo from Akira Takasaki. "Long after Midnight" has a good chorus, also. Soldier of Fortune is worth a listen.

I bought this release a few years ago, and must say that I was never really disappointed. I do admit, Loudness sounded a little different though with the loss of their original leadsinger. That guy had a voice all his own, and injected a lot of originality vocally to their music. The new singer on this album is not bad though. He does a great job singing on some of the album's best songs: "Lost Without Your Love," "Danger of Love," and "25 Days." I've always had a lot of respect for Akira Takasaki's guitar playing. Sounds a bit different from previous releases, but in no way a disappointment. Worth a listen.

This is one of Loudness' best albums - and one of the finest examples of 80's speed metal. Perhaps people are comparing this album to current 2010 metal, but that would be like not giving credit to Iron Maiden for all their original content, and saying that they suck when compared to Iced Earth... just a thought.

Anyways, listen to initially simple sounding "You Shook Me" - and that particular solo - to get a good idea of how good this album is. Other tracks such as, Soldier of Fortune are some of the best in this album.

Loudness's 1989 album Soldier of Fortune was one of the Japanese metal band's more controversial releases. Replacing original vocalist Minoru Niihara with American singer Mike Vescera (ex-Obsession) was obviously a cynical maneuver by Loudness and/or the record label in order to break through to a wider US audience. Watering down the band's heavy metal sound (however slightly) in favor of the more popular hair metal style was another. Neither of these decisions endeared the band to their longtime fans, nor did they really succeed in making Loudness a viable US act.

Whatever you may think of the decisions behind the new lineup and musical direction, the end result is actually pretty impressive. Mike Vescera probably wasn't the best fit for this band, but the fact is he's a much better singer than Niihara, and he does a terrific job on Soldier of Fortune. It doesn't hurt that guitar wizard Akira Takasaki turned in an outstanding performance as well, and that the songs - despite a couple of missteps ("Lost Without Your Love" comes to mind) are both accessible and still very "metal" at heart. Great melodies, smokin' guitar work, and a powerhouse vocal performance...there's a lot to love here.

Soldier of Fortune really is one of the better Loudness albums, and one that people shouldn't write off simply because of the vocalist change or the politics involved. It doesn't have quite the same exotic charm as Thunder in the East or Lightning Strikes, but it's a very well written and executed metal album, and one that should appeal to most fans of the 80's metal scene.

Excellent job, It is another kind of sound, deep, hard, and very
interesting, Mike's voice 10/10.

By this album, Loudness had (sadly) parted ways with original singer Minoru Niihara, making this one with Metal Church singer Mike Vescera. The net result is a Japanese band with an attempt at an an American accent. What it really means is, the band wanted to remake their original American album, Thunder in the East.

Vescera does bear a (very!) distant sonic resemblance to Niihara, but with less charm and more pierciing screams. The band is still great, as always, but the vocals don't really... well,... "fit right". It would be like, say, Rob Halford singing in Dokken.

Sadly, by this point America was losing interest in this great band. I'm glad that the original lineup is back together and ready to blow the roofs off clubs all over-- but this album sank the band's career in AQmerica.

THIS ALBUM IS THE BANDS' BEST EFFORT AND HAS A COUPLE OF MY ALL-TIME FAVORITE SONGS. "LOST WITHOUT YOUR LOVE" IS AN EXCELLENT BALLAD AND HAS A VERY INCREDIBLE GUITAR SOLO - ALSO, "25 DAYS", "YOU SHOOK ME", "SOLDIER OF FORTUNE" AND "LONG AFTER MIDNIGHT" ARE GREAT! I DIDN'T LIKE MANY OF THE SONGS I'D HEARD FROM LOUDNESS UNTIL I PURCHASED THIS ALBUM - I THINK WITH MIKE VESCERA'S VOCALS IT IS A CUT ABOVE ANYTHING ELSE THEY'VE DONE TO DATE AND SHOULD BE A NICE FIND TO YOUR CD COLLECTION!

If you love great guitar playing,buy this cd. Best cd since Thunder

The music on this CD ranks among the best in well-crafted and deftly-executed rock, without sacrificing artistic passion: clean, powerful, melodic, evocative and haunting, it's reminiscent of prime Dokken. There are no sleeper cuts on this release--each song stands on its own as a sonic tour-de-force.