by Ed Rivadavia

Loudness had come a long way by 1984 and, after notching a number of increasingly successful albums in their homeland, their momentum finally carried across the waters. So it was that their fourth effort, Disillusion, which they had originally recorded mostly in Japanese, was recut with English lyrics to make it a tad more appetizing for Western audiences. Whatever the language, Disillusion remains one of Loudness' best works, with excellent tracks like "Crazy Doctor," "Dream Fantasy," and "Satisfaction Guaranteed" aptly displaying their rapid growth. One of their most complex albums in compositional terms, much of the material exudes a decidedly progressive rock feel; "Milky Way" and "Butterfly" in particular display a prog rock feel somewhat reminiscent of Rush. Also on hand is one of guitarist Akira Takasaki's best solos -- the amazingly fast "Exploder." And on a trivia note, closer "Are's Lament" would be the first track to be cannibalized at a later date, when the band reworked it as "So Lonely" for 1987's Hurricane Eyes.