Review Summary: With a new line-up change, a new era also emerges.
Ever since their conception, Loudness has had basically the same line-up and the same consistency in the 1980’s after putting albums out on a yearly basis, despite a few burps. But all of that was going to change drastically until their lead vocalist Minoru Niihara, decided to leave after their last real commercial success in the U.S.,
Hurricane Eyes. Even though their popularity dropped in the U.S. after reaching its peak with
Thunder in the East, the band still showed a concise career in their native country of Japan. Even after their long time vocalist left, due to personal reasons, Loudness was still able to scavenge a similar vocalist to Minoru, but with a more arguable approach of a better vocal range. With Michael Vescera being the replacement for Minoru (who is most notably famous for performing on Yngwie Malmsteen’s 1994 and 1995 releases), he somehow managed to create a new feel within Loudness’s music that carried out their consistency.
Despite a new start within the band that has a new inspiration, and endless promotion from their record label;
Soldier of Fortune still folded on itself financially in the U.S., but that doesn’t mean the album was a success in Japan. One may think that the album had to be pretty bad to not meet the expected requirements after all of its promotion. That thought process is dead wrong. In fact
Soldier of Fortune can ride along side with Iron Maiden’s
Powerslave or even Judas Priest’s
Screaming for Vengeance. From the start,
Soldier of Fortune starts off with an excellent album opener with the self-titled track that is riddled with classic heavy metal guitar riffs, solos, and vocal arrangements that gives an overall uplifting vibe that’s catchy as hell. Afterwards, “You Shook Me” carries out what “Soldier of Fortune” started off with, yet, another classic composition of Heavy Metal. And practically the entire album just does what heavy metal is all meant to be about
: fun and awesome. With other songs like “Red Light Shooter”, “Running for Cover”, “Demon Disease”, and “Faces in the Fire” show Loudness at a peak with their new line-up approach into regular a Heavy Metal cliché. But that doesn’t mean the album has any sort of variety. Other songs are composed in a ballad-esque form or a mid-tempo form, such as “Danger of Love” or “Days from Home” that has various experimental riffs.
Overall,
Soldier of Fortune is a classic heavy metal record that has been overlooked and almost forgotten in the history of Heavy Metal. Even though it has a high cheese factor in every song, but that doesn’t mean it’s bad musically. But it may take a few listens as a whole to really appreciate the album for what it’s worth. This is a must have for any fan of classic Heavy Metal.
Recommended Songs:
Soldier of Fortune
You Shook Me
Red Light Shooter
