The Birthday Eve

The first metal band of note to come out of the Land of the Rising Sun (whose vibrant rays were a frequent presence on their album covers), Loudness even beat Black Sabbath to the “ugly red devil baby on the sleeve” game by a couple years. Formed from the ashes of a label-dictated boy band called Lazy, it only took six months from Loudness’s conception to deliver debut The Birthday Eve. Van Halen were clearly one of the parents, especially evident in Akira Takasaki’s flying fretwork, but Rush, Scorpions, and Judas Priest could also lay claim to paternity. If nothing else they stood out from the crowd with their combination of Japanese verses and English choruses. Several songs about women (both street and sexy), an eponymous theme tune, and diabolically catchy tunes like “To Be Demon” and “Rock Shock (More and More)” make this worth attending the baby shower. None of it explains the meaning of the chant “M-Z-A” from their 1985 MTV hit “Crazy Nights.”