LOUDNESS singer Minoru Niihara and guitarist Akira Takasaki confirmed at this year's Tuska festival in Helsinki, Finland that the long-running Japanese metal band is preparing to record a new studio album, the follow-up to 2021's "Sunburst."
Speaking with South East Wreck Metal, Niihara said the push is tied to the band's 45th anniversary. "[Akira] wants to make a new album for 45th-anniversary something ... He's got ideas, 30 songs already," he said. Asked how much of that material would make the final record, Niihara indicated the band would narrow the field considerably: "Yeah, we will [record] maybe 10 songs from 30 songs. But [it will be released] pretty soon. Maybe end of this year."
"Sunburst" first came out in Japan in December 2021 before an international release via earMUSIC the following July. It stands as LOUDNESS's first official double studio album, spanning 16 tracks, most of them written by Takasaki and sung predominantly in Japanese. The band kicked off its 45th-anniversary celebrations in December 2025.
Formed in 1981, LOUDNESS holds a significant place in Japanese metal history: the band became the first Japanese act signed to Atlantic Records in 1984 and the first Japanese group to headline Madison Square Garden. Its 1985 international breakthrough album, "Thunder In The East," and the accompanying single "Crazy Nights" gave the band its widest international chart success, helping open doors for Japanese metal acts abroad.
The current lineup keeps three of the band's original members intact — Niihara, Takasaki and bassist Masayoshi Yamashita — joined by drummer Masayuki Suzuki, who came aboard in 2009. With writing reportedly already well underway and a rough release window pointing toward the end of 2026, the new album would arrive as the centerpiece of LOUDNESS's anniversary year.
Neither Niihara nor Takasaki offered further detail on a title or lead single, but the pair's Tuska comments suggest the band intends to keep touring through the writing process rather than disappearing into the studio, with festival appearances expected to continue across Europe over the summer.