R.I.P. Munetaka Higuchi

Munetaka Higuchi, the drummer for the decades spanning Japanese heavy metal band, Loudness, succumbed to liver cancer yesterday. 

I met him, and the other members of Loudness, back in the eighties when they appeared instore at The Record Exchange in Walnut Creek.  None of them spoke English very well, and we communicated with them mainly by smiling and giving them the thumbs up.  In fact, I think it was Umlaut who once reported that they had all of their between-song banter written out in advance.  I didn't actually attend the show, and haven't ever seen them on stage.  Now, all of these years later, I can't remember why I only went to the instore appearance. 

I stopped listening to Loudness after about five records, losing interest in them and moving on to other things, but I've never really forgotten them.  In fact, I wish I still had those early records.  All I have left are cassette copies.

For basic band info and a discography (damn, they've released a lot of cds!), check out their page over at the BNR metal pages.