Earthshaker

The band was named after the track on the first Yesterday and Today album, as Shara, the guitarist, was a big fan of Dave Meniketti , the guitarist and singer of Y&T. An early incarnation of the band included Minoru Niihara of Loudness fame as singer, though he originally played bass in addition to vocals. Their first album was produced by DJ, critic, and all-round Japanese metal guru, Seisoku Itoh, otherwise known as ' Masa Itoh '. The song "Dark Angel" on that album was written by Adrian Smith of Iron Maiden , which goes some way to describing how traditionally-styled the metal on their first album was. With subsequent albums, however, they began to display a competent pop edge (and used keyboard/synth arrangements), which gained them popularity even amongst mainstream music fans. Which was the reason, no doubt, that they managed to play the Nippon Budokan in 1986, a first for a domestic heavy metal band. After a good few years of success, the band split up in 1994, citing musical differences (according to Shara, part of the reason was the by then overwhelming obsession of vocalist Marcy's with mainstream pop music). After the break-up of the band, the individual musicians formed various bands and joined projects or did session work. Most notably, Yoshihiro Kudo joined Niji Densetsu, a highly acclaimed Rainbow tribute band, which counted Anthem and Powernude singer Yukio Morikawa amongst its members, as well as Akira Kajiyama . Ex-Rainbow members Joe Lynn Turner and David Rosenthal were also interested enough to provide guest performances. It is worth noting that Joe Lynn Turner has worked with Akira Kajiyama on many occasions since. The band had an 'initially fulfilling' (according to Shara) reunion, which spurred them on to continue because they believed that they needed to reclaim something of their dizzy heights of the '80s and early '90s. They are still recording and touring. Compilation appearances: - "Wall" and "Young Girls" on Hell Comes to Your House ( Music for Nations , Lp/Tape, 1984) - "Radio Magic" on Welcome to the Metal Zone ( Music for Nations , 2xLp/Tape, 1985) - "More (live)" on 12 Commandments in Metal ( Roadrunner Records , Lp/Tape, 1985) - "Don't Look Back", "Forever" on Sonic Soldier Borgman - The Last Gig of the World ( Futureland , CD, 1989) - "Don't Look Back", "Forever" on A Midsummer Night's Dream ( Futureland , CD, 1989) - "Don't Look Back" on Anime Hot Wave ( VAP , CD, 1990) - "Forever" on Anime Hot Wave 2 ( VAP , CD, 1991) - "Don't Look Back" on Mini History of Youmex Vol. 1 - Tv Vocal Library ( Futureland , CD, 1992) - "ため息混じりの愛の中で" on Nippon No Rock Guitarists Vol.2 ( Victor , CD, 1998) - "Radio Magic" on J-Rock Band Best! ( Bandai Music , 1998) - "Whisky and Women" and "Don't Need to Surrender" on The Very Best of Nexus ( Nexus , 1998) - "Radio Magic" and "More" on Metal Vibes: Japanese Metal Vibes (Self-released, CD, 2002) - "Unknown" on Rockin’F Hot And Heavy Rock Magazine Vol.2 DVD ( Rockin'f , 2002) - "More" on Legends of Japanese Heavy Metal 80's ( Victor , CD, 2003) - "Unknown" on Rockin’F Hot And Heavy Rock Magazine Vol.12 DVD ( Rockin'f , 2005) - "More" on Rock Is Loft ~Green Disc~ (Toshiba Records, CD, 2006) - "Earthshaker" on Gyuween! 80’s J-Rock Collection ‎( Eastworld , CD, 2006) - "Don't Look Back" and "Forever" on みんなのテレビ・ジェネレーション アニメ歌年鑑 1988 ( Columbia Music Entertainment, Inc. , CD, 2006) - "Radio Magic" on ロックNippon Rolly Selection ‎( Columbia Music Entertainment, Inc. , CD, 2007) - "More" and "Radio" on Nexus丼 炎のメガ盛り ~ The Very Best Of Japanese Heavy Metal ~ ( Nexus , CD, 2012) - "走りぬけた夜の数だけ" on Japanese Heavy Metal First Generation ‎( Universal Music , CD, 2015)