Anthem (band)
| Anthem | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Tokyo, Japan |
| Genres | Heavy metal |
| Years active | 1980–1992 2000–present |
| Labels |
Victor Entertainment, King Records, Universal Music Group |
| Website | http://www.heavymetalanthem.com/ |
| Members |
Yukio Morikawa (vocals) Akio Shimizu (electric guitar) Naoto Shibata (bass guitar) Isamu Tamaru (drums) |
| Past members | Yoshitaka Mikuni - keyboards Don Airey - keyboards Takamasa Ohuchi - (drums) Kazumasa Saitoh - (electric guitar) Hiroya Fukuda - (electric guitar) Graham Bonnet - (vocals) Eizo Sakamoto - (vocals) Toshihito Maeda - (vocals) Akifumi Koyanagi - (electric guitar) Hideaki Nakama - (electric guitar) |
Anthem (アンセム Ansemu?) is a Japanese heavy metal band that was formed during the early 1980s in Tokyo. They are among the handful of heavy metal bands founded in Japan during that time and are considered to be one of the most successful and influential, alongside Loudness and Earthshaker.
Anthem was founded in Tokyo during 1980 as a quartet, composed of singer Toshihito Maeda, guitarist Akifumi Koyanagi, bass player Naoto Shibata (also known as "Ski") and drummer Takamasa Ohuchi. Koyanagi left in late 1983 to be replaced by Hiroya Fukada. In December 1984, vocalist Toshihito Maeda also left and Anthem drafted Eizo Sakamoto for their debut eponymous album, issued in July 1985 by Nexus and licensed to Europe via Roadrunner Records.
Their first studio release featured classic songs like "Wild Anthem" and "Warning Action". Their first EP single in 1986, entitled "Xanadu", was the first known song to be used for promotion of a brand new video game, namely Nihon Falcom's computer RPG "Dragon Slayer II: Xanadu". The next release, Tightrope showcased a more catchy, melodic sound with an improved vocal performance by Sakamoto. Bound to Break was to be the last album featuring Eizo Sakamoto for nearly two decades, and was by far his most impressive vocal performance to that point. The album was full of classics ("Empty Eyes", "Bound to Break", "Soldiers") and introduced the band's long-time world-famous producer, Chris Tsangarides (perhaps best known for producing Judas Priest's classic 1990 album, Painkiller). With the departure of Sakamoto in 1988, Shibata recruited Yukio Morikawa to the band's vocal position. With Morikawa came the album Gypsy Ways, considered the band's most popular album. Morikawa's voice made the band a great success at that time and he was similar in style, vocal range and ability to Graham Bonnet. In 1989, the album Hunting Time was released and the song "The Juggler" was used as a PV. In the beginning of 90s, Anthem dealt with another departure, this time Hiroya Fukuda (guitar) left and was replaced by Hideaki 'Shadow Walker' Nakama which recorded the album No Smoke Without Fire, this time without the band's staple producer / engineer Chris Tsangarides. Hideaki Nakama left the band after recording just that one album and the search for a new guitarist began.
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