METALLIAN - Earthshaker

January 24th, Anno 22

Earthshaker - 1983 - King
Fugitive - 1984 - King
Midnight Flight - 1984 - King
Passion - 1985 - King
Live In Budokan - 1986 - King
Overrun - 1986 - King
Aftershock - 1987 - King
Smash - 1988 - Eastworld
Treachery - 1989 - Eastworld
Pretty Good! - 1990 - Eastworld
Earthshaker - 1992 - Eastworld
Real - 1993 - Eastworld
Yesterday & Tomorrow - 1993 - Warner
Remains - 1994 - Warner
More - 2000 - WTC
Birthday - 2001- WTC
Soko-Ni Aru Shi – 2003 – WTC
Faith – 2004 - WTC
Aim – 2007 – Danger Crue
Quarter – 2008 - Danger Crue
The Course Of Life – 2009 - Danger Crue
Back To Nexus – 2010 – Nexus
Pray For The Earth – 2011 – Nexus
The Earthshaker – 2013 – Nexus
30th Anniversary Special Live – 2014 – Nexus
Bird – 2015 - Nexus
The Story Goes On – 2018 – Nexus

Members

Vocals

Mantis, Solo, Girl U Need, Marcy, The Marcy Band>>MASAFUMI NISHIDA>>Mantis, Solo, Girl U Need, Marcy, The Marcy Band

Guitar

Sly, Punish, Mintmints, SMC>>SHINICHIRO ISHIHARA>>Sly, Punish, Mintmints, SMC

Bass

Mantis, Syu>>TAKAYUKI KAI>>Mantis, Syu

Drum

Natsumetal, Syu, Gracias, Girl U Need>>YOSHIHIRO KUDO>>Natsumetal, Syu, Gracias, Girl U Need

Keyboard

Scheherazade, Novela>>Toshio "Toshi" Egawa>>Scheherazade, Gerard, Novela – Gerard, Scheherazade, Misako Honjoh, Novela>>TOSHIO “TOSHI” EGAWA>>Scheherazade

History & Biography

Japanese hard rockers Earthshaker were actually born in 1978. The band, very much like Bow Wow, taught other bands a lesson in hard work and Karoshi with its regular output. Founders were Niihara (later of Loudness), Ishihara (guitar) and drummer Yoshinobu Watanabe. Watanabe left and Niihara too departed due to musical differences. Replacing them were two members from Kyoto’s Mantis. The group toured with 44 Magnum and Marino using the Kansai 3 Heavy Metal Band monicker. Amazingly, this unknown formation played at Japan Heavy Metal Festival in 1982.Y&T also appeared. Adrian Smith wrote a song for the band’s 1983 album. The record was distributed in Europe by Roadrunner. It was disappointing to fans that Earthshaker’s output became increasingly commercial and that the band recruited a keyboardist in 1986. In fact, the band’s live keyboardist was given a promotion to full-time membership. It seemed that the band had left behind the Jap-metal of the early days. Egawa left in 1994 and returned in 2018.

Earthshaker is where Loudness found its only singer who mattered. Niihara sang and played bass in Earthshaker. Moreover, the guitarist Ishihara later joined several Loudness members (including singer Niihara) in the band Sly. The band had many singles and EPs like Exciting and the early Blondie Girl. Remains was a live album. The band also appeared on the Roadrunner compilation LP 12 Commandments In Metal in 1985. This album also featured the Dio-managed Hellion. Speaking of which, Earthshaker opened for Dio at the Super Rock concert in Tokyo, Japan in 1985. Earthshaker spent most of the ‘90s on hiatus before returning again upon the turn of the century. This was not uncommon for Japanese bands. More (also the title for a 1984 single) was recorded in Vancouver, Canada. October of 1999 brought the band back for another round. Birthday was the official return album. The band had ceased in 1994. The group played Hard Rock Summit festival in 2000. 1987-1992 CD & DVD The Best was issued in 2005. Kai and Kudo were guests of guitarist Syu (of Animetal, etc.) on stage in 2005. Back To Nexus was an appropriate title heralding the band’s return to the label. Prior to that, the group had issued a 2009 split with Rajas. The 2014 live album was recorded at Akasaka Blitz on November 16th, 2013. It commemorated the anniversary of the group’s debut and not the group’s founding.

The band announced several shows for early 2022. One show featured a set voted on by the fans. Earthshaker, Blindman and Punish played together in June 2022 in Tokyo.

The influence of Y&T on the band is evident from its name and its 1993 album. The band’s line-up has been remarkably stable for a group that has been around so long.

Reviews

Interviews

Earthshaker