ANTHEM

Anthem is the band's debut album, released on 21 July 1985 on King Records' Nexus label. It was produced by George Azuma, formerly of 5X and a close associate of Loudness. Japanese heavy metal in the 1980s was said to be concentrated in the west of the country, and within that picture Anthem were known as Tokyo's leading band. The album was marketed under the slogan Power Metal Martial Law. It holds the songs the band was built on - "Wild Anthem", which takes its name from the band, together with "Warning Action!" and "Steeler" - all of which they have gone on playing since reforming in 2001. The players are Naoto Shibata on bass, Eizo Sakamoto on vocals, Yoya Fukuda on guitar and Takamasa Ohuchi on drums. It was issued on vinyl and cassette only; the first CD edition came in 1987 and added "Ready To Ride" and "Shed" from the mini-album Ready To Ride. The 2005 remaster dropped those and added three others instead: the English-language versions of "Rock'n'Roll Stars" and "Steeler", and the re-sung "Wild Anthem" from Anthem Ways. Both the 2010 SHM-CD and the 2017 Blu-spec CD return to the ten songs of the original release.