Country of origin: Japan Location: Tokyo Status: Active Formed in: 1981 Genre: Heavy Metal (early); Heavy/Power Metal (later) Lyrical themes: Life, Fighting, Freedom, Love, Fantasy Current label: Nuclear Blast Years active: 1981-1992, 2000-present Considered to be one of the earliest pioneering bands of Japanese heavy metal alongside Loudness and Earthshaker, Anthem formed in 1981 as a quartet of singer Toshihito Maeda, guitarist Akifumi Koyanagi, bassist Naoto "Ski" Shibata and drummer Takamasa Ohuchi. Koyanagi left late 1983 and was replaced by Hiroya Fukuda. In December 1984 vocalist Toshihito Maeda also left, but sings on the track "Warning Action" featured on the first Heavy Metal Force compilation of 1984. Anthem then drafted vocalist Eizo Sakamoto for the band's eponymous debut issued in July 1985 by Nexus which was licensed to Europe via Roadrunner Records. This was followed by a string of successful albums including 1986's Tightrope, 1987's Bound to Break and the band's most successful album, 1988's Gypsy Ways, which featured the vocals of Yukio Morikawa instead of Sakamoto. At the time, Morikawa was often compared in terms of vocal skill, range & ability to Graham Bonnet, who the band would work with later in 2000. Within their most successful span in the mid-'80s, the band experienced perhaps their greatest highlight, which was a brief North American tour where they headlined with support acts Racer X and Commander. In the early 1990s, Anthem experienced more lineup changes with the departure of Hiroya Fukuda, followed by his replacement Hideaki Nakama. After many auditions, Akio Shimizu was finally hired. The band released 1992's Domestic Booty, but was during the time of the 1990s when a drop in popularity had plagued most heavy metal bands. In addition, the rise of the visual kei movement was led by bands such a Athem是成立在80年代早期的重金属乐队，和Loudness跟Earthshaker等乐队一起对日本重金属有很大的影响。早期的Anthem由主唱前田“トニー”敏仁，吉他手小柳彰史，贝斯手柴田直人，鼓手大内“MAD”贵雅组成。小柳在83年离开，他的位置由福田洋也顶替。84年底主唱也离队，坂本英三加入。乐队开始录制第一张同名专辑“Anthem”,该专辑在85年由Nexus发行。