Munetaka Higuchi, the leader of Loudness, which in the 1980s became Japan's first hard-rock band to break into the U.S. market, died of liver cancer at an Osaka hospital Sunday. He was 49.
A drummer from Nara Prefecture, Higuchi formed Loudness with guitarist Akira Takasaki in 1981. The band's fifth album, "Thunder in the East," released in 1985, peaked at No. 74 on the Billboard chart in the U.S.
Higuchi was hospitalized after the cancer was diagnosed in March.
"Undergoing a life-or-death operation, more than half of my liver was removed," Higuchi wrote in a message posted Oct. 16 on the band's Web site. "I will fight this disease facing the fact that I'm not out of danger and no optimism is allowed."
