The Metal Box is a weekly web series posted each Friday where we discuss all things hard rock and heavy metal: news, videos, interviews, live concerts and more.

This week, we talk about 80's Japanese metal band Loudness cancelling U.S. tour dates because of travel restrictions placed on foreigners. Watch video above.

Loudness formed out of Osaka, Japan in 1981 and became the first Japanese metal act to be signed to a major label in the U.S. when they signed to Atco Records for their U.S debut Thunder in the East. The classic lineup featured lead vocalist Minoru Niihara, guitarist Akira Takasaki, bassist Masayoshi Yamashita, and drummer Munetaka Higuchi (Higuchi died in 2008 and was replaced by Masayuki Suzuki in 2009). The band's biggest U.S. hit was "Crazy Nights" off 1985's Thunder in the East. They also had some success in 1986 with the release of Lightning Strikes and the single "Let it Go".

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