Masayuki Suzuki (drummer)

Masayuki Suzuki (鈴木政行, Suzuki Masayuki), nicknamed "Ampan", (born September 26, 1972 in Sapporo, Hokkaido) has been the drummer for the heavy metal band Loudness since 2009, a year after the death of their original drummer, Munetaka Higuchi.[1]

Masayuki Suzuki
Suzuki performing in 2010
Background information
Also known as	Ampan
Born	(1972-09-26) September 26, 1972
Origin	Sapporo, Hokkaido
Genres	Heavy metal, progressive metal
Occupation(s)	Musician
Instruments	Drums
Years active	1988–present
Associated acts	Loudness, Galatea, RDX, Ubigun, Hard Gear, Negarobo

Suzuki's first recording with Loudness was the song "I Wonder" on the album The Everlasting, released in May 2009. The rest of the drum tracks on the album were recorded as demos by Higuchi before his death.

Suzuki first played live with Loudness in May 2009, followed by an appearance at the Bang Your Head!!! festival in Germany in 2010, and a short tour of Europe. His American debut was in May and June 2011, for the band's 30th anniversary tour. Suzuki's first full album with Loudness was King of Pain.[2]

He also appears (with Loudness) on the soundtrack for the anime OVA Mazinkaizer SKL.

Before Loudness, Suzuki was in the bands Galatea, Negarobo, RDX, Ubigun and Hard Gear.[3]

On February 8, 2018, Suzuki was hospitalized with a mild stroke, thus was unable to tour in support of Loudness' Rise to Glory album, which was just released nearly two weeks earlier. For the tour, Ryuichi Nishida from RA:IN stepped in, while Suzuki recovered. On August 11, 2018, he announced that he fully recovered from his stroke and returned to touring with Loudness on September 24, 2018.