B’z started off 1999 by busily promoting their recent singles and

B’z started off 1999 by busily promoting their recent singles and their tenth studio album, Brotherhood , which was released on July 14. It is considered their heaviest rock album up to that point. The album’s track ” Giri Giri Chop (Version 51)” was recorded with drummer Pat Torpey and bassist Billy Sheehan , both from Mr. Big . In July, another dome-class tour, “B’z Live-Gym ’99 ‘Brotherhood’” began in Sapporo and included 14 performances in 7 locations. They did away with extra stage acts and concentrated on their musical performance, playing songs from the new album and many hits from the past. On August 28 and 29, they played at Yokohama International Stadium , which were the first music concerts held in that stadium and gathered a total of 140,000 people over the two days. Although the second day at Yokohama experienced heavy rain, the tour ended successfully. Shortly afterward, B’z started recording again and continued to do so throughout the rest of the year without rest.