Want to hear a statement that is nothing but true? Loud music is great! From turning the vinyl setup to get that warm crisp sound shaking the walls, turning the amp to 11 to shred on a guitar to rolling up the Spotify volume rocker to the max. Loud music is good.
Music at concerts is always one thing – and that is loud! Loudness is measured in decibels (dB). For example, a jet take off would sound out at 150dB, that’s an instant ear drum rupture without serious protection. Breathing? That clocks in at a measly 10 dB. So, with that in mind – what band can claim to be the loudest in the world? Let’s find out.
So, these days The Who don’t seem like much of a dangerous band – with all the black metal around. However, back in the late seventies the Who actually got a place in the Guinness Book of Records after smashing the strings to the sound of a mean 126dB.
Not known for their slamming rock – shoegaze art-rockers My Bloody Valentine are well known for their experimentation with sound and by creating sound, sometimes they push the limits! With massive spikes of noise and tremolo notes, the band masks the painfulness of these noise spikes with amazing sound.
Of course, AC/DC would be on this list. Back in the early 1980’s the Aussie rockers embarked on a quest to become the loudest band in the world. With the right equipment and a wall of sound created by a true ‘wall of amps,’ they managed to hit 130dB on occasion, but regulators soon clamped down on the hard rockers asking them to tone it down.
If you’re seeing any band live, it pays to look after your ears – especially when bands like AC/DC are 20 dB short of blowing your ears in. Always wear earplugs at gigs to ensure that you can last! And hey, if you want to make the most of these loud bands, grab a pair of speakers from All Great Motives to make the most of their raw power!
Manowar, the legendary metal band clocked in a sound of 29.5 dB which was officially recorded back in 1984. Ten years later, the band claimed to have exceeded this level, but it wasn’t officially captured since the officials decided that the loudness war was actually hurting people, and eardrums. A shame! Two years later though, electronica obsessives Leftfield lifted the roof off of the Brixton Academy with a 137 dB performance. Rock legends KISS matched this despite being a bit old – in 2009 they topped 136 dB in Ottawa, and were forced to turn it down by the police.
Like the secret recipe to KFC, the band that have made a living out of being loud haven’t published their dB levels, but Mötorhead are known to be loud! Thanks to the late Lemmie, Mötorhead had gathered enough noisy acclaim to call their third album Everything Louder Than Everyone Else. Nice!
