The Loudest Bands In History: 10 Ear-Splitting Acts
The loudest rock bands in history have damaged buildings, destroyed eardrums, and become health-and-safety hazards. Where are those earplugs…?
In 1975, Motörhead singer Lemmy famously joked that the band “will be so loud that if we move in next door to you, your lawn will die.” He said this at a time when bands were competing to break into the Guinness Book Of World Records as the loudest certified group – and, no question, Motörhead have always been among the loudest bands in the world.
Now, of course, there is more knowledge about the dangers of concert-goers having their ear-nerve endings destroyed, and Guinness subsequently ditched the category. They still recognize the loudest drummer in the world, however: in 2006, Col Hatchman recorded 137.2 decibels playing the drums during a gig in Australia. His record was around 50 decibels higher than the noise level that risks permanent hearing damage.
Here’s our guide to the musicians who have broken down the sound barriers to be rightfully hailed as the loudest bands in history.
Bob Dylan And The Hawks (1966)
Supremely loud concerts are normally associated with rock and heavy metal bands – the Newport Folk And Jazz Festival have volume restrictions for their stages – but when folk star Bob Dylan toured Europe in 1966 he was looking for a louder sound for his new electric band. He hired Richard Alderson to build him a new live sound system.
Alderson, who had previously built one for Harry Belafonte, said constructing his own system was necessary for Dylan because most theatres at the time were simply not equipped for a loud amplified band. “I was a hi-fi purist as far as sound is concerned,” said Alderson, who was present when Dylan famously told his band to “play f__ing loud” as disgruntled fans booed his electric music. Though Dylan’s decibel levels were not measured, his initiative marks a step on the road to louder concerts.
Led Zeppelin (1969)
Scientists have demonstrated that loud music can release endorphins, so Led Zeppelin fans were probably happy when the band started to crank up the volume in the late 60s. Following the release of their first two albums, the group toured Canada in 1969 (where a music critic described them as creating “an earthquake of sound”) and, that year, The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association recorded a volume of 130 decibels during a performance of the song “Heartbreaker.” Tour manager Richard Cole said the band had not been seeking publicity about the sound levels. He recalled a decibel meter being grabbed from a city council official in Vancouver in March 1970 before being smashed.
Deep Purple (1972)
To achieve their loud sound, Deep Purple bought a 10,000-watt Marshall PA system. One show was so loud that three people standing near speakers were knocked unconscious. In 1972, The Guinness Book Of Records crowned Deep Purple the world’s loudest band after 117 decibels were registered at London’s Rainbow Theatre. Drummer Ian Paice said: “Rock’n’roll went to a different level. The volume leapt up incredibly.”
The Who (1976)
The Who’s claim to noise fame is also something of a cautionary tale. On May 31, 1976, 75,000 people packed into Charlton Athletic’s football ground in London to see a line-up that included Lowell George and Little Feat. The headliners were The Who and, on a rainy night, their performance was measured at 126 decibels – and that from a distance of 100 feet from the speakers. The Who set a world record that stood for eight years. Alas for band members Peter Townshend and Roger Daltrey, years of being one of the loudest bands in the world left them with severe hearing problems. Daltrey, who admits he’s now “very deaf”, said, “If only we had known when we were young.” Townshend later helped establish the charity HEAR (Hearing Education And Awareness For Rockers).
Manowar (1984)
The quest for the loudest bands to outdo each other was satirized in the music mockumentary This Is Spinal Tap – in a scene where the group’s amplifiers were calibrated to 11 instead of 10 to allow them to go “one louder” – but New York heavy metal band Manowar did use technology to raise the bar. The band had a technical contract “rider” that specified a minimum sound pressure level of 126 decibels for their sound systems. In 1984, in Hanover, Germany, they overtook The Who’s record when two sound specialists measured them playing at 129.5 decibels. They were using 10 tons of amplifiers and speakers that were 40 feet in length and 21-feet high. At a soundcheck in 2008, they reportedly reached 139 decibels. The band’s website proudly proclaims their “ear-splitting” power.
Motörhead (1986)
The Variety Theatre in Cleveland was a venue designed by architect Nicola Petti in the Spanish Gothic style. The beautiful venue was no match for Lemmy and what he described as Motörhead’s “loud, fast, raucous, speed-freak rock’n’roll.” When the band played there in December 1984, they were measured at 130 decibels. The music was so loud the vibrations cracked the ceiling and plaster came down on the crowd. The power had to be cut to stop the band from continuing to play.
Leftfield (1996)
Motörhead aren’t the only band to have shaken up a venue. In June 1996, the British electronica group Leftfield had a bassline noise that was reportedly measured at 137 decibels when they played London’s Brixton Academy. Chunks of plaster and dust came down on the audience and the gig passed into music history. The band were allowed back four years later – with the volume turned down. Leftfield keyboardist Neil Barnes later said, “I don’t want to bring the plaster down again, it’s a beautiful building… if we did lose the plot we could bring the building down. It would be like the final scene in Carrie when she finally brings the whole school down from within.”
KISS (2009)
Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Metallica, Megadeth, and ZZ Top are among many other bands known for their loud concerts, but even they were topped by British punk band Gallows, who, in 2007, locked themselves in a studio and were said to have ramped up to 132.5 decibels. There have even been claims that Swedish band Sleazy Joe reached 143.2 in Hassleholm in 2008. A year later, in July 2009, officials of Ottawa’s state body, The National Capital Commission, were so concerned by the potential noise levels at a KISS Bluesfest gig that they had investigators in place. When the band reached 136 decibels the officials ordered the sound engineer to turn down the volume. That same year, Irish rockers My Bloody Valentine started handing out disposable earplugs at their concerts.
Foo Fighters (2011)
No band can possibly match the fictional group Douglas Adams created for his book The Restaurant At The End Of The Universe: Disaster Area are a band whose concerts can devastate entire planets. However, when Foo Fighters played Western Springs Stadium in Auckland, New Zealand, in 2011 they did make the earth move. The effects of their bass frequencies, along with fans jumping up and down, meant that the ground was shaking three times per second in a rhythmic motion. The signal, similar to a volcanic tremor, registered 3Hz on the seismic meters at Herne Bay and Eden Park.
AC/DC (2015)
Perhaps there is something about Western Springs that brings out the desire to be excessively loud. AC/DC had long been one of the loudest bands on the planet and, when they played the Auckland venue in 2015, they ignited a row over noise pollution. The gig by the Australian musicians could be heard four miles away, across Waitematā Harbour in Birkenhead. The band were measured at 103 decibels and their music set off numerous car alarms outside the venue.
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Simon
October 26, 2018 at 12:31 pm
I would add My Bloody Valentine to this list. The wall of sound they create with layered guitar is ear drum blowing stuff. Couldn’t hear on my way back home!
Max Kelly
October 26, 2018 at 1:23 pm
Urban myth has a roadie setting up an ACDC concert dying when the bass player struck a chord as he passed in front of the bass bins during sound check.
Kelvin Walsh
October 26, 2018 at 5:28 pm
Seen VALENTINE at their peak in 93. Don’t think so
But. Ministry? KMFDM?
Where’s my Industrial?
Neil
March 18, 2020 at 7:39 pm
Typical yet again another poll that the greatest British band ever don’t get a mention. Hopefully the mighty SLADE will one day get the respect by the music industry they truly deserve but probably not . Long live the SLADE NOIZE LOAD
Clive R Marples
March 18, 2020 at 6:07 pm
I can tell ya of a band that seems to be pushed to the back regarding any claims about anything these days and i am well and truly annoyed by it. Their whole career was built round their live performances. They broke records galore during the early seventies, slamming three singles straight in to the number one spot(in UK) on the day of release, not managed by anyone else, even The Beatles, up to that point. They stole the show at the festivals they appeared at, most notably The Reading Rock Festival’80 – 24/08/1980, turning an apathetic crowd into a total out and out frenzy of stomping worshippers to the band performing their art before their eyes. No doubt the Guinness Book Of Records people never took their level meters into one of this bands gigs as they would no doubt be sat at the No1 spot for playing at such a hellishly loud volume. So who could it possibly be that would be louder than the critics choice of bands, as this list seems to be favouring. The band i speak of is the mighty SLADE who were pummelling peoples eardrums and turning their amps up to the max way before it crossed the minds of the others on this list, so give the lads some of the respect they truly deserve. I tip my home made mirrored top hat to Noddy Holder(the loudest rock vocalist there ever was), Jim Lea, Dave Hill & Don Powell, the original boot stompers from Wolverhampton…….i thank you.
Laurence Glover
March 18, 2020 at 6:25 pm
Slade have to be added to this list
Gary Price
March 18, 2020 at 6:33 pm
I went to three Slade gigs in four nights in the early eighties,fantastcally loud gigs but wow, my ears were ringing for weeks after that.This band deserve the number one slot.
Ian McMullon
March 18, 2020 at 7:00 pm
Whatever Happened to Slade you guys really have lost the plot to have left them off the list, I saw them many times and my ears would be ringing for weeks after a gig. How can you justifiably not have them in the top ten, they should certainly be at No1 in my view.
ken
March 18, 2020 at 7:54 pm
Slade!!!!!
Mary Ann Dalton
November 8, 2020 at 8:02 pm
I have to disagree the loudest group was the Osmond Brothers. In fact they were louder the fend The Who. But the music industry has always disregarded them. When in fact the Osmond Brothers (Alan, Wayne, Merrill and Jay) sang and performed every type of music (rock, countryblues etc) but the industry always failed to acknowledge them.
Mary Ann Dalton
November 8, 2020 at 8:03 pm
I have to disagree the loudest group were the Osmond Brothers. In fact they were louder the fend The Who. But the music industry has always disregarded them. When in fact the Osmond Brothers (Alan, Wayne, Merrill and Jay) sang and performed every type of music (rock, countryblues etc) but the industry always failed to acknowledge them.
Raymond Anderson
November 15, 2020 at 1:44 pm
Rainbow, featuring Ritchie Blackmore, Graham Bonnet, Cozy Powell, Roger Glover, and Don Airey that line up could only be LOUD AND LOUDER.
Dick Winningstad
November 28, 2020 at 4:32 pm
Shouldn’t Blue Cheer be on this list?
Robert Strömqvist
March 9, 2021 at 10:20 am
How about Swans? Still one of the loudest bands in the world.
Ron D
March 26, 2021 at 4:15 am
It also depends on the venue and proximity to the stage. I saw Night Ranger on their Midnight Madness tour in an old (1917), concrete edifice called the Evansville Coliseum. Plenty of echo from the walls, being close to the Marshall stacks and next to the drums caused my ears to ring for days after the show. As a matter of fact, my right ear was just about deaf until it finally “popped” later that week. Many years later, I saw Cinderella front-man Tom Keifer in a club in Dallas called Trees. His band in that small venue was so loud, I stayed next to the entrance so I could duck out periodically to protect my ears when the sound pressure got too much to take. I had forgotten to bring ear plugs for that show. To this day, if the sound gets too loud, I hear a horrible sound like paper tearing in ears if I don’t wear plugs in a loud show. As my friends, The Pursuit of Happiness, sang: “Speaking of hearing, I can’t take too much loud music.
I mean I like to play it, but I sure don’t like the racket!”
Ron D
March 26, 2021 at 4:20 am
Oh yeah, seeing AC/DC in Reunion Arena in the upper level was also a hugely uncomfortable show due to the echo from the ceiling and the volume of the top tier speakers. The cannon fire from “For Those About to Rock” was just the icing on top of the cake as well. I really preferred opener King’s X because their soundman kept it under control.
PaulC
May 21, 2021 at 6:36 pm
Are you folks crazy? It’s Led Zeppelin by far (IMHO). Seen/heard all/most of these bands discussed here and saw LZ multiple times. And LZ was the loudest in all venues. Most of their music, hit you like a linebacker on a blitz (especially the bass-line – TY, JPJ!). Give a listen to LZ’s either and/or “The Song Remains the Same” or even better, “Celebration Day” and you’ll see (hear) what I mean. Note, “Celebration Day” posts musicians that were/are over 70 years old (except for the drummer – Jason Bonham, the son of John Bonham/original LZ percussionist).
Mark
June 16, 2021 at 1:53 pm
BLUE CHEER 1968
Tiny articles in early rock magazines said Blue Cheer were so loud they had to record outdoors — part of their second album, Outsideinside, was recorded on a San Francisco pier
— Neil Peart, of Rush. Rolling Stone
Blue Cheer, the first American band to use Marshall amps,has been seen as a pioneer of extreme loudness, being the first band ever listed in The Guinness Book of World Records as loudest band in the world, preceding Deep Purple.
They have been described as “undoubtedly the heaviest and loudest band of the time”,”Weird, obnoxious, loud as in L-O-U-D!!!”and “loud enough to get [god of music] Apollo’s attention”.
Billy Altman of Rolling Stone Magazine described them as the loudest band ever; “So loud, in fact, that within just a few songs, much of the crowd [at a 1968 concert] in the front orchestra section was fleeing”.
Blue Cheer’s 1968 debut album, Vincebus Eruptum, was widely described as the loudest record ever made at that time.Their 1986 “Best of” compilation album was titled Louder Than God.
Tim Lynch
July 19, 2021 at 3:59 am
Judas Priest in the early 2000’s was ear destroying. That show had my ears ringing for a week !
Alfred Mercer
August 28, 2021 at 2:41 pm
The original lineup of The Mahavishnu Orchestra (1971-1973) definitely needs to be on here. They were so loud, the air pressure in the venue caused my breathing to be labored. Billy Cobham’s Fibes drum kit could have arguably been considered a felonious assault. We were a few minutes late to the show, and they were playing “The Dance of Maya” when we walked into the auditorium. With my knees literally shaking, I had to lean on the aisle seats for support as we made our way to our seats. I’ve never heard anything remotely close to that volume. And I’vce seen Deep Purple, Moterhead, and in small venues – ACDC, Leslie West, Ted Nugent, and Rush.
Ed white
January 21, 2022 at 1:46 am
Slade
Bob Martin
January 21, 2022 at 6:38 am
The Mahavishnu Orchestra had to be one of the loudest. The band would come out and stand in silence for several minutes, than John Mclaughlin would give the downbeat. The audience’s ears were pinned back with their eyeballs popping out. They opened for several rock acts early on. They were so loud as well as accomplished, most groups would switch places and open for them.
Bob Martin
January 21, 2022 at 6:47 am
I agree that the Mahavishnu Orchestra has to be one of the loudest. On tour, other groups refused to follow them because of there sheer force and musicianship.
Stephen Klein
January 31, 2022 at 6:41 pm
As mentioned above Blue Cheer held the trophy for some time. Could they really be heard outdoors a county over?
I never witnessed Blue Cheer live but I did see Night Ranger open for ZZ Top in Boise, Id. on Jan.29th, 1984. Three days later I still couldn’t hear anything except for very low frequencies.
Hansi
January 31, 2022 at 11:43 pm
I saw Uriah Heep at the Musikhalle in Hamburg/Germany back in 1976, and the waves of the sound literally whirled around the walls and let the building shake. It was unbearable.
Other examples: UFO, Kansas, Styx, UK.
Chris
February 2, 2022 at 11:20 pm
I see we forgot Cream…
David Gough
February 5, 2022 at 12:33 am
Seem to recall that the MC5 were regarded as the loudest in the day
Rob van Zeijlen
August 4, 2022 at 4:18 pm
The Grand Funk Railroad zijn Julie helemaal vergeten , bizar gewoon , ik heb al deze genoemde bands gezien , ook The Grand Funk Railroad in de Doelen te Rotterdam 1971 , de aller hardste band waren wel The Grand Funk Railroad toen der tijd ,waren ze nog om bekend daarom ook ,daar vallen Led Zepplin en Deep Purple nog in het niet kwa volumme
Rob van Zeijlen
August 4, 2022 at 4:22 pm
The Grand Funk Railroad waren absoluut de aller luidste band ooit
Rob van Zeijlen
August 4, 2022 at 4:22 pm
The Grand Funk Railroad waren absoluut de aller luidste band ooit
John Mayhugh
April 11, 2023 at 6:21 pm
The Wildman, Motor City Madman Ted Nugent. Back in 1975 he played Summer Jam in Kansas City, MO Royals Stadium, Ted played so loud he put a big crack in the stadium wall. Royals Stadium never had another rock show as they were then banned.
LARRY TRAPANI
September 1, 2023 at 9:23 am
I saw The Who, Deep Purple, and Led Zepplin, but the loudest band I ever saw was Yes.
Keith Trotter
December 17, 2023 at 6:21 am
I can agree yet disagree with all these comments. None of these bands emptied the concert hall before the end of the first song. None of them. Only one band in history ever did that. Not ACDC, not deep purple, not Slade, not Jimmy Barnes not one of the aforementioned. Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs did. You couldn’t complain about the noise, you couldn’t stay in there longer than 30 seconds. I don’t care what decibels the other bands achieved, they didn’t empty the hall. It was completely devoid of an audience within 90 seconds.