Everything Louder Than Everyone Else – The World’s Loudest Bands

Discover the science and stories behind 14 of the loudest bands in the world…

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The title of world’s loudest band is disputed, but there’s more to being loud than just volume. Although KISS measured an incredible 136dB in Ottawa in 2009, bands as varied as Part Chimp, Killing Joke, Iron Maiden and Agnostic Front can all claim credit for making a din so loud it can feel like a personal attack.

Here we celebrate outstanding achievements in the field. Volume can be measured whereas loudness is subjective, and merely cranking up introduces distortion, which is uncomfortable and often unmanageable. In 1974 The Grateful Dead strapped together 604 speakers for their ‘wall of sound’, maintaining perfect quality a quarter of a mile from the stage. The set-up, however, cost £350,000 and was too difficult to dismantle and transport. They retired the rig after 37 shows.

But loud music is a stress-reliever. Neurologically, it’s a kind of self-medication. The sacculus – a vestigial part of the inner ear relating humans to fish – tells the brain to release endorphins especially in response to low frequencies at 90db and louder. The sacculus loves the bass. The distribution of frequencies at rock shows are custom-built to stimulate saccular activity, and ongoing fMRI tests show that good music at proper volume creates an almost romantic frisson in humans, with brain and body chills following the dopamine rollout. The very anticipation of peak musical moments is enough to do it.

Danger comes with chasing the hit. Exposure to anything at 115dB will do significant damage. At 125dB even low frequencies will cause severe hearing loss. And with decibels, each increase of 10 doubles the loudness: 20 dB is twice as loud as 10 dB, but 30 dB is four times as loud. At the other side of 140dB, the human nose begins to itch, vision becomes blurry, vibrations affect the organs, and permanent hearing loss is likely. At 180dB you’re looking at probable death. At 194dB we reach the threshold of sound on the earth’s surface.

Technically we can find louder sounds in shockwaves and sub-oceanic noises and gas giants in the solar system that have denser atmospheres than our own planet – but let’s stick with earth for now. If you listen closely you can hear Mogwai without actually putting on their albums. Their dynamics are the key, with delicate parts in Like Herod or Mogwai Fear Satan offering a reprieve before kicking in with a volume that can vapourise tears. People claim that during Mogwai festival appearances moths and insects near the speakers were literally blown to pieces when the loud parts arrived. Their 2001 song My Father My King was described as ‘two parts serenity and one part death metal’, making fans worry that they’d crack ceilings even in venues like the Royal Albert Hall.

Foo Fighters

Foo Fighters are slick when it comes to loudness but their 2011 show in Auckland is famous for causing actual geological tremors, similar to a volcanic event. The show created seismic activity recorded as far as 2km away, earning them a reading on the GeoNet seismograph. “The ground was shaking three times per second in a nice rhythmic motion,” says the website. The year after, in Belfast, their Boucher Road show in front of 32,000 fans resulted in 140 phonecall complaints for songs that could apparently be heard in the Irish countryside up to 12 miles away.