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The Absolute Loudest Band Ever....

Motörhead held the record briefly in 1986 for a show in Cleveland. I saw them the night before in Detroit at the Grand Circus theater where they were attempting the record, but the balcony in the theater literally broke during the gig, so they backed off. They ended early for fear the balcony would collapse. It's hard to describe the sensation of being in a room with a band that is approaching 130 dB. I will say that it helps one understand what "sound pressure" means. It felt like I was simultaneously deep under water and in a hurricane.

As far as I know, that was the last show at the Grand Circus. It was killed by Lemmy.
 
According to the Guinness Book of Records, that honor has been held at various times by Deep Purple, The Who, Led Zeppelin, and, most recently, ManOwar.

EDIT: After doing some research on this subject, it seems that according to the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, Disaster Area are the loudest band....in the Galaxy.
 
According to the Guinness Book of Records, that honor has been held at various times by Deep Purple, The Who, Led Zeppelin, and, most recently, ManOwar.

I was happy to see Hanson listed on the Wikipedia site: "1998: Hanson set a record for the loudest crowd at a concert, at 140 decibels, with the decibel meter pinged at the loudest it could go."

That seems to the be the loudest. Hanson is the loudest band ever. Let that sink in.
 
Motörhead held the record briefly in 1986 for a show in Cleveland. I saw them the night before in Detroit at the Grand Circus theater where they were attempting the record, but the balcony in the theater literally broke during the gig, so they backed off. They ended early for fear the balcony would collapse. It's hard to describe the sensation of being in a room with a band that is approaching 130 dB. I will say that it helps one understand what "sound pressure" means. It felt like I was simultaneously deep under water and in a hurricane.

As far as I know, that was the last show at the Grand Circus. It was killed by Lemmy.

I remember hearing about that show. It must have been pretty wild to actually have been there.
 
I remember hearing about that show. It must have been pretty wild to actually have been there.

It was intense for sure. It was an under attended show, maybe 150 payed, most people bailed when it got so loud you could barely hear sound anymore, and it turned into just intense pressure. The fact that it was in a smallish empty theater didn't help. I had plugs in and my hands over my ears and it was still super uncomfortable. I remember feeling like I was going to vomit. Sound at that level is enormously disorienting, I understand why the army studies it for crowd control. By the end there were about 15 people. I stayed. It ruled.

Lemmy came right off the stage and out front to inspect the damage and was quite proud of it. Probably more proud than setting the record the next night in Clevo. They did damage to that venue as well, but not as extensive.
 
I thought these guys were supposed to be the loudest?

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It was intense for sure. It was an under attended show, maybe 150 payed, most people bailed when it got so loud you could barely hear sound anymore, and it turned into just intense pressure. The fact that it was in a smallish empty theater didn't help. I had plugs in and my hands over my ears and it was still super uncomfortable. I remember feeling like I was going to vomit. Sound at that level is enormously disorienting, I understand why the army studies it for crowd control. By the end there were about 15 people. I stayed. It ruled.

Lemmy came right off the stage and out front to inspect the damage and was quite proud of it. Probably more proud than setting the record the next night in Clevo. They did damage to that venue as well, but not as extensive.

I've done some reading about "infrasound" and its potential for crowd dispersement, control, etc. In addition to loud noises, they've also experimented with ultra-low sub-harmonic frequencies that can't even be heard by the human ear. Interesting stuff.
 
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I've done some reading about "infrasound" and its potential for crowd dispersement, control, etc. In addition to loud noises, they've also experimented with ultra-low sub-harmonic frequencies that can't even be heard by the human ear. Interesting stuff.

Interesting stuff, indeed. Studies show that the fabled "brown note" actually does exist. Imagine being a test subject.

Perhaps the Army should weaponize a metal band. Wheel Man-O-War out onto the battlefield and point them at the enemy. Would probably violate the Geneva Convention, but hey, it's a thought.
 
Lemmy came right off the stage and out front to inspect the damage and was quite proud of it. Probably more proud than setting the record the next night in Clevo. They did damage to that venue as well, but not as extensive.

I could just imagine the glint in his eyes, LOL!

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They were banned from many venues, after that, in the South. I went to a show they were supposed to be in with Alice Cooper, but they got canned & ended up playing a local bar instead.
 
Three loudest acts I ever saw:
#1 for sure: The Who at Oakland Stadium... The friend I went with could not understand a word I said when screaming at full volume during the show.

#2 Allman Bros at the Warfield Theater. Frankly, it surprised me just how loud it got.

#3 MGMT in Golden Gate Park during Outside Lands in '13. One of the least enjoyable concert experiences I've ever witnessed primarily due to the house engineer destroying every cell in my body by blasting this band's bass tones through a pair of SVTs and a pair of Refrigerator Box Ampeg Cabs with no subtlety in the mix. It literally hurt to listen.

Validation of this came later when George Porter of the Meters & Mike Gordon with Phish played and the same sort of pain was not present.

Runner-Up: Dickey Betts Band at Slim's in SF.... Relatively tiny hall for a band with 4 double Marshall Stacks.
There was no place to get a full band mix in the room. No matter where you stood your were deafened by one of 4 guitar players with no blended tones from the others. It hurts to remember this.
 
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