Actually says that it was the loudest crowd, not the loudest band. Though, you might have gotten the wrong idea by the sheer number of people running away from the music, covering their ears and crying.
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Melvins in small venue can get pretty effen loud.
If you saw Blue Cheer's 30 x 50 ft. wall of amplifiers it would be obvious why they were loud. Not like some of these other bands that stack empty cabs for looks.
I saw Jucifer in a 20 x 80 ft club, at full tilt boogie, louder than Blue Cheer in a stadium. Definitely crossed the threshold from entertainment to torture .
I saw Jucifer in a 20 x 80 ft club, at full tilt boogie, louder than Blue Cheer in a stadium. Definitely crossed the threshold from entertainment to torture .
I spent 20 years in US Navy engine rooms on aircraft carriers. I've been in military situations where you couldn't "hear" anything; you could only feel the sound waves passing your body. We had one alarm in the engine room that we called "The Noise of God" because it was loud enough to give you religion; we joked that you knew it was going off when everything went silent, because you had just gone instantly deaf. I always wore earplugs, and still have tinnitus and threshold shifts anyway. Scary stuff for someone who loves music. 
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The intense vibrations from the low frequencies at such volumes can do some interesting things to you.
Jim Carr
Dr. Jim
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Working for a summer as a braider tender in a Pawtucket, Rhode Island textile mill in the late 60's taught me about loud. It was so loud that you could not communicate even by screaming into another person's ear with your hands cupped like a megaphone.
Most of the workers were nearly deaf. I was the ONLY one wearing ear plugs. I have hated loud music ever since, though the bass amp I have now is potentially louder than any amp I've owned before. I guess I like head room and clean low end more than most?
Most of the workers were nearly deaf. I was the ONLY one wearing ear plugs. I have hated loud music ever since, though the bass amp I have now is potentially louder than any amp I've owned before. I guess I like head room and clean low end more than most?
I witnessed those a couple of times. They have to be extra loud to overcome the sound of all the equipment running. I nearly shat myself the first time.
The active sonar on the Navy's attack subs is quite capable of that. The old 637/688 boats dumped an ungodly amount of power into the water (SPL was around 250 dB at 1 meter IIRC), and the sub guys I used to work with told me that at full power it'd boil (cavitate, really) the water several feet out from the sonar dome.
Any former sub guys, please feel free to correct where needed - I just worked with these guys, didn't serve myself.
i would have guessed Swans or Sunn O))), both still on my live show bucket list
loudest band i've ever seen is probably Boris, followed by Melvins, and Dinosaur Jr.
and here's probably the loudest local bands i've seen
Everyone Dies in the End (richmond, va)
and some pals from norfolk, va - Bronze Age
loudest band i've ever seen is probably Boris, followed by Melvins, and Dinosaur Jr.
and here's probably the loudest local bands i've seen
Everyone Dies in the End (richmond, va)
and some pals from norfolk, va - Bronze Age
I know a few guys who said Swans were the loudest band they have ever seen. For me it was Slayer in venue that seated 1500.
okcrum
in your chest
The story I always heard was that they found the brown note (it's well below 20 Hz if you watched Mythbusters) but they could never make a directional driver for it. I guess it wasn't considered useful if all it would do is stop a battle dead in its, er, tracks.
I saw Mahavishnu Orchestra in a small theater (maybe 500 seats) at Union College. It was about -10 F outside. They brought their full stadium rig to the show. I think it was one of the first stops on their first tour. We ended up evacuating to the parking lot to listen. The risk of frostbite was way less than the risk of hearing damage.
I think the loudest band I ever heard was Bill Laswell, opening for Sonic Youth, at the Ritz in New York in the 90s (the old Studio 54 space).
The internets suggest it was Laswell with Painkiller, his "noise-thrash" project. Maybe that explains the volume.
The internets suggest it was Laswell with Painkiller, his "noise-thrash" project. Maybe that explains the volume.
Seen them once. Saying it was loud doesn't do it justice.
Seen Grand Funk when they still played rock & roll. They were one of the loudest bands of the era.
