Rock and roll music has sounded good with a little extra volume from the very beginning. All the way back in 1966, Bob Dylan set the stage with his famous command, “Play it f—ing loud!” And since the Sixties, other rock bands have made it their mission to climb to volumes previously unreached. From shattering windows to setting off car alarms, these are five high-profile classic rock bands who truly love it loud.
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1. Foo Fighters
Foo Fighters have been a huge influence on the development of modern alternative rock. But you’ll have to ask Dave Grohl what he’s most proud of: being a two-time Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee, or a much more shocking record.
In 2011, the band gave a performance in Auckland, New Zealand, that literally moved the earth. The show was so loud that it caused volcanic tremors more than a mile away. Auckland GeoNet recorded the tremors on a seismograph and estimated that the ground was moving three times a second during the concert. The event didn’t deter Foo Fighters. In 2012, while performing in Belfast, the band managed to make their music audible 12 miles from the concert venue.
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2. The Who
In the 1970s, The Who became renowned for their deafening concerts (a fact the partially deaf Who guitarist and mastermind Pete Townshend now laments). On one occasion in 1976, they broke a Guinness World Record during a concert in London. The music clocked in at 126 decibels, as loud as a thunderclap. Soon afterward, Guinness stopped tracking music volume—officials were worried that bands would damage people’s hearing as they attempted to set new records. Probably a wise move.
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3. Motörhead
Few bands are associated with loud music the way Motörhead was. They literally released an album called Everything Louder Than Everyone Else. So it’s safe to say that loudness was their thing. Motörhead pioneered heavy metal throughout the 1970s, and for them, that meant volume. In 1979, they broke The Who’s record by reaching 130 decibels. On other occasions, the noise literally broke concert venues’ equipment, from windows to speakers. And at least once, the sound affected a concert goer’s balance so severely that he fell down a staircase. The band members pushed back at the notion that they were all about being loud and crazy, but it’s hard to ignore the results.
4. KISS
It will come as no surprise that KISS is among one of the loudest bands of all time. But although the band has set unofficial records for their volume, they didn’t make it a personal mission. That said, in 2009, they reached 136 decibels at a concert in Ottawa. At that point, local officials intervened for the sake of public safety. Unsurprisingly, they’d also earned quite a few noise complaints. It was probably best for everyone that they continued the concert at a lower volume since anything above 115 decibels can cause permanent hearing loss after just 30 seconds.
5. Deep Purple
Some bands took the volume records as a personal challenge. Just look at Deep Purple. The band purchased a special sound system so they could get louder than ever. Their power became obvious at a 1972 concert when they achieved 117 decibels. Three audience members even passed out. Deep Purple was one of the earliest hard rock/heavy metal bands, and they set the standard for what that meant: LOUD.
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