The loudest band in the world is a subject of some dispute in musical circles. Many bands have claimed to be the loudest, measuring this in various ways including with

decibel The decibel (symbol: dB) is a relative unit of measurement equal to one tenth of a bel (B). It expresses the ratio of two values of a Power, root-power, and field quantities, power or root-power quantity on a logarithmic scale. Two signals whos ...

meters at concerts and by engineering analysis of the CDs on which their albums are published. The ''

Guinness World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, list ...

'' no longer celebrates "The Loudest Band in the World" for fear of promoting

hearing loss Hearing loss is a partial or total inability to hear. Hearing loss may be present at birth or acquired at any time afterwards. Hearing loss may occur in one or both ears. In children, hearing problems can affect the ability to acquire spo ...

By observation and reputation

Some bands, groups, and orchestral performances have at times been described as extraordinarily loud by subjective opinion of reviewers, but not by actual measured decibel levels.

19th century

Volume Volume is a measure of regions in three-dimensional space. It is often quantified numerically using SI derived units (such as the cubic metre and litre) or by various imperial or US customary units (such as the gallon, quart, cubic inch) ...

in classical music is determined to some degree by the score, rather than the ensemble. However, many of the loudest performances have been determined by the size, instrumentation, inclination, and location of the orchestra, assuming a piece which is written to be loud. One hundred musicians played at the 1813 premiere of

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...

's work '' Wellington's Victory'', which Corinna da Fonseca-Wollheim described as a "sonic assault on the listener" and the "beginning of a musical arms race for ever louder... symphonic performance", quoting an unnamed attendee as remarking that the performance was "seemingly designed to make the listener as deaf as its composer". Frédéric Döhl described performances of this work as "not like an evening at the Berlin Philharmonie, but rather like a modern-day rock concert". According to da Fonseca-Wollheim, music continued to grow louder after this as the world grew louder, partly due to developments in instrumentation (steel strings, metal flutes, valves on trumpets). The opening day of the 1869 National Peace Jubilee in Boston featured a performance of the Anvil Chorus that featured thousands of musicians, including 50 firemen pounding anvils as well as cannon and church bells.

Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer during the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music made a lasting impression internationally. Tchaikovsky wrote some of the most popular ...

's 1880 work ''

1812 Overture ''The Year 1812, Solemn Overture'', Op. 49, popularly known as the ''1812 Overture'', is a concert overture in E major written in 1880 by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The piece commemorates Russia's successful defense against the ...

'', which is scored for artillery and has passages marked as (in a score, "fortississimo" () instructs the musicians to play the marked passage extremely loudly and is normally the loudest volume specified; "fortissississimo" (), which means to play louder than fortississimo, is sometimes used) has been described as the loudest classical piece. The piece has been played with

FH70 The FH70 (field howitzer for the 1970s) is a towed 155 mm howitzer used by several nations. History In 1963, NATO agreed a NATO Basic Military Requirement 39 for close support artillery, either towed or tracked. Subsequently, Germany and UK ...

howitzers and Type 74 Main Battle Tanks included in the orchestra instrumentation (a typical 155mm howitzer generates about 180 dB at the source, sufficient to sometimes cause immediate and permanent hearing damage (artillery crews are issued hearing protection)). The piece is usually performed outdoors or with simulated or recorded cannons, but an indoor performance with live cannon at the

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London, England. It has a seating capacity of 5,272. Since the hall's opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the world's leading artists from many performance genres ...

has been cited as having been particularly loud.

Early 20th century

The "Mars" movement of

Gustav Holst Gustav Theodore Holst (born Gustavus Theodore von Holst; 21 September 1874 – 25 May 1934) was an English composer, arranger and teacher. Best known for his orchestral suite ''The Planets'', he composed many other works across a range ...

's 1918 work ''

The Planets ''The Planets'', Op. 32, is a seven- movement orchestral suite by the English composer Gustav Holst, written between 1914 and 1917. In the last movement the orchestra is joined by a wordless female chorus. Each movement of the suite is name ...

'' includes passages. The close of the finale of the 1919 suite of

Stravinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ( – 6 April 1971) was a Russian composer and conductor with French citizenship (from 1934) and American citizenship (from 1945). He is widely considered one of the most important and influential composers of ...

's 1910 work ''

The Firebird ''The Firebird'' (; ) is a ballet and orchestral concert work by the Russian composer Igor Stravinsky. It was written for the 1910 Paris season of Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes company; the original choreography was by Michel Fokine, who c ...

'' is scored at , as are passages of other works. According to

James R. Oestreich James Ruben Oestreich (born 1943) is a classical music critic for ''The New York Times'', where he has written about music since 1989. He grew up in Wisconsin. Career Oestreich has held earlier posts as music critic at ''American Record Guide'', ...

(writing in 2004), modern symphony orchestras can easily reach 96 to 98 decibels, and certain brass and percussion instruments have registered 130 to 140 at close range.

1948

Stan Kenton Stanley Newcomb Kenton (December 15, 1911 – August 25, 1979) was an American popular music and jazz artist. As a pianist, composer, arranger and band leader, he led an innovative and influential jazz orchestra for almost four decades. Though ...

's bands have been described as "the loudest of the

big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s and ...

s" with "the shattering effect of the Kenton band's loud, dissonant brass" created by "screaming 'walls of brass'". Bill Gottlieb wrote "Warm or cold, it was loud. Stan's screaming horns presaged the high decibels of the rock age, but his stalwarts did it without electronic amplification. Just old-fashioned lung power. When Stan raised his long arms to call for 'more,' the men in the brass section blew until their faces reddened, their eyes bulged, and incipient hernias popped."

1968

Blue Cheer Blue Cheer was an American rock band that initially performed and recorded in the late 1960s and early 1970s and was sporadically active until 2009. Based in San Francisco, Blue Cheer played in a psychedelic blues rock or acid rock style. The ...

, 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 Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in London in 1968. They are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal music, heavy metal and modern hard rock, although their musical style has varied throughout their career. Originally for ...

. 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 od of musicApollo's attention". Billy Altman described them as the loudest band ever; "So loud, in fact, that within just a few songs, much of the crowd t a 1968 concertin 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 A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be creat ...

" compilation album was titled ''Louder Than God''.

1969

Daniel Kreps of ''Rolling Stone'' has maintained that "

Whole Lotta Love "Whole Lotta Love" is a song by the English rock band Led Zeppelin. It is the opening track on the band's second album, '' Led Zeppelin II'', and was released as a single in 1969 in several countries; as with other Led Zeppelin songs, no singl ...

" established

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1968. The band comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist-keyboardist John Paul Jones (musician), John Paul Jones and drummer John Bonham. With a he ...

's reputation as one of the loudest bands of their time.

By decibel record

Decibel measurement is highly dependent on distance from the source of the sound; if this is not given, the sound level reported is of limited use. Also, sound level may be metered on several ways: average, maximum level (with the sound level meter set to Fast, Slow, Impulse, or Peak), etc. In addition, there are several decibel scales. Therefore, the decibels on the following list are not necessarily comparable to each other.

1972

was recognised by ''The Guinness Book of World Records'' as the "globe's loudest band" for a concert at the London Rainbow Theatre, during which the sound reached 117 dB and three members of the audience fell unconscious.

1976

The Who The Who are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup (1964–1978) consisted of lead vocalist Roger Daltrey, guitarist Pete Townshend, bassist John Entwistle and drummer Keith Moon. Considered one of th ...

were next to be listed as the "record holder" at 126 dB, having been measured 32 metres (105 feet) from the speakers during a concert in London at The Valley on 31 May 1976.

1984 and 1994

''The Guinness Book of World Records'' listed

Manowar Manowar is an American heavy metal band from Auburn, New York. Formed in 1980, the group is known for lyrics based on fantasy (particularly sword and sorcery) and mythology (particularly Norse mythology and Greco-Roman mythology), as well as n ...

as the loudest band for a performance in 1984. The band claimed a louder measurement of 129.5 dB in 1994 at

Hanover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...

, but Guinness did not recognise it, having discontinued the category by that time for fear of encouraging hearing damage.

1986

An article by Scott Cohen appeared in February 1986 issue of ''

Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spin (physics) or particle spin, a fundamental property of elementary particles * Spin quantum number, a number which defines the value of a particle's spin * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thr ...

'' entitled "Motörhead is the Loudest Band on Earth".Scott Cohen,
Motorhead is the Loudest Band on Earth
, ''

'' 1, no. 10 (February 1986): 36 . In it, Cohen alluded to an undated concert during which Cleveland's Variety Theater actually sustained damage from

Motörhead Motörhead () were an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1975 by bassist and lead vocalist Lemmy Kilmister, guitarist Larry Wallis and drummer Lucas Fox. Kilmister was the primary songwriter and only constant member. The band a ...

reaching a decibel level of 130. This he reported was 10 decibels louder than the record set by The Who.

1990

The 1990 edition of the ''Guinness World Records'' contained the following entry: Largest PA system: On August 20, 1988, at the Castle Donington "Monsters of Rock" Festival a total of 360 Turbosound cabinets offering a potential 523 kW of programme power, formed the largest front-of-house PA. The average Sound Pressure Level at the mixing tower was 118 dB, peaking at a maximum of 124 dB during

Iron Maiden Iron Maiden are an English Heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris (musician), Steve Harris. Although fluid in the early years of the band, the line-up for most ...

's set. It took five days to set up the system."

1996

The English

House A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...

Electronica Electronica is both a broad group of electronic-based music styles intended for listening rather than strictly for dancing and a music scene that came to prominence in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term is mos ...

band

Leftfield Leftfield are a British electronic music group formed in London in 1989, a duo of Neil Barnes and Paul Daley (the latter formerly of The Rivals and A Man Called Adam). The duo was influential in the evolution of electronic music in the 1990s ...

, while on tour to support their debut album ''

Leftism Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy either as a whole or of certain social hierarchies. Left-wing politic ...

'', gained notoriety for the sheer volume of their live shows. In June 1996, while the group was playing at

Brixton Academy Brixton Academy (originally known as the Astoria Variety Cinema, previously known as Carling Academy Brixton, currently named O2 Academy Brixton as part of a sponsorship deal with the O2 brand) is a mid-sized concert venue located in South Lon ...

, the sound system caused dust and plaster to fall from the roof, with the sound volume reaching 135 dB.

2007

British

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

band

Gallows A gallows (or less precisely scaffold) is a frame or elevated beam, typically wooden, from which objects can be suspended or "weighed". Gallows were thus widely used to suspend public weighing scales for large and heavy objects such as sa ...

allegedly broke Manowar's penultimate record, claiming to have reached 132.5 dB; however, this record claim was made in an isolated

studio A studio is a space set aside for creative work of any kind, including art, dance, music and theater. The word ''studio'' is derived from the , from , from ''studere'', meaning to study or zeal. Types Art The studio of any artist, esp ...

as opposed to a live environment.

2008

Manowar registered an SPL of 139 dB during the sound check (not the actual performance) at the Magic Circle Fest in 2008.

2009

On July 15, at a Canadian concert in

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

, the band

Kiss A kiss is the touching or pressing of one's lips against another person, animal or object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely; depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sex ...

recorded an SPL of 136 dB measured during their live performance. Noise complaints from residents in the area eventually forced the band to turn the volume down.

Deafening sound

Loud sounds have long been known to cause damage to ears. In Norway, this fact was proved for coppersmiths as far back as 1731. Acoustic instruments may represent a risk for hearing damage, especially with lengthy exercising in rooms with high

reverberation In acoustics, reverberation (commonly shortened to reverb) is a persistence of sound after it is produced. It is often created when a sound is reflection (physics), reflected on surfaces, causing multiple reflections that build up and then de ...

. With powerful amplifiers and loudspeakers, the sound level and risk are increased. The volume at some concerts is above the level which may cause hearing damage without ear protection. A volume of 115 dB(A) risks permanent damage after only 30 seconds; in the UK, Norway, and possibly certain other countries, exposure to sound at that level without ear protection for more than a few minutes is strictly prohibited. The sound level claimed at some of Manowar's performances may cause ear damage almost immediately; the phrase ''deafening sound'' should be taken literally. The Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005 introduced safety limits for daily noise exposure in the UK, an average of 92 dB(A) over 30 minutes. Concertgoers at amplified concerts sometimes wear or improvise

earplugs An earplug is a device that is inserted in the ear canal to protect the user's ears from loud noises, intrusion of water, foreign bodies, dust or excessive wind. Earplugs may be used as well to improve sleep quality or focus in noisy environments ...

. Musicians and music technicians (and some concertgoers) commonly wear specialized musician's earplugs, which provide hearing protection while attenuating noise equally over all frequencies to better preserve accurate

timbre In music, timbre (), also known as tone color or tone quality (from psychoacoustics), is the perceived sound of a musical note, sound or tone. Timbre distinguishes sounds according to their source, such as choir voices and musical instrument ...

perception.

Parodies

The notion of "loudness equals greatness" pervades rock music to the extent that it has been satirized. In the

mockumentary A mockumentary (a portmanteau of ''mock'' and ''documentary'') is a type of film or television show depicting fictional events, but presented as a Documentary film, documentary. Mockumentaries are often used to analyze or comment on current event ...

'' This Is Spinal Tap'', the band is presented by the fictional filmmaker Marty di Bergi as "one of England's loudest bands". One popular joke from the film features Nigel Tufnel displaying the band's amplifiers which are calibrated up to 11, instead of up to 10, allowing them to go "''one'' louder". As a consequence of this, manufacturers began making amplifiers with knobs that went up to 11, or even higher, with

Eddie Van Halen Edward Lodewijk Van Halen ( , ; January 26, 1955 – October 6, 2020) was an American musician. He was the guitarist, keyboardist, backing vocalist and primary songwriter of the rock band Van Halen, which he founded with his brother Alex V ...

reputedly being the first to purchase one.

Marshall Marshall may refer to: Places Australia *Marshall, Victoria, a suburb of Geelong, Victoria ** Marshall railway station Canada * Marshall, Saskatchewan * The Marshall, a mountain in British Columbia Liberia * Marshall, Liberia Marshall Is ...

, the company that provided amplifiers for the film that the custom marked knobs were applied to, now sells amplifiers such as its JCM900 (first sold in 1990) whose knobs are marked from 0 to 20. The fictional band

Disaster Area A disaster area is a region or a locale that has been heavily damaged by either natural, technological or social hazards. Disaster areas affect the population living in the community by a dramatic increase in expense, loss of energy, food and se ...

(appearing in

Douglas Adams Douglas Noel Adams (11 March 1952 – 11 May 2001) was an English author, humorist, and screenwriter, best known as the creator of ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy''. Originally a 1978 BBC radio comedy, ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the ...

's '' The Restaurant at the End of the Universe'') plays concerts which can literally devastate entire planets. The audience listens from a specially-constructed concrete bunker some thirty miles from the stage, and the band plays its instruments by remote control from a spacecraft in orbit around the planet (or around a different planet).