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 meters at concerts and by engineering analysis of the CDs on which their albums are published. Matt Ashare from The Village Voice attributes this competition to a notion that "loudness equals greatness", a notion that most think is clearly false.
Parodies
The notion of "loudness equals greatness" pervades rock music to the extent that it has been satirized. In the mockumentary 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, real bands and musicians started buying equipment whose knobs went up to 11, or even higher, with Eddie Van Halen reputedly being the first to do so. Marshall, 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.
Another well-known parody is the fictional band Disaster Area (appearing in Douglas Adams' The Restaurant at the End of the Universe ), whose concerts can literally devastate entire planets.
Decibel records
1976
The Who were listed as the "record holder", at 126 dB, measured at a distance of 32 meters from the speakers at a concert at The Valley (home ground of Charlton Athletic F.C.) on 31 May 1976.
1984 and 1994
The heavy metal band Manowar is one claimant of the title of "loudest band in the world", citing a measurement of 129.5 dB in 1994 in Hanover. However, Guinness Book of World Records listed Manowar as the record holder for the loudest musical performance for an earlier performance in 1984. Guinness does not recognize Manowar's later claim, because it no longer includes a category of loudest band, reportedly because it does not want to encourage hearing damage. Manowar achieved a SPL of 139 dB during the sound check (not the actual performance) at the Magic Circle Fest in 2008.
1997
Metallica has styled itself the "loudest band in the world". However, after one concert on 11 November 1997, which the band dubbed the "Million Decibel March", the Philadelphia Inquirer reported that "neighbors who feared the worst from the self-styled Loudest Band in the World complained more about the sound from the news choppers circling overhead".
2007
British punk band Gallows allegedly broke Manowar's next to last record for loudest band in the world, claiming to have achieved 132.5 dB; however, this record was claimed in an isolated studio environment as opposed to live.
2009
On July 15, 2009, at the Cisco Ottawa Bluesfest in Ottawa, Canada, the band KISS achieved a SPL of 136 dB measured by City of Ottawa Bylaw officers at the sound tent during their live performance (not the sound check). After noise complaints from neighbors in the area, the band was forced to turn the volume down.
Other dates
Other previous record holders include Deep Purple (117 decibels), Iron Maiden (124db), The Rolling Stones, Motörhead, AC/DC (130db), alternative rock band My Bloody Valentine (132 decibels), and KISS (120 decibels). Although it has never been made official, some reports suggest that New York noise rock band, Swans reached 140 decibels at some gigs.
See also
- Examples of sound pressure and sound pressure levels
- Loudness war
- Disaster Area (fictional band)
- Decibel
References
- ^ a b Matt Ashare (1999-06-08). "Total Death of Loud: Guitar Wolf, Atari Teenage Riot: louder than bombs". The Village Voice . http://www.villagevoice.com/music/9922,ashare,6196,22.html .
- ^ a b Karl French (2000-09-22). "The A-Z of Spinal Tap". The Guardian . http://books.guardian.co.uk/extracts/story/0,,371343,00.html .
- ^ "Eleven". Spinal Tap A to Zed . http://www.spinaltapfan.com/atozed/TAP00160.HTM .
- ^ "The World's Loudest Band, Manowar Kicks It Up a Notch with Meyer Sound and Westfalen Sound". Meyer Sound Laboratories Inc. . http://www.meyersound.com/news/2008/manowar/ . Retrieved 2008-09-24 .
- ^ "Manowar Bio". The Gauntlet . http://www.thegauntlet.com/bio/756/Manowar.html . Retrieved 2008-09-24 .
- ^ Dawk Sound Limited. "Manowar's Unofficial Founding Member" . http://www.dawksound.com/manowar.html .
- ^ "Manowar's History". MetalYOU . http://www.metalyou.com/band/manowar/history/ .
- ^ Jose Fritz. "Bright Channel: Flight Approved Records". Ear To The Tracks . Planetary Group, LLC . http://strandedinstereo.com/music_brightchannel.shtml .
- ^ Phil Brodie. "UK & WORLD Record Holders" . http://philbrodieband.com/muso-world-record-holders.htm .
- ^ "MANOWAR Kicks It Up a Notch with Meyer Sound and Westfalen Sound". antiMusic . http://www.manowar.com/news_body.php?idnews=241 . Retrieved 2008-10-19 .
- ^ McIver, Joel (2004). Justice for All: The Truth about Metallica . Omnibus Press. p. 243. ISBN 0711996008. ...
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