I discovered myself curious the opposite day about what the loudest live performance of all time was. The extra I considered it, although, the extra it appeared like a wierd file to set. In spite of everything, within the age of amplification, it’s not like quantity is tied to talent. We’re not speaking about having an all-time diaphragm able to honking the hell out of a tuba, however one thing that feels extra reliant on gear, knob-turning and a deep disrespect for the eardrum.
Nonetheless, Guinness (however in fact) information such issues, and the unique mark was set by the Who in 1976 at 126 decibels. That felt proper to me. In spite of everything, the Who have been identified for a wild dwell present, they usually have been one of many greater names in rock historical past. Once more, although, we’re speaking pure quantity right here. That means if a band needed to upstage the Who on this specific realm, they didn’t need to be higher, simply louder. Which begs the query: Isn’t the file principally up for grabs for no matter band decides to interrupt it, followers’ listening to be damned?
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Certain sufficient, going by way of the information, there was one other band that appeared to have made repeatedly smashing the “loudest live performance” file an precise aim. A metallic band known as Manowar.
They’re removed from unknown, however they nonetheless do appear a bit out-of-place sandwiched in between bands that really feel like they’ve actually earned it, like Iron Maiden and Motorhead. That stated, the truth that they’re so obsessive about this file made excellent sense. It even dovetailed properly with the “flip it as much as 11” Spinal Faucet nature of the file itself, as a result of Manowar are an absolute cartoon of a metallic band. KISS performs in full costume and nonetheless someway looks like they’re not laying it on fairly as heavy as Manowar and their lead singer, who’s by no means met a leather-based bodice he didn’t love.
They’re obsessive about “actual metallic” and are identified for the tagline “demise to pretend metallic,” which is simply made funnier by the truth that the aesthetic and vibe of actual metallic, to them, appears to be similar to the quilt of a romance novel. It’s as if Danzig obtained on antidepressants and have become actually annoying. So, in fact, for them to carry their crown of The Final Steel Guys, they will need to have felt the have to be the loudest band round. Their riders even had minimal quantity necessities.
They’d seize the file from the Who in 1984, and maintain it till 1994, after they would beat themselves with a quantity of 129.5 decibels. The title would change palms over the following decade, stolen by Motorhead and lesser-known bands like Leftfield and Gallows. This clearly didn’t sit proper with Manowar, who put all of them to disgrace — throughout their soundcheck, fortunately for the viewers — on the Magic Circle Pageant in 2008, after they reached 139 decibels, which is nineteen decibels louder than a jet aircraft, 9 louder than an ambulance and a single decibel away from being principally a steady gunshot.
Right here’s the place I admit that the title is a slight lie, as a result of although they did break the file thrice, not all of them have been made Guinness official. That’s as a result of Guinness stopped monitoring it after Manowar set it a second time in order to not encourage listening to harm. That means there’s a non-zero probability that Guinness stopped formally monitoring the file particularly to cease Manowar’s obsession with it.
