What is the loudest concert of all time?
Musicians of all stripes love playing things loud. Whether it be dance, rock, pop or orchestral, high volume can be vital to capturing an audience and driving home the themes of the music. However, playing too noisy can also ruin the experience for a listener, with audience members leaving the venue with their ears ringing. Despite this, though, there remain numerous examples of when an artist has played to such high decibels that it has found them write themselves into history.
One classic example came courtesy of the electro duo Leftfield when playing at Brixton Academy back in 1996. Turning the volume right up to 11, they reached 137 decibels, with dust and plaster raining down from the shaking ceiling of the historic venue. The pair played so loud that it is ranked as the third-loudest concert ever.
“That was the first tour – we’re nowhere near that now. We’re up there, but it’s more about quality than loudness. That’s the idea anyway,” Leftfield’s Neil Barnes said in an interview years later. “There are very strict restrictions. At certain places, you can get away with it. At most festivals, there’s a legal limit and it’s harsh. Especially in metropolitan areas like Liverpool and London. We tend to obey the laws. Considering I’m about to do a tour I have to be careful what I say! It’s pumping.”
Ranking at the second-loudest concert of all time is a performance by the American heavy metal group Manowar. Whilst their music is known for its fantastical edge, exploring Norse and Greco-Roman mythology, it’s more famous for how clangorous it is in the live setting. Once the world’s loudest bands, they also set the record for the longest heavy metal show of all time, clocking in at five hours and one minute.
In 1984, only four years after they formed, Manowar smashed the Guinness World Record for the loudest performance in history, which they have gone on to break twice. To date, their most audible show came in Germany in 2008. Technically, this came during the soundcheck, but it was still a performance nonetheless. Organising their levels for their performance later in the day at Magic Circle Festival II in July, the band peaked at 139 decibels.
However, only a few months prior, in March 2008, Swedish rockers Sleazy Joe had managed to push their sound to a higher volume than Manowar in Germany. A cult band in their native Scandinavia, they actively embrace a high volume and introduce themselves as the “loudest band in the world” on their social media.
Whilst some artists might seek to promote themselves with unfounded tags such as the above, when it comes to Sleazy Joe, they are correct in their claim. In 2008, they reached 143.2 decibels when performing at the Musical Intercourse in Hässleholm, Sweden. To date, this is the loudest concert of all time.
Watch a snippet from the loudest show of all time below.
