In Dwyer's "Today In Rock History" this morning, it was on this day in 1976 The Who headlined at the Charlton Athletic Grounds in England and put their name into the Guinness Book of World Records as the Loudest Rock Band EVER. Their set measured at 126 decibels... which is as loud as a gunshot or a motorcycle. Guinness eventually got rid of that category because they didn't want to risk anyone's hearing as bands fought for the title at their concerts. But a few bands have broken 130 decibels.

Volume that goes over 85 decibels will potentially damage hearing and puts you at risk for tinnitus, that constant ear ringing. These bands consistently hit those high levels and wore it as a badge of courage.

Getty Images
Getty Images
loading...

Gibson put together a list of the loudest rock bands and only considered bands that played over 115 dB. They left out groups that only played loud for the sake of being loud.

Here's their loudest bands and the decibels they've reached:

  1. KISS - 136 dB
  2. Led Zeppelin - 130 dB
  3. AC/DC - 130 dB
  4. Manowar - 129.5 dB
  5. The Who - 126 dB
  6. Deep Purple - 117 dB

Read the full list at Gibson.

More From 97X