Motorhead's Loudness (From The Lemmy Movie)

[@cryo115]

No matter what anyone says, look after your hearing people.

[@ThePsiclone]

eh? WHAT? SPEAK UP!

[@1027corbie]

You are absolutely right! I have tinnitus in both ears and it sucks. If you go to concerts, wear ear protection!

[@cave1970]

yup ive had to buy a louder amp as i thought my amp was getting quieter but it wasnt it was my hearing :P

[@gavinvalentino6002]

Tell me who my "hearing people" are and I'll check up on them.

[@HB-wl8id]

You can't say the enough

[@MaskedRiderChris]

Oh, man! The loudest concert I ever went to, in my younger days, was Motorhead at the Engine Room in Houston, TX, in 2002, on the "Hammered" tour. I was maybe 30 feet (if that) from the stage, on the outskirts of the pit. When Lemmy walked onstage, he comes up to the mic and growls out "It's nice to be back in Houston, Texas," hit the bass once, and my hair flew straight back. No lie. Then the rest of the band started playing, and it was like 3 of the 4 Horsemen of the Apocalypse descending on that stage in very close proximity. My ears rang for days, the lights and sound flickered a couple times at the end of the set, Lemmy did his usual thing at the end of the gig (we all know what that was), and I wobbled out of there feeling like I'd been in a blender for 90 minutes. No. Regrets. At. All.

[@Scarecrow6459]

Tried seeing him TWICE but it was in his ailing years :/ and had to cancel. What was that thing he would do at the end?

[@MaskedRiderChris]

@@Scarecrow6459 At the end of the set he'd unsling his bass, pound on the back of it a bunch of times, then prop it up in front of his stacks with the pickups facing the speakers. Dogs would howl for blocks around, probably!

[@elmoblatch9787]

You should have regrets because your ability to actually hear has been affected. Your wife despises you because she must repeat everything. Regrets. Yes. All. The. Time.

[@theGovernmentHatesYou]

@@elmoblatch9787 maybe he’s happy because he can’t hear her

[@dylanbasstica8316]

Motorhead haters: motorhead is just a bunch of noise Motorhead fans: yeah, so?

[@mattwilson8298]

120 decibels is literally insane. My head would just explode. Which is what Lemmy would've wanted.

[@GeFeldz]

I saw them live in Luleå, Sweden in the late 90s and i was standing in front of one of the giant towers of speakers right up against the barrier (very small venue, like 1000 people or so) and my hearing was almost gone after the gig. Good thing i was like 15, i got most of it back! After about three songs, Lemmy told the sound guys to turn it up and it was MENTAL! Should have used plugs, but the gig was awesome. Mikkey Dee's drum solo was fire! It's very cool they came to Luleå, a town of like 70.000 people about 100 miles south of the arctic circle.

[@shanebrady3450]

Physical ear pain starts at 130 decibels, it was louder than that at a Joe Satriani concert in 1998, it took about five days for my normal hearing to come back. All the toilet paper was gone, people were stuffing it in their ears because the three bands were all painfully loud from start to finish, the security had lots of thick cotton wool blocking their ears. I was six rows back from the stage and it was a seated indoor concert.

[@DerpPals]

i lost it at "seated indoor concert"

[@jimjudge8877]

Right, I’m not going mad. Besides Motörhead, of course, I keep telling people that one of the loudest shows I’d ever been to was Joe Satriani. Couldn’t believe how painfully loud it was! 😂

[@alanhearne6733]

Saw them in Sophia Gardens in Cardiff in the early '80s.. I thought that my eardrums were perforated 😖🥰😍🤩

[@paulhebblethwaite7168]

I saw the original Motorhead in '81 at the what was then The Cornwall Colosseum. Deaf for 12 hours then ringing in the ears for three days. Loved it!!

[@sprobablycancr4457]

WHAT?

[@rodrigost.3324]

in EVERY documentary you can bet that Scott Ian is gonna be there !

[@harveyd3175]

Years ago, seen Motorhead and had lawn tickets. Couldn't hear a damn thing or anyone next to me. A week later seen Crue at the same place and could easily hold a conversation with anyone. Yes, Motorhead was LOUD. even outside... didn't see them inside so I can only imagine...

[@mofomoco]

Prodigy was the loudest concert I remember although I dont remember alot of the concerts I went to!

[@Raj80191]

Imagine Motorhead, Discharge and GBH playing the same show. Your ears are going to be bleeding by the end.

[@JohnnyMac196544]

I saw Motörhead twice at the Hammersmith Odeon. 80’s & early 90’s. I got front row on one occasion. The sound was so loud it was brutal. My ears were ringing for a week. It was such a fantastic experience! I’ve never forgotten just how loud it was. Much louder than other bands.

[@crosslink1493]

I thought KISS was the loudest band around back in the 1980s. 120-130 dB IIRC. I went to one of those KISS shows in a small arena with a few friends, my ears were ringing for the next two days. Never got to see Motorhead live so I can't compare (although I probably would have brought earplugs).

[@voxpathfinder15r]

The loudness is why I don’t attend concerts anymore, 120-123 dB peaks as measured by someone in the audience is just ridiculously stupid!! I have this insanely loud 15 watts amplifier that I plugged into an extremely efficient loud 2x12 extension cabinet. At a distance of 2 meters from the speakers I registered a peak of 115 dB! Trust me - you don’t want to subject your ears to those levels. I don’t know if an entire Marshall stack on its own hits 123dB? Maybe but just barely

[@3425charlie]

Playing loud isn't hard nor heroic. All it takes is two fingers to turn a knob to the right. But I get why it's done. It makes music physical. I love loud concerts (Swans, Sunn o))), ...) but I use earplugs when it get's painfull. Alas it is too late for me, and hearing damage is as permanent as it is irreversible. For me there is an airplane drone AND a vacuum cleaner on ALL the time when I am in a quiet space...

[@troystaunton254]

My loudest concert ever was the Aussie band the screaming Jets. But I was leaning against the stacks the whole show.

[@elmoblatch9787]

Bands that overdo it on volume are trying to hide the fact that they suck.

[@mattdad8429]

Ok Elmo.

[@someonethatwatchesyoutube2953]

If you want to hear LOUD go watch top fuel cars.

[@mochans]

Or NASCAR at Bristol

[@skum73]

I've seen lots of bands. Motorhead was definitely the loudest.

[@chuckgilley8728]

Lemmy is a legend Rip

[@Sprtschk]

The Peace and Love festival in Borlänge, Sweden (don't remember the year, 2003?). They had Motorhead playing the central stage, right in the fucking city centre on the main road through the town. I remember storefront windows shaking three blocks away.

[@jmm196]

I saw Ted Nugent in the early 80s, i know what loud means...

[@Zopf-international]

Hospital LOUD 😁

[@dopeymark]

I think the loudest show I ever attended was ZZ top in a gymnasium. I can't remember the year.

[@albertsmith6717]

At the end of the video, you see the dB meter averaging around 120db. Now, if that don't burn your eardrums out, nothing will.

[@strat458796]

Loudest concert I went to was when the band Kublai Khan TX was first starting out and was playing small venues. This place maybe could fit 800 people in it ass to ass and so close to the band you could see the serial numbers on the guitars. They were so loud that when I went back to school the next day I had to have someone tap my shoulder to tell me the bell rang. Metallica was fairly loud in 2008 when Lemmy played with them but the last few times I’ve seen them they have turned down their stuff

[@mochans]

Great band

[@unclebob4208]

Memorex cassettes. That was the commercial Scott.

[@dodibenabba1378]

With Pete Murphy.....

[@Stray1One]

That was gold,

[@zxxXMETALLICAXxxz]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="165">2:45</a> hahaha this made me laugh xD

[@fuckwad2024]

I’ve always had a problem with bands being too quiet. I really wish I could’ve seen Motörhead…but I’m too young to have

[@tomgodheart4557]

Take the fuckin time machine mate and all yeaaaaaah dreams will come true okay???&€&?

[@TemazepamParty]

When Foo Fighters played at Hyde Park in 2006 there were loads of elevated speakers placed all around the field on top of pylons. When Motörhead came on early evening, thirty seconds into their first song (“Doctor Rock”) the speaker closest to us expired messily in a cloud of sparks and smoke. Just a perfect Motörhead moment…

[@lb0178]

Well at the end it was 122. something db what do you expect

[@jonvia]

When a drummer says its loud, ITS LOUD!

[@Megamando93]

poor dude looked scared of the stacks, with good reason 120 db is going to shred your hearing forever after one night, let alone for a tour.

[@DaftFader]

You can barely even hear the drum set that's 1 mtr past the amps from 1 meter the other side of the stack!

[@mintdragon9548]

Quietest place on any stage/set is right behind the drummer's monitor speaker (mine was always directly behind the stool). My dog used to curl up around my drum stool at practices when he wanted to hang with the band. 🙂

[@DaftFader]

@@mintdragon9548 It really depends on the speaker set up. For example using a cardiod arrangement vs an endfire etc. set up will all have diferant back spill patterns. Some set ups blast the stage whilst others cancel out at the stage (and diferant set ups will beam or cancel out in diferant places more than others etc). Unless you're purely talking about monitor mixes for the stage and not taking into account the FOH system.

[@Kotik_Kompotik.]

After my first Motorhead’s gig I went to my job next day still drunk and still with white noise in my ears. It was amazing experience. And nobody told me a word, cause everybody knows I was at Motorhead gig yesterday 😂

[@simonperry8569]

All these people on here saying they permanently damaged their hearing at at a Motorhead gig like it's a badge of honour.

[@iAMChrisCC]

Yeah I went to the 'Lights out over Europe' tour in 1991, Hammersmith Odeon, at the age of 19. My ears were ringing for 3 days afterwards and that probably fucked up my hearing a bit. I always wear ear plugs these days though - but it was an absolutely awesome experience.

[@ChrisSmith-nw7be]

IT IS !!!

[@thatoneguychad420]

​@ChrisSmith-nw7be not really, I'd sooner not have ringing in my ears and having to lip read most the time. Not via Motörhead though, Lamb of god.

[@hatred9427]

You only live once, if it's gonna affect for the rest of your life, it better be for a good reason. Most people get deaf as inheritance.

[@mrfancypanzer549]

"An ear doctor would probably be amazed at just how well Lemmy can hear" Lemmy was a medical anomaly.

[@jordaneastwood6678]

Not really unfortunately he died of cancer :( still rocked the few months before he died

[@mrfancypanzer549]

@@jordaneastwood6678 he lived to 75, drinking s bottle of JD a day, few would survive that long.

[@jordaneastwood6678]

@@mrfancypanzer549 fair point 😂😂

[@jordaneastwood6678]

@@mrfancypanzer549 smoking 60 a day too haha 😂

[@BongMetal]

‘Höspital Löud’ would have been a superb Motörhead live album title. Rest in decibels Lem.

[@loftlegacy]

I once had a permanent shift in my hearing after a Motörhead show in Manchester. Another, in Blackburn, was so loud it made my vision blurred!

[@VintageSG]

I made the stupid mistake of putting my head in a bass bin at the Leeds Queen's Hall, Iron Fist tour. I've had tinnitus since. Saw them on pretty much every UK tour after Iron Fist. My tinnitus never got any better ( or worse ). Damage done!. Wouldn't trade those memories.

[@garryentropy]

@@VintageSG i put my head in the bass bins at leeds uni when motorhead played, was deaf for 3 days, good concert with slade supporting, around 1980

[@mikehurley5052]

I saw Motorhead in Bristol 1982, 1 ear damaged for about 2 weeks, now have tinnitus in that ear.

[@Vanetse]

​@@VintageSGfuckin Darwin theory bud

[@tayzer22]

"my wife want's me to get hearing aids... she's tired of repeating herself..." That's not hearing loss, that's marriage.

[@benohuigin4817]

WHAAAT?

[@acardiac9041]

You Sir are a true Hero

[@williampeterman5048]

🤣🤣🤣

[@porcelina5834]

Haha funny i also hate my wife i am a proud wife-beater.

[@gaugebar7567]

Harharhar wife bad talk too much

[@AramK]

When concert is too loud it’s actually pretty gross experience. Everything blends in and it’s just sht at that point.

[@TankdozerCavalry]

The amount of musicians who have hearing damage is staggering. Hearing damage isn't cool and doesn't make you enjoy the music more. It will PERMANENTLY decrease your enjoyment of life and music. Phil Campbell is here complaining about having trouble hearing the mix even when standing next to stacks on a stage and how his wife wants to get him a hearing aid because he can't hear her anymore. I'm not even half the age these guys, never went to concerts or loud venues, never worked in industry and I somehow managed to get permanent hearing damage. It's no fun at all. Not only do I have tinnitus, I also can't hear as well as undamaged ears. PLEASE Mind your sound exposure. Taking good care of them will allow you to truly hear more and enjoy more of the music for longer in your life. You only have only one set of ears and they're more delicate than you think.

[@hardedgednb7114]

Saw Motorhead at southport floral Hall in 1988 I was 16. Met Lemmy before the gig and he sent me the shop for 200 Marlboros got me in the gig for free and gave me £20 :) Top man.

[@nicknick1963]

My ears were ringing after I saw them play Aylesbury Friars in 1978,met Lemmy a year later at a p.a he was doing,got drunk on pints of wine, and he (driven by his chauffeur) gave me a lift home and signed my copy of overkill. I was 15 years old and completely starstruck

[@petergoddard1960]

'Everything louder than everything else' is an Ian Gillan quote from Made in Japan. At the time Deep Purple were in the guinness book of records as the loudest band on earth. Having said that, Motorhead's first tour was blisteringly loud. A ferocious wall of sound, there was almost a 'heat' you could feel in the sound. Hard to describe. Bloody marvellous.

[@RiderOftheNorth1968]

I just got down here to say that! Ian Gillan back when he was the best vocalist around.

[@petergoddard1960]

@@RiderOftheNorth1968 yeah, man. Him and maybe Paul Rogers.

[@simonfuller7331]

it is indeed !

[@halodust1304]

Not really his quote as such - Gillan was just repeating what someone else just said to him on stage. You can hear it quite faintly on the album. Sounds a bit like Ian Paice to me but it's hard to tell. Could have been anyone else in the band I guess! Whatever - it didn't originate with Motörhead's crew...

[@petergoddard1960]

@@halodust1304 absolutely correct. I had forgotten that!

[@MegaCityPatrol]

There's a bizarre macho culture around loud music and ear protection that doesn't make any sense, and I love rock and metal as much as anyone. If a band had a light show that shone lights at dangerous levels you would go -"That light show left me blind for three days afterwards! Awesome man!"

[@therideneverends1697]

yeah ive never understood it call me what you will im not going to make myself deaf, if i love music so much ive driven to a concert for it than i can certainly take the required 30 seconds to put in earplus to ensure i can keep enjoying it. "I love music so much im going to make myself deaf with sheer neglegence" seems, shortsighted

[@1968joseph1]

Agreed. That saying that "if it's too loud you're too old" is crap. Lol pain is dumb

[@ewardthebest]

WHAT??

[@cool_sword]

Loud music is great until you realize you're in for a lifetime of EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

[@seanlittle5547]

come on man live a little 💀

[@PaulFJarnes]

Lemmy said it himself: "only way to feel the noise is when it's good and loud"

[@fuddrucker74]

I saw motörhead at the "Everything Louder Than Everything Else" tour at The Chance, in Poughkeepsie ny. Lemmy, walked out and said, "We're Motörhead and we play rock and roll". And then it was just noise. No discernable notes. No tones. Certainly no music. Just noise. I put in ear plugs and could actually tell what the music was. I've never experienced anything remotely like that before or since. It was absolutely crazy.

[@Oldtanktapper]

Yeah, went to see them once and it took a few minutes before my ears shut down enough to actually hear what the fuck was going on!

[@rmccaw7]

This is painful to watch. Hearing loss is no joke.

[@prangbro]

Makes good TV but it’s kind of a shame to see insane loudness being fetishised and made light of. Tinnitus, Hearing Loss and Hyperacusis are no joke!

[@JimmyRJump]

Loudest shows I ever attended were AC/DC in October 1977 at the Thier-Brau-Hof in Kontich, Antwerp, Belgium; Ted Nugent in 1979 at Forest National in Brussels, Belgium and Manowar, at Hof-Ter-Lo, Antwerp, Belgium. The former two had our ears ringing for almost two days; Manowar had us feel sick because of too many pounding bass vibrations. Talking about an assault on the senses. Saw Motorhead for the first of several times at the Okapi basketball hall in Aalst, March 1980. Again at Maekeblyde in Poperinge on their Bomber '81 tour and then several times after in the Grand Duchy Of Luxembourg and a couple of venues in Germany. Met Lemmy first at said Maekeblyde and later played pool with him (both in a serious state of decomposition) at the backstage of the 1982 (I think) Reading Rock Festival. Fastway played there and also Twisted Sister and Lemmy was in attendance. As security I had an "access all areas" badge so, to quench my thirst (I'm from Belgium; we like our beer) I could access the VIP tents. Lemmy was one of the coolest guys I ever spoke with. Down-to-Earth fellar with a great sense of humor I could relate to.

[@nickphillips1721]

I agree with you, about Deadly Teddly! I am from the Motor city and always knew that late seventies Nugent, live was at least 120 db's! Every time I have seen Motorhead, they sounded fantastic at the back of the house and not so much at the front! I think my ears are still ringing! We did not realize that our long hair saved a lot of us , but most of us, have damage on left side if played stage right or right side if on the left.............................I call it Marshallitis! lol

[@fairwindsphoto]

I have been on the soundboard for Man-O-War before. 1989 in Colombus Oh at the Parliment Theater.......

[@G.F.Browning]

I saw uncle Teddy last week and I thought it was just the venue (which it probably was too some extent I'd suspect) but maybe he was that loud. I mean I was twenty feet from the stage and I got my ears blown the fuck off

[@rettekentet]

Gelukzak lol

[@tomlauris]

I went to ACDC and I was almost glad when it was over, my ears were ringing for hours afterwards, probably from the cannons firing the 21 gun salute in my face 😬 Otherwise great concert

[@crisgadelhart]

In 2007, i've committed the "mistake" of staying in the barrier, right next to the PA system during a Motörhead gig. It was the first gig testing the brand-new sound system of Fundição Progresso, the venue. I went deaf for a week, no joke. Totally worth it. Amazing gig, and i still have Phil Campbell's pick to This day. Lemmy and Motörhead will be sorely missed.

[@l3thaldosage506]

I had a similar experience with CoC+Ministry+Melvins with Asheville's The Orange Peel. Fucking deaf!

[@HillbillyHades]

@@l3thaldosage506 Ministry AND Melvins! That's a hell of a show.

[@erockromulan9329]

What? Say that again I cant hear what you've typed 😁

[@MrFrostien]

"Totally Worth it" Yeah right... loosing your hearing is no joke

[@salsabilahmedshrestho960]

Consider yourself fortunate. It was serendipitous that you got your hearing back.

[@MrCamel2humps]

I seen Motörhead and Megadeth in San Jose and I can confirm without a doubt, it was the loudest concert I’d ever been to. Been to hundreds of metal shows but nothing, I mean NOTHING was louder than Motörhead! My ears rang for days 👂🏻💥

[@fabien4470]

Luckily it stopped. Mine ring for 12 years now...

[@stephaneherringtoniowritin4986]

Same here🤣🤣Omfg,how loud were they?!!!

[@albertsmith6717]

The band had to be wearing ear protection all through the years. It's no way anyone could take that much extreme decibel eardrum abuse even for a few years and still be able to hear anything.

[@BongHuffingCaravan]

Mate listen to Phil at the 3min mark on he's says his wife gets tired of repeating herself to him that he needs hearing aids since all there amps are dialed up to 10 there was also an interview with Lemmy prior to his death along with Fast Eddie saying they don't use in ear monitors or plugs that they crank the shit out of there amps & PA systems just to see the reaction to the fans of how fucking loud they are & mate there one of the loudest bands ive ever seen live along with Deep Purple couldnt hear for bout two days after

[@albertsmith6717]

@@BongHuffingCaravan Yes, I have been to many metal concerts and I learnt at the very beginning to wear ear protection. No one's ear drums could withstand the hundreds/thousands of extremely loud concerts without going completely deaf. Years ago i remember reading about the band Helmet, seems like they were hitting 130 decibels on stage. Didn't Kiss claim to be the loudest band back in the day? And Ted Nugent tried his best to blow eardrums out back in the day, he learnt the hard way in his early days without protection, he is deaf in one ear.

[@rupe82]

@@albertsmith6717 Dave Grohl has never worn ear protection, he spoke about it on the Howard Stern show. He's practically deaf in one ear, the one closest to the monitors when he played in Nirvana and suffers from tinnitus.

[@ttott0013]

Huh? I didn't hear you

[@ttott0013]

Jucifer once said they were clocked at 120-140dbs

[@nucattii3091]

I fail to realize what the infatuation with music this loud is. At some point you cant even discern what is happening in the mix, so whats the point if not music??

[@Slugg-O]

Never saw them but had a friend who went to see them with a couple of guys from work. Said when he started the car to leave he kept grinding the starter because he couldn't tell if the engine was running. The loudest concert I've ever been to was Foreigner around 1998 - believe it or not. It was a private show for about 150 people and I was close enough that Mick Jones was handing me guitar picks instead of throwing them. Pain like a drill slowly cutting its way through my left ear and then permeant hearing damage after that. More than 20 years ago and a single hand clap still feels like an icepick in the ear.

[@mnetzer6777]

Who would of thought, Foreigner!! That's cool!!!

[@Slugg-O]

@@mnetzer6777 I know, right? Me either. I can't say it was "Motorhead" loud but I still have serious hearing loss in my left ear. I felt the damage during the concert and it was different. I knew it would not return.

[@warshipsatin8764]

did you literally stand in front of a cabinet

[@Slugg-O]

@@warshipsatin8764 Almost. The stack was sitting on the stage maybe 10 feet to my left. The stage was low enough for Mick Jones to hand out guitar picks instead of bending over, and I remember the stacks being pointed inward toward the center of the room because I had to turn my head to break the beam drilling through my ear drum. The show volume was actually mild but the encore went from "WOW this is great to WTF??? who killed the front of house guy? I'm 100% sure it was the encore that did it, and my own dumb ass for not getting out of the way, but in my defense I was lit like a Christmas tree by then and didn't GAF until it was too late. Foreigner. Who would have thought? .

[@DazMan-mo8fk]

If you ever wanted a week of peace from your wife just go to a motorhead concert

[@Rick-pi9zn]

The thing is, when Lemmy couldn't get the proper volume in the soundcheck, he was probably completely right... He was actually hearing something completely else. If the whole band has to compensate their hearing loss to get the right sound, that means the audience gets a shit sound vise versa. In respect to their Legacy, the whole thing is kinda dumb if you ask me. The frequencies kicking back your hair are just the bass and are not that sensible in the ear, but there is no reason for midrange or treble at THAT level. And btw, to all the guys showing off with how long their ears rang after the show...If your ears literally rang for several days, it didn't get any better after that, the tinitus just stopped but the hearing loss stayed.

[@mgmnfld3109]

I saw Motorhead open for Alice Cooper in St.John's, Newfoundland, Canada in '87. I heard something for the next three days that I'd never heard before, ringing or "tinnitus"...lol. The next day in high school was awesome, hungover AF and deaf as a post..lol. R.I.P. Lemmy, Fast Eddie, Philthy Phil and Wurzel. Thanks for the music and the memories. 🤘

[@billyg9306]

I saw the same tour, couldn't tell what the 1st couple songs were, it was awesome. Hahaha

[@noahhecker6672]

Motörhead and Alice Cooper in one go? God that’s like my dream man

[@gereonH]

Being a music critic I go to concerts for a living. I always have ear protection with me. Once your ear is damaged, it will not recover. And all those "little" damages add up over the years. I once had a great interview with Manowars Joey DeMaio over the phone and he invited me to their soundcheck and a beer afterwards. As politely and respectfully as possible I declined the offer and I explained him my fear for my ears. He said, that loudness is no problem with a high quality sound system - which is not true. If enough decibel hit your ear there will be damage. I did not argue but told him, I am too afraid to come. A few days later a woman called me on the phone, said greetings from Joey and said, he wants my postal address for he wants to send me something. I gave it to her an a few days later I received a big fan package, with DVDs CDs and autographs.

[@ThePlanemadness]

Why not wear hearing protection at the soundcheck?

[@gereonH]

@@ThePlanemadness Manowar goes above 120 db - I was afraid that even with hearing protection I would not feel safe.

[@InVougeProductions]

Dude Manowar was too damn loud! Saw them at a house of blues and it killed my whole body being in that room

[@MaskedRiderChris]

His legendary huge ego aside, I guess that means he respected your honesty?

[@decespugliatorenucleare3780]

@@gereonH and you'd be mostly correct: there's no real solution for hours on end of excessive noise. I use ear muffs over earplugs, and I can still hear a subtle "weee" after really loud nights.

[@yetanotheruser1989]

Sounds like shit though when it's all that loud, to be honest

[@MrFrostien]

I dont get the point of it. You cant hear anything is just noise and its terrible for the ears

[@gabrielbrouwer]

@@MrFrostien just for the sake of it.

[@yetanotheruser1989]

@@gabrielbrouwer yeah just to say "we're the loudest" 🤣

[@chriswilkinson7636]

I like loud heavy metal shows but I am thinking about wearing ear plugs next time I go to a rock show.

[@afterburner2869]

All I can say is that Motörhead was the LOUDEST concert I’ve ever been to and I’ve been to a lot of concerts.🤘🏻

[@peppino1961]

Lemmy was a real rock star, he lived life to the fullest.

[@josefk5659]

I love Motörhead but there is nothing cool about playing too loud. If you want to enjoy the Beatles in mono like Lemmy, protect your ears

[@peanutm9346]

Thank you, I agree.

[@claudevieaul1465]

I've played some seriously loud gigs (the bassplayer had 1800W for himself at full blast, ánd 2 guitarists with JCM800 stacks at max) but I don't think we ever got thát insanely loud.... 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤘 I've been using professional hearing protection for decades - I can't recommend them enough!!

[@darkstar4494]

Are you talking about IEM, or custom noise reducers that preserve high end frequencies?

[@TheRealMarxz]

LOL that bass player resembles me - was in a band with two guitarists that both played through full stack Marshall customised super bass and super lead and even rehearsals were a nightmare with each trying to outdo the other, I had a 400watt MarshalL solid state bass head playing through a 4x10 super bass cab and was being demolished no chance of hearing myself even standing less than a metre from my cab... so upgraded - I chanced upon a used 1400 watt hybrid bass amp custom made for the bass player of "Mark of Cain", plugged in to a couple of 4x12 quad box, and either a couple of 15's or a 1960's Marshal 1988 (18" speaker) yeh lets just say once the two guitarists started "who's the loudest" dick measuring contest I'd just crank it up and smash them volume wise then slowly bring it down to a more manageable volume if/when they did the same. had a few venues where the front of house guy would not even have me in the mix

[@claudevieaul1465]

​@@darkstar4494 I can and do use in-ears, but the protection comes from custom molded reducers - the filters in there are great, and quite linear too: drops volume levels all across the board by about 27dB!

[@edwardbenoit3890]

I saw that 1981 Blizzard of Ozz / Motorhead gig in Buffalo, New York USA. Lemme, Eddie and Philthy weren't well know in the States but my friends and I were in the know. 3rd row and truly louder than BOMBERS!!! Fan- fuckin- tastic!!!! Just 2700 people stupified with melted faces and the stunned look of a Religious epiphany!!! And Randy Rhoades as well!

[@MotownGuitarJoe]

Saw the same tour in Detroit. Yep, your description is perfect.

[@Mithranos]

Confirmed. I saw them with Slayer @ Harpo's Detroit Mi. At some point I jammed TP in my ears but it was too late. Lying in bed I truly learned the meaning of "ringing in the ears". The ringing was so loud I couldn't sleep. INSANE!

[@bassguitariscool9204]

Lemmy is the only bassist I’ve ever seen put a cigarette in between the headstock 😂

[@haxan6663]

I first saw Motorhead on the Overkill tour. They turned everything up after each song. At least one person at the front was stretchered out! I have attended hundreds of gigs over the last 50 years. None have been as loud as that was.

[@MontyCantsin5]

Brilliant!

[@woopimagpie]

I saw Motorhead just the once, back in 1991. I got dragged to the show by a mate who said we'd regret it if we didn't. He was absolutely right. It was in the early days of a 15 year stretch in Sydney doing reviews for magazines (and my own leisure) and I was going to at least 2 gigs a week. By the turn of the century I'd been to over 3000, and many more since, so I'm no stranger to live music. That Motorhead gig was the LOUDEST show I ever went to. My ears were ringing for 3 days after. Man, it was like being assaulted for 2 hours. Like Slash said, it was almost violent. Phenomenal. Every time I see that mate who insisted I go with him I thank him. A few weeks later I heard this story about a tall English bloke in a hat and boots who had rolled up to a big bottle shop near me with a truck and wanted to buy a "case" of Jack, and there was some confusion over what he actually wanted, mostly (I guess) because of local terminology. A "case" to us is a box of 12 bottles, but no, it turned out he wanted the entire pallet, and his road crew had backed the truck up so the pallet could be forklifted into the back. He paid for it and off they went, presumably for the rest of the Motorhead tour. It had to be Lemmy, who else would do that? Fantastic stuff.

[@travishabursky4362]

No one else but Lemmy would buy Jack Daniels by the pallet.

[@garymitchell5899]

Utter BS

[@garymitchell5899]

All of it BTW

[@woopimagpie]

@@garymitchell5899 Aww, diddums is salty cos he never got to see Motorhead 😂😂

[@brianrainsfordmarshall2692]

This kind of loudness isn't worth it. Sorry, I respect Motohead, love Lemmy, all of that, but damaging your hearing and the damaging the audiences hearing isn't worth it when you could be just as effective at quieter and safer volumes. Fuck's the point in playing louder and louder and getting deafer and deafer?

[@JL-bs6yz]

Went to a Motörhead concert in the mid 80s. It was unbelievably loud. What a fun night

[@oliverpura9876]

What is cool about a band that ruins people' s hearing? I saw the Who at Long Beach Arena about a few weeks after Who's Next and Townsend was so loud . I was on a lot of acid and meth tabs and it was so hot and packed up front that people sere passing out and I would be off the ground and fighting for air. They stopped the show to push back the crowd but the " atmosphere" was so powerful and overwhelming people kept pushing. Townsend said to turn everything up to max volume to force us back and it all turned to white noise and vibration for two hours. My ears rang bad for about ten days.

[@sjk8273]

I first saw them on the Bomber tour (Newcastle City Hall). Yes, it was ferociously loud, but TBH the sound quality was awful. There was an article in Sounds saying that even their sound engineer didn't know which song they were playing. Saw them again on The Ace Of Spades tour (Mayfair, Newcastle) and the sound quality had improved enormously. Good times!

[@joegillam1497]

I saw Motorhead a couple of times back in the day. And Metallica and Nirvana. The loudest band I ever saw?...Queen!

[@zmm454]

Queen was fucking loud that’s right

[@grindfreakmike5754]

I doubt they were louder then Motorhead.

[@joegillam1497]

@@grindfreakmike5754 Well you'd doubt wrong.

[@TheEightSeven1]

The only reason motorhead shows were loud is because lemmy and friends were deaf af,I dont blame em. 😂

[@randymcrandy8066]

2003 saw Motor Head and some other bands in a 3000 person venture. I’ll never forget when the drummer first kicked the bass drum. It was exponentionslly louder than the first two bands. Like how in the fuck did they get that much more power out of the subs? Then Lenny hit some notes and I can’t remember the rest of the night. It was literally so loud I was in fight or flight mode.

[@oopsydaizi3s824]

Saw slayer on the final tour and my ears rang for 4 days after

[@cuttlefisch]

Saw them on that tour in Manchester with Anthrax and Lamb of God. Loud as fuck.

[@TT-df9hp]

Consider yourself lucky the tinnitus wasn't permanent, it's an horrible affliction to live with.

[@oopsydaizi3s824]

@@TT-df9hp Does it get worse over time?I’ve tried to be careful and always use earmuffs around power tools but I’ve got this ringing in my ears right now and it comes and goes

[@DrJ-hx7wv]

I saw this same tour in Pittsburgh. It was partly outdoors, so that controlled it. We were also way in the back. My son said his ears hurt, but mine didn't. It was tolerable

[@TT-df9hp]

@@oopsydaizi3s824 Mine hasn't but I've only had it for 2 years.

[@williammendoza2080]

I used to love it loud then I got Tinnitus.

[@mikeangelle1406]

saw Motorhead in 1984 in Toronto . I lost part of my skull due to the volume of the show. It was worth it.

[@darkstar4494]

Which part?

[@shawnstarks1743]

Stupid loud! Seen them, I have PTSD because of them. 😂 My friend had a extra ticket for me to see them again in 2002. I was like “naw man I’m good” RIP Lemmy, Phil, and Fast Eddie.

[@oscargarciahinde4247]

I went to a metal fetival around 2002-2003 here in spain, and many big names played that weekend: iron Maiden, Dio (RIP), Saxon, Hammerfall... However, there are only two gigs that I can explicitly remember from that weekend due to the insane fucking loudness: Immortal and Motorhead. Both bands were so loud they got imprinted in my mind forever. Funnily enough, both bands were trios. Just three dudes playing so fucking hard and loud that you just couldn't even think of anything other than what was going on onstage.

[@Reaper-3000]

At least Slash has that head of Hair to protect his ears

[@jaimequezada7088]

why is Scott Ian always in every metal documentary ?

[@jimmanycricket3756]

Saw them at my local entertainment venue about 15 years ago and I couldn't hear much for about 4 days after. It's no lie that they were the loudest band on earth

[@willymccabe6602]

Loud for the sake of loud is just plain stupid. Seriously. It ruins your hearing, ruins the ability of the FOH to do much of anything for your mix and makes life impossible for your monitor engineer. I'm not saying you can't be loud, but there's a point at which too much volume detracts from the show. Maybe Lemme didn't mind sounding like sh*t cuz he was kind of that way anyway, the ultimate rock n roll cliché walking on its hind legs.

[@presidentelectzigenpuss3570]

Somebody sounds bitter….

[@TheMusicmak3r]

I saw Motörhead at the Gigantour with Volbeat opening and Megadeth headlining. Motörhead had the wall of sound out of all 3

[@rot_studios]

With all due respect: what a buncha knobheads :P The lack of self-respect is pretty bad, molesting your own ears like that as a musician. Good luck playing when you're deaf. But heh why worry when it isn't a (big) problem yet, right?

[@brianorakpohit]

I saw Motörhead I think 4 or 5 times. The first time was Christmas 89, I was still at school. Hammersmith. I specifically remember a physical life to the sound. It moved your hair and physically hit you. My shoelaces needed tying, so I did that, came back up and it hit me all over again. Harder than before. It was quite something. Character building stuff.

[@philtrevis]

I saw Motorhead a couple of times. Didn't make anything out because they were so loud! Like, stupid level loud! Absolutely no point.

[@Megamando93]

when the sound has become a mush of 120db, its too loud lol

[@breadfan262]

I was at a show once, it was so loud it just sounded like muddled static. I guess that’s what they’re talking about here. It was fuckkn scary.

[@TheEnglishImpatient]

Saw them in ‘97 in Ipswich, England… pretty small venue. It was so fuckin’ loud, I couldn’t even tell you what songs they played. Like being in a boxing match against pure noise, getting pummelled around the head and ribs. Absolutely brutal (and so much fun!).

[@ianfraserkilmister5608]

My first gig at age 11 was Motörhead at The Glasgow Apollo around 1982-83. Anvil were their support. I’m proud to say this.

[@Twobarpsi]

Loudest show I was at was Fear Factory arouns 2010 era. I was at the FOH mixing board, and it was hitting 132dB in spots!

[@robertshaefer7760]

The volume battle sounds just like Ginger Baker vs Jack Bruce years ago!!!!

[@blakkno666]

What a lot of people dont realise is, yes Motorhead were loud but it's sounds more because there's no scoop in the frequencies.. they're all turned up. The amps mid, presence etc all up and I've stood next the the pa desk at one of their shows and even on the desk graphic all the frequencies are up rather than the 'U' shaped scoop you might expect... That's why it tore through your ears so much!

[@razmatazz9310]

The glorification of playing at such a volume is a bit weird. Nothing cool about having hearing problems or ringing ears for the rest of your life.

[@tristanhotard4339]

Sounds great tho

[@Improveng1]

A good mate of mine saw Motorhead headlining a well known festival, and when I asked him what they were like he said that they were very loud and very crap. I, personally, have more respect for my hearing and wouldn't cross the road to see them.

[@theproductwhisper9378]

I saw Motorhead three times, all of them in Australia. 84/91/04. Yes they were loud. Seriously loud. They had a glorious type of volume that was like an assault, a total bludgeon. Brutal. But I have to say, I found their volume to be very, very specifically mid-range volume. there is a comment in this video from one of their sound guys to this effect. I always thought it was structured around Lemmy's bass sound, the way he strummed alot of bass lines with chords, it added to their wall of sound. Somewhere on KZbin, there is a quote from Malcolm Young in 1980 saying he thought there was only one band louder than AC/DC and it was Motorhead. It might be true with Decibal readings held up close to the stage, but Motorhead's type of loud was distinctly different to my ears from other bands version of loud and I think that added to their sense of sheer noise.

[@sherazuki]

Not being able to enjoy music like you used to is really soul crushing. Don't be an idiot, man, seriously. There's nothing but dark, deep depression when everything sounds likes someone put a wall in front of your speakers. This really pisses me off, and I don't appreciate bands doing this. Once it's gone, it's gone. One day you'll notice the difference, and then It's too late. As cliché as it is, you little child, are not invincible and those paper thin slits of skin in your ear, nor that little hammer in your ear are either.

[@hanshendriksen72]

It is a bit juvenile. All these "loud" bands modeled themselves after The Who. Setting up your backline at earsplitting levels is pretty useless and ruins the sound, it's the P.A. that does the hard work. What made The Who earsplitting loud only happened towards the audience. ( with the exception of John Entwistle) Their P.A. systems were legendary loud, but their concerts were always crystal clear. I liked Lemmy, but he wasn't the sharpest knife in the block sound-wise.