MANOWAR!! WORLDS LOUDEST LIVE BAND!!
From the official bio:
When Manowar joined forces with a new label, they signed their recording contract in blood (becoming the first band to demonstrate their commitment this way). Their second release, "Into Glory Ride" featured the debut of Scott Columbus, a man so viscous with the sticks that standard drum kits simply fell to pieces under his awesome attack-hence the need for custom built, stainless steel drums.
Recorded and mixed in six days, Manowar's third album was titled "Hall to England." It heralded the band's debut tour of Great Britain. Not since the Vikings invaded northeast England in 878 had the isles seen such all-consuming power. The whole of Europe fell prey to Manowar with the "Spectacle Of Might" tour as the band slashed and burned their way across the Continent in support of their forth album, "Sign Of The Hammer." It was then that Manowar entered the Guinness Book of World Records as the world's loudest band.
RAAAAWWWWKKKK!!!
oh yeah and I think Explosions in the Sky is the loudest band I've ever seen...although City of Caterpillar, Ex Models and An Albatross all came close.