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Lightning Bolt back in 2002 or so. I saw them plenty of times in which I was riding the drum kit with no ear plugs or anything. At this one particular show I took a pretty serious sonic assault. I can actually pinpoint hearing damage to a precise moment in which a drum stick hit the snare (at most a foot from my head) and I felt a sharp pain in my right ear. That's not even factoring in the oodles of bass and wall of sound pummeling me from the tower of amps. It took me over three days to get my hearing back. No joke. I woke up the next day and all I could hear was static. Scared the shit out of me.
I noticed a marked decrease in the volume of their live shows starting at around 2004. They're still super loud, but they used to be unbelievably loud. Like, so loud you could almost taste the sound. One of the few bands that I can honestly say "If these dudes gave me hearing damage, it was worth it" to. Hearing those tones unfiltered and undampened at that booming volume was like hearing the voice of God. These days though I always make a point to at least roll up and cram some tissue in my ears.
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