Here’s an album which has been criticized for it’s “loudness” – Queen’s of the Stone Age’s “Songs for the Deaf”.
I’m not sure whether I’m in any position to criticize it however, as this album was the soundtrack to my teenage years. Bands such as them, Incubus, Foo Fighters, the Mars Volta, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers were big influences on me when I was growing up. I’ve discovered that most of them have at least one album with some bad reviews on it’s production, with RHCP’s “Californication” coming under some heavy scrutiny in some circles.
But maybe that’s what teenagers want from their music. Adolescence has always been associated with being rebellious, doing what you want to do and not caring what others think. So maybe that’s what teenagers want – loud music.
This makes me question whether the whole “Loudness War” debate is more a debate between generations, where the younger generation want music to hit them like a punch in the face, whereas the older generation don’t want their music to exhaust them after the first 3 songs.
Where I stand as a sound engineer, I’m not quite sure.
