Taylor Swift’s music is louder than AC/DC, Motorhead, and Metallica

A recent study by mastering engineer Ian Shepherd has found that Taylor Swift’s album ‘1989’ has a better dynamic range rating - and therefore is “louder” - than some classic metal albums.

Shepherd created an infographic that compared the biggest selling albums in honour of March’s Dynamic Range Day. Shepherd found that Swift’s ‘1989’ had a DR6 rating, and is therefore louder than AC/DC’s ‘Back In Black’ (DR12), Metallica’s ‘The Black Album’ (DR11), and Motörhead’s ‘The Ace Of Spades’ (DR11).

Shepherd has identified that the trend to increase audio levels on CD masters in the mid-90s ultimately led to sound quality deteriorating in favour of loudness. The competition between audio engineers - known as The Loudness Wars - to Shepherd is pointless, stating that “beyond a certain point, it sounds flat, lifeless, has less of an emotional impact, and can even sound crushed and distorted.”

Head to Ian Shepherd’s website to read the full post and infographic, and listen to Taylor Swift’s metal-trumping loud-fest ‘Shake It Off’ below: