When the British band Pink Floyd performed at Hyde Park, London, in 1971, the concert had unforeseen consequences — the band’s music was so loud it killed hundreds of fish in a nearby pond.

This did nothing, of course, to discourage the music industry’s quest for the ultimate sonic assault. In 1976, Guinness World Records declared The Who the loudest band in the world after the group generated a staggering 126 decibels measured at 100 feet from the stage. That was louder than a jet engine or a lightning strike, and more than enough to cause hearing damage. Guinness has since retired the category, fearing it encouraged bands to keep trying to break the record — but that doesn’t mean bands have given up in the quest.

“The way [the sound on the CD] got blown up during the mix surely sucked every last ounce of air out of it,” said one Metallica fan.

In recent years, music acts such as Manowar and KISS have reached volumes of 139 decibels – again, loud enough to cause almost immediate hearing damage and almost loud enough to rupture eardrums.

Besides making concert-going an activity that, like jet maintenance or artillery, requires hearing protection, the recording industry is engaged in another practice that’s spoiling music for fans: radical and unnecessary digital compression, a tactic detractors call “The Loudness War.”

If you’ve purchased a digitally remastered version of a favorite album in the last few years and wondered why it doesn’t seem to sound as good as your scratchy old LP did, you’re not imagining things. It probably doesn’t sound as good — and for good reason.

Back in the 1960s and 1970s, artists and producers pushed to make their 45 rpm singles louder than others so they would stand out when played on radio stations or jukeboxes. Vinyl records could only be boosted so much; but with the advent of CDs and other digital formats, record companies were able to bring a new weapon into the fray. With digital compression, producers can squeeze the music’s dynamic range, making the loudest elements quieter and the quieter elements louder.

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While compression makes music tracks sound louder, it sacrifices a great deal of quality. Louder passages get clipped and quieter instruments that should be in the background get pushed forward, muddying the intended mix. There are no whispers, no shouts — the compression squashes and balloons the track until everything plays near the same relative volume. The result is a flattened, distorted mess.

In a 2009 interview with NPR, recording engineer Bob Ludwig highlighted a YouTube video showing how compression affects the drum intro for Paul McCartney’s 1989 song “Figure of Eight.”

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“It really no longer sounds like a snare drum with a very sharp attack,” Ludwig said. “It sounds more like somebody patting on a piece of leather.”

The issue reached a head in 2008 with the release of Metallica’s “Death Magnetic.” The album was released with the video game “Guitar Hero III” a few days after the CD went on sale. Angry fans immediately started complaining the downloadable version in the game sounded far superior to the CD.

“It’s so flat and lifeless,” complained user frostfield3 on Metallica’s online forum. “No body, warmth, or bottom end.”

“Gets about a 2/10 from me,” chimed in fan metallicanatic. “The drums are far too loud, and sound like one of those Hello Kitty drum sets. The distortion is g****mn awful, and the clipping absolutely ruins the album.”

“The way it got blown up during the mix surely sucked every last ounce of air out of it,” said a fan named mobrulz, while another fan, jackmet, opined that the album sounded like it was being listened to over the phone “while someone on the other side on the line is playing it for you on his stereo way too loud.”

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Rolling Stone magazine contacted mastering engineer Ian Shepherd, who analyzed the two releases after hearing the complaints. Shepherd found the CD to be 10 decibels louder than the video game version, making the CD sound twice as loud to the ear. Metallica fans have been clamoring for a remastered version ever since.

The tide may be turning, though. For one thing, most digital music players include a feature similar to the “Sound Check” function in Apple’s iTunes, which automatically adjusts playback volume and thwarts any attempt to force extra loudness out of compressed tracks.

More importantly, artists and recording engineers are fighting to reduce compression and return dynamic range to music.

In 2014, Daft Punk’s “Random Access Memory” won five Grammy Awards, including Best Engineered Album (Non-Classical). Mixing engineer Mick Guzauski had gone out of his way to limit compression —and the music’s sound quality won the day over the artificially boosted volume in other modern music.

Here’s hoping more record companies will get the hint and start delivering music that sounds the way artists and fans want to hear it.