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Bands/artists that had a massive change in genre from their debut album/early career?

L

lm04

Neo Member
Aselith said:
Smashing Pumpkins went from pretty happy, hippy music and got pretty dark with Mellon Collie. It wasn't a completely new direction for them musically but it seemed like a pretty big tonal shift.
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Mellon Collie covers a wider genre range by itself than the entire career of most bands I'm seeing mentioned in this thread, but I think the transition from Mellon Collie to Adore is the the correct answer to OP
 
G

gfxtwin

Member
Hello? This is Hailun! said:
Panopticon was just really watered down compared to Oceanic. It was less ambitious. They quit writing music and just let their effects pedals do the talking, and that was what every other band was doing at the time.
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Yeah it was "jammier" or "spacier" I guess, but I wasn't hearing many similarities with metal bands at the time who were doing similar things (Pelican, etc). I thought most of the post metal stuff was happening a couple years after Panopticon, but I might be wrong.

I love Oceanic, but there was more emotion in Panopticon for me and I felt they managed to capitalize on what made it sound so epic. I'm not a musician and don't know much at all about musical theory, so maybe I'm missing out on some of the writing that made Oceanic special, but as someone who likes music that sounds visual, there was more for me to sink my teeth into w/ Panopticon.
 
F

Fudgepuppy

Banned
Side note, has any band actually went darker and less pop-friendly between albums? It seems that there are a lot of examples of bands going softer, but not many doing the opposite.
 
G

gfxtwin

Member
Fudgepuppy said:
Side note, has any band actually went darker and less pop-friendly between albums? It seems that there are a lot of examples of bands going softer, but not many doing the opposite.
Click to expand...

Maybe going from the emotional bombast of MBDTF to the rawness of Yeezus?

Nirvana: Nevermind -> In Utero?
 
T

The Bookerman

Member
lazygecko said:
Huey Lewis and The News' early work was a little too new wave for my tastes, but when Sports came out in '83, I think they really came into their own, commercially and artistically. The whole album has a clear, crisp sound, and a new sheen of consummate professionalism that really gives the songs a big boost.
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d0R9w.gif
 
The Scrivener

The Scrivener

Member
Listen to Pablo Honey and then Hail to the Thief and tell me they're from the same band.

Edit: Also, didn't Sabbath start out as a blues cover band before they founded heavy metal?
 
F

FortuneFaded

Member
Charlie Simpson is an interesting one. Started with pop rock with Busted, then post-hardcore with Fightstar, then indie-folk with his solo albums then back with Busted with synthpop.
 
R

RuinerPrime

Member
Thrice

I feel like after The Artist in the Ambulance they matured and experimented more. But I guess it wasn't a sudden change, it evolved through out their career.

I'd also say Brand New. They went from Pop Punk/Emo style, to a far different sound by 3rd album onward.
 
H

Hero_of_the_Day

Member
I was recently made aware of The Band Perry trying hilariously to stop being country and going full on pop. It is almost too awkward to look at. For those that don't know, here's their first massive hit. And here's the title track from their second album. Basically, your standard country pop like old Taylor Swift. And now they are trying to just drop the country and go full pop, and it is super awkward. Seriously, if you cringe at awkwardness don't look directly at your screen for this. Try to stay with it 'til the first chorus for full effect.

It all is kind of weird. There have been rumors for a couple of years they were going pop. They put out a single that was kind of pop, and it didn't do well at all. They "parted ways" with their record label. Then got kind of defensive claiming they never said they were going pop. And then put the above song out with the whole band makeover, obviously going pop. I feel like you gotta really commit like Linkin Park has. Basically saying fuck off to anyone who doesn't like what they're doing. Also, fire whoever is in charge of dressing you people.
 
O

Otnopolit

Member
RuinerPrime said:
Thrice

I feel like after The Artist in the Ambulance they matured and experimented more. But I guess it wasn't a sudden change, it evolved through out their career.

I'd also say Brand New. They went from Pop Punk/Emo style, to a far different sound by 3rd album onward.
Click to expand...

Thrice continues to evolve. Honestly it amazes me I love all their new releases considering how different they all end up.
 
D

Doctor_Thomas

Member
Fudgepuppy said:
Side note, has any band actually went darker and less pop-friendly between albums? It seems that there are a lot of examples of bands going softer, but not many doing the opposite.
Click to expand...

Radiohead went from Karma Police and No Surprises to Idioteque and Everything in Its Right Place in the space of an album.
 
R

RionaaM

Unconfirmed Member
heavy liquid said:
Genesis went from progressive rock with Peter Gabriel and theatrical costumes to top 40 pop with Phil Collins.
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Actually Genesis started as a folk/soft rock band that did some religious stuff (or at least inspired by religion). Trespass was when they started flirting with prog, and by Nursery Cryme they had jumped into that genre completely.

And even though later Genesis was almost fully pop, they still managed to keep some of their prog past alive, including stuff like "Home by the sea" and "Domino" in their albums.

Clockwork5 said:
Electric Light Orchistra.

Went from experimental orchestral rock on their first albums to that sweet sweet pop sound of Face the Music, New World Record and Out of the Blue and went very Synth pop by the release of Time.

Not as big of a shift as some bands here but a gradual and pleasant shift.
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Don't forget the short flirts with disco (Discovery and the Xanadu soundtrack). Afterwards Jeff Lynne turned it into a rock band with the release of Zoom (which I think is a great album).

Timeaisis said:
Fleetwood Mac went from blues rock to pop.

Don't get me started.
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They also had a folk era (Future Games) and a soft rock one (Penguin and Mystery to Me). And Say You Will sounds like nothing they had done before.
 
D

Dali

Member
Ceelo went from rapping to singing. He would sing during his rapping years and his style of rap was pretty sing songey sometimes, so I don't know if he counts as a massive change.
 
S

StudioTan

Hold on, friend! I'd love to share with you some swell news about the Windows 8 Metro UI! Wait, where are you going?
Journey went from a jazzy fusion band to straight up AOR/pop and mega success.
 
Nose Master

Nose Master

Member
I don't really love the direction anamanaguchi went. Chiptunes are all kind of samey, but they were good at it. Their new awkward jpop synth is trash.
 
A

admiraltaftbar

Member
gfxtwin said:
Yeah it was "jammier" or "spacier" I guess, but I wasn't hearing many similarities with metal bands at the time who were doing similar things (Pelican, etc). I thought most of the post metal stuff was happening a couple years after Panopticon, but I might be wrong.

I love Oceanic, but there was more emotion in Panopticon for me and I felt they managed to capitalize on what made it sound so epic. I'm not a musician and don't know much at all about musical theory, so maybe I'm missing out on some of the writing that made Oceanic special, but as someone who likes music that sounds visual, there was more for me to sink my teeth into w/ Panopticon.
Click to expand...

Yeah I don't know where the whole every band was doing it came from but before Oceanic Isis was mainly just considered a good Neuorsis-lite band. Oceanic onward was where they really started to shine and come into their own. Both Oceanic and Panopticon were pretty important albums to the post metal genre and a lot of ideas from those albums went on to influence lots of other bands.

Edit: also I think whether you like oceanic or Panopticon more comes from whether you like the post rock part or the metal part of post metal. The meandering songs don't always sit well with people who aren't really fans of post rock.
 
S

Shrike_Priest

Member
Posting Ulver and skipping the ambient/post rock era should be labeled a crime against humanity. Or their drone stuff with Sunn o))).

Guys are legit the best band in the world. I keep coming back to them, and something from their discography always fits.

Remember that time they put out a 60s psychedelica cover album, because fuck it, why not?


https://m.youtube.com/watch?list=PL...c-v&params=OAFIAVgD&v=rG8p0JHmqYc&mode=NORMAL
https://m.youtube.com/watch?list=PL...c-v&params=OAFIAVgD&v=rG8p0JHmqYc&mode=NORMAL
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=XtZhlPr7XaM
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-ApZyqCNgJo
 
C

Cranster

Banned
The Cars also altered their sound over the years due to the fact that they liked experimenting with new tech and sounds. Their initial two albums while ground breaking had a decent amount of guitar and overtime it became more synthesizer heavy.

Just compare these two tracks...

The Cars (1978)

Heartbeat City (1984)

Granted they were always a band who prefered to do things there own way and expirment with different sounds, especially considering they were big fans of groups like Suicide.
 
M

MGrant

Member
of Montreal.

Cherry Peel, Bedside Drama, Gay Parade, Coquelicot, Aldhils - Beatles-inspired psychedelic twee-pop albums

Satanic Panic, Sunlandic Twins, Hissing Fauna, Skeletal Lamping - Increasingly dark, experimental psychedelic, art-pop, and funk albums

False Priest - dance pop/R&B album

Paralytic Stalks - Dark avant-garde, new-wave rock, prog rock, and sound collage

Lousy with Sylvianbriar, Aureate Gloom - country, garage rock, punk, folk, prog

Innocence Reaches - electronic, dance, surf rock

Dude just keeps changing it up.
 
P

psyfi

Banned
Lush. They went from witchy dreamy pop rock in 1992 to straight up brit pop in 1996. I love both sounds a lot, but the goth in me definitely reveres Spooky above all. They were all extremely cute back in the day

Lush-miki-and-emma-young.jpeg
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and I got to see them on tour last year (!!!) and I totally loved then. I've only been listening to them for a few years, but they are definitely one of my favorite bands.
 
C

CloudWolf

Member
Chromatics started as male-led punk rock, then they found a female singer and became a dream pop band.

Beastie Boys started as a hardcore punk band and opened for groups like Bad Brains and Dead Kennedys before doing a complete 180 and settling on hip-hop for their first album.

And of course there's Scott Walker, who started out as a pop singer in the 60's with the Walker Brothers and his Jacques Brel-inspired solo work. Then he kind of disappeared from the music scene for 10-20 years and returned in the 90's with a bunch of very experimental avant garde records.
 
C

chronic_archaic

Member
disappeared said:
Talk Talk. And for the better.

Whenever I hear "It's my life" on the radio I'm fondly reminded of how Laughing Stock and Garden of Eden absolutely destroyed the boundaries of what a band can do if they simply choose to shrug off preconceived expectations and do what they want to.
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I agree - but It's My Life is a fantastic album, and The Party's Over is no slouch. Talk Talk were great from the start to the end. Love all of the albums really.

But um, yeah. There's tons of examples. I think a better question would be what artist didn't have a massive change in sound during their career.
 
N

nel e nel

Member
Xis said:
Ministry -
Went from synthpop / new wave "With Sympathy"
to industrial / metal "Psalm 69"

Nine Inch Nails went through a slighter version of this as well.
Click to expand...

Early industrial was very synth heavy, and influenced by groups like Krafwerk. Evolving with and influencing a genre is not quite the same as switching genres.

On topic: Bee Gees. They went from 60s pop-psych to disco.
 
O

OmnipotentO

Member
Back in the day RHCP used to be "too funked out for white radio and too punked out for black radio". Now they're pretty much all pop with the occasional funk bass/guitar thrown in.
I still fucking love them (new album is great) and they are my favorite band ever but there's something I really really miss about their first 3 albums + mothers milk. Loved how wild and out there they were. They just became old. :(
BSSM is a good middle ground between their old and new stuff. BSSM is perfection.
 
A

Adam_Vania

Banned
Pink Floyd
i'm never going to get over how amazing Piper at the Gates of Dawn is. i love Floyd, Meddle, DSOTM, The Wall, it's all great stuff, but the childlike psych pop of Syd Barrett that was on their first album & singles is still something they never topped. "See Emily Play" is one of the best singles of all time and they never did anything close to it the rest of their career.

Tyrannosaurus Rex
T-Rex obviously rules, the 70s glam rock stuff is pure sex, but their early incarnation as trippy Hobbit acoustic folk was pretty magical. go back and read the lyrics to those early albums, it's astounding how poetic Marc Bolan could be when not in bubblegum mode
 
A

Adam_Vania

Banned
Fudgepuppy said:
Side note, has any band actually went darker and less pop-friendly between albums? It seems that there are a lot of examples of bands going softer, but not many doing the opposite.
Click to expand...

David Bowie started off the 70s with a huge folk/pop hit in "Space Oddity" and ten years later he released a sequel to the song, the weird and disjointed "Ashes to Ashes", which has a chorus about how the character from his earlier hit is a deluded junky. it wouldn't be a stretch to say the Berlin years were a darker/colder direction compared to the Ziggy Stardust/glam period
 
M

Morrigan Stark

Arrogant Smirk
Adam_Vania said:
Pink Floyd
i'm never going to get over how amazing Piper at the Gates of Dawn is. i love Floyd, Meddle, DSOTM, The Wall, it's all great stuff, but the childlike psych pop of Syd Barrett that was on their first album & singles is still something they never topped. "See Emily Play" is one of the best singles of all time and they never did anything close to it the rest of their career.
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Pink Floyd is an interesting case to me. Each of their album is always completely different than the others, and yet it's always so very Pink Floyd still. I don't know how they manage to retain such a strong sense of identity in their sound while being so over the place. Truly the greatest mainstream rock band ever, I say, and I don't even like several of those albums (though those I do like, I outright love -- Animals is genius). But I can't deny their talent and creative genius.

choodi said:
No. You don't think there was a little black metal in the first Katatonia album?
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Nah. I mean, I know it's common to think shrieked vocals = "blackened", but it's still not even that shrieky, and outside of vocals, there's pretty much nothing "blackened" about it.
I'll give you that, there might be at least a hint of the influence from 90's Norwegian BM (though incredibly minor, it's more a generic "Scandinavian sound" so to speak, not really black metal itself, but I admit they're often confused/unfairly lumped together), at least, unlike in, say, Tristania or Sepultura. xD
 
W

Watcher of the Skies

Member
Page 5 and no Pink Floyd? smh Gaf

From, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn to Atom Heart Mother, there is too much difference and even more to meddle, from psychedelic Rock to Prog Rock, damn King Crimson really change a lot of bands.

Another example but i don't know if counts, Miles Davis sound from the late 50's to late 60's and 70's was really different (Jazz fusion).

To be honest most of the Prog Rock bands went full pop in the 80's (Only King Crimson and Camel did it right).
 
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