Hello.
Usually bands get a fan base based on their genre, like, Cannibal Corpse is very popular for death metal fans, because Cannibal Corpse do death metal and they know how to do it. But now, what if Cannibal Corpse stopped playing death metal and start playing groove metal? Their fans would be pissed, and they would lose their caracteristic sound.
So the talk in this topic is about bands going soft or changing their style:
People can change over the years, specially musicians, I know of guys who started only hearing The Beatles or Queen as their influences and after starting to hear heavier acts as AC/DC, Iron Maiden or Black Sabbath their started to change their style of playing. That happens to famous musicians too, like Def Leppard , those guys shifted from Hard Rock to Pop Rock over the years, but they still rock, but they did it in a way that their fans can still listen to their music.
But now, there are bands and artists who shifted their style way too quickly or just went on a wrong direction. Some examples:
- Metallica
Metallica started as an agressive metal band, playing thrash and making it the genre that is today, but their shift in style has always been criticized: Their two first albums are pretty good, Master of Puppets is considered one of the best albums ever, but since then they have been going down and down. Master of Puppets is kind of a good album, ...And Justice for All is pretty decent, The Black Album was a great change in Metallica's style, they started playing hard rock-influenced heavy metal with not much thrash stuff, with Load and Re-Load they just simply played Hard Rock, and they hitted the ground very hard with St. Anger, making basically a nu metal album. Death Magnetic can be considered as something between ...And Justice for All and The Black Album, while Hardwired... To Self-Destruct is an album with what seems to be left-overs from Load, Re-Load and Death Magnetic. The point is that some original Metallica fans will never accept how they basically sold-out and left thrash metal, the genre that made them famous, behind.
- Battle Beast
Battle Beast is one of the biggest examples of retro heavy metal bands. Battle Beast is basically a tribute to 80s metal like Iron Maiden, with synths and pianos. Now, their first full-length, Steel, released in 2011 is a great experience if I must say so. I love that album, is very interesting and it has a feel of those 80s bands. Now, their self-titled released in 2013 is one of my favourite albums of all time (I literally listened it to boredoom), amazing riffs, amazing atmospheres, powerful vocals, EXCELLENT.
Now, then they started to go downhill AS ****. First, Unholy Savior in 2015, like 3 or 4 songs are basically romantic acoustic ballads, some of the actual songs are less epic and interesting than the ones from previous albums, they sound pretty generic in my opinion, it's just a bad album. And now, their last album... I want to cry dude: They morphed into Heavy Metal-influenced Hard Rock, almost AOR actually. No more fast songs as in their ST, no more actuall epicness, and the cover art is just lame, that album SUCKS, and in 10 years Battle Beast will be a pop rock band.
- In Flames
What they did is the definition of selling out: They started playing Melodic Death Metal, after many years all the original members left, and instead of disbanding, they started to play Melodic Groove/Alt Rock... Simply ****. The members could just end the band and start a new one, instead of basically pooping on the band's name doing their new genre.
But now, some bands did this and that's what made them really famous, examples:
- Red Hot Chili Peppers
Started as a funk rock act, but they didn't got their actual fame until they shifted into an alternative rock style influenced by pop and hard rock.
- Rise Against
Over the years they shifted from their basic Melodic Hardcore style to the Punk/Alternative Rock style they are playing now, and they have become more famous and made more melodic songs with this change, they did it for good.
- Pantera
Lets face it, if Pantera never stopped playing Glam metal, Dimebag wouldn't be dead, he probably would not be famous actually, bands as Hellyeah or Damageplan would have never existed, nor tons of other Pantera-influenced bands like Down, Machine Head (not sure about this tho), and **** of underground bands. Basically, groove metal wouldn't exist.
- Darkthrone
Probably Darkthrone would be a obscure death metal band of the 80s today if they never switched to black metal, and lots of black metal bands would not exist today, since Darkthrone is one of the biggest influences in black metal, probably black metal would not be a genre today without Darkthrone, it would be a dead genre like Rockabilly (in some sense, understand?)
So, any of you know bands that switched styles for good or for worst?
When bands go soft/change styles...
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Re: When bands go soft/change styles...
Is this post inspired by Linkin Park's recent endeavours?:p
I have to admit, I'm all there for bands changing their style. I know it sometimes means the music is getting worse, but I almost always find something to enjoy in the new style that bands choose to take. I quite like Papa Roach's The Connection, for example, as well as Icon For Hire's recent pop album You Can't Kill Us. Not to forget Muse: a lot of people hate The Resistance and The 2nd Law, but they're my favorite albums by them.
I feel that people expect bands to always remain playing the same genre, but that's impossible for a band to do. And yet there's a lot of people hating on bands for changing their style, instead of trying to appreciate the new direction. I try to keep an open mind when bands announce a new album, because I know it might be something completely different from the last.
Or maybe I'm biased, because I like softer music, and bands tend to change their sound to something softer instead of something harder. :p
I have to admit, I'm all there for bands changing their style. I know it sometimes means the music is getting worse, but I almost always find something to enjoy in the new style that bands choose to take. I quite like Papa Roach's The Connection, for example, as well as Icon For Hire's recent pop album You Can't Kill Us. Not to forget Muse: a lot of people hate The Resistance and The 2nd Law, but they're my favorite albums by them.
I feel that people expect bands to always remain playing the same genre, but that's impossible for a band to do. And yet there's a lot of people hating on bands for changing their style, instead of trying to appreciate the new direction. I try to keep an open mind when bands announce a new album, because I know it might be something completely different from the last.
Or maybe I'm biased, because I like softer music, and bands tend to change their sound to something softer instead of something harder. :p
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Re: When bands go soft/change styles...
I'm a die hard LP fan, so any direction they go I will follow. However, I do understand WHY bands decide to go soft (especially after mainstream exposure), but from an artistic standpoint it's disappointing to say the least.
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Re: When bands go soft/change styles...
I'll play devil's advocate and say well, maybe they're not "going soft" they're just making the music they actually want to make?
Take a look at someone like Devin Townsend.
To go from Strapping Young Lad to his latest album, Transcendence and literally everything in between. He never went soft, he wrote whatever he felt like at that point in his life and will continue to do so. Some people might knock it because he's also slowly losing that "metal" edge, but I really don't think he cares as an artist doing what he loves to do.
Take a look at someone like Devin Townsend.
To go from Strapping Young Lad to his latest album, Transcendence and literally everything in between. He never went soft, he wrote whatever he felt like at that point in his life and will continue to do so. Some people might knock it because he's also slowly losing that "metal" edge, but I really don't think he cares as an artist doing what he loves to do.
Re: When bands go soft/change styles...
**** coheed for changing their sound.
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