When Bands Change Their Sound...
 

I'm sure all of us have bands we've liked that changed their "sound" from one album to the next. Which changes have you liked/hated/felt indifferent about?



Changes For The Better:

Powerman 5000 - Mega!! Kung-Fu Radio --> Tonight The Stars Revolt! (crappy industrial punk to awesome industrial space music)

Fischerspooner - #1 --> Odyssey/Entertainment (sorta gay electro pop to awesome electronica)

Sneaker Pimps - Becoming X --> Bloodsport (not that Becoming X was bad, but Bloodsport was a vast improvement)



Changes That Were Just As Good:

Van Halen - Roth --> Hagar (Roth might have had some of the best songs, but I think Hagar had more good songs overall)

Coldplay - X&Y --> Viva La Vida (I was disappointed in VLV until I saw them live and realized that was how the album was designed to be played)

Garbage - Version 2.0 --> beautifulgarbage (from alt rock to pop)

Garbage - beautifulgarbage --> Bleed Like Me (back from pop to alt rock)

No Doubt - Tragic Kingdom --> Return of Saturn (ska-ish to pop-ish)



Changes For The Worse:

Green Day - Dookie --> Everything After Dookie (selllllllllllllllll out)

No Doubt - Return of Saturn --> Rocksteady (Gwen Stefani's Ego. Self-Explanatory.)

The Killers - Hot Fuss --> Sam's Town/Day & Age (way to follow up an amazing first album with boring tripe)

Leona Naess - I Tried To Rock You But You Only Roll --> Leona Naess (catchy folk-rock to sappy love song caca)

Thievery Corporation - Everything Before Radio Retaliation --> Radio Retaliation (eclectic downtempo world music/electronica to fucking reggae... FUCKING REGGAE)

Orgy - Vapor Transmission --> Punk Static Paranoia (electro-industrial to industrial punk...blech)

Joaquin Phoenix - Actor --> Rapper (lolz)

Sometimes a lack of change can be just as bad... I don't know about their latest offering (I haven't listened to it), but Flogging Molly started to get a bit stale by the time they reached Within a Mile of Home. And I really enjoyed their first few albums... I'm still curious to hear them live.

My favorite band (Kaizers Orchestra) has morphed a bit over the last 5 or so years thanks to popularity and using different producers. The album that is now my favorite (Maestro) was initially really hard for me to listen to, because it departed quite a bit from their normal stuff, and Maskineri even more so. Yet I find myself listening to those two more than their older ones.

I would venture to say that Rammstein has changed a bit over the years, but to my ears they've only gotten better (more interesting music, new instruments brought into the mix).

Muse... remains to be seen. I'm not so hot on their latest song, but maybe I need some time with it. The last two albums were instant likes, but rumor has it that they're using more orchestra, which is usually a good thing for me. :)

I would just like to point out that to people with ears, Sammy Hagar is fucking awful, and he completely ruined that band. Roth's first solo album destroys anything anyone in that band played on after 1984, and David Lee Roth's solo material is pretty shitty for the most part, so that's not really saying much.

Muse is my favorite band. I like the two new singles well enough and I think they show a hint of genius that I hope the album itself maxes out on. I know the album will be good, but I want it to melt my face off.

Oh, one of you. While Van Halen did become less classic rock and more 80's synth, it doesn't mean they still didn't make good songs. Sammy Hagar has a perfectly decent voice IMO anyway. And sorry, but I'll take Right Now, Dreams, and Why Can't This Be Love over Unchained, Jamie's Cryin, and Dancing In The Street any day. That being said, Panama and Hot For Teacher are still their best songs.

Muse's new single (Uprising, not United States of Eurasia) is fucking ace. So ridiculously catchy. And I'm excited for their new album using a lot of orchestra, gonna be a good'n. Can thank Sian for getting me into them, now I'm addicted :D

The only one that really jumps out at my as a harsh point was the transition of The Smashing Pumpkins (original lineup) that happened between Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness and Adore. I know folks who like the later electronic instrument sound, but I much preferred the guitar-bass-drum format.

I'm actually really digging USoE... and to be honest I've only listened to Uprising once. They're my second favorite band, so I doubt I'll dislike the album ;) And I'm really excited for the orchestra stuff. I mean, that's why I like them in the first place...it's just more of a good thing.

The Good:

Mastodon - They're still metal, for sure, but they've been slowly evolving from Leviathan up to their latest, Crack the Skye, and I feel like they've reached the apex of their career. I can't wait to see what they cook up next, and if they continue to bring their sound in exciting new directions.

Pink Floyd - I don't know why people praise Syd Barrett as much as they do. Sure, Piper at the Gates of Dawn was a pretty good album, but he only contributed to one album, really, and then that was it. Roger Moore and David Gilmour took the band in brilliant new directions as their career went on.

Metallica - Obviously their transition to more mainstream rock that took place after ...And Justice was a hugely awful move, but I think their comeback in the form of Death Magnetic is excellent. I know it's cool to hate on Death Magnetic here on the internet, but if you liked any of their stuff from the 80s, there are very few reasons to hate on Death Magnetic so much, if you ask me. It's a surprisingly solid album throughout, and the only element that truly sucks balls is the drumming.

The Neutral:

Dream Theater - Some people really hate the darker, heavier direction these guys have taken over the past few years, but I really enjoy it just as much as their older stuff. The songwriting isn't as intelligent as it used to be, but the musicianship is top notch as always.

Red Hot Chili Peppers - As much as I love their more funk-oriented material, I equally love their softer stuff, with By The Way being my favorite album of theirs.

The Bad:

Genesis - Ugh, Phil Collins be damned for taking this band into the pop realm. Granted, some of the blame can be placed on Peter Gabriel for alienating the band in Roger Moore-like fashion, but Phil actually put out *some* good prog material before Genesis went all poppy.

Smashing Pumpkins - I have to echo earlier statements, but bring it further by saying that I didn't mind Adore, but Zeitgeist was one of the worst things I've ever heard. A horrifying attempt to be relevant again. Ugh, just awful.


I'm sure I'll think of some more later. Good thread!

Radiohead have changed their sound pretty drastically over their career, the went fromfrom guitar-based to electronic based, to a mix of both, then back to guitar-based. I haven't disliked any of their albums apart from their debut, so I guess I remain nuetral on their evolution.

Led Zeppelin is a band that went from balls-out blues rock to anything they could get away with. I'm a fan of almost all of their work, but I am partial to their more folk-y, acoustic-y and heavier stuff over the reggae-ish and latin-y stuff. Led Zeppelin III is their best album.

There's countless other examples and I can't be bothered thinking of things to say about them.

Between the Buried and Me from their first album to their latest is a sharp turn in the right direction. At first, with Alaska, I was worried that their sound would get boring and self-absorbed, but Colors proved to be a fantastic album. I think that was definitely a huge change in sound for the better.

As for a change for the worse, well, I would have to say AFI did themselves a horrible number by selling out and making pretentious emo music.

Changed Sound for the Better

Avenged Sevenfold - They started off as a typical metalcore band but quickly shed the -core skin and added epic solos, and diverse musical passages with City of Evil.

God Forbid - Another band that started off as a pure metalcore band that slowly evolved into a melodic thrash band starting with Gone Forever.

Behemoth - They started off as a black metal that, to me, didn't do anything special. It wasn't until they started adding death metal to the equation did they start to have something unique.

Death - I'll probably catch some flak for this one; but I feel that their earlier albums, while very influential and laid down the ground work for death metal it was unrefined and not representative of what was to come. From the album Human on they started adding progressive elements that really showed off Chuck's musical chops.

Neutrality

Emperor - They effectively remained a black metal band but Prometheus basically tossed aside all black metal trappings. Some hated it but I personally loved it. I love that album and their older work equally.

Pantera - They went from a standard glam metal to an influential groove metal band. I like both eras of the band.

Change for the Worst

In Flames - They went from a highly influential and pioneering melodic death metal band to something representing what is typically dubbed 'mallcore' in derision. The more recent albums ironically ape what the modern metalcore band has been doing for the past five years and In Flames is a huge influence among them.

Metallica - Black album on. I really don't bother with Death Magnetic. They're dead to me for all I care.

Morbid Angel - Great classics like Covenant and then you get to Heretic. What the fuck is that? Seriously they lost all the edge and evil and sickness they used to have. I don't even care if they're around anymore.

Machine Head - Burn My Eyes was a fantastic album. Definitely one of my favorites and then they released The More Things Change...and it went all down hill from there. They thankfully recovered with the release of Through the Ashes of Empires. Anything between those two albums basically don't exit to me.

Disillusion - Back to Times of Splendor is a brilliant album. It seems pretty heavily influenced by Opeth but I love that and consider the album to be a masterpiece. So what happened with the release of Gloria? Industrial influence seems at every measure and gone are the epic, winding passages that take a listener on a journey. I'll still await the third album but hopefully it'll be back to times of splendor. Pun definitely intended.

I feel the same way. Actually I think pretty much everyone I know who's into Death feels that they got better with each album, which makes Chuck's death all the more unfortunate.

Definitely agreeing with Knk re: Van Halen, also. Sammy Hagar is horrible, and anyone who prefers Hagar- to DLR-era Van Halen is fucking half deaf or something.

Soilwork has lost a lot of the layered melodies and keyboards/lavish production that made me really like them in the first place. They do more of a harsh garage sound now, and I'm very particular about the raw-sounding bands I'll listen to.

In that same vein, I actually really like the new direction In Flames is taking. I liked Jester's Race pretty well, but I feel like they've come into their own being a groove metal band and definitely have a great sound using more synth and polyharmony. (Full disclosure: hated Soundtrack to your Escape, half-and-half on Come Clarity, and two thumbs up for Sense of Purpose.)

Juno Reactor sure seems to have taken the piss on their last album. I was a faithful follower for a while there because of their willingness to mix genres, but it seems like they really shrank up and went more traditional techno with "Gods & Monsters". Where did the flutes, drums, and world instruments go?

Industrial Punk? What? Punk Statik Paranoia sounded pretty much the same as Vapor Transmission. The songs just weren't as good.

And for the record, Splinter came before Bloodsport, and was the best album the Sneaker Pimps ever made.

Essentially, they've spent a lot more time touring recently and a lot less time pissing about on holiday so they're making more music that would sound better live, rather than the wanky stuff with flutes and shit. It seems to make a big difference where they are when they record their stuff too. I'm pretty sure Ben said they'd been in Mexico when I saw him last so you might get some marracas on their next album. Ben's got a massively diverse music collection and taste in music though and changes his mind a lot so you should never expect any consistency of sound from Juno Reactor.

I honestly have not listened to anything on Punk Static Paranoia since I originally bought the album, so I could be wrong about the sound, but I remembered the vocals being more punk-esque and the whole thing was really just horrible.

I never heard anything off Splinter, just Becoming X and Bloodsport. Time to torrent!

The evolution of music, eh? I LOVE this sort of discussion.
I don't usually feel right to judge a musicians ideological evolution in sweeping manners, but here are a few of my thoughts on what ideas some bands may have had in their sound.


Mastodon: Oh god, I love starting here. If you listen to The Baron and DON'T have Black Sabbath scream into your mind, then I may have to send you some albums and weed for some deep thinking time :3

This band has clearly chosen the route of hard rock roots, more than anything at this point. Their riffs derived from Tony Iommi, their solo's from David Gilmour, we can only expect to hear more of those golden hard rock days of the 70's.



Radiohead: My experience with Radiohead is a little too limited, but I feel their sound changing prowess may not just be common, but a necessity. Radiohead's perpetual exploration has clearly picked up on the ears of a few other notable musicians; The clearest being Muse, the less obvious being Opeth's "Damnation", which I feel shares some similar musical, and experimentation examples.


Muse: I have too much to say about this band, and since I already likened them up thar with Radiohead, I'd rather move onto the other aspect of Muse I feel drives their general sense of musicality. Their understanding of how a band actually works together. The guitarist plays melody, the bassist ACTUALLY PLAYS A RHYTHM PART (Rather than just playing up the asshole of the guitarist or drummer), and the drummer plays without completely relying on the high hat, snare, kick combo. Many of his drum lines are very tribal in origin. By this I mean he plays heavily using the lower toms.

I won't say Muse is the greatest band that ever lived, or anything that overzealous. But I do think that they aren't going to lose their fanbase for a long time.

(Yushiro, your post only brought this to my mind

Green Day: They didn't change their sound, just their image(a big part of their problem, as I see it). People need to stop crying over this, and be less objective. Just to double check, I looked up a song of theirs I thought was from before warning. Turns out it was Boulevard of Broken Dreams. I think a better way of explaining their "downfall" was that they were adopted by another generation. People younger than those who remembered their first albums coming out, they decided to flow with the marketing (Their old fans kind of shit on them for making money with their career) and it bred even more resentment as years went on.

Just for fun, I decided to go to wikipedia and see what kind of drama I could read up on about Dookie.

It's been 15 years since they officially "Sold Out". Can't we, as a society just let it go, and talk about much worse bands....like The Sex Pistols?

I never was a big Green Day fan to begin with, but for me, I don't care that they "sold out" by going from an indie to a studio label. Band's gotta make money, no problem with that. To me, they sold out their music. I think their sound changed quite a bit; it became far more mainstream (radio-friendly) and boring, nothing as entertaining as what they started with was. Boulevard of Broken Dreams (and also The Saints Are Coming, which has some great things going on in it, but is kind of ruined by U2) is probably the only song of theirs I can tolerate from the last 10 years+. Creating songs that are more "radio-friendly" (ie. stuff the majority of boring Americans will listen to without being offended in some way) is not necessarily a bad thing if you're still creative about it, many great bands have certainly done it and still remained great (Muse being one, for instance). Green Day isn't one of those bands.

Oh Awndra. Any punk credibility you may have had?

You just pissed it out the window. Die in a fire.

Is there any process by which I can exchange it for street cred?

My point was Green Day kind of always sucked the same way, so corporate affiliation seems kind of moot as far as I can tell.

Boulevard of Broken Dreams = Here I Go Again On My Own by Whitesnake

What the hell happened after Dookie?

Bands are sorta stuck in a Catch-22. If what they are playing is great, their fans except more great music, but nothing that's the same as what they were producing before. Everyone wants things that are the same, but different, and few bands are up to the task.

Bands who stick with their sound (Modest Mouse) are underrated.

Tell me how Modest Mouse "stuck with their sound." I'm just dying to know. Because as far as I hear it, there's a drastic difference between This Is A Long Drive... and We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank.

Edit: And yes, it may be a couple days for me to notice your reply.

When I say that Modest Mouse stuck with its sound, I'm not saying that the band is one dimensional. You're telling me that their latest effort doesn't at all resemble their earlier albums? Listening to their latest EP, Modest Mouse has, at least to me, maintained a very unique style that has been somewhat consistent throughout all their albums. I'll admit We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank is somewhat of a departure from some of their earlier works. However, I'm unable to lump them with these other bands who have "changed their sound." Say what you will about their most recent releases, Modest Mouse is still Modest Mouse. I don't know if there's another band that's as easily identifiable on a single listen.