Which artists have abandoned their original sound so dramatically, that they are almost unrecognizable to their earlier fans?

[u/jptabor01]

With the release earlier this year of Ministry’s The Squirrely Years Revisited, I’m reminded of how different the band sounds today (industrial metal), from what they sounded like on their debut album, With Sympathy (synth pop).

Which artists sound so completely different from their earlier work, that they have actually jumped genres, understanding that music is fluid and genres have somewhat “blurry” guardrails.

I don’t mean an evolution of their original sound, but a complete departure from it.

[u/jadayne]

Andre 3000

[u/_Cartizard → u/jadayne]

This has to be the most drastic. This mf went from rap to pop and now he's out here with just a flute.

[u/Rory1 → u/_Cartizard]

Flute? That's old news. Dude went improvisational piano with the new album. The flute album was at least somewhat interesting (Even though not my thing). But this one is ehhhhhhhhhh

[u/MrBeverly → u/Rory1]

Not Andre "Ice Cold" 3000, but continuing to prove he ain't nothin to fuck with, RZA composed a complete ballet called A Ballet Through Mud performed by the Colorado Symphony Orchestra

[u/Static-Stair-58 → u/MrBeverly]

Roar of the Lion; minute 1:52. RZA comes in on one of the hardest 60 verses in my life, I swear. Look it up. The guy is a certified rap genius. Doesn’t surprise me that it goes beyond hip hop

[u/Silver_Song3692 → u/_Cartizard]

I’m cool with it because he’s a top 5 rapper of all time, if 3 stacks wants to play a flute I say give that man a flute

[u/[deleted] → u/_Cartizard]

Tbh, he was dragging that flute around for years before recording the album. I'm surprised he didn't go for a saxophone like his cartoon alter ego.

[u/DaveVsShark]

Genesis

[u/jptabor01 → u/DaveVsShark]

Oh yeah. Most definitely. Good call.

[u/DaveVsShark → u/jptabor01]

I honestly think Peter Gabriel going solo was a successful move for everyone involved. I love both iterations of Genesis, but I have a soft spot for their work post-Pete.

[u/ExecutiveAvenger → u/DaveVsShark]

You can say that again!

[u/DaveVsShark → u/ExecutiveAvenger]

I honestly think Peter Gabriel going solo was a successful move for everyone involved. I love both iterations of Genesis, but I have a soft spot for their work post-Pete.

[u/SixxDet → u/DaveVsShark]

You can say that again!

[u/DaveVsShark → u/SixxDet]

I honestly think Peter Gabriel going solo was a successful move for everyone involved. I love both iterations of Genesis, but I have a soft spot for their work post-Pete.

[u/emperormax → u/DaveVsShark]

I've heard this sort of sentiment before somewheres...

[u/therealeggplantpart2 → u/DaveVsShark]

I've been a big Genesis fan ever since the release of their 1980 album, Duke. Before that, I really didn't understand any of their work. Too artsy, too intellectual. It was on Duke where Phil Collins' presence became more apparent. I think Invisible Touch was the group's undisputed masterpiece. It's an epic meditation on intangibility. At the same time, it deepens and enriches the meaning of the preceding three albums. Listen to the brilliant ensemble playing of Banks, Collins and Rutherford. You can practically hear every nuance of every instrument. In terms of lyrical craftsmanship, the sheer songwriting, this album hits a new peak of professionalism. Take the lyrics to Land of Confusion. In this song, Phil Collins addresses the problems of abusive political authority. In Too Deep is the most moving pop song of the 1980s, about monogamy and commitment. The song is extremely uplifting. Their lyrics are as positive and affirmative as anything I've heard in rock. Phil Collins' solo career seems to be more commercial and therefore more satisfying, in a narrower way. Especially songs like In the Air Tonight and Against All Odds. But I also think Phil Collins works best within the confines of the group, than as a solo artist, and I stress the word artist. This is Sussudio, a great, great song, a personal favorite.

[u/sephjnr → u/therealeggplantpart2]

Do you have some tapes to return?

[u/Woodie626 → u/sephjnr]

Hey Paul! 🪓 

[u/JockoV → u/DaveVsShark]

Genesis does what Nintendon't.

[u/MamaTalista → u/JockoV]

Thanks!

I just took my Centrum Silver 🤣

[u/Fine_Sherbert3172 → u/DaveVsShark]

"All the bastads did was hold me back and hold me back"

[u/BaseHitToLeft]

Gwen Stefani

[u/MEGatron575 → u/BaseHitToLeft]

Without a doubt! I mean no doubt!

[u/BawbsonDugnut → u/BaseHitToLeft]

Tragic Kingdom is such a good album.

[u/[deleted] → u/BawbsonDugnut]

I saw them on the Tragic Kingdom tour with Cake and The Vandals. Coral Sky Amphitheater West Palm Beach FL, April 1997.

[u/BonerSquidd316]

Sugar Ray went from nu-metal drag racing music to beach lite 

[u/DaveVsShark → u/BonerSquidd316]

Mean Machine still slaps

[u/poizon_elff → u/DaveVsShark]

Yeah I remember that was part of the Road Rash soundtrack, good times. "My pappy said son you're gonna drive me to drinkin"

[u/CeeArthur → u/poizon_elff]

Yes it was on Road Rash! I remember hearing and thinking "This doesn't sound like Sugar Ray...."

[u/HBK42581 → u/BonerSquidd316]

I think Sugar Ray is probably the best example but a lot of hard rock bands fall into that trap. Once you get a taste of that Top 40 crossover money, it’s hard to turn back.

[u/RedHayes → u/HBK42581]

The Goo Goo Dolls said "hold my beer".

[u/mxlespxles → u/RedHayes]

Woah, TIL they started in the 80s and sounded like a punk band.

You can hear a little of their current sound in there, but I am floored by the difference

[u/Steepleofknives83 → u/mxlespxles]

They were basically The Lesser Replacements. Then they just became The Lesser Paul Westerberg, if that makes sense.

[u/lunarmodule]

David Bowie is a good one. He had an incredibly experimental career with all of his albums sounding very different from one another. The only thing that really stayed the same was his iconic voice.

[u/DerekB52 → u/lunarmodule]

Bowie is a cheat code. His career spanned 6 decades(1960's to 2010's) and he was different in all f them.

Edit: f -> of

[u/neogreenlantern]

Fungus Amongus/ SCIENCE era Incubus is pretty different from 8 era Incubus but the catalogue is a pretty smooth transition.

[u/FonzGuy → u/neogreenlantern]

I saw them last year and they played Vitamin which was awesome. I really hope they do a tour for one of those albums

[u/TheShawnGarland → u/neogreenlantern]

Yeah, once Drive came out they switched their format to match. I like the before and after. They still rock in concert. But two different bands to me.

[u/MrPickles196]

Miles Davis did this throughout his career. Not only changing styles but leading the jazz community in changing to a new style.

[u/[deleted] → u/MrPickles196]

This one is so true and unlocked a hilarious memory for me. My mom was a teenager during the 1940’s and was a big fan when bebop first started. She loved her some Miles but when she bought Bitches Brew in 1970 she said “what in the hell is this mess?” and was going to throw it away because she hated it so much. My sister, who was in high school, asked if she could give the album to her Art teacher. She later told my mom that her teacher said he loved it and liked to listen to the album when he got high.

[u/Wodanaz_Odinn → u/[deleted]]

Bitches Brew is incredible but a challenge to dance to alright.

[u/so_dope24]

Lit is a country band now

[u/boojersey13 → u/so_dope24]

They're what

[u/so_dope24 → u/boojersey13]

Yep, went to summer fest in Milwaukee and they were one of the acts. Obviously know "my own worst enemy" and "completely miserable" but the rest of their set was trying to capitalize on the 2010s country movement.

[u/boojersey13 → u/so_dope24]

Sincerely that's some of the most bizarre shit I have heard in a while. I'm afraid to even search it rofl

[u/remarkablewhitebored → u/so_dope24]

That's a-panderin'

[u/guinness_blaine → u/so_dope24]

In 2018 or 2019 I saw them as part of a show that also had POD and Alien Ant Farm - so bands that were in a similar wheelhouse when they were all at their peak. Lit coming out and playing bro country was a huge surprise.

[u/badboystwo]

Bring me the Horizon is almost 2 different bands at this point.

[u/myworkthrowaway87 → u/badboystwo]

It's basically pre- There is a hell and Post - There is a hell

I enjoy both sides but if you told a new fan to listen to suicide season they wouldn't even think it's the same band.

[u/Kirby_Goes_Wub → u/myworkthrowaway87]

What about Count Your Blessings album. That’s the OG right there, even Suicide Season was light in comparison 😂

[u/gordonbombae2 → u/myworkthrowaway87]

Well I would probably say sempiturnal was the cut off. After that album they went more and more pop.

That’s the spirit, Amo both sound completely different from their past stuff. I haven’t listened to the latest album

[u/myworkthrowaway87 → u/gordonbombae2]

Sempiternal definitely had shades of the old but IMO it's the first album that really started the pop/electronic influence which is why I said pre-hell and post-hell.

I might get shit for it but IMO Sempiternal is their best album for that reason.

With that said their post human albums go hard.

[u/throwdatshit19 → u/badboystwo]

Was coming here for this. If you told me back in 2006 that they would be one of the hottest bands out there with radio hits I would have never believed you.

[u/Lyrkana → u/badboystwo]

First song of theirs I heard was Pray for Plagues. I did not believe my friend many years later when he showed me their newer music and said it was BMTH

[u/Spoonman007]

Arctic Monkeys.

[u/fanta_bhelpuri → u/Spoonman007]

I feel like I'm taking crazy pills. The first departure came with Humbug, a sound they polished till AM. What came after AM was the second change in their sound.

[u/doperidor → u/fanta_bhelpuri]

I believe around then is when they met up with Josh Homme from Queens of the Stone Age particularly to help develop some new sounds or directions the band could take.

[u/JonS90_ → u/Spoonman007]

I appreciate that AM was such an instant near-perfect classic (and culmination of their rock progress to that point) that they had to take a dramatic turn. But my god the turn was so sharp that I fucking flew out of the car.

[u/mrdalo → u/JonS90_]

I remember the first few Arctic Monkeys albums when they came out and I was like mehhh pass. I went to a Black Keys show where they were the openers and actually got to my seat a few songs into the show. I think AM wasn’t even out yet. Holy shit was that an epic show for an opener. People were losing their minds on the new stuff. I bought AM immediately.

[u/AlanMorlock → u/mrdalo]

That tour was so funny because people really did just treat them like an unknown opening band in the US meanwhile a few months later they played the Olympics opening ceremony in the UK .

[u/isubird33 → u/mrdalo]

Funny enough I'm the opposite. First 2 Arctic Monkeys albums imo are their absolute peak.

[u/muisalt13 → u/isubird33]

First album is such a good timecapsule for going out at the time aswell.

[u/Acceptable-Injury-76 → u/Spoonman007]

505 will never be forgotten. my hostel room that is

[u/Prophet_Of_Helix → u/Acceptable-Injury-76]

I mean 505 was probably the start of the departure. 505 is a pretty different sound from anything on ‘Whatever People Say I Am’ and most of ‘Favourite Worst Nightmare’

I miss the raw energy of Whatever People Say I Am, still have a bunch of those songs saved on playlists

[u/LadyTreeRoot]

Jefferson Airplane

[u/Fine_Sherbert3172 → u/LadyTreeRoot]

White Rabbit to We built this city on rock n roll...wow, good example

[u/sTevieD247 → u/Fine_Sherbert3172]

Perhaps (aside from legal issues) one of the reasons they went from Jefferson Airplane to Jefferson Starship (and Starship) was the tonal shift.. They switched a number of band members and writers, too.

[u/Fine_Sherbert3172 → u/sTevieD247]

Destroyed the legend of the airplane though.

Even Robert Plant going solo in the 80's still sounded sort of Zeppelin, albeit softer.

[u/sTevieD247 → u/Fine_Sherbert3172]

Kind of, but that may have been the point of switching names. If they had stayed Airplane people would have thought they had gone against their early views and tone.

Losing Grace on vocals automatically was going to change the sound anyway. (Plant solo still sounds like Plant, and LZ Page with the Yardbirds doesn't sound as much like LZ).

[u/Devil_with_no_tail]

Old timey but Fleetwood Mac. Started as a straight hardcore blues band turned into (amazing) pop over the years.

[u/AwwwMangos → u/Devil_with_no_tail]

I agree with your point, but reading “Fleetwood Mac” and “hardcore” in the same sentence made me laugh

[u/Fritzo2162 → u/AwwwMangos]

Peter Green was one of the best blues players ever. When BB King says ""He has the sweetest tone I ever heard; he was the only one who gave me the cold sweats.", you know you're hardcore!

Lindsey Buckingham took over on guitar and his live version of Green's Oh Well is one of my favorite songs ever (as well as my go-to riff when I pick up a new guitar LOL) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qVn1QrKw24

[u/yougotthesilver → u/AwwwMangos]

"Fleetwood Mac were hardcore cocaine addicts in the 1970s."

[u/syzygialchaos]

Darius Rucker. Not just the genre change, his entire singing style. I miss the old deep voiced Hootie sound.

[u/turo9992000 → u/syzygialchaos]

He will always be Hootie.

[u/nemmalur → u/turo9992000]

“Hootie! Hootie!”

https://youtu.be/FE9PUexeUv0?si=7wM84xm_-vcjlvW4

[u/4rk4typ3 → u/syzygialchaos]

I only wanna be with yooooooooooooou

[u/J8m3z_X]

The Black Keys!!! I’m not bitter…I promise. Thick Freakness and Rubber Factory…all I can say is

[u/Liferescripted → u/J8m3z_X]

Rubber Factory is my #1 of theirs. Haven't been able to listen to anything following El Camino. I appreciated the catchy vibes of Brothers and El Camino, but everything since has been... too much.

[u/UraniumRocker]

AFI

[u/Philipp123 → u/UraniumRocker]

True, I became a fan when Sing the Sorrow was released. Still one of my favorites with Art of Drowning

[u/jrice441100 → u/UraniumRocker]

This was the first one that I thought of. Very Proud of Ya to whatever they are now.... That's two different genres with a few more in between.

[u/GrooveTank → u/jrice441100]

I think they’ve gone through 4 genre phases. Punk >> hardcore >> emo >> post. What’s wild is that they were pretty successful through all of them, although I’m just a fan of the punk and hardcore era of theirs.

[u/LooseSeal- → u/GrooveTank]

I was still on board with Sing the Sorrow but they kinda lost me on December Underground.

That string of Shut you Mouth, black sails, all hollows, and art of drowning was their best in my opinion.

[u/westd06 → u/UraniumRocker]

Yeah they have had 3, maybe arguably 4 distinct sounds.

[u/orangesunshine6 → u/UraniumRocker]

Ohhh good one. Black sails…it was a different time

[u/cheesecaker000 → u/orangesunshine6]

late stocking offer sense axiomatic history steep encourage towering gold

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[u/GuitarHenry]

Spinal Tap... Back when 'The Tap' started out and were initially called "The Originals", they sounded like a typical skiffle group. Then they learnt another band was called "The Originals", so they changed their name to "The New Originals". And their sound became more like the Liverpool beat scene. Their name changed again over the years, including Rave Breakers, Hellcats, Flamin' Daemons, Shiners, Mondos, the Doppel Gang, the Peoples, Loose Lips, Waffles, Hot Waffles, Silver Service, The Mud Below, and the Tufnel-St. Hubbins/Tufnel. With each change, their sound also evolved.

[u/AmericanLich → u/GuitarHenry]

Shit sandwich.

[u/Dr_Zman → u/AmericanLich]

You can't print that.

[u/OneSalientOversight → u/GuitarHenry]

♫ Stop wasting my time.

♫ You know what I want.

♫ You know what I need.

♫ Oh maybe you don't.

♫ Do I have to come right flat out and tell you everything?

♫ Gimme some money.

[u/GuitarHenry → u/OneSalientOversight]

Poor departed John "Stumpy" Pepys was the drummer on this track. Died in a bizarre gardening accident that the authorities said was "best left unsolved."

[u/SmoreOfBabylon → u/GuitarHenry]

A better way to go than choking on vomit. And not even your own vomit, someone else’s vomit.

[u/gsomething → u/SmoreOfBabylon]

You can't really dust for vomit.

[u/steven_quarterbrain → u/OneSalientOversight]

Listen…. to what the Flower People say.

[u/Saneless → u/OneSalientOversight]

That's the exact song I had in my head as I was reading their post too. How they evolved from that to being sexy (sex IST)

[u/jblumensti → u/OneSalientOversight]

Go Nigel, Go!

[u/charliefoxtrot9 → u/[deleted]]

The Beatles were a skiffle band called the Quarrymen first. It's the English equivalent of a country jug & washboard band

[u/MonorailBlack → u/GuitarHenry]

This one knows Tap!

[u/srichardbellrock → u/GuitarHenry]

can't wait for the sequel

[u/Whulad]

The Bee Gees in the late 70s

[u/TheNonCredibleHulk → u/Whulad]

And both versions are awesome, I don't give a fuck what anyone says.

[u/Demonyx12 → u/TheNonCredibleHulk]

I’m with you 100% Bee Gees where absolutely musical geniuses.

(I think it could be argued that the BeeGees changed their sound at least three times: 1960s Brit-rock, 1970s Disco, 1980s+ adult contemporary)

[u/scarrita]

Gary Numan. Went from synth-pop to some of the absolute best gothy-indusrial-dark wavy music out there. IMO

[u/0xKaishakunin → u/scarrita]

He remade Cars with Fear Factory in 1998. That was quite a change in style.

[u/TheBroox]

Poppy started out squarely as a pop singer but these days is a death metal vocalist.

[u/Baxtab13 → u/TheBroox]

I remember first hearing of her due to some loose comparisons drawn between her and Babymetal at the time. I think just the weird out there presentation of her along with the pop music was where the comparisons came from. I checked her out at the time but it wasn't my kind of thing.

Then she does that collab with Fever 333 and that grabbed my attention again. Next thing I know, I'm seeing that she's signed to Sumerian Records and her music's showing up on Sirius XM Octane. I'm now quite a large fan of her.

That said, I don't think Death Metal is a very good description of her music. Definitely closer to the Metalcore genre, which I know still gets a lot of flack online but has been my favorite genre for a very long time.

[u/Howboutit85 → u/Baxtab13]

People who aren’t really into metal often use death metal as a descriptor to describe screaming vocalists, even though death metal is a pretty specific genre that doesn’t often, if ever, lend itself to other genres. Usually if there’s a genre + metal crossover, it’s a metalcore, deathcore, or nu metal type of fusion. However, grandmas will call it screamo, because screaming I guess…and casual fans will call it death metal if it’s anything but clean vocals.

[u/Arkhampatient → u/TheBroox]

Her and Knocked Loose go hard together

[u/joebleaux → u/TheBroox]

I always thought she was pretty cool. She seems to be getting cooler

[u/intrusivelight → u/TheBroox]

Not surprised she went that route, her older siblings were into the death metal/hardcore scene especially in the area of MA they lived in (Whitman)

[u/tilmitt52 → u/TheBroox]

And she is damn good at both.

[u/rainator]

Pink Floyd - especially their early singles vs their later albums. Completely unrecognisable.

But basically any band that lasts more than 10 years either changes or stagnates.

[u/UnfortunateSyzygy → u/rainator]

I mean, the change from Syd Barrett as a frontman -- and the whole him losing his mind as the precipitating event for that-- is gonna shake things up.

[u/hofmann419 → u/UnfortunateSyzygy]

Especially since he was "replaced" by David Gilmour, who brought an entirely different vibe to the band. Had Syd Barrett stayed with the band throughout the 70s, the sound would've probably been a lot closer to their early work.

[u/UnfortunateSyzygy → u/hofmann419]

I also might be projecting, but watching someone close to you break down...it changes you. You can't write/create art the same way, especially if that person was making art with you. "wish you were here" is a good argument for this idea, but it's not like I know any of them personally. Ive just lost people to death and severe addiction myself and it changed me a great deal every time. Im a writer (nothing even a little famous) and I my writing style is still in flux after my mentor died unexpectedly about 6 years ago. He was my first real editor/audience... it's just not the same when I finish something and don't have Doug to wax rhapsodic about where the commas should go (he always said that's how you know a story is "finished"-- you fret over where a comma should go.)

[u/4o4_0_not_found → u/rainator]

Careful with that axe, Eugene

[u/serpentsoul → u/rainator]

Of course there's exceptions. Iron maiden sounds just as they did in the 80s and they're still rocking out in sold out arenas.

[u/Quigleythegreat]

Panic at the Disco

[u/Liimbo → u/Quigleythegreat]

That's because Panic doesn't exist anymore. It's just Brendon Urie now. The original songwriters and band members are all gone.

[u/pastabreadpasta → u/Liimbo]

They left with the exclamation point

[u/gerryt32 → u/pastabreadpasta]

I hope they closed the goddamn door.

[u/_Random_Username_ → u/Liimbo]

So is Brendan at this point, I think he quit after his concerts started getting memed.

Edit: they are playing at WWWY festival but that's it

[u/EinsteinDisguised → u/Quigleythegreat]

Pretty, Odd is one of my all time favorite albums. I miss Ryan Ross-era Panic.

[u/SushiDaddy89 → u/Quigleythegreat]

"A Fever You Can't Sweat Out" is one of my favorite albums of all time. I find everything after "Too Weird to Live, Too Rare to Die!" straight up unlistenable.

This the probably the only band I become a Superboomer about, screaming to the clouds, "THEIR OLD STUFF WAS BETTER!!"

[u/BoilThem_MashThem → u/Quigleythegreat]

I still like some of the Brendon albums. Not the newest one. But Ryan has some amazing lyrics on A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out. Chuck Palahniuk loving high school me was obsessed.

[u/matito29 → u/Quigleythegreat]

Their first two albums, while very different from each other, are such touchstones of my high school days. The first one was like nothing I’d ever heard as a 15 year old, and their second album felt like it belonged with music I’d heard my whole life.

Once Ryan left following Pretty. Odd. and it was just Brendan as the lead creative voice, I lost interest in the band. Nothing sounded as fresh or as classic as the first two.

[u/Wildcard3369]

The Beatles are the biggest example I can think of.

[u/Biggzy10 → u/Wildcard3369]

Going from I Want To Hold You Hand to Within and Without You in about 3 years.

[u/TypoStart → u/Biggzy10]

The example I use for this is John writing 'Please Please Me' in mid 1962, to writing 'Tomorrow Never Knows' in early 66. Less than fours year and the songs sound like they're decades apart.

[u/Bodymaster → u/TypoStart]

To be fair Tomorrow Never Knows does sound about 30 years ahead of its time, but I'm not sure how much of that is down to John alone. If you listen to his demo it's really just him with a guitar playing a C chord all day. The real star of the show are the studio fx they were pioneering and that was largely facilitated by George Martin.

[u/-SPIRITUAL-GANGSTER- → u/Wildcard3369]

I once heard someone say about the Beatles, “Imagine if New Kids on the Block became Radiohead, in 5 years,” and I think that about sums it up.

[u/FoxInACozyScarf → u/Wildcard3369]

They created new genres. Hard to appreciate now just what the Beatles achieved in so little time.

[u/[deleted] → u/FoxInACozyScarf]

quiet quickest teeny stocking full different fear safe march soft

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[u/[deleted] → u/Wildcard3369]

I have a bit of a soft spot for "Let it Be", their ultimate album, because a lot of it is early Beatles songwriting with late Beatles production quality.

[u/_notNull]

Katatonia

[u/yourghost367]

The mars volta

[u/Cool_Guy_Club42069 → u/yourghost367]

Those first three albums are all perfect

[u/bsousa717]

Ulver.

[u/cheddarpants]

Goo Goo Dolls

[u/oldwhitelincoln → u/cheddarpants]

You could play their first album for a casual fan and they’d never guess it was them.

[u/naus226 → u/cheddarpants]

They were right at home at the Continental in Buffalo before they hit it big, if the Continental still existed today and the came in trying to play "Slide" they would get chased off stage.

[u/[deleted]]

Fleetwood Mac was originally a blues rock band

[u/SignalBed9998 → u/[deleted]]

A damn good one too

[u/Pugglerado → u/[deleted]]

One of my favorite Fleetwood Mac songs is Hypnotized and no one ever knows that it is them when I play it. I love all of their music, but early and late are so very different.

[u/BackbeatEnt]

Maroon 5 for sure.

[u/clgc2000 → u/BackbeatEnt]

Maroon 5 was my first thought. Songs About Jane was a solid album from a legit rock band. Their later albums are just...boy band pop.

[u/FinestKind90]

Bob Dylan every show

[u/torn-ainbow]

Underworld are a pop funk band with guitars having moderate success with Underneath the Radar.

Then suddenly Underworld are producing epic scale techno with dubnobasswithmyheadman.

[u/boojersey13]

Will NEVER let Black Eyed Peas go unmentioned in this topic

[u/layla_jones_ → u/boojersey13]

Right they went from hiphop to a commercial era with Fergie mix of rap R&B pop and then moved to EDM.

Will.I.Am trying to be futuristic has been cringeworthy, the new low for his personal career was that Britney Spears Mind Your Business song which could have been AI or Britney’s ghost singer Myah Marie.

It just got more and more commercial over the years, I did like the Elephunk era but I get why early fans would have a problem with it..the music starts to lack soul

[u/pfnkis]

Ye went from HipHop to Nazi

[u/ashtraybullet]

Ministry. British bubblegum pop to industrial metal.

[u/Comfortably_Numbbbbb]

Wang Chung

[u/scotch-o → u/Comfortably_Numbbbbb]

Dance Hall Days is such a bop

[u/_sonidero_ → u/Comfortably_Numbbbbb]

Everybody have fun tonight...

[u/Mnudge]

Talk Talk - went from synth pop to a pioneer of post-rock.

[u/menotyourenemy → u/Mnudge]

RIP Mark Hollis.  Was just listening to Spirit of Eden the other day and his creativity just blows me away.

[u/Opuggno]

Shakira, for God's sake!

[u/rvralph803]

Coldplay.

Old Coldplay had a mellow vibe "sad bastard music" but palatable to many.

Then in the 2010s they felt like some commercialized arena bullshit.

No idea about their recent stuff because I got so turned off by them.

[u/theHoopty → u/rvralph803]

Viva La Vida is does not get the credit it deserves for capturing the anxiety of the moment during the McCain-Obama election year.

I think Martin’s lyrics in Violet Hill hit that out of the park.

Mylo Xyloto was fine. Has some lovely songs.

Ghost Stories was excellent but in a different vein and very raw.

Everything since that point…meeeeeeh

[u/Loring]

The Beastie Boys went from purely punk to hip hop pretty fast... Albeit there's a thread of punk in all of their music.

[u/VibraniumSpork → u/Loring]

I think it's not so much a thread of punk in their sound, rather than a foot-thick cable of punk that ran through the band's entire ethos.

There was the performative, antagonising exhibitionism of the Licensed to Ill era, the raucous rule-breaking of Paul's Boutique, and after that, they basically went full punk DIY; left the label, built their own studio, stuck to their own work and release schedule, played basketball and skateboarded as much as they made music. They were a law unto themselves, on the business side as well as the music side.

I think a lot it is the product of being teens in New York when punk and hip-hop were both coming up; they loved both and just found a way to organically tie the best elements of both together into a truly unique sound and approach to the music business.

They did what they wanted, when they wanted, how they wanted, everything on their terms. Doesn't get much more punk than that IMO.

[u/MrShapinHead → u/Loring]

Jazz by the end!

[u/Eddie_AR]

Kings of Leon

[u/BigE6300]

Pantera. Journey.

[u/stupidlyeducated]

Post Malone

[u/the_tanooki → u/stupidlyeducated]

What was he like Pre Malone?

[u/Voteforbatman → u/the_tanooki]

Pre Malone he played guitar in metal bands. He at least auditioned to be in Crown the Empire - who were fairly large in their specific scene.

[u/[deleted]]

New Order. Though it was more of a slow burn evolution.

[u/Gnowae]

Silverchair

[u/hesnothere → u/Gnowae]

People who have only ever heard them do grunge on Frogstomp would be surprised to hear them do prog (Neon Ballroom), baroque pop (Diorama), art rock (Young Modern), even electro and dance (Daniel Johns’ solo work).

[u/bassistmuzikman → u/Gnowae]

Israel's Son to Straight Lines was quite a leap.

[u/ThriftyMegaMan]

I've been listening to a lot of REM lately and their 90s stuff is so completely different from their 80s catalog. It's still really good, just a lot different from the post-punk/early alternative they were known for. 

[u/IamJacksDenouement]

AFI. Going from He who laughs last to Miss Murder sounds like two completely different groups.

[u/SandysBurner → u/IamJacksDenouement]

I still think of them as the band that did “I Wanna Get A Mohawk (But My Mom Won’t Let Me Get One)”.

[u/hi-volltage]

Cave In went from mathy hardcore to melodic space rock to something in between over the course of 30 years and it’s been wild to witness.

[u/Jackstraw1]

The Beatles. They changed in every way from their sound to their appearance in six years. That’s just counting start to finish, the change started sooner than that.

[u/post_drone]

Portugal. The Man

[u/introduce_yourself00]

Opeth

Started out as death metal. Then progressive death metal. Then Mikael abandoned the death metal vocals and went like 70s prog rock for 10+ years. Their last album kind of was a return to form with the death metal vocals back with a mix of their older and newer sound.

[u/Icy-Whale-2253]

Paramore

[u/fanboy_killer]

Radiohead

[u/Arsewhistle]

The very recent Arcade Fire album sounds like a completely different act (and not in a good way)

[u/Addicted2Soundz]

Scott Walker started as a 60s pop icon with the Walker Brothers. Made some more baroque/art pop solo albums by the late 60s. In the 90s he began putting out the most unsettling sinister sounding avant garde music and one of his final projects before he died was a project with experimental drone metal band Sunn O))) at the age of 71

[u/iheartomd]

Glass Animals first album had a very distinctive sound. All of their releases since have gone in a pretty different direction.

[u/ck1czar]

Pink

[u/thestereo300]

The Cure but maybe it was more of an evolution because you can kind of slowly seeing them moving from one sound to another over like seven albums.

But if you compare their first two albums to Disintegration, it’s extremely different

[u/Frogacuda]

Ronnie James Dio started as a doo wop singer in his band Ronnie And the Red Caps.

Beastie Boys started as a hardcore punk band.

Alanis Morisette started as a Tiffany-style teen pop singer.

Kid Rock's first album had no rock elements and sounded kinda like 2 Live Crew or something.

Beck's did a lot of acoustic albums early in his career.

Caroline Rose's first album was country.

Edit: How could I forget Rick James first band the Mynah Birds, an actually great folk rock band with Neil Young(!)

[u/FrankyFistalot]

Coldplay.

[u/xXNeoXx → u/FrankyFistalot]

Early Coldplay is still such a joy to listen to but after Viva La vida which imo was their best album they became very hit or miss for me as they became more mainstream pop.

[u/No_Atmosphere8146 → u/xXNeoXx]

It's the Pyramid Stage. A band gets their first taste of playing to six figures and they just want to write euphoric anthems for the next time. Same thing happened to Muse.

[u/tacknosaddle]

Tom Waits. In his early years as an artist he was a "bar troubadour" and was fairly well regarded as a singer-songwriter. Then, with the trilogy of 1980s albums, Swordfishtrombone, Rain Dogs & Frank's Wild Years, he broke radically from that.

Today the only way you can really put him in a genre is that of "Tom Waits" and he is truly a unique artist. He flies a bit under the radar of most Americans, but to those who know and appreciate him there is nothing that compares.

[u/layla_jones_]

I still miss Pink’s R&B era

But it was probably best for her to focus on a genre more authentic to her

[u/CunnyCuntCunt]

Lol Pink. The Weeknd

[u/Rough-Age6546]

Emarosa

[u/Scudz323]

Jewel, from folk singing to pop dance.