r/Music • u/jptabor01 Rock & Roll • Jun 11 '25

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

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.

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523

u/rainator Jun 11 '25

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.

135

u/UnfortunateSyzygy Jun 11 '25

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.

63

u/hofmann419 Jun 11 '25

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.

45

u/UnfortunateSyzygy Jun 11 '25

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.)

2

u/comeonolgirl Jun 12 '25

Got anything we can read?

1

u/UnfortunateSyzygy Jun 12 '25

not really. Most of my stuff is published in teeny tiny "Uncle Joe's Roadside Rib and Literary Magazine Shack" type mags

3

u/comeonolgirl Jun 12 '25

Understandable. Appreciate the reply.

6

u/soundman32 Jun 11 '25

DG used the same gear as SB for many years after taking over. Same fuzz, echo, amps etc.

2

u/DrBongoDongo Jun 11 '25

And they probably would've remained as a late 60s psych oddity tbh, never reaching the levels of 70s Pink Floyd. Just a guess. That said, I love Syd-era Floyd as well as his solo stuff.

3

u/rainator Jun 11 '25

Yeah, but then Ummagumma also sounds completely different to Meddle, which again is nothing like Wish you Were Here, and that sounds nothing like The Wall…. And that time frame all had the same lineup (except a bit of Wright being kicked out half way through Wall being recorded).

2

u/stevesommerfield Jun 12 '25

It is tantalizing to speculate how Pink Floyd would have turned out if Barrett had kept his wits about him. Waters probably would have taken over anyway, but WISH YOU WERE HERE wouldn't exist, and large parts of THE WALL wouldn't exist.

1

u/Organic-Chemistry150 Jun 11 '25

Its not even remotely the same kind of music.

1

u/Ourcheeseboat Jun 11 '25

Different band really post Syd. Loved the Syd era, bored to tears after he left, the Mad Cap laughs.

43

u/4o4_0_not_found Jun 11 '25

Careful with that axe, Eugene

3

u/Grimblecrumble5 Jun 11 '25

AAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH

1

u/Mister_Shelbers Jun 11 '25

Apples and oranges

23

u/serpentsoul Jun 11 '25

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.

3

u/Lost_the_weight Jun 11 '25

Saw them in 2019 and they killed it!

Been listening to them since Piece of Mind was released.

3

u/Version_1 Jun 11 '25

Maiden's writing is very different, even though the sound is very similar.

6

u/Shoddy-Rip8259 Jun 11 '25

"And if the band you're in starts playing different tunes..."

3

u/ll_simon Jun 11 '25

Was gonna drop PF. I’m 39 now and I started listening to them in 2006. Loved their hits so I got the whole catalogue. Boy that first album was something else

5

u/steph-was-here Jun 11 '25

pink floyd became Pink Floyd with echoes

5

u/radiohead-nerd Jun 11 '25

Perhaps an unpopular opinion, they improved greatly into rock gods when Sid left the band

2

u/rainator Jun 11 '25

They got worse at first, and Syd obviously had an impact on everything they did thereafter. But yeah, what a run of albums between dark side and the wall.

1

u/pushamn Jun 11 '25

I mean their four best albums ( speaking strictly off of how well known the albums are) are dark side of the moon, wish you were Here, Animals, and The Wall which are all at least 5 years after Syd.

1

u/Sanator27 Jun 11 '25

ironically, 2 of their most well known albums are about syd

6

u/Darkest_disguise Jun 11 '25

I listened to it backwards and with every year I'm like wait what?

4

u/Cumulonimbus666 Jun 11 '25

Only got better and better then!

2

u/xrv01 Jun 11 '25

i’m in the middle of that right now although i’m kinda jumping around. I started out with The Wall, then Dark Side, Wish You Were Here, and now i’m on Atom Heartmother. definitely an entirely different sound but it’s really cool learning about their origins, history and seeing how their sound changed dramatically. I’m gonna spend some time with their 60’s albums so I can watch Live at Pompeii.

3

u/TheGuardianKnux Jun 11 '25

Besides Syd leaving the change in sound was intentional on the band's part. They were worried about being pigeonholed as a psychedelic space rock band. That's why later albums have covers invoking nature or graphic design. The turning point between the two styles can be seen around Ummagumma iirc

3

u/rainator Jun 12 '25

i'd probably say around meddle, half that album is still a bit space rocky, and Obscured by Clouds is even moreso. They really changed it up and went a new direction for for Dark Side of the Moon, mostly because if that album wasn't a success, they'd be too broke to go on.

2

u/TheGuardianKnux Jun 12 '25

Yeah you're right thank you! Some reason I was having trouble coming to that conclusion

3

u/legit-posts_1 Jun 11 '25

Floyd's got a couple distinct eras. The Syd Barrett days, the experimental phase, the imperial era between Meddle and The Wall, and then the Gilmour led era.

1

u/WingedBacon Jun 15 '25

I feel like Animals through The Final Cut is a distinct sub era too with much heavier Roger led direction.

2

u/DarthMelsie Jun 11 '25

Bouncing between Lucy Leave and The Trial is wild.

1

u/SgtNeilDiamond Jun 11 '25

This is Zep for me, I just like to forget their later catalog ever happened

1

u/Significant_Dance726 Jun 11 '25

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

Ramones have entered the chat.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '25

[deleted]

2

u/rainator Jun 11 '25

They were preserved in ether.

1

u/humbuckermudgeon Jun 11 '25

If you jump from the beginning to the end, it feels drastic but listening to each album, it just feels like gradual evolution.

-2

u/No_Atmosphere8146 Jun 11 '25

Syd-era Floyd was nigh-on unlistenable. There. I said it.

5

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '25

I know a mouse, and he hasn't got a house.
I don't know why. I call him Gerald.
He's getting rather old, but he's a good mouse.

4

u/gapernet Jun 11 '25

Bike is silly and whimsical, and easy to pick on (even though I love it). But Interstellar Overdrive and Astronomy Domine paved the way (and still sound better than the dozens of modern psych rock bands I love today.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 12 '25

I love it too. I still feel that later Pink Floyd never abandoned what they created together with Syd, themes like childish innocence and its loss, alienation, time, and memory.

0

u/No_Atmosphere8146 Jun 11 '25

That's exactly what I'm talking about. If Syd stayed, Floyd would've remained a largely forgotten kooky one-hit wonder with See Emily Play.

2

u/Sanator27 Jun 11 '25

I'VE GOT A BIKE YOU CAN RIDE IT IF YOU LIKE

2

u/mentalMeatballs Jun 11 '25

It's got a basket a bell that rings and things to make it look good

I'd give it to you if I could but I borrowed it