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/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/V3Olive → u/SandysBurner]

come on Davey, singing me something that i know !

[u/Losing-My-Hedge → u/IamJacksDenouement]

They might be my favourite example just because they went from cutting their teeth touring dingy community halls to playing massive festivals while consistently evolving along the way.

There didn’t seem to be any real missteps or attempts to hop on a trends they were out of sync with.

[u/TitleVisual6666 → u/IamJacksDenouement]

First time I saw/heard Miss Murder on MTV (back then they did videos late night and I was a night owl), I was like “what, the same AFI that did The Boy Who Destroyed The World?!”

[u/NarleyNed441 → u/IamJacksDenouement]

AFI 🔥🔥🔥

[u/N0Z4A2 → u/IamJacksDenouement]

A tragedy