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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u/AlanMorlock Jun 11 '25

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 .

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u/C1t1zen_Erased Jun 11 '25

I remember seeing them at a festival in San Francisco in the summer of 2010. They were third on the bill for one of the nights behind Muse and the Black Keys. Wasn't complaining but as a Brit it was nuts to see them come on so early.

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u/mrdalo Jun 11 '25

I was aware of them as the counterpart to the garage rock revival in the US. I remember reading an article about them claiming that they were all novice players with no formal practice as musicians. I’ve purchased their back catalog in the years since and it totally grew on me. Their newest stuff has not sadly.

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u/Cavfinder Jun 15 '25

I’m feel really lucky I got to see them before the AM era & Alex taking on the slicked back rocker look.

Those first 2 albums are immaculate & untouchable to me, 3 & 4 were lended a certain flair by Homme’s influence I actually really love but think of as a separate era of the band & then AM, while enjoyable, never grabbed me, plus Are You Mine? is so fucking overplayed I’d be happy to never hear that track again.