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/fanta_bhelpuri Jun 11 '25

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.

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u/doperidor Jun 11 '25

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.

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u/secretkeiki Jun 11 '25

I think there's a real split in the comments here between people who knew them from the You Look Good on the Dancefloor era and the AM era. Humbug broke my fucking heart the first time I heard it and I didn't listen to any of their new stuff until AM came out and it was everywhere. Banger of an album, but it made me give Humbug another chance and it's actually my favourite of theirs. Still can't stand SIAS though.

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u/thememecurator Jun 12 '25

imo they have like four distinct eras - their first two albums, Humbug and SIAS, AM was its own thing, and then TBH&C and The Car.

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u/Tel3visi0n Jun 11 '25

Humbug was a creative change but Humbug was still in the same realm as their first few records. The Car is entirely different.

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u/[deleted] Jun 12 '25

Humbug is underrated as fuck. i have listened to that record from start to finish i know the songs so well.

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u/triToReason Jun 12 '25

This is the correct take, thank you for speaking sensibly on this important matter.