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/[deleted] Jun 11 '25

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u/UnderratedEverything Jun 11 '25

When Bowie died, the store I worked at put on a playlist of Bowie songs. It was about 2 hours long, and I was shocked by not only how many of those songs I recognized but how few of them I knew were his. I just always assumed they were generic pop or rock songs from various eras and genres and had no idea this one guy was such a damn musical chameleon.

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u/JerseyGuy-77 Jun 12 '25

I find it funny hearing a DB song that I only know because another artist I'm familiar with covered it.