Bands that drastically altered their sound

[VerbalPuke]

This topic was inspired by my own post in the "Top 20 Rap Groups" thread. It's basically a question of which bands that you enjoy changed their sound drastically for better or for worse? Did a rock group decide to experiment with hip hop and find their niche? Did a metal group switch to an upbeat jazzy sound that absolutely sucked? What do we have?

Firstly, I'm going with the Beastie Boys. Hip hop and rock and roll fans alike appreciate these guys because they have managed to do both at a high quality level. I've always loved the Beastie Boys, but everytime I listen to their album "Some Old Bullshit", I can't help but think what made them decide to switch to hip hop? Their early stuff was as punk rock as you can get, playing with bands like Kraut, Reagan Youth, and Bad Brains during the second golden age of CBGB's.

However, I'm torn on their transition. On one hand, I absolutely love that Some Old Bullshit album (I even have an old demo of a live performance from CBGB's that found it's way to recordings). Those who know me well enough on EWB know how much of a punk music guy that I am. They may be surprised to know that I'm glad the Beastie Boys made the transition to hip hop. It was obviously a brilliant move for purposes of finance and notoriety (if the Beastie Boys stuck with the hardcore punk formula, they would probably be another archived punk band long forgotten much like Even Worse, Heart Attack, or Mob. Well, forgotten by people that don't dig deep for the obscure shit).

Beyond that reasoning, I fucking loved what the Beastie Boys did on albums like Check Your Head, Liscensed to Ill, Paul's Boutique, and Ill Communication. Their hip hop is so much more enjoyable than the typical paint by numbers "Fuck yo ass nigga" type of hip hop (not to make a generalization, but a lot of it seemed to follow that pattern). On top of that, they never did forget their roots, as they incorporated songs like "Heart Attack Man" and "Tough Guy" onto the Ill Communication album. Musically, their hip hop is slightly superior to the harder punk that they recorded.

As a bit of trivia, Kate (don't know her last name) was the original drummer for the Beastie Boys during the punk years. She later went on to join the band Luscious Jackson, who had a few hits in the 90s.

In contrast, why did T.S.O.L. move from great hardcore punk to that shitty dark, gothic sort of rock they did later on? The darker stuff was absolutely boring, and never did bring the same energy that they had on the album Weathered Statues.

So EWB, what can you come up with?

[ErikBN3012]

The two bands I can think of off the top of my head made the transition from more poppy punk to more alternative music I guess.

Brand New is one that I'm sure people will go with right away. Their first album was about as pop as can be, as a lot of the songs were catchier and complained about girls and whatnot. Then Deja Entendu came out and it shocked me how much they changed. Their lyrics got darker, and their sound got edgier I guess. I think they made the transition well, and enjoy both albums just as much... though it's strange to think of them as the same band.

Another band that did a similar thing is the band Midtown. They're first couple albums were again pretty much straight pop punk. Good stuff. Then their new album came out and it was pretty good, but definitely not as good as their old stuff. Darker music for sure.

[Evil Chase K]

Pantera. Sure it was only 1, maybe 2 records...but it was still quite a change.

[K]

Best Beastie Boys Post ever.

I have the Some Old Bullshit album you mentioned, as well as the Aglio E Olio collection which is just awesome to listen to. It's eleven tracks with a total run time of six minutes. But what a six minutes.

Yeah. Huge Beasties Fan, happy they switched to hip hop.

[sirdavinator]

Carcass. From grindcore/death metal band chock full with medical terms you've never heard of, to melodic death metal band.

[The Third Dukes]

How about the Beatles, who went from proto-boy band sound to psychedelic Eastern music? Bonus points because they remained successful anyway.

[Liam]

Nothing seriously beats the change of Paradise Lost.

From modern doom metal pioneers to Depeche Mode impersonators, pretty much. I like both versions of them, so I didn't mind.

And Evil Chase K, do you mean when Pantera went from a power metal band to what they then became? If so, they had done 4 records as a power metal band initially before they changed.

[Buford Ripley]

One that sticks to mind for me is We Are Scientists.

[VerbalPuke]

Best Beastie Boys Post ever.

I have the Some Old Bullshit album you mentioned, as well as the Aglio E Olio collection which is just awesome to listen to. It's eleven tracks with a total run time of six minutes. But what a six minutes.

Yeah. Huge Beasties Fan, happy they switched to hip hop.

I totally forgot about the Aglio E Olio album, thanks for bringing that up. That's another great album in a long line of great albums produced by them. It basically furthers my point that they can do punk or hip hop with relative ease.

[Guest Jargon]

Probably AFI. They went from hardcore punk on Very Proud of Ya and Answer That and Stay Fashionable to a more mainstream sound with Sing The Sorrow. But i like both sides of them.

[B-Rad]

One that I absolutely HATED was Sugar Ray, they started out really good, IMO, one of my favorite bands. Then they put out "Fly" and it was ALL down hill from there...

Sum 41 started out more of a rock-rap type of thing, kind of, but they have gotten better since they started singing and just playing regular music.

That's all I can think of off hand, tho I may edit it with more.

[Lint]

Best Beastie Boys Post ever.

I have the Some Old Bullshit album you mentioned, as well as the Aglio E Olio collection which is just awesome to listen to. It's eleven tracks with a total run time of six minutes. But what a six minutes.

Yeah. Huge Beasties Fan, happy they switched to hip hop.

I totally forgot about the Aglio E Olio album, thanks for bringing that up. That's another great album in a long line of great albums produced by them. It basically furthers my point that they can do punk or hip hop with relative ease.

Are there two Aglio E Olio albums? I have one thats an EP...8 songs and 11 minutes long...

[livid]

Story of the Year - Their first album, "Page Avenue" was decent, but for me it was too emo in that they seemed to be the semi-emo group that some rock fans would like, but emo fans would either enjoy or hate. Their second album, "In the Wake of Determination" was a lot more distorted and rock sounding, rather than emo. I definitely enjoyed their second album over their first album as it showed a more mature sounding band.

Audioslave - I love their self-titled album and reminds me a lot of what the band should sound like. However, their second album I never really got into and sounded too much like Soundgarden for my tastes. I preferred them having their own sound, rather than just re-hashing Cornell's old band.

Chevelle - Their change wasn't that drastic, but with "Wonder What's Next" the band had the right idea. Their sound wasn't as clean as it has now become and showed a more raw side to the band that I loved. However, with their release of "This Type of Thinking (Could Do Us In)", I can't help but long for the sound that they're previous album had. Don't get me wrong, I'm still a big fan and still enjoyed their latest album, I just feel that theire previous one had a lot more going for it than their latest one.

[DFF]

The Rasmus - up to "Dead Letters" they were a ska-punk band. Afterwards they were rock...

[VerbalPuke]

Best Beastie Boys Post ever.

I have the Some Old Bullshit album you mentioned, as well as the Aglio E Olio collection which is just awesome to listen to. It's eleven tracks with a total run time of six minutes. But what a six minutes.

Yeah. Huge Beasties Fan, happy they switched to hip hop.

I totally forgot about the Aglio E Olio album, thanks for bringing that up. That's another great album in a long line of great albums produced by them. It basically furthers my point that they can do punk or hip hop with relative ease.

Are there two Aglio E Olio albums? I have one thats an EP...8 songs and 11 minutes long...

As far as I know there is only one Aglio E Olio album. I think it was released in 1995, and the as far as I know it's the only one. They also have Some Old Bullshit which is a compilation of their older punk work. Some Old Bullshit takes the ep Pollywog Stew (released in 1982, considered an LP collectors item) and combines it with a few of their unreleased demo's and NY radio spots.

[Kaney]

Audioslave - I love their self-titled album and reminds me a lot of what the band should sound like. However, their second album I never really got into and sounded too much like Soundgarden for my tastes. I preferred them having their own sound, rather than just re-hashing Cornell's old band.

Which is strange because rvdwannabe and I (I think it was him >_>) both thought the original album was too similar to Rage and the second album was better for moving away from that. Personally, I can't see any Soundgarden resemblance in Out Of Exile, other than the fact that it's the same singer, but eh.

[ravenjuice]

Someone want to tell me what power metal Pantera was like? Anything will do...just curious.

[Jook]

Goldfrapp. Amazing first album, different but brilliant second album, and then a sound a million miles away from their debut for their third album, which is the weakest, flatest, most souless collection of songs I've ever heard.

[fourstarfizzle]

Someone want to tell me what power metal Pantera was like? Anything will do...just curious.

[Liam]

Audioslave - I love their self-titled album and reminds me a lot of what the band should sound like. However, their second album I never really got into and sounded too much like Soundgarden for my tastes. I preferred them having their own sound, rather than just re-hashing Cornell's old band.

Which is strange because rvdwannabe and I (I think it was him >_>) both thought the original album was too similar to Rage and the second album was better for moving away from that. Personally, I can't see any Soundgarden resemblance in Out Of Exile, other than the fact that it's the same singer, but eh.

I didn't say the first album sounded like Rage, but I did say that at least on the second album they sound like a band, rather than Cornell and a (admittedly good) backing band like they do in the first album. It is just a lot more together, and works because of it IMO.

I can't see a Soundgarden resmblance in OOE either.