Before: Alice in Chains started as a grunge band. Pictured is the classic line-up (clockwise from left: lead guitarist/co-lead vocalist Jerry Cantrell, bassist Mike Inez, co-lead vocalist/rhythm guitarist Layne Staley and drummer Sean Kinney).
After: The band's eponymous album marked a turning point, with doom metal influences. Not only that, they changed their image too. Pictured is the classic line up (from left: Cantrell, Staley, Kinney and Inez).
- Alice in Chains
Do you consider Alice in Chains metal? Well, according to Jerry Cantrell, the answer is yes. The band started out as one of the big four grunge bands alongside with Nirvana, Soundgarden and Pearl Jam.
However in their self-titled third album, they had a sludge metal/doom metal influence, which would be retained for their reunion album Future Gives Way to Blue.
Before: Bon Jovi started out as a glam metal band in the Eighties and was one of the most successful bands of the genre, spanning hits "You Give Love A Bad Name" and "Livin' on a Prayer". Pictured is the classic line-up (clockwise from left: drummer Tico Torres, keyboardist David Bryan, bassist Alec John Suchs, guitarist Richie Sambora and frontman Jon Bon Jovi).
After: Prior to releasing Keep the Faith, the band sported new hairstyles and changed their image from glam-influenced (as glam metal was declining at the time) to a more mature look. However the album became the last with bassist Alec John Suchs, who would leave in 1995. Pictured is the classic line-up (from left: Suchs, Bon Jovi, Bryan, Sambora and Torres).
- Bon Jovi
Bon Jovi started out as a pop-influenced glam metal band with their self-titled album, however after glam metal's decline in 1991, the band decided to go for a commercial hard rock style in their album Keep the Faith.
The band have retained its hard rock style since then excluding the glam metal return to their album Crush.
Before: Garbage was a electronica-heavy rock band which spanned the hits "Stupid Girl", "Only Happy When It Rains", "Push It" and "Special". Pictured (from left) is guitarist Duke Erikson, drummer Butch Vig, frontwoman Shirley Manson and rhythm guitarist Steve Marker.
After: The album Beautiful Garbage changed the band from electronica to synthpop. Frontwoman Shirley Manson cut her trademark red hair and dyed it platinum blonde. This picture was taken during the Beautiful Garbage photo shoot. The band became a post-grunge band with Bleed Like Me. Pictured: Marker, Manson, Erikson and Vig.
- Garbage
Are Garbage gothic? No. Are Garbage metal? No. Are Garbage pop? Yes. The electronica-influenced rock quartet switched from industrial rock from their first two albums to more pop-influenced sound in their third album Beautiful Garbage. However, fans were alienated with the sound and lead singer Shirley Manson even changed her image too, from sporting shoulder-length red hair to sporting a short platinum blonde hair which kinda reminds me of Marie Fredriksson from Roxette.
In their fourth album Bleed Like Me, the band ditched the electronica image to more post-grunge.
Before: Guano Apes was a nu metal-alternative rock band with the commercially successful album Proud Like a God. Pictured is (clockwise from left) drummer Dennis Poschwatta, guitarist Henning Rumenapp, bassist Stefan Ude and frontwoman Sandra Nasic.
After: The band became alt-metal in 2000 with Don't Give Me Names. During this time, Sandra dyed her hair black. Later their 2003 album Walking on a Thin Line, the band became more alt-rock and on their comeback album Bel Air, they had a hard rock sound. Pictured: Poschwatta, Nasic, Ude and Rumenapp.
- Guano Apes
The German band started out as nu metal in their debut Proud Like a God. After their success, the band went more alt-metal in Don't Give Me Names, soon after that they became more alt-rock in Walking on a Thin Line and went to hard rock in Bel Air.
Before: After having minimal success with the original lead singer Tetsu in 1995, Malice Mizer replaced him with Gackt. The band became a visual kei band during the Gackt era. Pictured is the classic line-up: (clockwise from left) guitarist Mana, drummer Kami, rhythm guitarist Kozi, bassist Yu~ki and frontman Gackt.
After: Following the depature of Gackt and the death of Kami in 1999, the band became more darker with new frontman Klaha. Pictured is the most recent line-up: (from left) bassist Yu~ki, guitarist Mana, frontman Klaha and rhythm guitarist Kozi.
- Malice Mizer
The Japanese rock quintet started out as a gothic-glam rock band in 1992, however after the appointment of Gackt as their lead singer in 1995, their style completely changed from gothic to symphonic-meets-pop-meets-darkwave-meets-art rock-meets-glam metal, or better known as visual kei. They would become one of the well-known visual kei bands of all time.
After Gackt's departure to launch a hugely successful solo career and drummer Kami's death from cerebral hemorrhage in 1999, the band replaced Gackt with Klaha, decided not to replace Kami and later had a progressive, darker and heavier sound but soon took on an indefinite break in December 2001 and the members did not rule out a possibility of a reunion in the near future, according to later interviews. However, in a recent interview in 2012, three members of the band have told fans that they will be having a mini-reunion (although it is unclear whether ex-lead singers Tetsu, Gackt or Klaha will be returning or not) taking place in 2013.
Before: Nine Inch Nails was a synthpop band with Pretty Hate Machine. Pictured is the 1989-1990 line-up (from left): keyboardist/drummer Chris Vrenna, keyboardist Nick Rushe, guitarist Richard Patrick and frontman Trent Reznor.
After: The band switched to more heavier industrial metal in the Broken EP in 1992 and would be retained in The Downward Spiral. However their style have since become industrial rock. Pictured is the current line-up (from left): bassist Josh Eustis, drummer Ilan Rubin, frontman Trent Reznor, keyboardist Alessandro Cortini and guitarist Robin Finck.
- Nine Inch Nails
Trent Reznor's rock band originally started out as a synthpop band with their debut album Pretty Hate Machine. But in their extended play, Broken, the band's sound had changed from synthpop to more aggressive industrial metal.
This would be continue in their commercial breakthrough The Downward Spiral, but in The Fragile, the industrial metal sound had been relegated to "We're in This Together" and "Starsuckers, Inc.", as Reznor decided to have an ambient-esque style on the album.
The band have since then retained the industrial rock style and the band will release their comeback album Hesitation Marks this September. The lead single "Coming Back Haunted" is out now.
Before: No Doubt was a ska-pop band formed in the late Eighties. Pictured is the pre-Tragic Kingdom line-up (clockwise from left): guitarist Tom Dumont, keyboardist Eric Stefani, drummer Adrian Young, frontwoman Gwen Stefani and bassist Tony Kanal.
After: After the success of Tragic Kingdom, the band became a ska punk/new wave band but later had a reggae influence in their album Rock Steady. Pictured is the classic line-up (from left): Dumont, Stefani, Kanal and drummer Young.
- No Doubt
No Doubt started out as ska-new wave in their first album. However, they went more aggressive in the next album and Tragic Kingdom had an alternative rock sound, Return of Saturn was more glam rock and Rock Steady was more dancehall, which would follow on their comeback Push and Shove.
Before: Queen was a glam rock band in the early Seventies with their eponymous two albums. Pictured is guitarist Brian May, bassist John Deacon, drummer Roger Taylor and frontman Freddie Mercury.
After: With the breakthrough single "Bohemian Rhapsody" and their 1980 album The Game, Queen became one of the biggest British bands of all time. Pictured: Taylor, Mercury, May and Deacon.
- Queen
Queen started as a glam rock band, however in the mid-Seventies, their style changed to more hard rock-meets-glam rock, plus "Stone Cold Crazy" set out the blueprints for speed metal and thrash metal, then at their peak, they set out the blueprints for glam metal and in their later years, their material was more pop rock/hard rock, yet still retaining the anthemic sound they had in their successful albums.
- Radiohead
Radiohead started out as a grunge band in the early Nineties. However, they went more experimental in their third album OK Computer and have retained it ever since.
- Sepultura
Sepultura was Brazil's biggest-selling heavy metal band of the late Eighties to the early Nineties. They started out as a death metal band but in their 1996 magnus opus Roots, the band had a groove metal/nu metal/world music sound with the hits "Roots Bloody Roots" and "Ratamahatta".
Despite this, frontman Max Cavalera left later that year due to conflicts. He would later form his own band Soulfly. They became a groove metal band with new frontman Derrick Green from the 1998 album Against.
- Skunk Anansie
Skunk Anansie started out as a punk rock band in the early Nineties. However in their third album, they became alt-metal.
- X Japan
X Japan started out as a glam metal band with their second album Blue Blood pioneering the visual kei genre but after signing to Atlantic Records in 1992, resulting them to change their name from X to X Japan to avoid confusion of the punk band, the band eventually evolved to become a symphonic metal band with the 29-minute song "Art of Life" in 1993.
Despite their 1997 breakup and the death of lead guitarist hide the following year, they have reformed in 2007 and have kept the sound that fans adore.
No comments:
Post a Comment