Top 10 Rock Bands Who Completely Changed Their Sound

#10: Goo Goo Dolls

Hey, did you know that the Goo Goo Dolls were actually once signed to a heavy metal record label? That’s right, Metal Blade Records released two of the Buffalo band’s early efforts, during a time when Goo Goo Dolls were a much louder and heavier proposition. Their self-titled debut from 1987 was even more raw, embodying a punk rock spirit that’s all but absent on the band’s commercial outings. Granted, the transition from indie noiseniks to wasn’t immediate, since the Goo Goo Dolls released “Superstar Car Wash” on Warner Bros. prior to their platinum-selling success, “A Boy Named Goo.” Still, the differences in sound here feel like a completely different band.

#9: Bring Me the Horizon

The term “deathcore” has meant different things to different people over the years. To some older music fans, it was the bestial mixture of black metal and thrash found within Brazilian bands like Sarcofago. The modern definition of “deathcore” is far more literal, combining the breakdown heavy sensibility of metalcore with guttural vocals and extreme intensity. Bring Me the Horizon inhabited a fairly unoriginal, yet highly popular corner of this space on their debut album, “Count Your Blessings.” The desire to experiment with this formula soon bit hard upon the band, however, and future albums would see BMTH abandoning deathcore in favor of a more difficult-to-categorize mishmash. Electronica, hip-hop, metal and more would all join the party, while deathcore made a quiet exit.

#8: Journey

The 1970s were a halcyon decade for jazz fusion, with all sorts of talented musicians testing the limits of this musical space. One of those bands was Journey, which in those days was fronted by keyboardist Gregg Rolie. The band’s sound here sort of makes sense, given guitarist Neal Schon’s pedigree alongside Carlos Santana, but to compare Journey’s first couple of albums to the work they did with singer Steve Perry is quite interesting. The focus on Journey’s debut trinity of albums is on guitar playing, keyboard runs and powerful, dynamic drumming. The vocals are almost an afterthought, as the songs wind their way around lengthy instrumental sections. They’re honestly pretty awesome, but yeah…Journey sounds completely different here, for sure.

#7: Pantera

This idea of Pantera as a hair metal band doesn’t really seem so far-fetched, given The Abbott Brothers’ well-known love of KISS and Van Halen. Still, the band’s legacy as one of the heaviest bands in the land had made the availability of their ‘80s period reside primarily within the worlds of grey-market releases and bootlegs. This is a shame, too, because Pantera’s debut LP with vocalist Phil Anselmo, “Power Metal,” rocks from first note to last. Meanwhile, the band’s three albums with former singer Terry Glaze also have their fair share of guitar hero rippers, including “I Am the Night” and “Takin’ My Life.” We’ll say it with pride right here and now: justice for Pantera’s Glam Daze!

#6: Beastie Boys

Sure, they weren’t a rock band for very long, but the uncompromising spirit of punk never really strayed too far away from what the Beastie Boys achieved over the course of their career. It’s the “Polly Wog Stew” EP that serves as the main recorded legacy from the Beastie’s days as a hardcore band, however - a short and furious slice of wax from the early years. The Beastie Boys would eventually transition into a sort of hip-hop/rock crossover before firmly embracing a new and exciting career path. But not before actually revisiting this punk rock era with a 1995 EP titled “Aglio e Olio.” This latter release served as a nice way of connecting the Beastie Boys past with their present.

#5: Metallica

The ‘90s weren’t exactly friendly to the commercial profile of heavy metal. The lion’s share of the old guard seemed desperately trying to streamline their sounds, while most of the most extreme stuff burrowed its way deeper underground. Metallica remained the biggest metal band in the world throughout this time, but…well, mistakes were made. The “Load” and “Reload” albums saw Metallica cutting their hair and writing more rock songs than anthems of speed or thrash metal. Meanwhile, “St. Anger” from 2003 was even worse, an ill-advised musical experiment without guitar solos that also featured quite possibly the worst-sounding snare drum sound in the history of recorded music. Metallica eventually righted the ship, but these albums certainly sunk the dreams of many fans.

#4: Radiohead

These proudly progressive indie mavericks are almost certainly happy to be rid of the post-grunge identity that was largely given to them by critics back in the day. Radiohead emerged with a certified hit on MTV with “Creep,” a song taken from their debut album, “Pablo Honey.” The band never felt quite comfortable being commercial darlings, of course, and soon expanded their songwriting with the epic, critically acclaimed LP, “OK Computer.” But, Radiohead weren’t done. Future LPs like “Hail to the Thief,” “In Rainbows” and “Kid A” were becoming even more uncategorizable, as Radiohead bid a not-so-fond farewell to the pop star life.

#3: Bee Gees

They may have been synonymous with “Saturday Night Fever” and the disco nightlife scene, but the Bee Gees actually possess a long and interesting recorded history. Their early LPs are very much cut from the pop, psych and baroque movements that were emerging during the 1960s, with the Bee Gees actually releasing a dozen albums before the words “funky,” “night” or “fever” would enter their cultural lexicon. Of these, it’s the period between 1967 and 1969 that’s probably of the most interest to prog and psych rock historians, since it’s here where the Bee Gees do the most experimentation. Albums like “Idea,” “1st” and “Horizontal” remain quite interesting talking points when it comes to the Bee Gees’ lengthy discography.

#2: Fleetwood Mac

Never underestimate the power of injecting some new, fresh creative blood into a band. Fleetwood Mac were no strangers to writing, recording or touring prior to joining up with Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks. They enjoyed plenty of cult fame with their hard-edged and psychedelically fueled brand of British blues rock. Talented members like Peter Green, Jeremy Spencer, Bob Welch and Danny Kirwan all spent time in Mac during this time, and created some true musical magic. It would be Mac’s collaboration with Buckingham and Nicks, however, that would result in a new Fleetwood Mac, one that embraced commercial, pop songwriting right alongside their heavy blues roots. And the rest, as they say, is “Rumours.” Er we mean, “history.”

#1: The Beatles

Some bands love to play it safe, refusing to break things that aren’t broken. Still others, such as The Beatles, grow restless with the pop charts, and desire to play around in the recording studio. This desire to push their music ever-forward essentially meant that the short and simple love songs of their youth were out. Long and winding roads of tape loops, sound effects, odd chords and introspective songwriting were in. Beatles fans thankfully followed along, eager to hear what their idols would come up with next. Meanwhile, these lads from Liverpool wound up not only making themselves happy, but they almost singlehandedly helped shift market focus away from 45 RPM singles and into the LP album as art.

Do you celebrate your favorite bands’ entire discography? Or do you pick and choose where to drop off? Does an artist’s whole career matter? Let us know in the comments!