Wednesday, September 2, 2009

I strongly support your band's decision to alienate its core fanbase

Once a band has a good thing going, they usually like to throw it all away by changing their style up for reasons that only God knows. Rather than get angry about it, I applaud bands who flush their hard-won credibility and support down the toilet. Why? Because it's funny. It's funny to see the nerd rage from their fans, and it's funny to watch the band members get defensive or flustered when they realize that everybody hates what they've done.

In this post I will share a few of my favorite moments in which bands have dramatically changed their style for the worse. I will explore each of these self-clownings along three dimensions:
  • Why they changed: I will take a guess at what the practice room discussions were in which they decided it was a good idea
  • Fan reaction: Exactly how did fans react to the betrayal?
  • How badly it fucked them: On a scale of 0-10, how badly did it impair the band's ability to receive income in the future?


In all seriousness, I cannot fathom what could have a) possessed them to think this is a good idea or b) convinced Century Media to release this. I'm really not joking here! If I was the dude at CM who was responsible for the bottom line on the Cryptopsy account, when I heard the demos I think my feedback would be something like: "Dudes, I totally respect that you want to do something different and that's awesome but I have a fucking mortgage to pay. Putting clean vocals on a Cryptopsy record is basically taking food directly out of my family's mouth so that you can 'explore the boundaries of extreme metal' or whatever bullshit you just said to me. If you want to experiment, do it on your own dime. Now get the fuck out of my office and go write 'None So Vile Part 2'!"

Cryptopsy
Why they changed
(Translated from French)
Guy 1: I'm bored with death metal. Remember when we got that metalcore guy to sing on our last couple records, and everybody hated it because they want to hear sick-ass death metal not a poor man's Suicide Silence? We should do something even more zany than that for the next record.
Guy 2: Totally! Don't forget that we also made a decision at that one band meeting to write boring songs with 5,000 nondescript riffs in them instead of catchy, simple shit that you couldn't stop listening to like on our first few albums.
Guy 1: Yeah, yeah, I remember, quit nagging me about it. Anyhow, I've been listening to a lot of Diecast and Poison The Well lately, we should totally do that thing where they have half-assed death metal vocals, then the guy starts singing and when you hear it you're all "Dude, that's so beautiful!!" and a single tear rolls down your cheek. Oh, and let's wear leather pants with buckles on them in the video.
Guy 2: Pass the poutine, please.

Fan reaction
"Wat"

How badly it fucked them
8.5/10. Perhaps someone from Century Media can chime in and tell us exactly how far their sales have plummeted, but I have to guess that their transition to "shitty Killswitch Engage" was pretty much a death blow. The only reason I didn't give them a 10 is that Flo will always be able to sell instructionals to shut-ins who would rather practice their double flamadiddles than deal with the terrifying prospect of leaving the house.


Pantera
Why they changed
Phil: Fuckin' a dudes, I'm fuckin' high as fuck man... Let's do some new shit, I ain't down with these fuckin' powederpuff jams. I was just sittin' here feeling the fuckin' high, and I saw something... I saw the fuckin' universe!! I looked into the middle of the sun, and it told me that the four of us were put on this Earth for one thing: To create the NEW GENERATION OF POWER GROOVE!
Everybody else: Right on bro, power groove, hell yeah! But hey, can we just play "Strutter" one more time before we reinvent the steel??

Fan reaction
"Duuuuude, what the fuck man?! Quit yelling and shit! It makes my fuckin' head hurt! Why are you all aggro and shit, I thought Pantera was a rock band? Quit screaming, man, my chick is gettin' freaked out! Fuck this, I'm putting in my Vinnie Vincent tape to get her in the mood again." *Rides away on his Mongoose, plastic comb stuck in the back pocket of his size 28 jeans*

How badly it fucked them
0/10: They timed their makeover perfectly, coinciding with the death of glam and the mainstreaming of angsty "hard rock." You can think of the revamped Pantera as the angry, brutish brother of Alice In Chains in many ways. Both got high way too much, but in addition to having a strong self-detructive streak, Pantera enjoyed turning his anger on others.


This is a double dose of painful; it manages to be horribly embarrassing like you're watching your uncle's shitty cover band in which he wears a Harley-Davidson do-rag at the same time as a high school battle of the bands where they're playing a Fender Squire through a Peavey Bandit. Amazing job, guys! Hipster Runoff has nothing on Metallica in the post-ironic humor department.

Metallica
Why they changed:
Needless to say, volume upon volume has been written about the several dramatic shifts in Metallica's style. What could I possibly add, especially since I have always thought they were pretty terrible? Perhaps because I am an outsider, I believe I have a fresh perspective. I'm thinking that it went a little like this:
*establishing shot of a calendar that says 1989 on it*
James: OK guys, how do we follow up "Garage Days?" It's way better than any of our real albums, and it's all fucking covers, WTF. I don't know where we go from here. *sighs, throws up hands in frustration*
Kirk: Since we're obviously out of ideas and rich, why don't we just have fun with it and make the lamest fucking "hard rock" record we can, just for a joke??
James: Ha ha ha, I love it! Yeah, and I'll adopt this Southern redneck persona even though I'm from Bakersfield. It will be hilarious! Then after a year or something we'll reveal that it was all a put-on, everybody will have a good laugh, and we'll get tons of press.
Kirk: No, no, let's do it Andy Kaufman-style and never let on! We'll play it straight, and people will always be guessing whether it's a joke or we're really that fucking stupid. It will be way funnier that way!!
Lars: Totally! Also, we should make my snare so tight, ringy, and absurdly loud in the mix that it sounds like someone is banging on the side of a battleship with a ball peen hammer in time to the music!
James: Dude, come on. Let's not get carried away. We can't go too far over the top or it will be too obvious that it's a joke!
*shot of the pages on a calendar peeling off and blowing away in the wind until it says 2003*
James: LOL, guys, I can't fucking believe nobody's gotten the joke yet!! We need to do something so ridiculous that nobody can possibly miss it and everybody will catch on to the joke. Lars, what was that idea you had for a snare sound a few years back??

Fan reaction
Many fans were ready to tar and feather them after the black album, and brought out their torches & pitchforks when they heard "Load." By the time "St. Anger" came out, most people kind of realized it was just a tired joke that had run its course, and maybe chuckled a little bit when they saw the video where they played Disturbed riffs in the prison yard. "Death Magnetic" was met with about the same reaction as someone wearing an Austin Powers Halloween costume in 2009: "Dude, you should probably go home and change. It's gonna be a long night if you don't."

How badly it fucked them
0/10, seemingly. Despite that they are perhaps the most hated band in all of metal, I still see 14 year-olds with bowl cuts, acne and bad posture wearing "Ride The Lightning" shirts as they follow their parents around the mall looking surly just like they did in 1989. Like Led Zepplin and Bob Marley, they have a mystifying ability to move merch to every new generation of shitbag loser teenagers, so what the fuck do I know about how much Metallica sucks?


Argh, I don't even know what to say about this... I hadn't watched it in a long time since Lucho uploaded it. I don't even think it's funny anymore, they just sound like legit morons that would deliver potato chips to bodegas or something and yap about their band endlessly: "Yeah man, we're playing at L'Amours, opening for DBC and Lawnmower Deth. You should come check it out bro, we'll blow your mind bro!"

Anthrax
Why they changed
*The band is sitting in the living room at Charlie's parents' home in Queens*
Joey
: It's just not the same anymore. Ever since our practice space burned down, I feel like the weight of the world is on my shoulders. The insurance forms say that the damage was only a few hundred dollars, but I feel like my youthful enthusiasm and whimsical, carefree outlook on life also went up in flames that night. *halfheartedly flips through a Judge Dredd comic, dejected*
Scott: I know, man. The other day I tried to put on my Adidas warmup suit and do borderline-racist rap poses in the mirror, and I just wasn't feeling it. And when someone told me that Billy Milano was actually a pretty smart, funny guy who was just "playing a character" in SOD, I couldn't even bring myself to shout "NOT!". I kinda feel like it might be time for Anthrax to break up...
Charlie: Snap out of it, guys!! *bursts into the room* We're not going to let this tragedy get the best of us! Let's channel our pain into writing a new record. It will be moody and repetitive, much slower, less fun and catchy than anything we've done so far. Also, we'll take the title from the name of a famous painting or something to sound deep, and the songs will be punishingly long to send the message that we have a lot to say!
Scott: Perfect. That will show everybody that we've grown up and we're not just the class clowns of Thrash High! We'll finally be seen as mature, legitimate musicians and get the respect we deserve from both fans and critics alike. Man, this is going to be great.
Charlie: Then once we find a guy with the least possible charisma, stage presence, and distinctive voice, we'll fire Joey and replace him!
Joey: Guys, I'm right here... I can hear everything you're saying.
Scott/Charlie: Shut up, Joey. Go play with your Transformers and make a new "injun" hat.

Fan reaction
If you ask 100 different people about Anthrax's lineup changes, you will get 100 different answers. Some popular ones: "They would be better if Scott Ian sang," "They would be better if they kept Neil Turban," and "Cry for the Indians."

How badly it fucked them
5/10. Not too badly, actually. I mean don't get me wrong, Anthrax has been fucking horrible for over 20 years, but their first couple albums are so, so good that you can look past the new stuff, brushing it off as though it's just a phase they're going through (although if that phase was a person it would be old enough to drink). In any case, what it comes down to is that nobody will buy their new albums, but people will still go see them in hopes that they'll play the old, good songs. It's not unlike those washed up old bands like Cutting Crew or whatever that only play county fairs and riverboat casinos. Only unlike Cutting Crew, Anthrax used to put the NYHC logo on their merch.

Hasta next time...?
What did y'all think of this concept? There is certainly no shortage of content for future installments: Slayer, Celtic Frost, Sepultura, and Carcass to name but a few. Should we do more?

80 comments:

  1. Anon Old School Metal GuySeptember 2, 2009 at 2:00 AM

    Definitely do more! I've enjoyed engaging in this kind of "what were they thinking?" type speculation ever since I first heard "Music From The Elder" (one of the earliest and funniest examples I can think of at the moment).

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  2. Dude, Bakersfield is where all the Okies from the 30s settled. It's as redneck as any place that sided with the Confederacy.

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  3. SARGEND D PLEASE DO MORE and Dont forget to do Bring me the horizon, Trivium ,In flames, My favorite mallcore metal bands ^_^...and hows teh new winds of plague album ,kind of disapointed since there was less wiggercore emmure like riffs :(

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  4. And yes, do all those bands, especially Celtic Frost. Cro Mags and DarkThrone might be good candidates too.

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  5. And Entombed. Can't forget the turn to death'n'roll, can we?

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  6. Thanks for the Metallica dialogue, I haven't laughed that hard in ages.

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  7. Yes, more please! I especially liked the Anthrax one. And yes, that video is cringe-inducing. I'm surprised you didn't do Machine Head (or is that one too easy?)

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  8. More please! how about doing one on a band that sucked balls to begin with yet were inexplicably popular then somehow managed to change it around to suck even more balls! oh wait you did metallica.

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  9. Darkthrone and also Mayhem (the true) that would be hilarious as fuck with Mayhem.
    Napalm Death would also be awsome.

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  10. great! these are the posts we all like on M.I.
    can't wait to hear about sepultura...

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  11. UGH! I'm still pretty nauseous from the Cryptopsy song...Yeah do some more, that was funny.

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  12. More please - and yes, Celtic Frost is a must. They paved the way for a whole generation of bad decision-making.

    One thing though - if changing completely un-fucks the band (like Pantera), shouldn't they be awarded a negative score?

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  13. Cliff, you raise important questions about how to operationalize fucked-ness. I'll admit that our methodology is not perfect, and we welcome feedback like yours to help us improve!

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  14. Where'd you rip that Metallica dialogue off from? I'm sure I've seen it before. Maybe in an actual interview?

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  15. do more of this.

    also, pantera's album "power metal" is fucking KILLLLLLER.

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  16. comedic gold. love it. the stage directions had me at the edge of my seat!

    To anyone who says Bakersfield is full of rednecks...have you ever been to deep West Virginia or Kentucky? I know that Bakersfield has crazy white trash with pick up trucks...but unless you've seen the real deal, you'll never EVER know.

    The Cryptopsy song is insane. 2 minutes in, it all implodes, and its not that good to begin with. ouch.

    Some candidates:

    Darkthrone wanting to sound like Disrupt.

    Celtic Frost wanting to be Cinderella.

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  17. I am going to speculate that Sgt. D was in a band that decided to "expand their creative horizons" because his analysis is so spot on - how oblivious bands can be when their "creative genius" goes to their head. Keep 'em coming.

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  18. please do more! what's most pathetic is when bands change their style, not 'cause they really wanna, but because they're afraid to be left behind and go back to delivering pizza's. i remember seeing rob fynn in a red latex suit with spiked hair in some video..

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  19. Lucho, I've been to all those places... My point wasn't that Bakersfield is the most redneck place on earth, just that it's redneck enough for Hetfield (whose name is almost Hatfield) to legitimately be one.

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  20. Megadeth, Entombed, Gorguts, Cannibal Corpse, Machine Head.

    All these bands deserve the treatment.

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  21. it's true, redneck enough. the whole hunting thing, cowboy boots, the wolf necklace...it got a little out of hand...and for all of us that have lived in some pretty nutty areas, and have also been to bakersfield, it looks kinda funny.

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  22. Yeah dude, I get it that Bakersfield is full of white trash rednecks but trust us... West Virginia, Western Maryland, et al is NEXT LEVEL. Hetfield ain't got shit on their steez!

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  23. I lived near LA (yikes) when Cave-In jumped ship on anything remotely sounding listenable. Though I hated their music, I enjoyed watching the collective panty of "hardcore" kids across the state get bunched.

    p.s. I love this line: "Guy 2: Pass the poutine, please."

    Awesome.

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  24. Ah! Sarg! what a jewel!
    you turned the funny up to 11 on this one. i didnt know you could be funny or that you liked early anthrax. have we ever discussed that? i feel odd, like i dont know you anymore.

    my highlights:

    "But hey, can we just play "Strutter" one more time before we reinvent the steel?"

    "we should make my snare so tight, ringy, and absurdly loud in the mix that it sounds like someone is banging on the side of a battleship with a ball peen hammer in time to the music!"

    "Then once we find a guy with the least possible charisma, stage presence, and distinctive voice, we'll fire Joey and replace him!"

    three of the funniest shit i ever read you say.

    carcass and frost are musts, but, i too have a few suggestions:
    - misfits
    - death (SUCKING after Leprosy)
    - suicidal tendencies
    - amorphis
    - lawnmower deth
    - napalm death
    - testament (that death metal thing they did)

    .

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  25. Absolutely, this is a topic ripe for more exploration. I love your concise, academic analysis of these situations and their impacts.

    (Firing Joey was awesome.)

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  26. you guys like old, shitty music, but this post is hilarious

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  27. The Metallica conversation is the funniest shit I've read in some time. And hell yes that last Cryptopsy sucked total ass.

    Kreator would be a good one to do. I don't know what in the hell they were doing in the mid and late 90's.

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  28. Good post! And also good additions by the readers. I'd also add Desultory with their stupid 3rd album, which is awful (trying to be the next metallica, and they ended up breaking up). I know that none of you (Sarge, Lucho, etc) are not into Doom Metal, but good additions would be: Paradise Lost when tried to become the next Depeche Mode, Celestial Season trying to be a stoner band that overcame depression, My Dying Bride with 34.788%...Complete (fortunately they didn't go Kaufman style), Katatonia with Jonas Renkse saying: "I lost the ability to growl!!" (though I like the first 2 albums with clean vocals) and I could continue with doom metal bands. The period 1997-2000 for Doom Metal was like the early 90s for thrash bands. While Thrash bands just wanted to play groove shit, Doom Metal bands wanted to become Depeche Mode, with a gothic touch.
    Also, it's weird nobody named Voivod yet.

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  29. It's pretty wild to watch a Pantera interview where Phil Anselmo isn't 2 seconds away from nodding out the whole time.

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  30. Ah, you can also expand the concept to bands that reunite because the market for the music that they used to play looks better now and they want to see if they can have a break from delivering pizza. It's like everyday there's an old thrash/death metal band reuniting out of nowhere!

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  31. misfits, i thought about voivod, but then remembered they've always been shit, so who cares? hehe.

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  32. Here, here. With the exception of the Spain post, we're getting back to what makes M.I. an over-the-top journey of hilarity. Please do more posts in this vein.

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  33. Death sucking is a judgement call, but i dont think their change in style is as drastic as say...Entombed

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  34. Thanks Ian, I agree- much like the bands in this post, I feel like we had an "experimental phase." But we have learned from their mistakes and we're getting back to the roots! Every band has their "Music From The Elder" or "Into The Unknown," but if they can get back on track all is forgiven. So bear with me, we'll get there soon!

    I know that none of you (Sarge, Lucho, etc) are not into Doom Metal
    I actually do like doom, I just don't know a ton about it or listen to it all that much. But I do like it!

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  35. wait, are we like Celtic Frost? did we go wrong and are trying to make up for our mistakes? did we ever wear a Cinderella shirt like Tom G Warrior?

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  36. Lucho, I was thinking about this the past week or so, and I do think we've lost our way a bit. As someone pointed out, GHB's Revenant post was our first post in a while that is a bread-n-butter Metal Inquisition post. I think we need to refocus ourselves on the core dudez. Hence why I called it quits with the crunkcore and stuff...

    With that said, I think people will be stoked on some of our upcoming content!

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  37. well, on that note...someone help me find information about King Diamond's house in Texas and how much he paid for it! weeeeee

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  38. Misfits, you are absolutely correct about the wussification of all those doom metal bands. Some others that I remember drastically changing their sounds for the worse were Anathema, Pyogenesis, and The Gathering.

    The death metal bands I know that turned to complete shit are Atroicty, Therion, Xysma, and Morgoth. There has to be others; I'm sure of that.

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  39. pyogenesis are on a league of their own as far as musical changes. i will post about them soon.

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  40. I love Pyogenesis "Ignis Creatio" Demo from 1993. It's true that they became horrible when they started playing punk, though I like their pussy commercial/electronic song "Love Nation Sugarhead". It's really catchy, I'm sorry to admit! I was planning on adding Anathema, but their new stuff is still good music in my opinion, though it doesn't do it for me, and I really like Eternity, which is not doom death anymore, but a great album anyway.
    I forgot about Atrocity. That must be one of the worst changes I've ever seen. Also Moonspell had its period, but were quick to go back to black-gothic when they realized people wanted that (the market was getting bigger for those bands) and depeche mode fans were never going to be interested in them. Some more that I used to like and turned to shit are On Thorns I lay, Lacrimas Profundere, Paragon of Beauty (gothic, not doom, but still good), Darkseed, ...

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  41. Talk about Entombed...after two death metal milestones, they started playing "death'n'roll". Simply horrible.
    Carcass "Heartwork", after that masterpiece titled "Necroticism", was another major letdown.
    And Iron Maiden, with their "return to form" "No prayer..." passed from their best album to their worst in just two years...

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  42. The "sucking progression" of Death was slow. I love their 2nd and 3rd album, especially "Spiritual healing". "Human" still kicks serious ass, inferior to their previous album just for the lack of good lead guitars (no james murphy).
    From "Individual thought patterns", they started copying Atheist, pseudo technical wankery increased, and they bred a fanatic fanbase blindly devoted to each fart they released.
    Just like the average fanbase of Meshuggah, U2, Tool...

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  43. Sepultura would be a pretty good candidate for this...

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  44. You could start the next one with Cro-Mags. Perhaps the bit i posted on the end of Lucho's last post inspired this one?

    The prefect band for this would obviously be Danzig.

    The piece was amazing. keep 'em coming.

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  45. know what would be a great feature?
    something on every band's "black album." after 1991, many of the big timers, as well as the second and third tier bands did a "black album" where they tried to write hooks and shit...exodus "force of habit", overkill "i hear black" which was even more supendously awful than normal overkill, testament "the legacy", suicidal "art of rebellion", napalm death "diatribes", you get the idea...i bet you can dig up old interviews from the time, where they will undoubtedly claim that they are somehow "branching out" by trying to write radio friendly crap..

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  46. Aww...shit I forgot about Suicidal as well.

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  47. Hahahaha...great post! I think this should definitely be an ongoing series. I don't think we'd ever run out of bands to cover.

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  48. @Zacary: I disagree with you as regards to Atrocity . Even in their trash/death days they were a complete pile of shit loong before they turned to Gothbitch metal and eded up covering 80's pop songs or bieng Alex Krull's wife's musicians.
    Massacra (french band) is also a serious contestant if any of you happen to know them.

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  49. the next one of these should be:

    Cro-Mags
    Suicidal
    Danzig

    "Dude, you should probably go home and change. It's gonna be a long night if you don't."

    HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

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  50. Tiamat and Cemetary both went from Swedish death metal to goth crap, too.

    Metal Dick, I can't even remember what early Atrocity, as well as Therion, sounded like. I just know they suck (even more?) today.

    Underoath went from doom-core (I think I just made that up) to Christian metalcore. I'd say it didn't fuck them up at all now because 1) they sucked equally then and now and 2) today they're getting to first base with scene girls, albeit scene girls with promise rings.

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  51. How about Trouble? They were a pretty heavy Christian doom band, then all of a sudden they dropped the bible stuff and started doing songs about weed. I guess it's obvious what happened there.

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  52. You should definitely do more. Start with Raven, who released some reasonably listenable stuff on vinyl early on (even though they were terrible on stage) and then let somebody in the marketing department talk them into attempting to turn into a glam metal band, with predictably disastrous results. Or better yet, Stryper and AGAINST THE LAW, their tragic attempt to prove they were not sissies by pretending to be Metallica or whoever was selling a lot of records in 1990, a fail so epic it caused the band to call it quits (so they, too, could have a pointless reunion many years later like every other band that broke up in the 90s). I'll bet there's much humor potential to be had in hating on both of these bands and their terrible career moves.

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  53. albeit scene girls with promise rings

    LOL A++++

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  54. Danzig's too easy to write:

    Danzig: I drove away my band with my Incredible Hulk-sized ego(had to throw in a comic book reference since it's Danzig). I left Rick Rubin, who shot down my idea of making Danzig 4 more Techno, and signed to a label run by Disney. And I tried to sound like Nine Inch Nails because that was the trend at the time plus I wanted to be knee-deep in fat goth girl poon and nothing gets fat goth girls wet more than hardcore Techno.

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  55. A couple people suggested Napalm Death, but they bounced right back after a couple years with Enemy of the Music Business and have a solid decade of consistently good material since. They sort of did the opposite of pantera (Reinventing the Steel < Time Waits for No Slave)

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  56. For sure this column needs to continue. I think a Sepultura feature would be one of the funniest reads on the entire internet.

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  57. Death Angel, they took a tumble too.

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  58. this is why i started reading the MI. good work. king diamond's house will be funny too... Like that picture where he's holding a pug.

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  59. death angel were always fucking awful
    and death was hella good after leprosy, your a poser if you disagree.

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  60. Funny as hell, love the Pantera, Vinnie Vincent connection...lol. Great blog and very true.

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  61. Death went from being a ripping thrash band with awesome (hyper cheezy) lyrics to a nerd-driven-way-too-technical-self-indulgent-rush-wanna-be-go-play-guitar-with-your-nerd-friends-while-listening-to-satriani-records pile of dog shit. all i can say is if chuck would have died after leprosy, i'd been bummed.

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  62. Someone mentioned the commercial metamorphosis of Raven...I think it happened in mid-80s, a lot of bands did that: Saxon, Gravedigger when they cut their name to "Digger", Savatage ("Fight for the rock"), Celtic Frost, Crimson Glory (altough it was '91)...

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  63. Atrocity is an awsome band for this fist they ALWAYS sukced shit they would deserve a whole post just for themselves (their crossover with Das Ich their turn to goth just to fuck goth chicks, the folk album they took out in the mid 90's with the singer's sister, their albums of 80's covers, their other band leaves eyes who sucks even more, the fact my fucking wife is ringing me to their show n a few months ect).
    As for Napalm Death they did come back to rather pleasant music but they did take out shit tanks such as fear emptynes despair and diatribes didn't they ?

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  64. Dudes, seriously...The main guitar riff in "Cherry Orchards" is fucking sick.

    Im not defending CF's glam days, but go back and listen to it. Just sayin'.

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  65. I went to see Anthrax a few years ago in Dublin hoping they'd only play their old stuff. And do you know what, they did. They obviously know what their fans want. Do more of these.

    Sgt, I saw your piece on Chthonic in Terrorizer, fucking hilarious.

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  66. Sgt, I saw your piece on Chthonic in Terrorizer, fucking hilarious.
    Oh sweet, I don't have that one yet- I'll look for it!

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  67. samael, my dying bride and of course: Entombed and all the other swedeath bands like in flames, tiamat, therion and so on. once you're on to sweden you can do a whole article about the stylistic changes and curveballs from mr Dan Swanö

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  68. not that they were ever all that good in the first place, but 18 Visions seem like an ideal candidate for this kind of feature due to multiple evolutions of the band. they went from initially being basketball jersey/big pants/choker mid-90s fake Earth Crisis mosh-core to looking like.. well, last time i remember they looked kinda like the dudes in Attack Attack, and sounding like.. i don't even know these days. i actually think the band went thru a couple phases in between, possibly on a evanescence tip for a while? all i know is that the lead singer got his XXX tattoo on the back of his neck covered with 3 roses which is awesome.

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  69. Also, some attention should be paid to Mötley Crüe's transition from "Shout At The Devil" leather and studs to "Theater Of Pain" glamdouchery. Not a musical transformation, but a bunch of 80's metal bands changed up their look in the wake of that big mistake.

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  70. Last time I heard 18 Visions (probably 7 or 8 years ago) I thought they looked and sounded like Stone Temple Pilots

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  71. Dudes, I fucking love every phase of 18 Visions. Back in the late 90s they were one of the fucking heaviest hardcore bands on the planet, which was awesome. I moshed. Then they started writing moshcore songs sweet rock n roll parts and clean vocals, which was also awesome. I moshed. Finally, they put out their last album in which they sounded like Velvet Revolver meets Marilyn Manson, and I moshed even more! That last album is my favorite, actually. I was super super bummed when they broke up, but at least we have that to remember them by!

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  72. I can't believe SG D actually wrote this addition! what can I say? I'm most suprised he had it in him this whole time and chose to go the opposite route with cranky-core or whatever these shitty hipster kids are into these days. Although I don't agree that metallica was horrible in the 80s, everything else is right on point. Kudos to you sir!

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  73. Sentenced also went fom being horrible death metal to a horrible rip off of Metallica's 1991 album to a shitty goth metal band.
    Kreator also tried to "evolve" in the 1990's fucking up their trash career but they came back to the basics in late 90's.

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  74. Sage.

    18 Visions are responsible for KILLING hardcore. Then their "style" infected metal. If 18 Visions broke up early in their career, then scene kids (and the entire California metalcore scene) would never have existed and I'd probably be a much happier person.

    And let's not forget what In Flames did in the first half of this decade. From the horrible attempts at experimentation and then a synth rock album (StYE was not metal at all and nothing that anyone says will convince me otherwise.)

    And then there was Diabolus in Musica. The less I think about Slayer playing nu metal, the better. I'd prefer to think that it never happened.

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  75. The "Pass the poutine" line will crack me up for a long time.

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  76. These kind of post are always inspiring and I prefer to read quality content so I happy to find many good point here in the post, writing is simply great, thank you for the post

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  77. SO many times I read stupid post but this time I must say i'm impressed! Well done! Cheers!

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  78. You have a great thanks for sharing .

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