Why Do Bands Change Their Sound?

Over the course of many, many decades, bands and artists have paved the way to what music is today. No matter what artists tell you in today's times, they always have their inspirations from musicians from the past, and in the future, artists will look at musicians of our time for inspiration, too. But, to many bands, too much of the same thing can be boring. Many of them abandon their initial sound in exchange for a different, sometimes better or worse, sound, most notably in the Rock n' Roll genre.

Metallica in the late 1980's
(photo courtesy of loudwire.com)

In the early 1980's when glam metal was the scene of music, Metallica was formed. Their intentions were to play the fastest, hardest, and the most badass way possible to "stick it to glam metal." Their popularity grew as the 80's went on, and pretty soon, they found themselves playing at the Grammy Awards in 1989. Until then, Metallica had always been known for playing fast and loud, but after their Grammys appearance, they realized their true potential. They abandoned their seven-minute speed songs for slower, more groove-oriented five-minute songs that eventually made up the "Black Album," one of the best selling rock albums in the world. Although it sounded great, many Metallica fans claimed that the band had abandoned their roots for mainstream success.

Metallica in the 1990's, during their mainstream success
(photo courtesy of tetrades.com)

Many bands do change their sound for mainstream success. Avenged Sevenfold abandoned their screaming vocals from their first two albums in favor of singing and is one of the most popular rock bands in the world right now. Linkin Park abandoned its nu metal roots for a more electronic rock sound. These bands change because they don't want to put the same music out over and over. It gets too boring and people begin to lose interest. The bands that change dramatically, however, receive mixed reactions from their most loyal fans, while attempting to gain new fans. There is a certain line that bands should not cross when altering the sound of their music. Sure, a small change stylistically here and there never hurt anyone. It's the large changes that rub fans the wrong way, and is ultimately why they quit listening to the bands that they loved.