5 Rock/Metal Bands Who Completely Changed Genre…And Probably Shouldn’t Have Bothered!
5. KISS – From Heavy Metal Monsters To Progressive Rock Noodlers
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We all know what we expect from living legends KISS; nothing but hard rock/heavy metal theatrical stompers designed to make men lose their sh*t and women lose their knickers!
So what the hell were Gene, Paul, Ace and Eric thinking when they decided to ditch their trademarked sound to record a progressive concept album?
Fan reaction to 1981’s Music From “The Elder” was understandably one of confusion and resentment. The tale of a young hero, recruited and trained by the Council of Elders to combat evil, was not what the KISS Army wanted and the album, although not completely without merit, was quickly regarded as a prog rock flop.
Not that this departure should have come as surprise. KISS had already dabbled with disco on Dynasty, so the signs of further change were writ large.
Poor sales of Music From “The Elder”, led to an immediate re-think and just 1 year later Creatures Of The Night heralded the return of the hard rock/heavy metal style that had made their name.
Proof that they really shouldn’t have messed with a winning formula in the first place!
Led Zeppelin managed to meld funk grooves into hard rock – we.g. Whole Lotta Love on The Song Remains The Same and Trampled Underfoot. The hybridization of popular music styles went out as soon as the music industry got control back from the artists (roughly mid 1970s onward) and everyone conformed. Get people addicted to one thing (like food companies do with sugar) and people expect the expected. Anyway don’t forget the response Scorpions got with Eye II Eye. (Grunge and techno styles gently mixed with their sophisticated hard rock) upset the narcotic expectation.