5 Rock/Metal Bands Who Completely Changed Genre…And Probably Shouldn’t Have Bothered!
4. Kreator – From Thrash Metal To Industrial Metal
Source // pixgood.com
Kreator will always be revered as one of thrash metal’s most reliable bands. Arriving on the scene way back in 1985, their unhinged brand of Germanic thrash was clinical, relentless and abnormally aggressive and they released 4 absolute belters between 1986 and 1990 (Pleasure To Kill, Terrible Certainty, Extreme Aggression & Coma Of Souls).
As the 80’s became the 90’s, thrash’s popularity was on the wane and the band found themselves at a crossroads. Instead of sticking to their guns and thrashin’ on regardless, the risky decision to release 1992’s Renewal was made. Renewal is by no means a ‘bad’ album but it was a radical departure from their signature sound and its experimental nature and industrial metal grind has led it to become a relative afterthought in their otherwise formidable back catalogue.
Undeterred, Kreator soldiered on with their new sound, embracing elements of groove metal and gothic rock(!) for a further 3 albums and their long-awaited return to form took 9 long years to materialise.
Fortunalty for thrash fans, the band returned to their trademark Teutonic tirades in 2001 when they released the thrash-fuckin’-tastic Violent Revolution and, since then, Kreator have gone from strength to strength, proving that thrash is their bread and butter while their flirtation with industrial metal felt more like a sh*t sandwich.
Conclusion? The change in genre really wasn’t worth it but at least we have their post 2000’s output to make up for it!
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.