10 Bands Who Were Justified In Changing Sounds
Because sometimes you need a new direction.
Finding the winning formula in any way of life is a tough ask. Finding all the right ingredients to blend together and get something going is the key to success, and is this has never been more true than in the creative world.
Bands are perhaps the best example of this in action, working tirelessly in an industry where all the talent in the world doesn't necessarily equal the success and recognition a group might deserve. The history books are littered with groups that never made the grade, however they're also lined with stories of how even the most famous of groups struggled to even a book a venue before making it to the big time.
So whether because of a lack of musical identity that either unleashes their potential or resonates with the audiences of the day, or the clashing of personalities from within the band itself that end up holding them back, there's many reasons why a group might look to take stock and find a new direction.
And sometimes, it works out for the best...
10. Muse
Matt Bellamy, Chris Wolstenholme and Dominic Howard have been jamming out as Muse since the mid 1990s and regularly dabble in experimental sounds and genres with each release they collaborate on.
Whilst songs such as Starlight and Knights of Cydonia have become some of the most mainstream sounding rocks songs in the British scene and synonyms with the band itself, Muse's origins were far from this sort of scene. Having been evolving during the heyday of underground grunge music courtesy of the likes of Radiohead, the band's early songs are far more aggressive-sounding than what most would expect to hear these days.
A sort of goth-glam group, it wasn't until the start of the 2000s that Muse really began embracing a more radio-friendly vibe, producing one of the most famous covers of the Broadway classic hit Feeling Good during the production of Origin of Symmetry in 2001.
Building on this, Muse would continue along this road with Absolution in 2003 and then again with Black Holes and Revelations, arguably their most iconic and easily their most successful release having topped the UK charts, in 2006.