10 Times Rock Bands Drastically Changed Their Sound

6. Music From the Elder - KISS

The whole allure of KISS never seemed to be about anything too sophisticated. I mean, you wouldn't throw on that many layers of makeup and costumes and assume that everyone would take you seriously, right? You would think so...that is, except for when they decided they wanted to be taken seriously.

Ever since Destroyer, KISS's way of writing songs was pretty much your standard rock and roll formulas, which took a nose dive when going into Music From the Elder. Looking to expand their horizons, their second go-around with Bob Ezrin turned out one of the most ill-advised records in the rock canon, as these shock rockers try to tell a heavy concept album about a mythical journey to find something. When it comes to genre shifts, this is a pretty impressive failure too, as every member pulled out all the stops, going so far as to write songs with art rock legend Lou Reed.

That is, almost every member, with Ace Frehley thinking the project was too stupid to take seriously and eventually quitting the band in protest. Spiraling even further down, KISS actually bounced back from hard times on the album Creatures of the Night, making way for songs that were a lot more to the point. A worthy effort, but for the love of God, next time stay away from the proggier sides of rock.