5 Bands Who Drastically Changed Their Sound

5. Whitesnake

The 1970s were a weird time. If the world wasn't attempting to kill disco, it was most likely worried about some sort of nuclear war.

David Coverdale was no stranger to genre changing. He started as the lead singer of Deep Purple from 1973 to 1976 when they were an early Heavy Metal band. He would later found a solo project that was a Blues Rock band that would become Whitesnake. Their 1978 debut EP, Snakebite, is very much a bluesy jam-fest.

Fast-forward to 1987 when Hair Metal was at its peak. Whitesnake had released 6 albums at this point (technically 7 if you count the Snakebite EP), slowly evolving their sound alongside the evolving decade. This year marked Coverdale and guitarist John Sykes writing and releasing the band's most notable album: Whitesnake.

The album featured a Hair Metal influenced sound, abandoning the 70s Blues sound they had mostly embodied since their debut 9 years prior. The album went 8 times platinum, meaning it sold over 8 million copies. This was driven by the lead single Here I Go Again, which was a re-recorded and remastered version of the song from their 1982 album Saints & Sinners.