10 Legendary Rock Bands That Got Darker Over Time

As Depeche Mode began life as a pop group, they got a bit of a reputation for being too soft. Since their first few records had the radio friendly smashes like Just Can't Get Enough on them, they seemed to have more in common with people like the Human League than anything resembling rock and roll. The band themselves weren't huge fans of that reception though, and did everything in their power to run away from their original sound.

Having a new songwriter in Martin Gore for their next albums, every single project seemed to be inching closer and closer to the darker side of the spectrum, whether that was in the lyrics of something like Blasphemous Rumors or the cold and calculated sounds of Black Celebration. The funny thing is that while the band has definitely gotten darker than usual, the main songwriting formula hasn't really changed.

Martin always envisioned Depeche Mode to be a pop band, and adding these black layers onto their sound made for hits that sounded like they were being interpreted by demons. Their darkness was more like an aesthetic, which became a main influence later down the line, being a huge inspiration for industrial acts like Nine Inch Nails and Marilyn Manson. You might not hear that much darkness in a song like Waiting for the Night if you were to play it on acoustic guitar. The darkness is all in the playing, and it's enough to work its way into your soul.