10 Legendary Rock Bands With Sophomore Slump Albums

Veteran rock acts don't really need to rely on their new material anymore. Since they've already made their millions, chances are they can rest on their laurels and make some music in their spare time while getting by on the nostalgia buzz from their old hits. That's not to say that every legendary band has aces from one album to the next though.

In between the hit singles here and there, some of the greatest bands in the world have turned in their fair share of sophomore slump albums, left to be forgotten among the pack. Granted, not all sophomore slump albums are created equal, and each of these failed to miss the mark in their own unique way. Maybe it was just the songwriting, with the band not being able to capture the magic like they did on their first record. Maybe it was just the timing, working themselves ragged until they buckled under the pressure and put out a bad record.

In the worst cases though, these are the records that made you question whether these bands were any good to begin with. Then again, the rest of their careers proved to us that they had not yet begun to show what they were capable of. After albums like these though, they were at least in for an uphill battle the next time around.

There's bound to be thousands of Weezer fans preparing to burn me at the stake for putting an album like Pinkerton on a sophomore slumps list. Looking through the rest of Weezer's discography, Pinkerton is probably one of their all time classic records next to the Blue Album, as Rivers Cuomo shows us a different side of what he's capable of. You say that now, but people weren't saying the same thing back in 1996.

Upon first release, most of the rock world was appalled by what they heard on here, thinking that their bright and sunshin-y rock band had completely missed their strengths. Since they leaned into a heavier sound, this was the record that received a thrashing upon first release, as fans were either turned off and wanted another version of Buddy Holly or disgusted at seeing these dorks write songs that sounded less charming and more creepy as you listen on.

As time has gone on though, this has developed a cult following and has become one of the true masterpieces in the band's catalog, standing either a notch above or on equal footing with their debut. This is a sophomore slump in the most pure sense though...it broke up the band. In the wake of it not being well received, Rivers stepped away from music and didn't return until half a decade later, when their sound got a lot more poppy again. For a band just finding their feet, this was a major slip up that made them want to hide in shame for years.