7. Celtic Frost - Cold Lake
NoiseBack in the 80s, when hair metal reigned supreme, Celtic Frost was one of the most unique & uncompromising bands of the era. Their albums (most notably To Mega Therion & Into The Pandemonium) sounded like nothing else out there. Weird, unpredictable and definitely avant-garde, Celtic Frost were pioneers in what eventually became known as black metal. The band built a loyal underground following, only to do the most extreme about-face in heavy metal history by releasing Cold Lake in 1988, an album of sleazy sex tunes similar to what Motley Crue was pumping out. While Cold Lake wasnt exactly a bad album, it was completely contrary to the image the band had worked so hard to cultivate both musically and visually (leather, studs & eye paint were replaced with scarves, teased hair and with pube-sprouting spandex). Alienating all of their hardcore fans, Cold Lake caused a backlash that essentially brought Celtic Frosts career to a grinding halt, just when it was starting to gain serious momentum. Despite an immediate attempt to return to their old sound (on the album, Vanity/Nemesis), the damage had been done. Celtic Frost disappeared for 16 years before returning with their last (and heaviest) album, Monotheist (after which they broke up again, this time over the usual internal bickering).