8 Rock & Metal Bands That Drastically Switched Genres
5. KISS
KISS have mostly been a Hard Rock band throughout their career, with the odd falter into Disco-Rock with Dynasty and Unmasked, and Glam Metal with Lick It Up, Animalize, Asylum, and Crazy Nights. But perhaps their most unusual genre change came in the form of Carnival Of Souls: The Final Sessions.
The 1997 release was the seventeenth studio album for the band, and saw them move into Grunge territory. The album was a critical failure, and although the single Jungle did amount to some minor success, the album as a whole failed to capture the raw, harsh Grunge feel that made the genre so popular to begin with.
What’s worse is that it also failed to harness the catchy song-writing that made KISS so enjoyable to listen to, serving only as a weak farewell to drummer Eric Singer and guitarist Bruce Kulick.
The following year, original members Ace Frehley and Peter Criss returned to the band, as did their old Hard Rock style with the album Psycho Circus which was a critical and financial success overall.