8 Rock & Metal Bands That Drastically Switched Genres

Avenged Sevenfold are one of the most recognizable bands in modern Metal, proving that once in a while, it’s still possible for Metal to break into the mainstream, but it’s doubtful they would’ve got there without a drastic change in genre.

Starting out as a Metalcore act, the band’s first album Sounding the Seventh Trumpet was released in 2001 and was generally well received by critics, and it was more of the same for their second album Waking The Fallen, also falling under the Metalcore banner.

Although pioneering the genre, a change was in order for their third album, City of Evil, which hit the shelves in 2005. This time sporting a Heavy Metal/Hard Rock sound, the album saw a more prominent use of clean vocals, allowing the band to appeal to a much wider audience. This translated to profits for the band, as the album was both a financial and critical success.

It was more of the same for their fourth and fifth albums, which paved the way for their sixth album Hail to the King, the band’s most successful album to date, taking mainstream Rock charts by storm, which would not have possible without their change in creative direction.