In a bad way, yet stayed in the genre that they've been playing.

Morbid Angel is possible the best example of this. Altars of Madness and Blessed are the Sick are both death metal masterpieces in my opinion, while Covenant is pretty boring death metal. The vocals sound too forced, weak and pretty tired. The guitarwork is pretty shit, weak and slow. (Angel of Disease is a great song in my opinion.)

I find everything done with David Vincent as great innovative and powerfull Death Metal, even Domination, wich is different, but great. A band that may fit the thread theme is Benediction, the albums up to Transcend the Rubicon are great, the rest is nothing but forgetable

Therion has had the most dramatic change in my opinion. They went from playing straight up Death Metal, to Symphonic Metal and do a brilliant job playing each. Godkiller has also had a constant change in style, each album he releases is a different genre then the last.

Lo and behold:
http://www.metal-archives.com/board/vie ... hp?t=44549

This thread isnt about bands that changes style of genre if you read the first post, its about bands that stay the same, just become bad at it.

ah gotcha! nice call...

so Benediction, aye i like all of their stuff but after Transcend the Rubicon there was a sharp decline in quality, however i DO like...ALL of their albums. and a great deal as well. the new one Killing Music though is easily their most brutal, savage, aggressive, intense, relentless and nasty album in their entire career, ...and pretty much by a long shot.

Freedom Call started out playing the most candy-assed, happy, cheery music ever, but around the halfway mark of their career they got the idea they weren't cool enough, so basically they started playing some of the worst shit you'll ever hear in the modern PM genre. Totally uninspired, worthless crap with laughable "innovations" that don't seem to add anything at all - a children's choir, synth pop, some flutes and other inane things. Lame.

Please read the OP.

Anyway, I'd point out Obituary as a band that has been very consistent in terms of style, but has also decreased in quality. The first two albums are great, classics of death metal, but after that they became incredibly boring and monotonous, the most recent album being downright laughable. Actually, this fate seems to have befallen many Florida-style death metal bands, including Deicide, Hate Eternal, Massacre, Malevolent Creation, etc.

how could you include Massacre, even if it's personal opinion, the last album was a HUGE departure and similar in name only, besides that fact the only material that band had written was between 85 and 92... are you referring to the material on the oldest demos compared to Inhuman Condition...that actually had a song from the 80's, or the "real" Massacre to "Promise"??....

There are so many bands I could list for this, but I won't. Running Wild has been in a slow decline for almost two decades without really changing at all, except slowing down a little. I think it's the result of losing energy more than anything else.

It could be argued that Darkthrone still play black metal, so thus I choose them. FOAD and DTABF are utter garbage, save for a few riffs here and there. Even fucking Ravishing Grimness is a classic compared to those two.

when I think of style changes, I think fo GWAR...
In the 80's, they were this stupidly funny, incompetent, hardcore punk group with bad production.
Now, there a satirical, technical, thrash (with oh-so-unfortuante deathcore overtones) band with overproduction.

Haha, what?

Cannibal Corpse and Deicide would be my pick. I don't like any of their newer shit because they just get predictable and boring and so many other death metal bands are out there with as little fanfare as possible but do it right.

I dunno. i hear it at least. Have you heard Beyond Hell? They have several songs with breakdowns that seem clearly inspired by deathcore.
Probably just me.

I haven't heard Beyond Hell, but everything I've read about it suggests that it's in the vein of their latest albums. GWAR have never tried to resemble death metal at all, and the punkish vibe of the music has always been there -- breakdowns included.

The breakdowns dont seem very punkish to me. In there earlier material maybe, but not lately.

Is Hate Eternal really a Florida-style band? I've heard very little of them...The stuff I heard seemed quite modern, not old school Florida sounding at all.

yah, it just so happens Erik lives in Florida

at anyrate, most Floridian bands were Buffalonians who migrated, and...he ain't even from Buffalo!!!

That wasn't my point. They may be from Florida and record in Florida, but is their style really Florida old school death metal?

THAT is why bands should change thier style a bit, because then they suck at what they do, think about it, if great bands would do the same stuff wed be tired of them and want them to change. i say the casual metal fan is equal to a spoiled brat no pun intended ofcourse

-EAT METAL!-

Cryptopsy is a fairly obvious mention. Shadows Fall's latest really dissapointed me as well. Not a huge fan of them, but I did enjoy some tracks from previous albums.



Another obvious mention in saying Metallica. I wouldn't consider them to have a complete genre change seeing as how they weren't that thrashy in the first place.


Slayer is certainly worthy of mention as well.

As for Moribd Angel, I am a fairly big fan of the Domination album for whatever reason. I like all of their contributions to death metal.

I second the Obituary addition as well. They used to be so great...

Decapitated. Mikey will be pissed, but Organic Hallucinosis sucks!

If you're saying you think Covenant sucks in comparison to the first 2 then that I can live with but to flat all call Covenant boring?! BLASPHEMY

abigor in a way.

Fear Factory. I don't quite get the adrenaline-fueled feeling from any of their releases after the change of millenia.

As for Morbid Angel, I think Gateways To Annihilation is awesome. It's a different kind of death metal than their first albums, but it still kicks ass. Very underrated.

oh no i was agreeing with you and adding an extra point

Hate Eternal isn't at all like the classic Morrisound...sound or style
AND he was never from Buffalo




agreed on Decapitated, O.H. blows butthole

Listen to Conquering the Throne and tell me that doesn't resemble Morbid Angel of the same era.

Iced Earth is one of the better examples of this. They're still playing the same style, somewhere in between thrash and power metal, but they've gotten less inspired with each album.

not necessarily "become bad at it" either, though.

i guess i would put UnleasheD in this category
the last 3 are certainly, as a whole-quite different than the first 3 but are prettyyyy damn EXCELLENT in their own way.

Hate Eternal's new album really blows, "I, Monarch" is one of my favourite brutal death albums ever, but I think by next album they'll be back to the old HE.

Cryptopsy, no I'm not talking about their present stuff I'm talking about And then you'll beg. I really didn't like that cd at all. Shroud was the only good song.

Persuader. Now, they didn't really get BAD at power metal, but When Eden Burns was too Savage Circus-y.

Slayer in the eighties, like Show No Mercy from their on when they lost Dave Lombardo and when Paul Bestoph came into his place in Divine Intervention Slayer went from fun to pissed off metal.

Haha, what? Slayer were kind of always pissed off a little bit. I can get behind that, though. You should also include God Hates Us All and Christ Illusion because there are still thrash metal tendencies on those album, but in a weird half-breed kind of way.

What? Kill 'em All, Ride the Lightning, not that thrashy? Those are seminal records that helped define the sound, how can they not be "that thrashy"?

Napalm Death

The vocals on Organic left a bad taste in my mouth, but it's still Decapitated. I can't say it sucks, due to a disorder that makes me instantly like all things metal - but it is my least favorite.

I have to say Pig Destroyer. Terrifier was a step toward experimentation and it was taken to the extreme on Phantom Limb. The riffs are overtly rockish, the grind is somewhat forced and you get the feeling that Relapse production and marketing made up for all of it.

I still like PxDx but I fear their next release will be tame.