Bands That Changed Drastically After Their First Album

[El Phaco]

Mr. Bungle. 1st album was crazy, but funky as hell with lots of brass. 2nd is a UFO (a great one, but definitely harder to listen to from the beginning to the end).

 

[frijoleghost]

hall & oates

 

[Bluesful]

Stone Roses - first album was chimey powerpop.
2nd album was Led Zep wannabe.

The 2nd record has always just sounded like a collection of guitar jams to me.

Not a complaint, I dig it, but that's what it feels like to me.

 

[j_el_jee]

Iron Maiden.

 

[sanvandur]

Pink Floyd
Dream Theater
Rush
Cocteau Twins
Iron Maiden
Goldfrapp
King Crimson
Queen
Soda Stereo
Beastie Boys

 

[louderock]

Ian Moore. Maybe it was the third record???

 

[andvari7]

Faith No More - 'Introduce Yourself' to 'The Real Thing' was a huge step up replacing Chuck Mosley with Mike Patton.

Jane's Addiction - S/T debut wasn't so much an album as it was a compilation with a mix of live and studio tracks. 'Nothing's Shocking' followed and that was a major improvement for them as far as their sound and songwriting.

Introduce Yourself was Faith No More’s second album. We Care A Lot was first, and there wasn’t a radical change between the two.

But GWAR is a correct answer. Hell-O! to Scumdogs Of The Universe was a significant change, from a Mentors knock-off, to an early 1990s metal classic.

 

[monwobobbo]

Lucifer's Friend. 1st album was an early metal classic. 2nd was very different and not in a good way.

 

[Little_Wing]

Neil Young. He went from folk rock to loud distorted guitar with Crazy Horse.

 

[The_Cheap_Guitarist]

Spinal Tap.

"Shark Sandwich" showed them heading in a new direction.

 

[Ben R8]

Rush

I checked it out, they sounded like Led Zeppelin.

 

[Ben R8]

Gotta check some of these out, will take a while.

 

[Ben R8]

Pantera

They were very hair metal!

 

[wildschwein]

You have your whole life to write your first record and about 6 months or less to write your second.

 

[Eddie-Applegate]

Combustible Edison

"Schizophonic" is much harsher-sounding and more electronic / space-age than the thoroughly smoky-lounge debut "I, Swinger" ; has a completely different vibe in general

 

[Victor R]

I love the evolution of The Horrors

 

[Borealis]

AC DC. Ehh no, did they change drastically after the second, or was it in the fourth?

They dropped the bagpipes.

 

[ctreitzell]

Talk Talk
I can't believe I'm the first to say that!

 

[MBT74]

Stone Roses - first album was chimey powerpop.
2nd album was Led Zep wannabe.

The reason for the change in both the Stone Roses and Oasis sound between the first and second albums is the same. The guitarists in both bands were doing a shed load of cocaine during the recording of those second albums.

 

[Chronic Fatigue]

Anthrax