I still haven’t left for New Zealand yet, and actually spent the last few days in Washington, D.C. (you can really lose track of time in the National Gallery). But now that I’m back and waiting for the inevitable 20 hours on a plane, I can return to a few more blog posts.
I made a realization about albums that seems to prevalent to be totally coincidental. There are a significant number of bands (over the past 25 years) who have greatly altered their sound with their third full-length LP albums. Here are some examples:
Sick Puppies is probably the most blatant example of this phenomenon. Though the band had been around for a while in their home country, Australia, the Sick Puppies never made any international impact until they moved to the U.S., releasing their first LP in 2007. This album, Dressed Up As Life, and their 2009 effort, Tri-Polar, catapulted the band towards becoming on the best new acts in rock music. They were mainstream enough to be liked by the general public, while still providing an essential hard rock sound and vibe on hit tracks like “My World” and “You’re Going Down.” My personal favorite, “Odd One,” helped me appreciate their music, and enjoy the concert I saw with Sick Puppies opening for Seether. But, in 2013 Sick Puppies released Connect, which was radically different from Sick Puppies’ previous records. In an instant, Sick Puppies went from modern rock with hard rock roots to an alternative rock band bordering on pop in several tracks. Here’s an example: “Connect.” In the past few months, Sick Puppies bassist Emma Anzai and drummer Mark Goodwin fired the vocalist, Shimon Moore (who has had drug problems). We’ll see what musical direction Sick Puppies takes in the future.
Another popular example of changing musical style on a third album comes from Linkin Park. While not one of my favorite bands from the early 2000’s, Linkin Park had a distinctive sound that featured hard rock energy. The band’s first two albums, Hybrid Theory and Meteora, were essentially a mixture of nu metal (like Korn or NIN) and rap metal (in the RAtM model). However, with their third record, Minutes to Midnight, Linkin Park switched to a more mainstream sound, focusing on my radio-friendly music and less creativity and experimentation. In essence, Linkin Park went from refreshingly unique (“By Myself“) to commercially focused, and sometimes strange (“The Catalyst“).
One more upsetting example considers Black Veil Brides. Now, most people either love or hate this band, and personally I don’t understand the eternal love expressed by the diehards. But the band’s first album was great (“Knives and Pens,” “Sweet Blasphemy,” etc.), and the second had its good moments (“Saviour“). BVB combined never-ending guitar solos with Andy Biersack’s mixture of clean vocals and guttural screams, to great effect. But Black Veil Brides’ third album, Wretched and Divine, commenced a change of direction for the band. All focus seemed to be placed on sweeping rock anthems, complete with repetitive choruses and a lack of differentiation. This change included songs like “Revelation,” and were magnified in the band’s next, self-titled album.
Now looking at third albums from a different perspective, some bands become admirable to me only by their third record. Avenged Sevenfold was definitively hardcore in their first two albums, Sounding the Seventh Trumpet and Waking the Fallen. Their third album, City of Evil, signaled a new era in the band’s musical history, as they became more focused on a hard rock/metal sound, like their idols Metallica and Black Sabbath. The current Avenged Sevenfold sound, like “Seize the Day” and “Buried Alive,” are much different in sound than tracks like “Chapter Four.”
Other bands have also exemplified the modification in sound on their third albums, like Slipknot. How much different is Vol. 3: The Subliminal Verses than its predecessors Slipknot and Iowa? It’s undoubtedly the same band, but Vol. 3: is so much more melodic and experimental. The conclusion I’ve made from the third album scenario concerns the path taken by band members. Many bands don’t change their sound so explicitly in their third albums, and many provide some of their best work on their third records (Nirvana, Foo Fighters, My Chemical Romance, Shinedown, Alter Bridge, etc.). But others change. I think it has to do with the musicians’ interests. Musicians like Kurt Cobain, Gerard Way, and Myles Kennedy/Mark Tremonti are not worried about being commercially successful and making money. They are merely looking for a creative outlet for their musical passions. Kurt never wanted to be famous, and Nirvana’s third album In Utero is in large part a direct response against his popularity. That’s what made In Utero so amazing. Albums like MCR’s The Black Parade and Shinedown’s The Sound of Madness act as a means of expression for the musicians, more so than any fame or wealth.
However, by a band’s third album, it is likely it has reached its peak, or near its peak, in term of renown and popularity. Sick Puppies saw that they were becoming more well-known, and they were receiving more praise and wealth for their music. In an attempt to continue gaining fame, they looked to provide music to satisfy their fans, rather than music to satisfy themselves. Obviously this is merely speculation and I cannot speak for Sick Puppies or Linkin Park, but it seems like a possibility. I’m sure its hard to resist the urges of labels, producers, and fans, and result is typically more mainstream in sound. The bands that continue to produce amazing music, finding a middle ground between outright change of genre or complete focus on specific sound (looking at you Black Veil Brides), are the ones who are in reality more exceptional. Kurt, and those influenced by him, wrote for themselves, not the audience. When they played their music, it was a personal experience, and a fan should feel lucky just to be a part of it. I believe the 3rd album curse stems from that spiral towards mainstream popularity, and the best bands resist the temptation to alter their talents for the benefit of the (largely unmusical) majority.
So, in light of this, I am worried about the upcoming records from Halestorm and Young Guns. Both are on their third albums, and have both released singles that are less than impressive. As I await the release of their new albums, I hope they have not continued down that path taken by some others, and instead chose to continue on their musical adventure, without caring what others think.
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