Bands you use to love, who you're losing/lost interest in...

[Diabolik]

For me......

Kataklysm - the past few disc have just been OK and they seem to be catering to the mallcore crowd now tour wise. Nothing inspires me to go back to re-listen to the newer stuff.

Opeth - like stated above by a few people. The wow! factor is gone. maybe because like in any genre, copy cat bands who end up watering down the genre.

After Forever - I really wanted to like this band. I have almost all thier disc but I stopped. I never really found any song as the releases went on that made me want to go back and listen to them again.

I guess people's taste changes with time and bands who were once great have a hard time topping classic albums. bands like Gamma Ray, Stratovarius, Hammerfall, Edguy, and other smaller acts have put out some great disc in thier time but as of late have put out some mediocre albums. Almost like....lets hurry up and write some new stuff...tour and play like three songs from that disc and then the older stuff....the cycle repeats itself over and over again.

 

[Heavenly Call]

Most, if not all, of what follows has already been covered previously but...


Stratovarius - I'm giving these guys the benefit of the doubt here but I at least have to put them in the "proceed with caution" category. I like a tremendous body of their work, old and new. But that last album was horrific. It did to me what Edguy's "Rocket Ride" did to me. Ouch! Now I know there was an incredible amount of internal strife within Statovarius that probably influenced the direction of their latest work so I'm holding out hope that is not a direction they intend to continue on any forthcoming release.

I like that "proceed with caution" category. I also wholeheartedly agree with Stratovarius.

I feel the same about Dragonforce. I really think 3 albums of the same thing is about it for me. Unfortunately for them, I don't where else they can take their sound. It won't be a blind buy for sure.

Another one for me is Balance of Power. Just hasn't had the spark for me since Lance is not with them. I fear Threshold may end up in this category too.

Here's a slight spin on this topic...at what point do you lose interest in a band versus just being disappointed in a release? I ask this becaue Zod's original descriptions had things other than just one bad release in his reasoning. My main band here being Edguy. I LOVED Rocket Ride, but I see a lot of people posting things like "Loved Hellfire Club, but Rocket Ride was crap." Does a one album slump cause you to lose interest? Just curious.

 

[See You In Hell]

I'd go exactly the opposite on this one: I would pick up the new studio releases (although it would not be a "rush to the store" purchase), but I could care less if I ever saw him live again. He is still playing the exact same concert as he did 25 years ago, with simply changing out songs from the latest album. You are guaranteed to see the exact same self-indulgent guitar solo, with the same lame stage tracks in place of musicianship. The guy is a great guitarist, and a hell of a showman, but his live show certainly does not contain any originality whatsoever.

Events have conspired in the past that have caused me to miss my fair share of "see Malmsteen in concert" opportunities. In fact, I have only seen him perform in a live setting twice and the most-recent was a few years back. Prior to that there was a gap of several years. Thus, I didn't notice the "here's the same thing I always do" show formula that you indicated. I certainly don't dispute what you say about him live because chances are you've seen him more than I have. I suppose my enthusiasm stems from the fact that there are gaps measured in years between when I have seen his performances. As for his last string of studio efforts if I stumble upn them here locally as a used CD place (there are many where I live) I'll try to give them a chance. To be fair when I got tired of his formula I pretty much just gave up on checking out anything that came later. It's entirely possible I might have cheated myself out of the opportunity to find something I might actually like. I'm bad about the "all or nothing" though process sometimes!

 

[dcowboys311]

Understood.

It's interesting (well, relatively speaking). Though I have less interest in Prog and Power, it still makes up a significant portion of my Top 10 every year. I suspect because I'm older, I have less interest in generic Prog and Power bands (which make up 99% of any genre), because I've been listening to these genres for so long. However, the stand out CDs in the Prog/Power genre, which are those more likely to make a Top 10 list, still resonate with me very strongly.

So, while I currently have more interest in second tier Extreme Metal bands than I do second tier Prog and Power bands, I still have an equal amount of interest in the top tier bands, regardless of genre.

Did that make sense to anyone but me?

Zod

My feelings exactly, although I really haven't listened to metal all that long. 6 years at the most. Over the past 2.5 years though, my taste has gone from OMG STRATOVARIUS AND GUITAR WANKERY PLEASE!! to the more extreme side. The thing is, the top CDs in the prog/power genres tend to end up in my top CDs for the year out of all genres, metal or not.

 

[dspot]

Good topic Zod.
People already mentioned PoS and QR so I won't rehash.
For me, it's Gamma Ray. And funny thing is that it's a mystery even to me. From being my top 5 band to now skipping their song if it comes on my iPod and never reaching for their CDs. I suspect they lost me after Somewhere and Blast - those were the last album from them I bought. Everything they've done since, has done absolutely nothing for me. On the other hand, I still love what Helloween is doing.

Running Wild is the other. Since the band became essentially a solo project of Rolf (after Rivalry), the quality of material has really gone downhill for me.

 

[OrbWeaver]

HammerFall - they will always hold a special place in my heart for being the first metal band I ever heard that wasn't all "OMG I'M ANGRY BECUZ MY DAD GROUNDED ME 4 DRINKING!!!!! RAAAAAAAR!" But I was somewhat dissappointed with Threshold. I will still gladly see them live, so I can see the older stuff played, but unless the next album blows me away, this band is slipping away from me.

Rhapsody - I really liked the last album, but the one before that bored me to tears. As does some of their earlier albums. This band is hit and miss for me. This band can pump me up, or put me to sleep, depending on the album.

Blind Guardian - I like their albums, but live, Hansi just lacks...something. It's disappointing.

 

[dcowboys311]

In Flames/Soilwork/Children of Bodom - I'm going to group these bands together since my reason for losing interest in all 3 of them is the same. They've taken their sound and commercialized it so they can fit in with the mallcore crowd. I have nothing against metalcore, and I like quite a bit of it, but In Flames, Soilwork, and Bodom don't do it well at all. Granted, some of the newer In Flames material is tolerable and I like Soilwork's newest album more than their past few, but it's still not good music. IMO, the newest Bodom album is the aural equivalent of "dropping the soap." I used to love all 3 of these bands, but I can't sit through more than 3 songs by them now.

Stratovarius - These guys were one of the first 4 bands I listened to in prog/power metal (the others being Dream Theater, Symphony X, and Sonata Arctica), but they are the only band out of the 4 who I just don't enjoy anymore. Maybe it's my changing taste, maybe it's their musical direction. It's probably some combination of the two. I just don't even enjoy their older albums anymore though.

Kamelot - The newest album did nothing for me and, as a result, has made me overanalyze every part of "The Black Halo," which is one of my top power metal albums ever. Now I can't even sit through that without being reminded of "Ghost Opera."

Edguy - I just don't like the new direction.

 

[See You In Hell]

Here's a slight spin on this topic...at what point do you lose interest in a band versus just being disappointed in a release? I ask this becaue Zod's original descriptions had things other than just one bad release in his reasoning. My main band here being Edguy. I LOVED Rocket Ride, but I see a lot of people posting things like "Loved Hellfire Club, but Rocket Ride was crap." Does a one album slump cause you to lose interest? Just curious.

Very interesting question. In my case does one bad release among a collection of otherwise good releases make me lose interest in a bad? No, but it does raise a caution flag. Maybe that is a bit of a knee jerk reaction but too many times I have liked a band only to see that their one bad album is but a precursor to a succession of other bad albums. Edguy, Evergrey, and Stratovarius have raised such a caution flag for me but by no means have I lost interest in any of these bands. It means the potential to do so now exists, even if it is only minute at the time the caution flag goes up. If I see a pattern of a group putting albums out that continually no longer cater to my tastes at the time (and tastes do evolve over time) then I would be more apt to lose interest. The Gathering would fall into this category. I know it's no really fair to the bands because my tastes are cyclical (albeit unpredictably so) and as such are tantamount to giving a given band a moving target to hit. There are several occasions when I at first didn't like something and then lo and behold years later I like it a lot. The reverse is true. I have several albums I loved when I got them but now my reaction to them is lukewarm at best. I suppose that's why I often have a hard time really bashing or really loving a band so vehemently -- because I'm aware that my musical tastes at any point and time are influenced by a variety of factors: mood, phase (heavy versus slower, progressive versus power), and so on. There are bands who have a formula that works no matter how I find my tastes evolving and trascend whatever barriers my evolving tastes may put up against a certain style, artist, and so on. But it seems there are more bands that I'm into only when they have something to offer that fits my current state of mind/taste or however you wish to categorize it. This is really nothing new to anyone I'm sure. I'd wager we all experience this to varying degrees and durations.

As for bands I mentioned like Evergrey, Edguy, Stratovarius, and so on I would still at least support them live for a variety of reasons: I haven't yet seen them live, I love going to concerts, I enjoy giving my support to the metal scene of my area as best I can (we stop going to shows and bands stop coming to our area). Hell, I'd probably still go see whatever incarnation of The Gathering that existed if they came to my city. So I suppose in more cases or not when I lose interest in a band it is more by not buying their albums than it is about going to a show. I will qualify that by saying that if a group like The Gathering were touring my city but asking $50 per ticket I would sit that one out. If tickets were $25ish or so I'd go. So my tolerance/intolerance for bands I might be giving up on or worrying that I might give up on is mitigated by out of pocket expense when it comes to showing my support in a concert setting. Maybe I'm just a cheap bastard?

Geez, I can ramble with the best of them. If only I learned how to make a point and do so concisely....

 

[FatesFan]

Rhapsody - Let's be fair here... They released great, good and okay albums. That's up until Power of the Dragonflame. Whatever they put out afterwards is purely shit (except for maybe a third of the last album). They really need to wake up and work on music that's good. Can't stand their self-recycling anymore.

Although I think this take on Rhapsody is a bit extreme for me, I have lost the great fondness I once held for these guys. They need something new and I don't think it is there. To be honest, I am not sure what a band with a sound that big can do. If they scale back it will come off as going backwards, if they ramp it up, it will be like Blind Guardians Night at the Opera to see just how many tracks they can use. I am not really sure what the answer for them to get away from the recycled sound.

 

[Heavenly Call]

Well put, well put See You In Hell. That makes great sense and I feel much the same way. I was like that for Primal Fear. I was not pleased with Seven Seals, so that "caution flag" did go up, but I LOVED LOVED New Religion so I guess I somewhat lowered it. However, I still have the Seven Seals memory so I guess I will always have a slight hesitation.

To the person above who mentioned Hammerfall...GREAT example of a band from this thread. That's a band that I had a caution flag on Crimson Thunder and it's been downhill from there.

 

[Burnout]

Blind Guardian - A Night At The Opera had its moments (And Then There Was Silence being one of few said moments) but A Twist In The Myth was just downright boring, thin and uninspired.

Evergrey - I enjoyed The Inner Circle and Monday Morning Apocalypse was bearable, but I wouldn't give it any more than that.

Nightwish - I can't get into anything other than Oceanborn anymore, a lot of it just bores me to tears.

Symphony X - The Odyssey was great, what I've heard of Paradise Lost was alright, but I don't find myself listening to them nearly as often as I used to.

A decent amount of the above is likely changing tastes on my part, I've been drifting towards the heavier end of the metal genre in a notable way recently. I've been spinning stuff by Death, Arsis, Gojira, Quo Vadis, Alarum, Lykathea Aflame and so on more than a lot of the power metal I used to listen to.

 

[Stingray11214]

Metallica - Might as well be called Nirvanaca. They had completely sold their soul for money, and threw their heritage away. Cliff Burton has turned in his grave, only to prevent the piss from hitting him in the face from Lars and James.

Judas Priest - Rob Halford should have stayed gone. The band should have closed shop and allowed us to live with the memories.

Helloween - In the old days, they walked with giants. Now, they look up to the Lilliputians. Maybe this tour with Gamma Ray will wake them up to once was greatness.

Kotipelto - I know this is a side project, but "Serenity" is almost unlistenable. Maybe Timo is in the downside of his career. Hope the new Strato album is not as bad as this.

 

[Jasonic]

?????????????????

I couldn't agree more and that had nothing to do with my original post.

Ok, then I must have missed the point you were making.
I took it as you were predicting who the pissers and moaners were.

 

[longshot9]

Nevermore - DHIADW was the album that got me into these guys... one of my all-time favorite cd's, and they haven't touched that magic since. One album wonder for me.
Edguy - I fall into the same category as most of you, and I used to love cock-rock. Rocket Ride was aweful, a few good songs, but overall it sucked. I would put them in the category below, but I don't think they'll go back to where they were with the earlier cd's... I LOVED Hellfire Club, but even with the great music, the lyrical content on a few songs was horrid.
Iced Earth - Ripper just does nothing for me.
Stratovarius - Will never be able to top Visions. A few great songs between then and now, but the last cd was brutal... Maniac Dance??? c'mon.

Bands I really love that are worrying me a bit...

Kamelot - Ghost Opera overall was really weak.
Angra - Wasn't too impressed with the last cd... but from what i've heard, they're no more anyways so no need to worry.
Brainstorm - i'm really worried about them, this section is really hard for me to swallow because this, and the 2 previous bands, are easily in my top 10, if not top 5 bands right now... while overall I liked Liquid Monster, a few songs had me kinda cringing when I listened to them... especially All Those Words with that horrible female voice in the chorus. I've heard the first single from the new cd and wasn't too impressed. Muscially it was fine, but the chorus was very generic and lacked anything special... yeah it's just one song, but enough to make me worry about one of my favorite bands.
Sonata Arctica - I still believe Unia was recorded by a completely different band.
Tad Morose & Lost Horizon - Don't know why, but I think losing their voices is going to kill these bands. Shame.

 

[rms]

Lost Horizon has 2 cds made like 6 years ago, basically same vocals I dont understand

 

[bsbarnes]

I think the evolution of the genre has something to do with it. The neoclassical aspects of Symphony X attracted me into the prog/power arena, but it seems like power metal has generally veered away from that style over the last few years. I still buy power metal CDs but practice due diligence before shelling out the $$$.

My tastes are regressing back to more of the 80s melodic style. I'm listening to more melodic metal these days like House of Lords, Frontline, and Evidence One.

 

[Braxil]

For me there are two categories; bands that have changed to the point where I don't enjoy them anymore, and bands that I have just gotten tired of.

Changed too much for me to enjoy:
Nightwish - Oceanborn remains a masterpiece in my eyes, but their more recent material has reached almost laughable levels for me.
Angra - The lineup change killed my interest in the band almost completely.
Helloween - Everything up to Chameleon is great, everything else I can't stand.
Edguy - The last two have made me lose hope that Tobias will ever do anything worthwhile ever again.
Iced Earth - I have zero confidence that Schaffer will write another song I will be able to enjoy.
Masterplan - I don't expect anything they will release from now on will even graze the quality of the first two albums.

Gotten tired of:
Kamelot - Once one of my favorite bands, I now find any album other than The Fourth Legacy to be horribly disjointed and inconsistent. I also cannot stand the stylistic direction of the last two albums. Khan even said in an interview that they're "trying to be more gothic" for marketing purposes, give me a break.
Rhapsody - I really enjoyed their earlier albums, and the new ones aren't all that bad, I just find myself never wanting to listen to these guys anymore.
Symphony X - I can't exactly put my finger on why, but I almost never listen to these guys, and I have enjoyed their catalog pretty consistently.

Worried about in the future:
Stratovarius - I don't expect their next album to be as terrible as their last one, but I don't expect it to be that good either.
Brainstorm - Hearing Liquid Monster and the single from the new album has seriously shaken my faith in this band.
Evergrey - I'm hoping MMA was a fluke.

 

[yardleybates]

It's funny, Yippee and I were having a conversation about this over the summer and neither of us can remember what bands we were talking about at the time.

I Like Braxil's categories:

Changed too much for me to enjoy:

Nightwish: I can enjoy the new album but for me, they are more pop sounding than I want from this band.

Iced Earth: I loved TGB and I have no problem with Ripper, but this new release just isn't what I expect from Iced Earth.


Gotten tired of:

Edguy kind of fits in this category for me. They are wicked fun live and I can listen to some of the older albums and remember how much fun I had at the show, but they are not one I pick when choosing my daily CDs.


Worried about in the future:

Sonata Arctica - I enjoyed Unia but it didn't have any of the catchiness or hooks of their previous stuff

Epica - they're waxing a little on the pop side with this latest album, but I'm not signing off on them just yet.

 

[Kenso]

nightwish, dream theater and SX

nightwish - i was never a massive fan but did enjoy them a bit, but now i just dont feel em

dream theater - seriously... falling, scenes, images, awake, 6 degrees, all of those were good cds, when will the spree of crappy ones stop?

symphony x - at first i liked the new disc, then i listened again and it was like a totally different cd. the new disc has less spark for me, their songs just seem heavier and duller. i also hate michael romeos guitar tone, it makes him sound robotic (IMO).

also someone mentioned yngwie, haha that guy has just been doing the same stuff for years. magnum opus and odyssey were actually great cds, but sadly i think the singers made those cds great rather than yngwie him. jeff scott soto rocks!

 

[Sir Exar Kun]

Angra - Wasn't too impressed with the last cd... but from what i've heard, they're no more anyways so no need to worry.

What are you referring to? I am a huge fan of these guys, and have not heard a thing. This would be a HUGE shame if they called it quits!