5 Bands Who Started Out As Death Metal But Aren't Anymore

Here's five bands who started out as death metal but aren't anymore.

While each of these bands all have a common thread running through the earliest facets of their respective careers, they all wound up exploring sounds that are wildly different from one another. And while there are instances of other bands abandoning their death metal roots around the globe, four of the bands we've chosen to highlight here all happened to be Swedish. The other hails from neighboring Norway.

Sweden is one of the global hot pockets when it comes to death metal and, in particular, melodic death metal. Perhaps that is due to the broadcast of the 1983 Dortmund Festival on Swedish TV, which featured Def Leppard, Krokus, Ozzy Osbourne, Michael Schenker Group, Quiet Riot, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest and Scorpions. Obviously, there's a large share of melodic bands that infected the minds of impressionable youths who'd later form bands right as death metal was bubbling up.

READ MORE: The Best Album by 11 Legendary Death Metal Bands

The extreme origin of these five bands are were the comparisons start and stop. Each eventually drifted from their early style, some shedding extremity altogether. Basically, you're unlikely to find them all on the same playlist regarding what they sound like today.

Sometimes, overhauling your sound can be risky, but these artists never would have reaped their rewards if they didn't follow their own ambitions.

Now, take a look at the best death metal album of each year since 1985!