History BrokenBase / Music

* I'm amazed that we've got this far without a proper mention of Muse. Take a look on the official board and you'll see a pretty definite divide between "people who think Bellamy can do no wrong" and "people who think the band've jumped the shark but hang about because of friend they've made". Threads can easily dissolve into "if you don't like them, why are you still here?" or on the flip side "you'd listen to faecal matter if it came from Bellamy and you'd praise it to high heaven". Beyond that, there's another set of splits between "people who think they started to suck after absolution"; "people who think they started to suck after getting involved with twilight" and "people who think the resistance is a work of art". Things can get... Heated

** The band's latest album, Hail to the King, is not only the first album to be recorded without any input whatsoever from the late Jimmy "The Rev" Sullivan - but also takes on a significantly different direction from the previous three albums (although probably not quite as drastically as City of Evil was from Waking the Fallen). According to lead singer M Shadows, the album can be described as "more blues rock-influenced and more like classic rock and classic metal in the vein of Music/BlackSabbath and Music/LedZeppelin". Quite naturally, this album would be even more disdained by those who prefer the band's STST/WTF-era style. But even a significant portion of those who have enjoyed the past three albums find the style to be too much of a departure for them.

** Then there's the departure of a certain member... whom has since returned...(well..uh..sort of). But the embittered division is still there. What added to the division is the fact that this also put more fuel to the fire because of the reason why he was ousted and the fact the group isn't quite the same without him. Though others would say he was on the decline due to his substance abuse issues, and his unprofessionalism when it comes to not showing up for video shoots and concerts. so his absence isn't really missed.
** Recently there's the fact that the ''other'' EnsembleDarkhorse (Krayzie Bone) was asked to leave. Wish Bone left with him and things just kept going form bad to worse among the fans. They have also also returned. But now layzie is hanging separately to promote his own ventures, but he insists he hasn't left the group.

** Each of these hip-hop sub-fanbases has its own splinter groups, and even at its simplest level, you actually have a gigantic seething mass of cliques: something along the lines of "Golden Age" purists (fans of late '80s/early '90s rap; typically East Coast with some token Ice Cube or Too $hort appreciation), indie/alternative (or the demi-pejorative "undie") rap fans who lean towards some of the more avant-garde acts like Madlib, POS and El-P, several strata of Southern rap fans pitting coke-rap boosters (often accused of being indie hipster kids) vs. snap/trap/crunk club-rap fans (see: Soulja Boy/"ringtone rap") vs. Dungeon Family (OutKast/Goodie Mob/et al), West Coast adherents (which can potentially be split into classic g-funk vs. hyphy arguments), the recently-cooled yet still potentially volatile Jay-Z vs. Nas camps... and god help you if you actually like grime or dubstep or electro or some other (usually non-American) genre offshoot.

*** Recently discussed [[http://www.spin.com/articles/lorde-royals-rap-radio-urban-macklemore-thrift-shop/?sailthru_position=5 in this Spin article]]. Basically people are saying hip hop is being gentrified

* {{Music/Devo}} fans are split between when Devo "began to suck". Many say after [[Music/FreedomOfChoice "Freedom of Choice"]], some "New Traditionalists" or "Oh, No!", and even a few say "Duty Now for the Future". Most folks seem to agree, though, that "Shout", "Total DEVO", and "Smooth Noodle Maps" all suck, but the new album "Something for Everybody" have generally been well-received.

* German indie rockers Music/{{Tocotronic}} started as a [[RuleOfCool sloppy]] underground [[CultClassic cult band]] with frontman Dirk von Lowtzow [[PerishingAltRockVoice embodying]] the [[TheSnarkKnight deadpan]] [[TheSlacker slacker]] much to the amusement of the Hamburg indie scene that was otherwise crowded with agitprop leftists and [[StrawNihilist dead-serious fatalist philosophers]] like their friends from ''Blumfeld''. ''Tocotronic'' changed their style towards professional recording and Lowtzow [[BadassBaritone stopped snarking]] in favor of becoming a [[TrueArtIsAngsty melancholic]] [[TheDandy dandy]] with [[TrueArtIsIncomprehensible abstract]] lyrics no one really understood. As they new sound was far more successful, old fans usually claim that they were [[ItsPopularNowItSucks better when they were snarking]], while new fans prefer their more polished sound.

** There's now also a Broken Base over which post-Oasis band to follow: Liam's band Beady Eye or Noel's project Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds.

* ''Music/{{Nightwish}}'', post Tarja Turunen. Some fans think the new singer and new sound are a different kind of good, others think it completely sucks now.

** The new singer got more and more popular when people started to go their shows and realized that she was far more entertaining and nicer than Tarja was.

** And now that Anette has split from Nightwish (under not particularly good circumstances, either), the debate becomes more complicated, particularly considering whatever direction Tuomas is planning on taking the band, or if there is much he can really do after ''Imaginaerum''.
** Floor Jansen, the singer they picked to finish the tour in place of Annette, seems to have gotten a pretty positive reception - nobody really hates her. But now there are three sides to the flame war...

Now, with the benefit (?) of hindsight and vastly better-informed fans, the fanbase is split six ways to Sunday. Was Barrett or Waters the ''true'' genius? How does their psychedelic era compare to what came after? Are the Gilmour-led albums sell-out trash or nearly as good as the classic ones? Is ''Music/AtomHeartMother'' brilliant or complete rubbish ([[CreatorBacklash the band themselves mostly think the latter]])? Ditto ''Music/TheFinalCut'' [[note]]this one divides even the surviving members of the band - they being the ones who were on it)[[/note]]. And so on.

* The Norwegian AOR band TNT have been victims of this in on-off spans. First when Firefly came out in 1997, the fandom was torn between accepting and abandoning the change. Then, when Tony Harnell, the band's most liked singer, left in 2006, and was replaced by British singer Tony Mills, FanDumb erupted like you wouldn't believe, and even more so when The New Territory came out in 2007. It was a largely LoveItOrHateIt album, but the new album Atlantis is much better received.

* This recently happened to the British indie band The Horrors. The songs on their first album and their singles were fast, short bursts of goth-influenced garage punk often not lasting more than two minutes. Then in early 2009 came the video for "Sea Within A Sea", the first single from their second album. It was slower, more atmospheric and Music/JoyDivision-sounding and most troubling to fans, ''eight minutes long''. Some fans cried bloody murder. Other fans welcomed the new sound with open arms and praised their new tighter sound. Needless to say, any forum discussing the band has degraded down to two dozen active flame wars about the subject between the two sides.
* Music/DreamTheater. Old music (''Images and Words'', ''Awake'') vs new music (''Train of Thought, ''Systematic Chaos''), Kevin Moore vs. Derek Sherinan vs. Jordan Rudess, too much keyboard vs. not enough keyboard, music is too heavy vs. music is too pop-like, who's the best lyricist?, songs are [[EpicRocking too long]], songs are too short...just about anything, really.

*** Now there's the fans who supported Mike Portnoy's ejection from the band and think that the band was right to not let him rejoin ([[FanDumb Despite the band lacking a drummer]]), and those who believe that Portnoy should be allowed back in.

* No love (or hate) for Music/AliceInChains yet? The flamewars on youtube over Layne's death never die down, and he died seven years ago. Not to even mention William [=DuVall=]; entire cities have been warmed by the flames stemming from just one claim that he's better than Layne. And as though this isn't enough, they're set to release a new album, which looks to be just as debated as Chinese Democracy.
** After the release of the new album, it seems like it was averted, since critics and fans alike found Black Gives Way to Blue to be truly an [[AwesomeMusic amazing]] comeback album, given its flawless production and the music being loyal to their old nineties sound. As for William [=DuVall=], again, the vast majority agreed that he fits very well with the band, besides being a more than competent frontman and musician, up to the point most fans have accepted [[EarnYourHappyEnding he stood on for himself, and don't see him as a replacement, but a different and good musician on his own]].
*** The production certainly wasn't flawless; it was a sterling example of what's wrong with the LoudnessWar. However, apart from that flaw, basically everyone loved it.
**** The Devil Put Dinosaurs here is arguably BETTER than Black Gives Way To Blue.

* 65daysofstatic's newest album "We Were Exploding Anyway" was greatly divisive: some fans embraced the new, more dance-oriented direction of the album as a logical progression. There is, however, a considerable portion of fans who were looking forward to more glitchy post-rock, and will not listen to the newest album.

* A lighter example with Music/{{Disturbed}}'s fan base over the old bassist [[StageNames Fuzz]] vs. the new bassist John Moyer.

* Anything by Music/{{Sade}} Post ''[[CrowningMusicOfAwesome love Delux]]'', Specifically when ''Lover's Rock'' came out continuing into ''Soldier Of Love''. Mostly because some feel that they are moving from the more organic, quiet storm, contemporary R&B/Soul, contemporary jazz fusion sound, and are now suffering from a mild form of modern production aesthetics. Others think they are just changing with the times, And that their music is still good.

** [[FaceOfTheBand Lacey]] left the band to peruse other things. The fanbase is torn on whether the new singer is good or not, whether she's a suitable replacement, or whether they should change the name of the band and stop singing Flyleaf songs.

* Evans Blue had two rather unique albums that included the (then) lead singer/songwriter Kevin matisyn. In 2008 Kevin was kicked out of the band and replaced with a new lead who had a completely different sound and lyrics. This has caused many, many fans to dislike the new EB. There are other fans, however, who like the new sound of the band.
* Music/DuranDuran's fanbase is rabid about whether the "fab five" lineup of Simon, Nick, John, Andy, and Roger was the acme of the band's existence, whether they improved post-split with the severely trimmed-down lineup of Simon, Nick, and John, whether the best lineup of their musical career was the '90s lineup of Simon, Nick, John, and Warren, whether John leaving the band was a good thing or a terrible thing, or whether the 2001 "reunion" was a good idea. And now that Andy's left (again!) and they replaced him with Dom, is the band still relevant and interesting or is it a hoary old dinosaur that's fooling itself into thinking it's ''not'' extinct? By the way, even the question of a "reunion" in 2001 brought forth a flurry of controversy from people who resented the insinuation that the band were "reuniting" since they never went away, and it went even deeper when the press frequently cited that it was "the original lineup", since the "fab five" lineup of Simon, Nick, John, Andy, and Roger was in no way the "original lineup" from the band's 1978 establishment (that would've been Steve Duffy, Simon Colley, Nick, and John). It was another reason for the fans who got into the band from about 1987 onward and/or preferred the non-"fab five" band eras, who felt betrayed and disenfranchised by the "reunion" era activities, to hate what was happening, especially since the band seemed to be doing that to court what the disenfranchised fan base felt were "fairweather fans" who dropped the band when it no longer became about the "fab five". The disenfranchised fan set also felt very strongly that from 2004's ''Astronaut'' on, the band had compromised its artistic integrity (since Warren was the member who introduced experimental elements into the band's music) for purely poppish interests.

* Music/RedHotChiliPeppers have quite a large BrokenBase due to their evolution from a funk-punk band through more slow-paced funk mixed with the alternative rock they've produced in recent years. However, the fanbase are extremely divided on the album [[CreatorBreakdown One Hot Minute]], and starting a thread on a RHCP forum about it is not advised.

* SuperJunior provides an interesting example, in that the base split started with the addition of [[PromotedFanboy Kyuhyun]], who was later accepted and is now one of the most prominent members. The addition of [[CanadaEh Henry Lau]] and Zhou Mi was much more polarizing, seeing as they are only officially members of the subgroup Super Junior M (catering to the Chinese market) and not the first Chinese members of Super Junior anyway. The "only 13 versus all 15" debate has pretty much died down as of late. And then Han Geng left...

* Music/{{Opeth}} started out as a progressive death metal group, but their sound slowly became less death metal-oriented over time. Now, they're a progressive rock/metal band. Like with Genesis, the fanbase is now divided into three groups: the fans of their older work (largely comprised of [[FanDumb metalheads who believe Opeth has "betrayed" metal]]), the fans of their newer work (largely comprised of progressive rock fans) and those that enjoy their entire career.
* Drum & bugle corps. Mother of Mercy, drum & bugle corps. Old-school vs. really old school vs. 80s vs 90s versus modern, G bugles versus B flat brass, etc. - the issue most argued about now seems to be amps and electronics in the pit. And of course, fans of the individual corps have been going at it since the beginning (lately, there seems to be considerable animosity between fans of the Blue Devils and fans of Carolina Crown).

* Reliant K's latest album, ''Collapsible Lung'', has caused quite a division between fans who hate it because of the pop, say it's the best thing ever because of the pop, are OK with it and don't take either side, and fans who are uncomfortable with the less-than-Christian message (some songs actually feature unsubtle IntercourseWithYou references, which is very shocking for a Christian rock band).
* Cassadee Pope REALLY split her fanbase when she left pop punk band Hey Monday, went onto ''The Voice'' and won, and is now performing.....wait for it.....'''''[[NewSoundAlbum COUNTRY MUSIC]].''''' Many fans love the new direction she's taking, others are......to put it lightly, '''''VERY''''' torn on her new sound, especially considering that country music is a very polarizing genre.

* Listening to music via cloud services vs. listening to local copies of music. Fans of the former enjoy not having to worry about storage and being able to listen to their music on any device that can access their service of choice. Fans of the latter argue that local copies do not need an Internet connection to listen to and that cloud services come and go; after all, one can listen to [=MP3=] or FLAC copies of their music 30 years from now, but 30 years from now cloud services like Spotify might not exist anymore.

* The Music/{{Coldplay}} album ''Viva La Vida'' has split fans as well, between rejoicing at the[[NewSoundAlbum new sound]] and critizing them for "trying to be the next ''Music/{{U2}}''".

* Music/{{Vocaloid}}. The Kaito [[ShipToShipCombat Shipping Wars]]. Do you support him with [[[{{Tsundere}} Meiko]] or [[MoeMoe Miku]]? Dare you even mention Luka? Whatever it is, you'd better not talk about it in the comments, no matter which pairing is supported....

* Many fans of Music/TheStooges can agree that ''Music/RawPower'' is a great record. What's a bit more harder for them to agree on is whether Music/DavidBowie's original thin mix or Iggy's eardrum destroying mix is the better version.

* Many fans of Music/TheStooges can agree that ''Music/RawPower'' is a great record. What's a bit more harder form to agree on is whether Music/DavidBowie's original thin mix or Iggy's eardrum destroying mix is the better version.

* Music/LouisArmstrong: Some critics feel that in the latter half of his career Armstrong became more of a showman than an artist and prefer his older stuff, particularly ''Music/TheCompleteHotFiveAndHotSevenRecordings''.

* Music/MichaelJackson's fanbase went through this on ''every'' post-''Music/{{Thriller}}'' record. Their are some who said that his last good album was ''Music/{{Bad}}'', whereas others say it was ''Music/{{Dangerous}}''. Then there are who love ''Music/HistoryPastPresentAndFutureBook1'' for it being more personal and its dark overtone; ''Music/{{Invincible}}'' gets a lot of hate from some fan for not using real instruments, while others liked the more urban sound and thought it was Michael going back to his roots.

* Music/BobMarley: Some fans feel his 1960s and early 1970s work is great and that he went "commercial" after ''Music/LiveBobMarleyAlbum Live]]'' brought "No Woman, No Cry" to the top of the charts.

** Is Music/MickJagger the heart and soul of the Stones? Or is it Music/KeithRichards? It's difficult to say which one of the two is more irreplaceable to what the band is about?

* In Indie or otherwise underground music, any artist who gains a measure of mainstream popularity will experience a wave of backlash from original fans. Mostly from fear that the artist(s) in question will change their style in order to become mainstream.
* ArcadeFire are the kings of this. They somehow successfully break their base with every release they make:
** In 2004, when they released Funeral, fans were split towards whether or not the sound from their first EP was better than the sound on Funeral.
** In 2007, when they released their second album, Neon Bible, some fans were displeased with the "darker" sound they got. To make matters more confusing, critics were the same way.
** Then, in 2010, when the released The Suburbs, the fanbase basically split yet again. This time into several sections. There are now people that have a certain combination of ArcadeFire albums they like and dislike. This creates some pretty heated arguments between their fans.

* TupacShakur fans usually fight over which album showcased the ''[[AlternateCharacterInterpretation real]]'' Tupac. The albums in question are "Me Against the World" VS. "All Eyez on Me". Proponents of the first claim that the album is better than AEOM because of its depth and dark, introspective approach, while claiming that AEOM is just a typical mainstream rap album people jumped on the bandwagon for.

* BlackFlag is perhaps the most polarizing example of a broken base for a punk band. First, there are camps of fans that prefer either the pre-1984 Flag (consisting of raw fast-paced punk) or the 1984-1986 Flag (which consisted of slow, repetitive avant-garde experiments in an attempt to push the band's sound forward). Then, there are fans divided by the singer (either Keith Morris, Dez Cadena, Ron Reyes {who was involuntarily credited by the band as "Chavo Pederast"}, and [[FaceOfTheBand Henry Rollins]])

* {{Depeche Mode}} fans are divided between the ones who like all of their work and those who only like the material prior to Alan Wilder's departure. Visiting the forums will provide users arguing if the Post-Wilder era albums are good or not.

* {{Music/Devo}} fans are split between when Devo "began to suck". Many say after "Freedom of Choice", some "New Traditionalists" or "Oh, No!", and even a few say "Duty Now for the Future". Most folks seem to agree, though, that "Shout", "Total DEVO", and "Smooth Noodle Maps" all suck, but the new album "Something for Everybody" have generally been well-received.

** Oh, then there's those curmudgeons who think everything after "Q: Are We Not Men?" is a load of junk with too much synthesizer.
* ''TheKillers'': Did they sell out with Sam's Town? Mature as artists? Try to be the next ''{{U2}}''? Simply explore a different style? The world [[strike:may]] will never know, especially since they went back to their synthy, '80s post-punk revival roots with ''Day & Age'' and show no sign of looking back.
* The decision of ''{{KISS}}'' to dress replacement members Eric Singer and Tommy Thayer in the makeup and costumes of founders Peter Criss and Ace Frehley has split the fanbase into those who think it is an insult to the originals and those who think it is a fitting tribute to the band's past legacy. This debate often overlaps into the old debates of makeup vs. non-makeup and "old school" 70s Kiss vs. any post-1979 lineup.

* ''Music/{{Genesis}}'' have a fanbase generally split into three groups: Those who love the early PeterGabriel-led albums and decry the later work pop sellout garbage while bashing PhilCollins at every available opportunity, those who love the later PhilCollins-led albums and dismiss the earlier work as pretentious nonsense, and those who love both eras (seeing Peter and Phil as equals) and credit keyboardist TonyBanks as the true mastermind of the band.
** There's at least a fourth camp, who agree that Banks was the mastermind but think he went downhill at some point, with sub-debates over when that was (but certainly it had happened by ''Invisible Touch''). And that's just the beginning. There's also huge debates over the merits of individual albums, especially ''The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway'', ''...And Then There Were Three'' and the one album with neither Gabriel nor Collins, ''...Calling All Stations...''. Not to mention debates, easily confused with but distinct from the Gabriel/Collins/Banks one, between fans of their more pop-oriented versus their more progressive material, and on and on ''ad nauseum''.
** Lots of other progressive or once-progressive bands have these too, including ''Yes'', ''KingCrimson'' and ''{{Rush}}'' in particular, but Genesis is easily the best known. The mere mention of liking PhilCollins on some Genesis and progressive-rock related fan websites can result in an immediate argument between fans.
* Fleshgod Apocalypse got hit with this to a very large degree with ''Agony''. The fandom either thought it was a bold new progression of their sound and a breath of fresh air or a bonafide [[JumpTheShark shark jump]] that needlessly shifted them from very solid Italian-style brutal death with symphonic influences to something that was essentially Dimmu Borgir playing death metal, with both sides having a tendency to be ''very'' vocal about it. As such, bringing them up on a metal board is a good way to cause a huge blowup.

** More seriously, ''Ride the Lightning'' VS. ''Master of Puppets'' can also cause wars.
*** There is also the argument of whether [[strike:[[FanNickname Smell the Glove]]]] The Black Album was the first sell out album or ''Load'' was.

** Subverted though with "One", which was Metallica's very first music video; though the band swore they would never make music videos during the mid-80s, the video for "One" is widely loved by the fan's fans and was the only song from ''...And Justice For All'' that ended up becoming a mainstay in the band's live shows.

* Panic! at the Disco's first album was a unique, somewhat interconnected bunch of songs with obtuse but clever titles that bridged dance and rock genres, and had stories to them, with complex, often surreal lyrics. Their second album is somewhat Beatles-esque pop rock with no apparent connection other than style between the songs... and they dropped the exclamation point from their name. Guess what happened to their following? Yep! Instant Division, Just Add Second Album.

** In a similar vein: ''Music/BlackSabbath''. Music/OzzyOsbourne or RonnieJamesDio. 'Nuff said.

* ''LinkinPark'''s ''Reanimation'' album, which primarily contained heavily remixed electronic/hip-hop versions of their previous album's songs, caused a major rift in the fanbase trying to decide whether they liked the differing direction of the album or hated it.

** Not to mention their increasing trend towards becoming ''{{U2}}'', with more rock-driven albums than previous and less Shinoda.

* The {{Coldplay}} album ''Viva La Vida'' has split fans as well, between rejoicing at the[[NewSoundAlbum new sound]] and critizing them for "trying to be the next ''{{U2}}''".
* The first two {{Oasis}} albums are universally loved by the fans. The subsequent five all sharply divide opinion, including that of ''the band itself'' in one case.

* ''{{Slipknot}}'' [[FanNickname Maggots]] constantly fight over whether Mate.Feed.Kill.Repeat (which was their first album which featured only three of the current nine bandmembers) should be considered a ''real'' Slipknot album. That's before we even get to arguments over ''Vol. 3 The Subluminal Verses'' VS. ''Iowa'' debates.
* ''RageAgainstTheMachine'' fans are very much divided over the quality of ''Audioslave'' and Tom Morello and Zach de la Rocha's solo projects.

* PinkFloyd - and how - although their heyday provides only one truly classic example. This was the [[CreatorBreakdown forced departure]] of songwriter/frontman Syd Barrett, which divided fans from the playground up into "he was the band" and "alright without him" camps. However, as the band got through the next few albums with increasing sales and audiences, the Syd camp became a minority.\\
The second historical split came around ''Dark Side of the Moon'', with the shift away from their psychedelic roots towards the darker, edgier and more commercial. Many older fans [[TheyChangedItNowItSucks decried this]], complaining also of the live audiences, which were [[ItsPopularNowItSucks getting much larger, more mainstream and rowdier,]] and the larger and less intimate venues required to host them. [[note]]Not that they didn’t have a point, especially where the largest gigs were concerned. The crowd surges could be scary, and the crowd control measures were often primitive and sometimes brutal. The bursting door and police action seen during the "In The Flesh?" concert sequence in the film version of ''The Wall'' were all based on things that had happened on tours.[[/note]] On the other hand, few thought that the subsequent releases were actually ''bad'', and there weren’t really two hostile camps, the new fans being generally oblivious to the older antis.\\

Now, with the benefit (?) of hindsight and vastly better-informed fans, the fanbase is split six ways to Sunday. Was Barrett or Waters the ''true'' genius? How does their psychedelic era compare to what came after? Are the Gilmour-led albums sell-out trash or nearly as good as the classic ones? Is ''Atom Heart Mother'' brilliant or complete rubbish ([[CreatorBacklash the band themselves mostly think the latter]])? Ditto ''The Final Cut'' [[note]]this one divides even the surviving members of the band - they being the ones who were on it)[[/note]]. And so on.
** ''The Final Cut'' isn't rubbish, but it does illustrate exactly what broke up the band: the liner notes clearly credit it as "[An album] [[IAmTheBand by Roger Waters, performed by Pink Floyd]]." Ow. [[note]]However, as described above, this didn’t actually register with anyone at the time.[[/note]]
*** ''The Final Cut'' is basically a Roger Waters solo album (and in fact Waters wanted to release it under his own name, but this was vetoed by Gilmour and Mason), but some of the fanbase regards it as one of the group's best albums anyway, even if it isn't a "typical" Floyd album. On the other hand, there is also a significant portion of the fanbase that regards it as worse than the two Gilmour-led albums. Notably, there was one poll where the ''editors'' of a Floyd fan magazine voted it the group's best album, while the ''readers'' voted it the group's worst. ''That's'' how divisive it is.

* ''ThreeSixMafia'' went through this when they went from a 6 member group to a 2 member group.

* Many musical theater types seem to praise Kurt Weill's music mainly as a vehicle for the [[WriterOnBoard polemical messages]] of Bertolt Brecht and similar playwrights, and consider his move away from political themes in his later Broadway musicals as a sell-out to American capitalism.
* MichaelJackson's fanbase went through this on ''every'' post-''Thriller'' record. Their are some who said that his last good album was the almost-as-successful ''Bad'', whereas others say it was the less sucessful ''Dangerous''. Then there are who love ''History'' for it being more personal and its dark overtone; ''Invincible'' gets a lot of hate from some fan for not using real instruments, while others liked the more urban sound and thought it was Michael getting back to his roots.
** There are also some fans who dislike the way Michael sung certain albums. Some liked the more smooth vocals he used through ''Off the Wall'' to ''Bad'' and dislike the more rougher vocals he used in his later years. There is also a strange divide between producers and who the real genius was.

* {{Prince}} & The Revolution vs. Prince & The New Power Generation.

* MariahCarey fans (and critics) went through this post ''Music Box'' album. Either Daydream or Butterfly were her last good album, or her first bad album. Butterfly gets shit as it was the first album to move towards a more "urban" (or the pejorative "ghetto") sound as well as featured Mariah becoming way more stripper-iffic. However, many fans of Butterfly will argue that at least it still SOUNDED like a Mariah Carey album and that it was the sequel Rainbow that had Mariah going off the rails with constant rap cameos and even more overt stripper-iffic revamp of her image. Either way, she's never been able to bring the bases back together.

* {{Pink}} was called a sell out after her first album. She switched from urban R&B to pop/rock on her ''mizzunderstood'' album. This seemed to confuse her since she thought she was being more true to her self on the second album. Her first album arguably could be a case of MisaimedFandom, or PeripheryDemographic. Or bad [[MisaimedMarketing marketing]] on her record label's part. (likely the latter)
* KanyeWest's album ''808s and Heartbreak'' isn't a rap album, unlike his previous works; it's pure electro-pop. The results were... rather polarizing, to say the least, amongst both fans and critics.

* AvrilLavigne's "Girlfriend". Does it glorify a certain particularly shallow way of thinking, or does it satirize it? And if it's the latter, then, since [[ViewersAreMorons Teenage Radio Listeners Are Morons]], was it a good idea or a bad one?
* KellyClarkson's ''My December''. It's either a dark depressing album that's not radio friendly, or it's a great album ''because'' it's dark and not radio friendly.

** GiuseppeVerdi opera (Italian) vs. Creator/RichardWagner opera (German) was a further division of this debate, and continues to this day.

** Not to mention the singer wars: Maria Callas vs. Renato Tebaldi and Placido Domingo vs. Luciano Pavarotti to name the two bloodiest conflicts. Mario Lanza: great classical tenor, or overhyped Hollywood version of same? And of course "There are no good singers today" vs. "There are too!"

* NoDoubt's ''Rock Steady'' album, Most critics loved it. But the hardcore fans either had mixed feeling, or out right despised it. While other fans think it was the best ND album in years.
* Destiny's Child after the other 2 original members was unceremoniously booted. Not to mention the group of fans who thought they were trying too hard to cross over. There is also a group of fans that felt Kelly Rowland was clearly the better singer whom had to play second fiddle to Beyonce Knowles, Who they thought had a special [[ButNotTooBlack "advantage"]]

* This recently happened to the British indie band The Horrors. The songs on their first album and their singles were fast, short bursts of goth-influenced garage punk often not lasting more than two minutes. Then in early 2009 came the video for "Sea Within A Sea", the first single from their second album. It was slower, more atmospheric and Joy Division-sounding and most troubling to fans, ''eight minutes long''. Some fans cried bloody murder. Other fans welcomed the new sound with open arms and praised their new tighter sound. Needless to say, any forum discussing the band has degraded down to two dozen active flame wars about the subject between the two sides.

* Music/IgorStravinsky is perhaps the all-time example of a composer with a fractured, factionalized fanbase. After making his initial fame by applying impressionist harmonies to Slavic melody and rhythm with such works as "The Firebird" and "Petrushka", Stravinsky's brutal, primitivist ballet "The Rite of Spring" occasioned a riot at its premiere in Paris in 1913 as audience members who hated the work clashed with others who found it one of the most exciting things they'd ever heard. (Apparently, Stravinsky wasn't too happy by this; he left the concert in a taxi, exclaiming that he'd never been so angry.) Unfortunately for fans of the "Rite", Stravinsky would compose only a few more works in this vein before turning to a cooler, more controlled and intellectual neoclassical style in the 1920's. The fans of the neoclassical Stravinsky held him up as a proponent of tonality in opposition to the atonal style of Arnold Schoenberg, Stravinsky's contemporary and rival best known for his invention of dodecaphonic (or "twelve-tone") music. After Schoenberg's death in 1951, Stravinsky proceeded to confound his neoclassical fans by turning to Schoenbergian dodecaphony himself.

* Music/{{REM}} People can go on for hours over whether ''Automatic for the People'' is a mature, deep, emotional masterpiece or overproduced pop schlock, a glorified Michael Stipe solo record that showcases the band as a shadow for their former selves. Just say the words "Everybody Hurts" and watch the fun begin. The far less famous ''Up'' can inspire similar reactions.

* Check out the comments on any QueensOfTheStoneAge video, and prepare to be assaulted by back and forth on "They suck after Nick left", countered by "They would suck if they still had a wife-beater and a drunk in their band." All this ignores, of course, the fact that Josh Homme has written all the music from the get-go, and has recorded just about every track in the studio, including most of the bass work in the first album, and a lot of it in the second.
* Anything IceCube did after ''The Predator'' (Or ''Lethal Injection'' depending on who you ask) tends to divide fans. ''Lethal Injection'' specifically is polarizing. it was a commercial hit, however it was heavily criticized for what many saw as Cube's pandering to a crossover audience, and toning down the hardcore socio-political content found on his earlier efforts. Others saw this as unfair, as they thought it was still vintage gritty Cube but with G-funk productions. The albums standing has [[VindicatedByHistory increased over time]] though once people realized that it wasn't a huge departure as first thought..

* JanetJackson's ''Velvet Rope'' album. Critics loved it, most fans loved it, but others were alienated by it's darker tone. There's also the debate on whether or not her ''Janet.'' album is a worthy successor to ''Rhythm Nation'', whereas others think fans need to suck it up and accept she changed with the times, and that they should let the 80's go.

* {{Madonna}} fans tend to be divided over ''Erotica'', which many consider to be a great album that was unfairly bashed due to the title track and the HypeBacklash over Madonna in the early 1990s, or else a really crappy album with one good song (the hit single "Rain"). Also at debate, whether Madonna is better at making dance music or ballads and songs about important social messages.
** Also, ''Music''. A good album that was simply anticipated too much due to ''Ray of Light'', or a really, ''really'' poor sequel to the Queen's MagnumOpus?
* Music/{{ACDC}} fans are divided over which of AC/DC's two lead singers, Bon Scott or Brian Johnson, is better. The one thing that they are unified on is that ''Back in Black'' is an AWESOME ALBUM.[[note]]For the record, even though Brian Johnson sang on that album, some of the songwriting was also already done by Bon Scott.[[/note]]
* ''DavidBowie''. Pretty much ANY time he [[Main/NewSoundAlbum shifted styles]], a split in fandom occured regarding whether it was worth sticking around for, all the way up to 2003's ''Reality''. The most important breaks newbies should be careful about bringing up are:
** 1980's NewWaveMusic effort ''Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps)'' has long had a reputation (with both fans and professional critics) as the end of his "golden age" because he followed that with the pop rock of 1983's ''Let's Dance'', recorded SPECIFICALLY to appeal to casual fans/listeners. This was either great or really lame. It became his biggest-selling album and triggered a NewbieBoom, but even he regrets sticking with that approach on his next two albums, which resulted in a DorkAge from 1984-87.

* Fans of TheMountainGoats are often divided over whether the band's newer, more polished output is an improvement on the earlier boombox recordings or not.

* {{Queensryche}} experienced one of these when guitarist Chris [=DeGarmo=] left the band. Somewhat expected, in that [=DeGarmo=] was one half of the band's primary songwriting team, which drastically altered their sound in music that followed.

* {{Outkast}} post ''Aquemini'' albums. ''Especially'' during the ''Speakerboxxx/Love Below'' era, as many felt the duo had become too pretentious and goofy by this time.

* Dutch cult band The Gathering seems cursed with losing singers. But its greatest loss is when Anneke Van Giersbergen, their charismatic third (or fourth, if you count the two singers from their sophomore album) singer, who left to form a band with her husband.

* Anything by {{Sade}} Post ''[[CrowningMusicOfAwesome love Delux]]'', Specifically when ''Lover's Rock'' came out continuing into ''Soldier Of Love''. Mostly because some feel that they are moving from the more organic, quiet storm, contemporary R&B/Soul, contemporary jazz fusion sound, and are now suffering from a mild form of modern production aesthetics. Others think they are just changing with the times, And that their music is still good.
* {{Flyleaf}} has been having a slight Fan division since ''Memento Mori'' came out. Some of the fans dislike the album due to its (more explict) Christian undertones; they're NotChristianRock however their lyrics are tinted with Christian overtones due to their beliefs, and their second album is more obviously Christian than the first.
** The opposite has happened to a lot of ChristianRock bands such as {{Skillet}}. They're originally obviously Christian but later they become more secular and their messages more subtle; a majority of their fans don't even realize they're Christian, or notice the Christian overtone.

* BobDylan should have been at the head of this list! Just start with the massive schism over his going electric, and drill down from there.
* LadyGaga's fanbase is beginning to divide over the fact that she has gotten too 'emo and creepy.'

* DuranDuran's fanbase is rabid about whether the "fab five" lineup of Simon, Nick, John, Andy, and Roger was the acme of the band's existence, whether they improved post-split with the severely trimmed-down lineup of Simon, Nick, and John, whether the best lineup of their musical career was the '90s lineup of Simon, Nick, John, and Warren, whether John leaving the band was a good thing or a terrible thing, or whether the 2001 "reunion" was a good idea. And now that Andy's left (again!) and they replaced him with Dom, is the band still relevant and interesting or is it a hoary old dinosaur that's fooling itself into thinking it's ''not'' extinct? By the way, even the question of a "reunion" in 2001 brought forth a flurry of controversy from people who resented the insinuation that the band were "reuniting" since they never went away, and it went even deeper when the press frequently cited that it was "the original lineup", since the "fab five" lineup of Simon, Nick, John, Andy, and Roger was in no way the "original lineup" from the band's 1978 establishment (that would've been Steve Duffy, Simon Colley, Nick, and John). It was another reason for the fans who got into the band from about 1987 onward and/or preferred the non-"fab five" band eras, who felt betrayed and disenfranchised by the "reunion" era activities, to hate what was happening, especially since the band seemed to be doing that to court what the disenfranchised fan base felt were "fairweather fans" who dropped the band when it no longer became about the "fab five". The disenfranchised fan set also felt very strongly that from 2004's ''Astronaut'' on, the band had compromised its artistic integrity (since Warren was the member who introduced experimental elements into the band's music) for purely poppish interests.
* GreenDay: ''AmericanIdiot'' is as good as the previous work? They've become {{Emo}}? ''Music/TwentyFirstCenturyBreakdown'' is worth something?
** Green Day have had complaints from some of their older fans about ''most'' of their albums - Dookie marked the switch to a major label and had a comparatively polished production sound; Nimrod diluted the band's melodic punk-rock sound with more diverse influences and produced an acoustic ballad as a major single; Warning diversified further with the acoustic guitars gaining more ground. From a purely sonic point of view, you could almost argue that American Idiot was a return to past form.
*** AmericanIdiot in a nutshell is a case when bringing the "return to past form" topic, even when comparing to the first records, because the band never made any ballad (like ''Boulevard of Broken Dreams'' and ''Wake me Up when September ends'') during their [=39/Smooth=]/Insomniac era, and their longest song, somehow faithful to old school punk music, was barely behind the 4 minute bar (Longview is 3:59).

* The fanbases of TheWho and TheSmallFaces can get like this occasionally with fans of their R&B days clashing with fans of their later releases like ''Tommy'', ''Who's Next'' and ''Quadrophenia'' for the former and ''There Are But Four Small Faces'' and ''Ogden's Nut Gone Flake'' for the latter.
* {{Sugarland}} tried to go more eclectic with their acoustic-pop album ''The Incredible Machine''. Some think it's great; others think that besides the singles "Stuck Like Glue" and "Little Miss", it's terrible and far too strident an attempt at a new sound.
* Following the pop crossover success of "This Kiss" and "Breathe" a couple years earlier, FaithHill set her sights on AC with the 2002 album ''Cry'', a more bombastic pop album than her slick country-pop of the past. Many fans thought that she was abandoning the country genre altogether, and the album tanked at that format (although the title track was a major pop hit and even won her a Grammy). She was all but gone from the country airwaves until 2005, when ''Fireflies'' finally brought her back to form for about a year.

* In general, R&B attracts this. Fans of R&B/Pop stars vs fans of more "pure" and "mature" R&B/Soul vocalists artists have major problems. This goes as far back as the Motown vs. STAX/Volt rivalry of TheSeventies. The modern version of that rivalry basically boils down to fans of artists like Rihanna, Kristina Debarge, Mya, ChrisBrown, Keri Hilson, etc vs. fans of artists like Anthony Hamilton, IndiaArie, Leela James, Amel Larrieux, Kem, Music/JillScott, Angie Stone, Goapale etc. The fans of the former group of artists thinks the latter artists' style is outdated and boring, and their fans are a bunch of out of touch elitists. The latter usually calls the former group of artists "Industry Whores" whom along with the record companies are impeding the success of the "true musicians".

* ChristinaAguilera with ''Stripped''. Most fans loved it, whereas critics felt she was selling out with her "Dirrty" image and not taking advantage of her skilled voice. Like Pink, however, Christina herself thought she was simply being true to herself with her new image.

* The Wildhearts' 1997 album Endless Nameless abandoned the band's traditional blend of loud guitars with big tunes and harmonies in favour of an experimental extreme-noise-rock sound. Band-related web forums enjoyed heated debate, as some fans insisted that the music was stronger than ever underneath the noise, while others expressed feelings ranging from indifference to outright betrayal. Only one or two songs from this album have had significant live exposure since 2000, despite the frontman having said several times on record that this album is his favorite, and all the band's subsequent albums have been much closer to the earlier sound.

* AliciaKeys fanbase became broken with ''The Element of Freedom'' and ''Girl on Fire'' when she started to experiment with power ballads and made less pure R&B/Soul songs.

* Did ModestMouse become better or worse when they signed onto a major label? Do you favor the early underground stuff straight from the jaws of LSD, or the later overblown monstrosities of their 2000's albums?

* Japan's base are extremely split on whether their first two albums are worth listening to or not. People who like their first album Adolescent Sex usually think that David Sylvian has lost his sense of fun over the years with increasingly mature music. However, people who like the ambient music often wish Adolescent Sex never existed because it conflicts with their view of Sylvian as a melancholic recluse.
* IcedEarth's fanbase are usually in agreement that their work up to and including Something Wicked This Way Comes kicks ass, but the fanbase is very divided afterwards. This is because of the band's decision to go for a more power metal sound, rather than the dark thrash they were known for. The singer Tim "Ripper" Owens is the most common reason for this, as he is incapable of singing in a deep register, unlike Matt Barlow who he replaced, so the band had to change their sound to fit him.

* RedHotChiliPeppers have quite a large BrokenBase due to their evolution from a funk-punk band through more slow-paced funk mixed with the alternative rock they've produced in recent years. However, the fanbase are extremely divided on the album [[CreatorBreakdown One Hot Minute]], and starting a thread on a RHCP forum about it is not advised.
* Anything by Alanis Morrisette after ''and before'' ''Jagged Little Pill''.

* KidRock has changed his music style several times over the years. Initially he was a rapper, then he made the very successful "Devil Without A Cause" which blended rap with rock & roll, and since then he has dabbled in SouthernRock, AC/DC-style HardRock, country, and even gospel. Naturally this has caused rifts in his fan base, with fans of his early stuff accusing him of "selling out" while fans of his newer stuff believe that he has grown and matured.
* Want to start an argument on a HeavyMetal message board? Ask "Who is the better vocalist: [[Music/JudasPriest Rob Halford]] or [[Music/IronMaiden Bruce Dickinson]]?" or "Should {{Rush}} be considered metal?"
* {{Evanescence}} experienced this with the leaving of Ben Moody. Many fans love The Open Door and their SelfTitledAlbum, and think that both are as good as the original while diverging into different sounds. However, there is a large fan base that says Fallen was the best album hands down, and the other two were no where near close because Amy Lee isn't as talented as Ben Moody.

* MyChemicalRomance. Dear God, ''My Chemical Romance''. Was ''I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love'' an underrated success of theirs or just the band finding their feet? Is ''Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge'' the greatest thing they've done, or would that be ''The Black Parade''? Did they completely lose the plot with ''Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys'' or is a refreshing new start for them? Should ex-drummer Bob Bryar be reunited with the group or is that era over and done with etc. etc. etc.
* {{Sepultura}} fans are heavily divided. There are those who only like the music with Max, those who only like the music with Derrick, those who like all their music, those who only like the material before ''Chaos A.D.'' and ''Roots'', those who ''only'' like ''Chaos A.D.'' and ''Roots'', younger fans who pretend the music with Max never existed, and older fans who pretend the music with Derrick never existed. Some people don't even believe the music with Derrick is even by Sepultura, thinking it's a different band with the same name.
* MGMT's ''Congratulations'' is either a psychedelic masterpiece or a self-indulgent mess that proves that they don't have any more hits left in them. The dividing line mainly seems to be fans who got into the band through SynthPop-influenced singles like "Kids" and "Time To Pretend" versus those who were initially familiar with the more experimental material they released before ''Oracular Spectacular''.
* SilversunPickups. Dear god, Silversun Pickups. You'll either think that "Neck of the Woods" is another great album, or a bad, more bland, change in sound. This troper likes "Neck of the Woods" a lot, but has plenty of friends who don't.

* Bryan Adams, post ''Reckless''. ''Into the Fire'' is well loved by fans due to its more serious tone; critics ignored it since it produced just one sequel. Then there's the debate over ''Waking Up the Neighbors'' and ''18 Til I Die'', both of which some viewed as a great album but others viewed as him taking a huge step backwards.
* Which brings us to JayZ, whom some believed kept making good music. But others believe those albums just didn't have the same musical depth of ''Reasonable Doubt'' (his classic debut album), [[QualityByPopularVote no matter how popular they were]].

* NewEdition fans would have debates over the departure of Bobby Brown. Some would say that New Edition wouldn't make it without Bobby, while N.E. fans would say Bobby is going nowhere without the group. It turned out that they both did spectacularly well without the other. New Edition released their most popular album with N.E. Heartbreak, and Bobby became ''THE'' biggest male R&B/pop artist of the late 80's and early 90's.

* SonataArctica had this once after [[NewSoundAlbum Unia]], and again after Stones Grow Her Name. It doesn't help that the band, which is known to have very poetic lyrics, made a single called [[OddNameOut Shitload of Money]] on the latter.
* For {{Boards Of Canada}} fans, the eternal question is: Music Has the Right to Children, or its successor, Geogaddi? Mind you, pretty much all fans agree that both are excellent albums, but as for which one's better...well, be prepared for flame wars. (For some reason, supporters of Twoism or The Campfire Headphase are few and far between).

* Opeth started out as a progressive death metal group, but their sound slowly became less death metal-oriented over time. Now, they're a progressive rock/metal band. Like with Genesis, the fanbase is now divided into three groups: the fans of their older work (largely comprised of [[FanDumb metalheads who believe Opeth has "betrayed" metal]]), the fans of their newer work (largely comprised of progressive rock fans) and those that enjoy their entire career.

* Music/FallOutBoy: many fans consider their quality to be inversely proportional to popularity. Take This To Your Grave, therefore, was perfect, and Save Rock and Roll was pure trash. Also: if you're a post-hiatus fan you obviously only like them because they're popular.
** Folie à Deux was this when it first came out. People hated its new pop-ish sound and the band got booed whenever they performed songs off of it. This led to them going on a hiatus for four years, and they still don't play any songs from it live because they're hurt over its reception.
** When American Beauty/American Psycho, Centuries, and Immortals came out, people immediately started criticizing them for changing their sound. Ignoring, of course, that they change their sound significantly on every album.

* Music/StatusQuo. Oh dear god, Status Quo. It's generally agreed that if you're a Quo fan, you either prefer the harder, heavier music from their "Frantic Four" heyday, or you favour all their music in general. Whilst many people simply feel the earlier stuff is better, there is a section of the fanbase that feel Quo have betrayed their hard rock roots by experimenting with a poppier sound, and will refuse to enjoy anything post-'70s, up to and including the current lineup of the band. The rest don't seem to mind.

* Music/StatusQuo. Oh dear god, Status Quo. It's generally agreed that if you're a Quo fan, you either prefer the harder, heavier music from their "Frantic Four" heyday, or you favour all their music in general. There is a section of the fanbase that feel Quo have betrayed their hard rock roots by experimenting with a poppier sound, and will refuse to enjoy anything post-'70s, up to and including the current lineup of the band. The rest don't seem to mind.

* Music/StatusQuo. Oh dear god, Status Quo. It's generally agreed that if you're a Quo fan, you either exclusively prefer the harder, heavier music from their "Frantic Four" heyday, or you prefer all their music in general. There is a section of the fanbase that feel Quo have betrayed their hard rock roots by experimenting with a poppier sound, and will refuse to enjoy anything post-'70s, up to and including the current lineup of the band. The rest don't seem to mind.

* {{Soilwork}} also changed their sound from melodic death metal to include alternative influences with 2003's ''Figure Number Five''; again, this also split the base between "old vs. new", although most of the fanbase on both sides seem to have received ''The Living Infinite'' quite well. Some Soilwork fans will argue that ''Natural Born Chaos'' is where it went wrong.

* {{Devo}} fans are split between when Devo "began to suck". Many say after "Freedom of Choice", some "New Traditionalists" or "Oh, No!", and even a few say "Duty Now for the Future". Most folks seem to agree, though, that "Shout", "Total DEVO", and "Smooth Noodle Maps" all suck, but the new album "Something for Everybody" have generally been well-received.

* The rap group ''BoneThugsNHarmony'' has such a varied and diverse style that they ended up creating a varied and diverse fanbase. This diverse fan base always ends up in heated flame wars over what direction the group should take musically. The debates (or arguments) range from style, subject matter and whether or not to have guest features. The group even has a problem maintaining the small but loyal Broken Base that they do have, due to the fact there are more fans of certain individual members than the actual group as a whole. There's also a very contentious debate regarding what caused the group to lose popularity. Some say it's because [[TheyChangedItNowItSucks their music changed]]. While others say it's because of [[LighterAndSofter changing trends in the Hip-Hop industry]], [[MusicIsPolitics and the music industry over all]]. Quite a few say all of the above.

** And there's also a small minority who only prefer the first three albums, before they got all "dark and depressing."

* Music/TaylorSwift: Pretty much everything she released after her debut has been a base breaker of sorts. Every successive album saw her veering further and further from her roots as a country singer and closer towards being a pop (and occasional rock) singer. Naturally, this has caused a ''major'' divide in her fanbase, with some wanting her to return to playing straight up country and others arguing that pop is where her true talent lies (as the surprisingly positive reception for ''1989'' demonstrates).

* Music/TaylorSwift: Pretty much everything she released after her debut has been a base breaker of sorts. Every successive album saw her veering further and further from her roots as a country singer and closer towards being a pop (and occasionally rock) singer. Naturally, this has caused a ''major'' divide in her fanbase, with some wanting her to return to playing straight up country and others arguing that pop is where her true talent lies (as the surprisingly positive reception for ''1989'' demonstrates).