History DarkerAndEdgier / Music

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''Power Metal'' marked a change in the band's overall focus, with a new vocalist named Phil Anselmo adding an element of grit and aggression to the band's lyrics and image. The main crossover point was ''Cowboys From Hell'', where the band dumped the '80s glam fashion for a more adequate "street thug" look, and adopted a contemporary ThrashMetal sound combining the vocals and guitar sound of fellow Texans Music/{{Exhorder}}.

* Prog-power metal band {{Kamelot}} took this tack with their 2010 release, "Poetry for the Poisoned." The band has been tactfully reticent about details but there are hints, readable between the lines, that this is the reason for their former vocalist Roy Khan's departure.

* DeltaGoodrem: Went from dealing with some hopeful innocent themes and young love dilemma's (Not Me Not I), kissing the wrong guy (My Big Mistake), and wanting to be free (Predictable) in Innocent Eyes, with a soft fresh piano focused sound to dealing with issues within her friendships/close circle (Nobody Listened), issues with her own mortality (Extraordinary Day), issues with being a celebrity (Electric Storm), issues with being TheInsomniac (The Analyst) and having a general crisis of identity in (Mistaken Identity), with a jazz-rock-classical piano-based contemporary songwriter pop soundtrack, and occasional screaming, ranting, random phrases and the such.

* DeltaGoodrem: Went from dealing with some hopeful innocent themes and young love dilemma's, kissing the wrong guy, and wanting to be free in Innocent Eyes, with a soft fresh piano focused sound to dealing with issues within her friendships/close circle, issues with her own mortality, issues with being a celebrity, issues with being TheInsomniac and having a general crisis of identity in Mistaken Identity, with a jazz-rock-classical piano-based contemporary songwriter pop soundtrack, and occasional screaming, ranting, random phrases and the such.

* DeltaGoodrem: Went from dealing with some hopeful innocent themes and young love dilemma's, kissing the wrong guy, and wanting to be free in Innocent Eyes, with a soft fresh piano focused sound to dealing with issues within her friendships/close circle, issues with her own mortality, issues with being a celebrity, issues with being TheInsomniac and having a general crisis of identity in Mistaken Identity, with a jazz-rock-classical piano-based contemporary songwriter pop soundtrack.

* DeltaGoodrem: Went from dealing with hopeful innocent themes and young love dilemma's and wanting to be free in Innocent Eyes, with a soft fresh piano focused sound to dealing with issues within her friendships/close circle, issues with her own mortality, issues with being a celebrity, issues with being TheInsomniac and having a general crisis of identity in Mistaken Identity, to a jazz-rock-classical piano contemporary songwriter pop soundtrack.

* Music/{{Skillet}}'s ''Alien Youth'' and ''Collide'' albums marked a shift from their initial AlternativeRock[=/=]{{Electronica}} sound to a more HeavyMetal-oriented one.

* LadyGaga: In 2008, after performing as indie blues rock artist Stefani, she released ''The Fame'', her first label-sponsored LP. The album had a very upbeat, joyful theme, centered mainly around party life, along with [[IntercourseWithYou love]], along with the [[SlidingScaleofIdealismVersusCynicism idealist's]] view of fame. Her follow-up EP, ''The Fame Monster'', is its [[ArtistDisillusionment "hangover"]]. The cover, [[DeliberatelyMonochrome monochrome]] with the Queen Monster veiled up to the nose by a cape; combined with music centered around [[BadRomance love evoking a bad, sexy romance novel]]; romantic anxiety ("Dance in the Dark"); and [[IntercourseWithYou sex]]; the music took a more outré, avant-garde and edgy sound.

''Power Metal'' marked a change in the band's overall focus, with a new vocalist named Phil Anselmo adding an element of grit and aggression to the band's lyrics and image. The main crossover point, of course, was ''Cowboys From Hell'', where the band dumped the '80s glam fashion for a more adequate "street thug" look, and adopted a contemporary ThrashMetal sound combining the vocals and guitar sound of fellow Texans Music/{{Exhorder}}.

* {{Eminem}}'s entire discography has basically been a sine-wave of LighterAndSofter and DarkerAndEdgier. His 1996 debut ''Infinite'' was basically the former, though [[CreatorBreakdown a series of life events]] caused him to take the [[DarkerAndEdgier darker content]] [[UpToEleven to the nth degree]] with both ''The Slim Shady LP'' and ''The Marshall Mathers LP'', both of which were critical and commercial successes. His subsequent two albums were somewhat LighterAndSofter, though the cycle has begun again with the recently-released ''Relapse'', which serves in and out of this trope. It should, of course, be noted that each album always has a parodying track somewhere in it.

* Happened naturally to MichaelJackson in the mid-Nineties. His 1991 album ''Dangerous'' was, like his previous albums, a mix of standard pop and uplifting songs. His next album, ''[=HIStory=]'' (1995), came out following his 1993 child molestation allegations and ''it shows''. The album is filled with dark songs that exude paranoia and anger, dealing with topics like betrayal, media scrutiny, loneliness, and even ''a song entirely about a child dying from neglect''. It also has more swearing than any other Michael Jackson album, including the only instance of the word "fuck." Even the '''sole''' love song on the album, the R. Kelly-penned "You Are Not Alone", is a little bit of a downer because it is about separated lovers. Jackson's 2001 album ''Invincible'' would retain some of the darker influences from this period though it would also be a bit of a return to form, with more upbeat, love/life-affirming songs compared to ''[=HIStory=]''.

* {{Gorillaz}} pulls a not-so subtle variation in their story canon, which started out as a zany and [[DarkComedy darkly humorous]] setup but got noticeably darker in the second and third phases. Party animal [[{{Jerkass}} Murdoc]] shifted sharply into a [[CompleteMonster violent psychopath]] with the Plastic Beach arc, (though this may be justified as an already twisted man being driven to desperate measures by greed.) In accordance, his [[VitriolicBestBuds relationship]] with 2D has changed in portrayal from [[AmusingInjuries comedic bullying]] to [[BreakTheCutie pretty damn abusive]], though it could always have come off this way [[FridgeHorror if you thought about it.]]

* Believe it or not, {{Pantera}} started out as a mere GlamRock act, with their debut ''Metal Magic'' not quite living up to its title and a vocalist that sounded straight out of Foreigner or Loverboy, along with family-friendly lyrics that sounded straight out of a 1950s teenager's locker. Their following records ''Projects in the Jungle'' and ''I am the Night'', however, were each progressively more HeavyMetal influenced, and their once-squeaky clean singer had gotten noticeably harsher and started showing impressive falsettos, while the lyrics began delving into HotterAndSexier SexDrugsAndRockAndRoll territory, {{Fantasy}} themes, NightmareFuel and {{Angst}}y subject matter (one song even deals with [[DrivenToSuicide suicide]]).\\

''Power Metal'' marked a change in the band's overall focus, with a new vocalist named Phil Anselmo adding an element of grit and aggression to the band's lyrics and image. The main crossover point, of course, was ''Cowboys From Hell'', where the band dumped the '80s glam fashion for a more adequate "street thug" look, and adopted a contemporary ThrashMetal sound combining the vocals and guitar sound of fellow Texans {{Exhorder}}.

* While Metallica certainly went in a LighterAndSofter direction with their music during the 90's, ''ReLoad'' was decidedly darker and more sinister-sounding than the comparably upbeat ''Black Album'' and ''Load.''

* Done famously and successfully by Music/{{Pantera}} in the late 80's. After spending most of TheEighties as an unknown glam metal band, Pantera became recognized for the darker and edgier Cowboys from Hell after hiring Phil Anselmo to replace Terry Glaze and trashing their glammy image in favor of a more "street wise" one. They would attempt to make each subsequent album even more darker and edgier throughout TheNineties.
* Sheryl Crow's first album was a carefree record perfect for a summer's day...whereas her second was angry, sarcastic, and depressed sounding with a ''creepy goth-looking cover''.

* A classical music example: compare Tchaikovsky's somewhat syrupy ''Romeo and Juliet'' ballet suite to Prokofiev's rather darker take on the story.

* {{Green Day}}'s ''Insomniac'' is lyrically darker than ''Dookie'' (or, for that matter, ''1,039/Smoothed Out Slappy Hours'' and ''Kerplunk!''), and the music has sometimes been perceived as heavier and more abrasive.
** [[BrokenBase Depending on who you ask]], AmericanIdiot is darker than any of their previous albums in context.

** This is a common theme with progressive bands that have their roots in the flower power 60's psychedelia days, as prog as a whole is generally much more {{serious|Business}}- The [[PinkFloyd Pink Floyd]] being the UrExample.

** And jazz musicians don't do this "occasionally" so much as ''constantly.'' Most of the standard repertoire that is required knowledge for jazz musicians is songs lifted from Broadway musicals of the 20s, 30s, and 40s. For example, of the six songs on Miles Davis's 1956 ''Relaxin' With the Miles Davis Quintet,'' four are from musical theater or film ("If I Were a Bell," "You're My Everything," "I Could Write a Book," "It Could Happen to You").

* ''Music/TheProtomen'' do this to ''VideoGame/MegaMan'', turning the video game setting into an urban police state dystopia where Dr. Wily is [[NineteenEightyFour Big Brother]], and the Blue Bomber himself is an angst-ridden ReplacementGoldfish.

* ManicStreetPreachers started off with a double album ''Generation Terrorists'', which had a political glam-punk sound inspired by Music/GunsNRoses. Their second album, ''Gold Against the Soul'', was more introspective compared to the first, while retaining the glam of their debut. Richey James Edwards, one of the band's songwriters, began to lose control and go on a downward spiral, resulting in the increasingly dark nature of his lyrics. This culminated with the grim, pessimistic atmosphere in the band's third album, ''The Holy Bible''. Just as the band was about to tour stateside to promote their third album, Richey disappeared (he would later be presumed dead). The band, reforming as a trio, recorded music that was LighterAndSofter, even though the band would occasionally release darker albums such as ''Know Your Enemy'' and ''Journal For Plague Lovers'' (which contained the last of Richey's lyrics).

* LadyGaga: In 2008, after performing as indie blues rock artist Stefani, she released ''The Fame'', her first label-sponsored LP. The album had a very upbeat, joyful theme, centered mainly around party life, along with [[IntercourseWithYou love]], along with the [[SlidingScaleofIdealismVersusCynicism idealist's]] view of fame. Her follow-up EP, ''The Fame Monster'', is its [[ArtistDisillusionment "hangover"]]. The cover, [[DeliberatelyMonochrome monochrome]] with the Queen Monster veiled up to the nose by a cape; combined with music centered around [[BadRomance love evoking a bad, sexy romance novel]]; romantic anxiety ("Dance in the Dark"); and [[IntercourseWithYou sex]]; the music took a more outré, avant-garde and edgy sound.
** ''Born This Way'' got [[GenreRoulette eclectic]], with dance-pop ("The Edge of Glory"), {{house|Music}} ("Marry the Night"), {{techno}} ("Judas"), [[Music/NewWave new wave]] ("[[OminousLatinChanting Government Hooker]]"), and [[ThePowerOfRock rock]] ("You and I"). It's no ''[[DavidBowie Station to Station]]'' or ''[[{{Madonna}} Ray of Light]]'' but it's a [[NewSoundAlbum shift]]. Could be [[LighterAndSofter more upbeat]] at times than ''The Fame Monster'', though.

** And ironically, their musical style has become [[LightIsNotGood brighter and more polished,]] though certainly no softer in theme.

** But can you blame them? Rivers was pretty beat up after having multiple surgeries to correct a minor bone deformity that he wrote the entire album with a bitter disposition. The entire album is themed around breaking up, it's hard to write upbeat songs about breakups.

* All of the StrappingYoungLad albums are this to DevinTownsend's solo work. Although some of Devin's solo albums can be considered dark based on their lyrical content and heaviness. Physicist and Deconstruction are heavier compared to others and their lyrics are darker. Ocean Machine's lyrical themes revolve around Life, Death, Isolation, etc. Ki for it's moody atmosphere. And Ghost 2 will appear to have more in common with Ki in terms of atmosphere rather than the original Ghost, which was Devin's attempt at LighterAndSofter.

* Music/IcedEarth played this trope straight with ''Burnt Offerings'', which band leader Jon Schaffer admits was due in no small part to his growing frustration with label Century Media.

* Progressive metal band Music/DreamTheater has done a little in this direction lyrically and vocally, the only curse words in the band's 16+ year history were in its past three albums (still very few overall), but this change has been mostly for the better, as their softer songs don't really portray the technical brilliance of the instrumentalists, and vocals such as "The smile of dawn/Arrived early May/She carried a gift from her home/The night shed a tear/To tell her of fear and of sorrow and pain, she'll never outgrow" in a track from their 1992 album Images And Words stand in stark contrast to the guitar riffs and drumming, which wouldn't be out of place in a Music/{{Metallica}} song. YourMileageMayVary.

* MileyCyrus is going this way with her music, though the success of it [[YourMileageMayVary is debatable.]]

** And for a less meta example in the Within Temptation camp, 2011 opus The Unforgiving is far-and-away the most intense and darkest album they've put out, lyrically and musically. [[{{YourMileageMayVary}} Depending on who you talk to,]] [[{{CrowningMomentOfAwesome}} it worked.]]

* Music/{{Anthrax}} played this trope completely straight with ''Persistence Of Time.'' It continued with ''Sound Of White Noise,'' then gradually declined with the remaining three John Bush albums. Their newest album, ''Worship Music'', is an almost complete return to the campiness of the band's eighties albums.

* While Metallica certainly went in a LighterAndSofter direction with their music during the 90's, ''ReLoad'' was decidedly darker and more sinister-sounding than the comparably upbeat ''Black Album'' and ''Load.''

* The 80's albums from British band ''Madness'' progressively got more serious as time went on. Their first album, "One Step Beyond", featured reggae covers and songs about singing and dancing, any potentially serious subject matters (such as the chorus in "Mommy's Girl" that reveals the song's main character to be a paedophile) sung purely tongue-in-cheek. By their sixth album (the tellingly titled "Mad Not Mad"), they were singing critiques of the modern song industry itself, cynical parodies of Americanism and a surprising number of completely serious songs about child abuse. Their post-90's comeback albums have largely subverted this trend though.

* The 80's albums from British band ''Madness'' progressively got more serious as time went on. Their first album, "One Step Beyond", featured reggae covers and songs about singing and dancing, any potentially serious subject matters (such as the chorus in "Mommy's Girl" that reveals the song's main character to be a paedophile) are sung purely tongue-in-cheek. By their sixth album (the tellingly titled "Mad Not Mad"), they were singing critiques of the modern song industry itself, cynical parodies of Americanism and a surprising number of completely serious songs about child abuse. Their post-90's comeback albums have largely subverted this trend though.

** And for a less meta example in the Within Temptation camp, 2011 opus The Unforgiving is far-and-away the most intense and darkest album they've put out, lyrically and musically. [[{{YourMileageMayVary}} Depending on who you talk to,]] [[{{CrowningMomentOfAwesome}} it worked.]]

* ManicStreetPreachers started off with a double album ''Generation Terrorists'', which had a political glam-punk sound inspired by GunsNRoses. Their second album, ''Gold Against the Soul'', was more introspective compared to the first, while retaining the glam of their debut. Richey James Edwards, one of the band's songwriters, began to lose control and go on a downward spiral, resulting in the increasingly dark nature of his lyrics. This culminated with the grim, pessimistic atmosphere in the band's third album, ''The Holy Bible''. Just as the band was about to tour stateside to promote their third album, Richey disappeared (he would later be presumed dead). The band, reforming as a trio, recorded music that was LighterAndSofter, even though the band would occasionally release darker albums such as ''Know Your Enemy'' and ''Journal For Plague Lovers'' (which contained the last of Richey's lyrics).

** And for a less meta example in the Within Temptation camp, 2011 opus The Unforgiving is far-and-away the most intense and darkest album they've put out, lyrically and musically. [[{{YourMileageMayVary}} Depending on who you talk to,]] [[{{CrowningMomentOfAwesome}} it worked.]]
*

* Music/WithinTemptation is fairly dark itself, but eventually parodied the trend in "[[AntiChristmasSong Gothic Christmas]]" -- complete with The Evil Reindeer Overlord, because everything should be Grim and [[GrimUpNorth Nordic]].

* ''Music/TheProtomen'' do this to ''Game/MegaMan'', turning the video game setting into an urban police state dystopia where Dr. Wily is [[NineteenEightyFour Big Brother]], and the Blue Bomber himself is an angst-ridden ReplacementGoldfish.