History DarkerAndEdgier / Music

* [[https://necronomidol.bandcamp.com/ Necronomidol]] is an idol group whose imagery and sounds are influenced by BlackMetal, occultism, horror manga and Creator/HPLovecraft's books. Their lyrics are mostly about despair, sacrifices, terror, eldritch abominations etc. like any respectable dark metal band. It doesn't get much darker than this in idol-land!
* ''Music/DragonForce'': The album '''Ultra Beatdown'' was the turning point. The music was pretty much the same upbeat power-metal as always,but the lyrics veered away from the usual themes of blood, fire, steel, honor and dragons, to focus on things like suicide, separation, mid-life crisis and death angst.

* Music/NeilYoung: The "Ditch Trilogy" - ''Time Fades Away'' (1973), ''On the Beach'' (1974), and ''Tonight's the Night'' (1975) - is his first example of this. They are the product of Young struggling to deal with the pressures of fame as well as the recent deaths of two close friends, Crazy Horse guitarist Danny Whitten and roadie Bruce Berry. Whitten was so addicted to heroin it rendered him unable to play and resulted in Neil firing him; on November 18, 1972, Neil gave Whitten $50 and a plane ticket to Los Angeles in an attempt to help him get back on track. ''On the same day'', a combination of Valium and alcohol resulted in his death. Just 6½ months later on June 4, 1973, Berry fatally overdosed on heroin and cocaine. ''Time Fades Away'' was recorded live from February 11 – April 1, 1973 (except for "Love in Mind"; it was recorded on January 30, 1971), and is generally a hard rock album; but it feels unpolished and abrasive even by Young's standards, and deals implicitly with themes of loneliness and loss. ''Tonight's the Night'', which was recorded from August–September 1973, but not released until 1975, bears every indication that it was written and performed by someone in the process of grieving - Young even sounds like he's on the verge of breaking down in some of the album's tracks. Reprise Records was initially hesitant to release ''Tonight's the Night'' because of its harsher tone, and is still widely considered the darkest record in Neil's catalogue. Although ''On the Beach'' was released almost 11 months before ''Tonight's the Night'', it was recorded about half a year after it (February 5 – April 7, 1974).[[note]] Just for the sake of further clarity, the release dates of ''Time Fades Away'', ''On the Beach'', and ''Tonight's the Night'' are October 15, 1973, July 16, 1974, and June 20, 1975, respectively.[[/note]] While not quite as acerbic as either of the other two albums in the Ditch Trilogy, ''On the Beach'' is still an all-around despondent collection of songs. Neil's 1979 album ''Music/RustNeverSleeps'' counts as well, as he responded to the death of Music/ElvisPresley, the rise of PunkRock, and his own [[CreatorBreakdown fears of becoming culturally irrelevant]] by turning his soft-ish folk rock into nihilist hard rock with heavy distorted guitars, in a post-modern stage show with giant amps, roadies dressed like Jawas, and decaying film footage from Woodstock. It worked; the album received widespread popular and critical acclaim, and has been cited as one of the earliest examples of what became {{grunge}} music.

* Music/NeilYoung's ''Music/RustNeverSleeps'' album is an example, as Young responded to the death of Music/ElvisPresley, the rise of PunkRock, and his own [[CreatorBreakdown fears of becoming culturally irrelevant]] by turning his soft-ish folk rock into nihilist hard rock with heavy distorted guitars, in a postmodern stage show with giant amps, roadies dressed like Jawas, and decaying film footage from Woodstock. It worked; the album received widespread popular and critical acclaim, and has been cited as one of the earliest examples of what became {{grunge}} music. The "Ditch Trilogy" - ''Time Fades Away'' (1973), ''On the Beach'' (1974), and ''Tonight's the Night'' (1975) - also qualifies. They are the product of Young struggling to deal with the pressures of fame as well as the recent deaths of two close friends, Crazy Horse guitarist Danny Whitten and roadie Bruce Berry. Whitten was so addicted to heroin it rendered him unable to play and resulted in Neil firing him; on November 18, 1972, Neil gave Whitten $50 and a plane ticket to Los Angeles in a attempt to get him clean. ''On the same day'', a combination of Valium and alcohol resulted in his death. Just 6½ months later on June 4, 1973, Berry fatally overdosed on heroin and cocaine. ''Time Fades Away'' was recorded live and is generally a hard rock album, but it feels unpolished and abrasive even by Young's standards, and deals implicitly with themes of loneliness and loss. ''Tonight's the Night'', which was recorded in 1973, but not released until 1975, bears every indication that it was written and performed by someone in the process of grieving - Young even sounds like he's on the verge of breaking down in some of the album's tracks. Reprise Records was initially hesitant to release ''Tonight's the Night'' because of its harsher tone, and is still widely considered the darkest record in Neil's catalogue. Although ''On the Beach'' was released almost a full year before ''Tonight's the Night'', it was recorded about half a year after the latter. While not quite as acerbic as either of the other two albums in the ditch trilogy, ''On the Beach'' is still an all-around despondent collection of songs.

* Music/GeorgeHarrison's songwriting got especially dark in his 1975 album ''Extra Texture (Read All About)'' in which most of the songs take a noticeably dark turn.

* The musical history of Music/PinkFloyd seems to have been one long slide from the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHRE5dyDKTA spacey, exploratory psychedelia]] of Music/SydBarrett, down into Roger Waters' descent into dark cynicism with ''Music/TheDarkSideOfTheMoon'', ''Music/WishYouWereHere'', ''Music/{{Animals}}'' and ''Music/TheWall''. Waters' solo work after leaving Pink Floyd continues the trend.

* Music/NeilYoung's ''Music/RustNeverSleeps'' album is an example, as Young responded to the death of Music/ElvisPresley, the rise of PunkRock, and his own [[CreatorBreakdown fears of becoming culturally irrelevant]] by turning his soft-ish folk rock into nihilist hard rock with heavy distorted guitars, in a postmodern stage show with giant amps, roadies dressed like Jawas, and decaying film footage from Woodstock. It worked; the album received widespread popular and critical acclaim, and has been cited as one of the earliest examples of what became {{grunge}} music. The "Ditch Trilogy" - ''Time Fades Away'' (1973), ''On the Beach'' (1974), and ''Tonight's the Night'' (1975) - also qualifies. They are the product of Young struggling to deal with the pressures of fame as well as the recent deaths of two close friends, Crazy Horse guitarist Danny Whitten and roadie Bruce Berry. Whitten was so addicted to heroin it rendered him unable to play and resulted in Neil firing him; on November 18, 1972, Neil gave Whitten $50 and a plane ticket to Los Angeles in a attempt to get him clean. ''That same day'', a combination of Valium and alcohol resulted in his death. Just 6½ months later on June 4, 1973, Berry fatally overdosed on heroin and cocaine. ''Time Fades Away'' was recorded live and is generally a hard rock album, but it feels unpolished and abrasive even by Young's standards, and deals implicitly with themes of loneliness and loss. ''Tonight's the Night'', which was recorded in 1973, but not released until 1975, bears every indication that it was written and performed by someone in the process of grieving - Young even sounds like he's on the verge of breaking down in some of the album's tracks. Reprise Records was initially hesitant to release ''Tonight's the Night'' because of its harsher tone, and is still widely considered the darkest record in Neil's catalogue. Although ''On the Beach'' was released almost a full year before ''Tonight's the Night'', it was recorded about half a year after the latter. While not quite as acerbic as either of the other two albums in the ditch trilogy, ''On the Beach'' is still an all-around despondent collection of songs.

* The cover of ''Music/{{Imagine}}'' by A Perfect Circle is downright depressing. With a simple shift to a minor chord, the song [[TheCoverChangesTheMeaning switches from hopeful and uplifting to cynical and depressing]]. "Imagine all the people sharing all the world! ...yeah, like that'll ever happen..." The change has been likened to going from a friendly, smiling hippie offering you peace and love and flowers, to a grim suicide bomber outlining his manifesto to a huddled, frightened crowd.

* Music/TheBeatles went this direction with ''Music/TheWhiteAlbum''. Though light, silly songs remained ("Back in the U.S.S.R", "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da", "Birthday") many songs on the album were quite dark, such as "Julia", about the death of John Lennon's mother, "Blackbird", about racism, and especially "Revolution 9", a nightmarish sound collage. Similarly, many other '60s bands, including Music/TheBeachBoys and Music/TheRollingStones, became DarkerAndEdgier during the peak of psychedelia.
* The musical history of Music/PinkFloyd seems to have been one long slide from the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHRE5dyDKTA spacey, exploratory psychedelia]] of Music/SydBarrett, down into Roger Waters' descent into dark cynicism with ''Music/TheDarkSideOfTheMoon'', ''Music/WishYouWereHere'', Music/{{Animals}} and ''Music/TheWall''. Waters' solo work after leaving Pink Floyd continues the trend.

* Music/{{Eminem}}'s discography has been a sine-wave of LighterAndSofter and DarkerAndEdgier. His 1996 debut ''Infinite'' was 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. Each album always has a parodying track somewhere in it.

* Jazz musicians will occasionally take songs from seemingly light repertoire and turn the intensity up. Music/SonnyRollins took the corniest of show tunes (such as "There's No Business Like Show Business") and turned them into positively hip (for the time) jazz tunes. Music/JohnColtrane famously turned the light-hearted, optimistic "Music/MyFavoriteThings" into what one critic described as a "hypnotic eastern devish dance", one that lasted an impressive [[EpicRocking 13 minutes]]. Coltrane is a truly great example himself. Starting with light-hearted simplistic albums like ''Music/BlueTrain'' before becoming gradually more complex with ''Music/GiantSteps'' and ''Music/MyFavoriteThings'', then culminating with ''A Love Supreme'', ''Ascension'', and ''Meditations''. But then again, jazz musicians do this ''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 Music/MilesDavis'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").

* Happened naturally to Music/MichaelJackson in the mid-90s. His 1991 album ''Music/{{Dangerous}}'' was, like his previous albums, a mix of standard pop and uplifting songs. His next album, ''Music/HistoryPastPresentAndFutureBookI'' (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 ''a song about a child dying from neglect''. It also has more swearing than any other Michael Jackson album, including the only instance of the word [[PrecisionFStrike "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 ''Music/{{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=]''.

* Music/{{Epica}} zigzagged this trope a bit with 2 consecutive albums. Their 2009 release "Design Your Universe" was, musically speaking, the darkest, heaviest, and most intense of their works as of 2012, but had arguably the most optimistic and uplifting lyrical message. Their 2012 release "Requiem for the Indifferent," by contrast, lightened up the compositions and went in a more prog-metal direction but took on a condemning, accusatory lyrical tone that decried the injustices of modern society and the inaction of those who could make a difference.

* When Music/FaithNoMore were quoted as saying "People are going to hate our new album" prior to the release of ''Angel Dust'' in 1992, they were ''not'' mincing words. Fans of the upbeat FunkMetal sound of ''The Real Thing'' were in for a shock to discover their much-anticipated follow-up to be filled with minor chords, DoomMetal riffs, circus and funeral organs, subject matter even more disturbing than before (third world starvation, [[{{Squick}} explicit gay sex]], [[DrugsAreBad drug-induced]] [[AxCrazy psychopathy]], and [[DrivenToSuicide what reads like a deranged man's suicide note]]), and Music/MikePatton exchanging his nerdy [[AlternativeRock alt-rock]] vocals for a combination of gothic crooning and [[HarshVocals over-the-top screams]]. Also greeted with images of a slaughterhouse upon opening the album packaging.

* When Music/FaithNoMore were quoted as saying "People are going to hate our new album" prior to the release of ''Angel Dust'' in 1992, they were ''not'' mincing words. Fans of the upbeat FunkMetal sound of ''The Real Thing'' were in for a shock to discover their much-anticipated follow-up to be filled with minor chords, DoomMetal riffs, circus and funeral organs, subject matter even more disturbing than before (third world starvation, [[{{Squick}} explicit gay sex]], [[DrugsAreBad drug-induced]] [[AxCrazy psychopathy]], and [[DrivenToSuicide what reads like a deranged man's suicide note]]), and MikePatton exchanging his nerdy [[AlternativeRock alt-rock]] vocals for a combination of gothic crooning and [[HarshVocals over-the-top screams]]. Also greeted with images of a slaughterhouse upon opening the album packaging.

* Music/BlindMelon followed up their very successful "Bee Girl" album with the much darker "Soup," which dealt with subject matter of murder, suicide and serial killers. It didn't sit well with some--especially those who had used the first album to do nothing but put "No Rain" on repeat. Even among fans, the shift from the more light, almost hippieish jam band feel of the first album to the darker and heavier feel of the second took some getting used to. The shift in tone is not only for creative reasons, but the increasingly erratic behavior, near constant drug use of primary songwriter Shannon Hoon. The album was also recorded in New Orleans, and the influence of the music and culture of that city on the album is salient.

* Music/LinkinPark. They started out with ''Music/HybridTheory'', which, aside from "One Step Closer" and "A Place for My Head", have no real screaming, though they did have angsty lyrics, and had no swearing. "Meteora" had angst, but no hard screaming or swearing. Then came ''Music/MinutesToMidnight'', when lead singer Chester Bennington and lead rapper Mike Shinoda swore like sailors, with several uses of the word "fuck", and had "Given Up", one of their darkest songs to date, with suicide references. After that was ''A Thousand Suns'', a concept album about nuclear destruction, along with several more uses of "fuck" and "shit". Then the band became LighterAndSofter with ''Living Things'', with only one "angry" song, "Lies Greed Misery", and no profanity.

** Then they managed to go from Darker and Edgier after three albums, to even more, MUCH MORE, with the release of their eighth album "The Great Southern Trendkill", which dealt with the afforded-mentioned subject matter relating to suicide, drugs, the end of the world by a massive flood, the media and many more topics along with Anselmo AND Seth Putnam from Music/AnalCunt himself sounding like both are ready to go "[[ContinuityNod fucking hostile]]"

* Dope's cover of Dead Or Alive's "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)".

* Music/NeilYoung's ''Music/RustNeverSleeps'' album is an example, as Young responded to the death of Music/ElvisPresley, the rise of PunkRock, and his own [[CreatorBreakdown fears of becoming culturally irrelevant]] by turning his soft-ish folk rock into nihilist hard rock with heavy distorted guitars, in a postmodern stage show with giant amps, roadies dressed like Jawas, and decaying film footage from Woodstock. It worked; the album received widespread popular and critical acclaim, and has been cited as one of the earliest examples of what became {{grunge}} music. The "Ditch Trilogy" - ''Time Fades Away'' (1973), ''On the Beach'' (1974), and ''Tonight's the Night'' (1975) - also qualifies. They are the product of Young struggling to deal with the pressures of fame as well as the recent deaths of two close friends: Crazy Horse guitarist Danny Whitten and roadie Bruce Berry, both of whom succumbed to heroin addiction. ''Time Fades Away'' was recorded live and is generally a hard rock album, but it feels unpolished and abrasive even by Young's standards and deals implicitly with themes of loneliness and loss. ''Tonight's the Night'', which was recorded in 1973 but came out in 1975, bears every indication that it was written and performed by someone in the process of grieving - Young even sounds like he's on the verge of breaking down in some of the album's tracks. Reprise Records was initially hesitant to release ''Tonight's the Night'' because of its harsher tone, and it is still widely considered the darkest record in Neil's catalogue. Although ''On the Beach'' was released almost a full year before ''Tonight's the Night'', it was recorded about half a year after the latter. While not quite as acerbic as either of the other two albums in the ditch trilogy, ''On the Beach'' is still an all-around despondent collection of songs.

* Rappers who were actual criminals fit this trope to the core. They will scare you straight outta crime. Not just those who are flashy and claim to be criminals, but real criminals who still killed while they made music -- Music/SchoollyD and Eazy-E are the best examples. Because of their past, the subject matter of their works are very dark and serious compared to most other rappers. As if "bro"-hating wasn't already a part of the black culture (as it is white culture, though with white racists out of bigotry).

* The whole genre of HipHop owes its current existence to this trope. Until the late '80s, the genre was dismissed as a passing fad by most music critics, due to its generally shallow/goofy lyrics and repetitive beats. But in 1988, two albums were released that would go on to legitimize hip hop and make it a relevant form of music: ''Music/ItTakesANationOfMillionsToHoldUsBack'' by Music/PublicEnemy and ''Music/StraightOuttaCompton'' by Music/{{NWA}}. The former featured biting political commentary, centered around the oppression of black culture in mainstream America. While the latter contained some of the most genuinely scathing lyrics ever heard in popular music up to that point (it was, in fact, one of the first albums to earn a "Parental Advisory" sticker). In the wake of those two albums, HipHop took on a much more serious and socially conscious tone, much to the delight of both critics and fans. A few years later, the genre of GangstaRap showed the world just how dark and edgy hip hop could be, cultivating in the real life deaths of rappers Music/TupacShakur and Music/TheNotoriousBIG. And then came the sub-genre known as {{Horrorcore}}. GangstaRap turned UpToEleven, with lyrics worthy of DeathMetal. Then there's industrial hip-hop, typified by acts like [[Music/{{Dalek}} dälek]], Music/DeathGrips, and Music/{{Clipping}}, which is simply way more abrasive than anything that had qualified as hip-hop before the 2000s.

* ''Third/Sister Lovers'' by Music/BigStar. It was recorded at a time when Alex Chilton was tired of getting fucked around by various record companies, and it ''shows''. It carries on the messy sonic sprawl of ''Radio City'', but with bleaker lyrics.

* Believe it or not, Music/{{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 Music/{{Foreigner}} or Music/{{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, horror and {{Angst}}y subject matter (one song even deals with [[DrivenToSuicide suicide]]).

* Music/TheJonasBrothers, who were sponsored by Creator/TheDisneyChannel, made their career singing clean and chaste love songs aimed at young girls. After they [[DeaderThanDisco faded into obscurity]], Music/NickJonas and Music/JoeJonas started careers of their own. Nick became an RAndB star and Joe formed DNCE, a disco-funk-pop band. While not really darker sonically, lyrically they're much more explicit. With obvious sexual themes and swearing throughout, they've separated themselves from the Jonas Brothers in more ways than one since splitting from Disney.

* Music/MassiveAttack. While ''Blue Lines'' and ''Protection'' weren't entirely sunny, ''Music/{{Mezzanine}}'' had a sonic background so dark it absorbed light. Trip-Hop as a whole moved in this direction. It originated as a soothing, acid jazz-inspired blend of hip-hop and dub; in the mid-90s, the post-punk influences turned into angry distorted riffs, the trippiness became heavy psychedelia, and the {{retraux}} atmosphere traded nostalgia for old horror movie creepiness.
* Jazz musicians will occasionally take songs from seemingly light repertoire and turn the intensity up. Music/SonnyRollins took the corniest of show tunes (such as "There's No Business Like Show Business") and turned them into positively hip (for the time) jazz tunes. Music/JohnColtrane famously turned the light-hearted, optimistic ''Music/MyFavoriteThings'' into what one critic described as a "hypnotic eastern devish dance", one that lasted an impressive 13 minutes. Coltrane himself is a truly a great example of this trope. Starting with light-hearted simplistic albums like ''Music/BlueTrain'' before becoming gradually more complex with ''Music/GiantSteps'' and ''Music/MyFavoriteThings'' and culminating with ''Ascension'' and ''Meditations''. ''Music/BlueTrain'' is many things, but it is in no way simplistic. Look at the chord progression to "Moment's Notice" for example, and you'll see that it's an early iteration of ''Coltrane changes'' - the substitutions that eventually resulted in ''Music/GiantSteps''. Although Coltrane hadn't yet gotten to what would later be called his famous "sheets of sound", ''Blue Train'' is still a seminal album in the history of jazz. Then again, jazz musicians do this ''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 Music/MilesDavis'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/BillieHoliday had a tragic life where she was the victim of rape at age 11, teenage prostitution, abusive partners and severe alcohol, morphine and heroin addiction. All it culminated in her world-weary ''Music/LadyInSatin'', where she sings about break-ups, unrequited love and all hardships of relationships in her drug ravaged voice. At the time this was quite unprecedented in the happy, carefree atmosphere of most popular music in the day. She died from liver cirrhosis only a year after recording it.
* Happened naturally to Music/MichaelJackson in the mid-90s. His 1991 album ''Music/{{Dangerous}}'' was, like his previous albums, a mix of standard pop and uplifting songs. His next album, ''Music/HistoryPastPresentAndFutureBookI'' (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 ''a song 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 ''Music/{{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=]''.

* Jazz musicians will occasionally take songs from seemingly light repertoire and turn the intensity up. Music/SonnyRollins took the corniest of show tunes (such as "There's No Business Like Show Business") and turned them into positively hip (for the time) jazz tunes. Music/JohnColtrane famously turned the light-hearted, optimistic ''Music/MyFavoriteThings'' into what one critic described as a "hypnotic eastern devish dance", one that lasted an impressive 13 minutes. Coltrane himself is a truly a great example of this trope. Starting with light-hearted simplistic albums like ''Music/BlueTrain'' before becoming gradually more complex with ''Music/GiantSteps'' and ''Music/MyFavoriteThings'' and culminating in the madness of ''Ascension'' and ''Meditations''. ''Music/BlueTrain'' is many things, but it is in no way simplistic. Look at the chord progression to "Moment's Notice" for example, and you'll see that it's an early iteration of ''Coltrane changes'' - the substitutions that would eventually result in ''Music/GiantSteps''. Although Coltrane hadn't yet gotten to what would later be called his famous "sheets of sound", ''Blue Train'' is still a seminal album in the history of jazz. Then again, jazz musicians do this ''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 Music/MilesDavis'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/BillieHoliday had a tragic life where she was the victim of rape at age 11, teenage prostitution, abusive partners and severe alcohol, morphine and heroin addiction. All it culminated in her world-weary ''Music/LadyInSatin'', where she sings about break-ups, unrequited love and all hardships of relationships in her drug ravaged voice. At the time this was quite unprecedented in the happy, carefree atmosphere of most popular music in the day. Only a year after recording this album she would die from liver cirrhosis.

* Music/DavidBowie albums, or stretches of such, tend to alternate between this and LighterAndSofter (owing to his penchant for the NewSoundAlbum trope), but an even clearer example of this can be seen with his stage personas in TheSeventies. After the flamboyant tragic rock messiah of [[Music/TheRiseAndFallOfZiggyStardustAndTheSpidersFromMars Ziggy Stardust]] and the variants of ''Music/AladdinSane'', et. al., with 1976's ''Music/StationToStation'' came The Thin White Duke -- a heartless Fascist. This persona owed a lot to a CreatorBreakdown and his heavy drug abuse at the time (including cocaine addiction), and Bowie's decision to pull himself up from it all was accompanied by a choice to not only dump the persona, but to only be himself on stage from that point on.

* 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]]. 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.

* Music/{{Megadeth}}'s return to metal from ''The System Has Failed'' onwards has been this, with Mustaine revamping his singing style into a snarling spitting style and going for a heavier and less speed oriented form of metal. His lyrics are almost exclusively political now. ''[=Th1rt3en=]'' took them back in a more radio-friendly direction, which was further expanded on with ''Super Collider''.

* The Italian disco group Easy Going went darker and edgier in their second album ''Fear''. Their self-titled first album with two (nude) men in a fight may be a small group of campy songs with little or no homosexual references overall in the lyrics ([[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymZcUpPAisQ "Little Fairy"]] may have such clues), but ''Fear'' clearly brought the LGBT theme to the songs. According to author [[https://books.google.com/books?id=3GDoCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA79 Francesco Cataldo Verrina]], [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sK7MsQshW1g "I Strip You"]] is about a man confessing to a woman on his homosexuality, and in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iq5F1sQkImM "Fear"]] a man discovers his homosexuality while courting a girl. The latter song is more deserving of being the group's darkest song, as it includes a grim tone, lyrics mentioning varieties of pain hurting the male character, and a sequence with a screaming woman and a siren. The group's last album ''Casanova'' returns to a general tone closer to the original album's, with potentially gay references limited at least or only to the song [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mdte2eNFJo "A Gay Time Latin Lover."]]

* Winger was originally known for being a standard glam act with a pretty-boy front-man and musicians that were far above the rest of the pack, but their overly poppy leanings made them among the most frequent targets of ire from the anti-glam crowd, which wasn't helped by the ''relentless'' mockery they received on ''WesternAnimation/BeavisAndButthead''. 1993's ''Pull'' answered these criticisms with a shockingly dark, mature album that emphasized their technical ability while completely eliminating the poppiness of their earlier material. Unfortunately, it was too little, too late, and the album went unnoticed until the mid-00's glam revival.

* ''Music/{{Lemonade}}'' is ''Music/{{Beyonce}}'''s darkest work yet. The album is entirely based around AdultFear: what to do when your partner cheats on you, how to move on and the lasting effects it can have in a marriage. The songs go further and show this is a problem to have also happened to her mother and grandmother. The album has also been praised for its exploration of black feminism and womanhood.

* Music/TheBeatles went this direction with ''Music/TheWhiteAlbum''. Though light, silly songs remained ("Back in the U.S.S.R", "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da", "Birthday") many songs on the album were quite dark, such as "Julia", about the death of John Lennon's mother, "Blackbird", about racism, and especially "Revolution 9", a nightmarish sound collage.
* Similarly, many other '60s bands, including tMusic/TheBeachBoys and Music/TheRollingStones, became DarkerAndEdgier during the peak of psychedelia.
* The musical history of Music/PinkFloyd seems to have been one long slide from the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHRE5dyDKTA spacey, exploratory psychedelia]] of Music/SydBarrett, down into Roger Waters' descent into dark cynicism with ''Music/TheDarkSideOfTheMoon'' and ''Music/TheWall''. Waters' post-Pink Floyd solo work continues the trend.
* Compare the album ''The Cheerful Insanity of Giles, Giles and Fripp'' to anything that Music/KingCrimson's done, ever. The first King Crimson lineup ''was'' Giles, Giles and Fripp, plus Greg Lake and [[Music/{{Foreigner}} Ian McDonald]].
** Similarly, compare the album ''From Genesis to Revelation'' by Genesis to the track "The Knife", which was from the very next album.

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

* Music/MassiveAttack. While ''Blue Lines'' and ''Protection'' weren't entirely sunny, ''Music/{{Mezzanine}}'' had a sonic background so dark it absorbed light.
** Trip-Hop as a whole moved in this direction. It originated as a soothing, acid jazz-inspired blend of hip-hop and dub; in the mid-90s, the post-punk influences turned into angry distorted riffs, the trippiness became heavy psychedelia, and the {{retraux}} atmosphere traded nostalgia for old horror movie creepiness.
* Jazz musicians will occasionally take songs from seemingly light repertoire and turn the intensity up. Music/SonnyRollins took the corniest of show tunes (such as "There's No Business Like Show Business") and turned them into positively hip (for the time) jazz tunes. Music/JohnColtrane famously turned the light-hearted, optimistic ''Music/MyFavoriteThings'' into what one critic described as a "hypnotic eastern devish dance", one that lasted an impressive 13 minutes. Coltrane himself is a truly a great example of this trope. Starting with light-hearted simplistic albums like ''Music/BlueTrain'' before becoming gradually more complex with ''Music/GiantSteps'' and ''Music/MyFavoriteThings'' and culminating in the madness of ''Ascension'' and ''Meditations''. ''Music/BlueTrain'' is many things, but it is in no way simplistic. Look at the chord progression to "Moment's Notice" for example, and you'll see that it's an early iteration of ''Coltrane changes'' - the substitutions that would eventually result in ''Music/GiantSteps''. Although Coltrane hadn't yet gotten to what would later be called his famous "sheets of sound", ''Blue Train'' is still a seminal album in the history of jazz.
** And jazz musicians do this ''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 Music/MilesDavis'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/BillieHoliday had a tragic life where she was the victim of rape at age 11, teenage prostitution, abusive partners and severe alcohol, morphine and heroin addiction. All it culminated in her world weary ''Music/LadyInSatin'', where she sings about break-ups, unrequited love and all hardships of relationships in her drug ravaged voice. At the time this was quite unprecedented in the happy, carefree atmosphere of most popular music in the day. Only a year after recording this album she would die from liver cirrosis.

* Music/{{Hanson}}, in a sense, though more with their image than the actual music. I think they've used swear words in a few interviews or stuff they had, and the lead singer had sex before he got married. As for their music, they're not as light and innocent as they were [[ChildrenAreInnocent as children]], but still a very upbeat group. It's more that they've switched their style.

* A lot of {{Dubstep}} remixes tend to go down this path while still using the same lyrics as the original song. This is easily accomplished with the thunderous basslines associated with the genre. For comparison: [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9yGcKlYAiw Example - Kickstarts]] versus [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ks0P1u6-OUY the Bar 9 remix]], the former sounding much more hopeful and cheery than the latter, made even more evident with the corresponding official videos.

* Music/LadyGaga 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 and tributes to her favourite artists. Her follow-up EP, ''The Fame Monster'', is it's [[ArtistDisillusionment "hangover"]]. The cover, [[DeliberatelyMonochrome monochrome]] with the Gaga veiled up to the nose by a cape; combined with music centered around [[Music/BadRomance love evoking a bad, sexy romance novel]]; romantic anxiety ("Dance in the Dark"); and [[IntercourseWithYou sex]]; the music took a more dark, perverse, challenging, and personal route
** ''Born This Way'' got [[GenreRoulette eclectic]], with dance-pop ("The Edge of Glory"), {{house|Music}} ("Marry the Night"), {{techno}} ("Judas"), [[NewWaveMusic New Wave]] ("[[OminousLatinChanting Government Hooker]]"), and [[ThePowerOfRock rock]] ("You and I"). It's no ''Music/StationToStation'' or ''Music/RayOfLight'' but it's a [[NewSoundAlbum shift]]. Could be [[LighterAndSofter more upbeat]] at times than ''The Fame Monster'', though.
** Many hold that if you compare her to other teen pop stars, she's dark and edgy. Others contend that, in comparison to many other genres and groups, she's not that much different from any other pop star despite a different packaging.
* Music/{{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 violent psychopath with the ''Music/PlasticBeach'' 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 abusive]], though it could always have come off this way [[FridgeHorror if you thought about it.]]
** And ironically, their musical style has become [[LightIsNotGood brighter and more polished]], though certainly no softer in theme.

* Rappers who were actual criminals fit this trope to the core. They will scare you straight outta crime. Not just those who are flashy and claim to be criminals, but real criminals who still killed while they made music -- Schoolly D and Eazy-E are the best examples. Because of their past, the subject matter of their works are very dark and serious compared to most other rappers. As if "bro"-hating wasn't already a part of the black culture (as it is white culture, though with white racists out of bigotry).
* ''Third/Sister Lovers'' by Music/BigStar. It was recorded at a time when Alex Chilton was tired of getting fucked around by various record companies, and boy, does it show. It carries on the messy sonic sprawl of ''Radio City'', but with more bleaker lyrics.

* {{Progressive metal}} band Music/DreamTheater subtly evolved in this direction; in terms of lyrics, the band started to explore slightly darker themes over time, and the occasional curse word started popping up, but this change has been mostly for the better, as their softer songs don't really portray the technical brilliance of the instrumentalists: 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" (from 1992's ''Images and Words'') stand in stark contrast to guitar riffs and drumming which wouldn't be out of place in a Music/{{Metallica}} song. The vocals also got darker over time, due to James' vocal injury and an increasing presence of Mike Portnoy's backing vocals. As well, their music has gotten heavier over time, with an increased use of seven-string guitars.
** These elements are probably best exemplified by ''Awake'' and ''Train of Thought''. ''Awake'', their third album, was easily their heaviest for some time, standing out especially well in contrast to their previous album ''Images and Words''. Then came ''Train of Thought'', their seventh album, which was extremely heavy and included about 80% of the swear words used in the band's career.
* Music/NeilYoung's ''Music/RustNeverSleeps'' album is an example, as Young responded to the death of Music/ElvisPresley, the rise of PunkRock, and his own [[CreatorBreakdown fears of becoming culturally irrelevant]] by turning his soft-ish folk rock into nihilist hard rock with heavy distorted guitars, in a postmodern stage show with giant amps, roadies dressed like Jawas, and decaying film footage from Woodstock. It worked; the album received widespread popular and critical acclaim, and has been cited as one of the earliest examples of what became {{Grunge}} music.
** The "Ditch Trilogy" - ''Time Fades Away'' (1973), ''On the Beach'' (1974), and ''Tonight's the Night'' (1975) - also qualify. They are the product of Young struggling to deal with the pressures of fame as well as the recent deaths of two close friends: Crazy Horse guitarist Danny Whitten and roadie Bruce Berry, both of whom succumbed to heroin addiction. ''Time Fades Away'' was recorded live and is generally a hard rock album, but it feels unpolished and abrasive even by Young's standards and deals implicitly with themes of loneliness and loss. ''Tonight's the Night'', which was recorded in 1973 but came out in 1975, bears every indication that it was written and performed by someone in the process of grieving - Young even sounds like he's on the verge of breaking down in some of the album's tracks. Reprise Records was initially hesitant to release ''Tonight's the Night'' because of its harsher tone, and it is still widely considered the darkest record in Neil's catalogue. Although ''On the Beach'' was released almost a full year before ''Tonight's the Night'', it was recorded about half a year after the latter. While not quite as acerbic as either of the other two albums in the ditch trilogy, ''On the Beach'' is still an all-around despondent collection of songs.

* Similarly, many other '60s bands, including the Music/TheBeachBoys and Music/TheRollingStones, became DarkerAndEdgier during the peak of psychedelia.

* Compare the album ''The Cheerful Insanity of Giles, Giles and Fripp'' to anything that Music/KingCrimson's done, ever. The first King Crimson lineup ''was'' Giles, Giles and Fripp, plus Greg Lake and [=Ian McDonald=].

* Music/MassiveAttack. While ''Blue Lines'' and ''Protection'' weren't entirely sunny, ''Music/{{Mezzanine}}'' had a sonic background so dark, it absorbed light.
** Trip-Hop as a whole has moved in this direction. It originated as a soothing, acid jazz-inspired blend of hip-hop and dub; in the mid-90s, the post-punk influences turned into angry distorted riffs, the trippiness became heavy psychedelia, and the {{retraux}} atmosphere traded nostalgia for old horror movie creepiness.

** 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 Music/MilesDavis'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").

** ''Born This Way'' got [[GenreRoulette eclectic]], with dance-pop ("The Edge of Glory"), {{house|Music}} ("Marry the Night"), {{techno}} ("Judas"), [[NewWaveMusic New Wave]] ("[[OminousLatinChanting Government Hooker]]"), and [[ThePowerOfRock rock]] ("You and I"). It's no ''[[Music/DavidBowie Station to Station]]'' or ''Music/RayOfLight'' but it's a [[NewSoundAlbum shift]]. Could be [[LighterAndSofter more upbeat]] at times than ''The Fame Monster'', though.

* Music/{{Weezer}}'s release after their self titled debut, ''Music/{{Pinkerton}}'', had a more abrasive, darker sound than their previous album.
** But can you blame them? Rivers was [[CreatorBreakdown pretty beat up after having multiple surgeries to correct a minor bone deformity that he wrote the entire album with a bitter disposition]]. The whole album is themed around breaking up; it's hard to write upbeat songs about breakups.

* 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]].
** 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.

* Music/LambOfGod had always been known to deliver some already dark, heavy and intense albums, like "Ashes In The Wake" and "Wrath", but then they managed to one-up themselves with 2012's "Resolution", which resulted in both some of their darkest songs ever, (Such as "King Me", "Ghost Walking", "Insurrection" and the bonus track "Bury Me Under The Sun") and some of Randy Blythe's most insane and intense vocals (Most notably "King Me", which featured different styles of singing, such as spoken word, the basic grows and Randy's screams of insanity and rage towards the end.)
** Basically, they did what Pantera managed to do with "The Great Southen Trendkill".

* With her second album, ''Siberia'', the once [[{{Moe}} cheerful]] Music/{{Lights}} has taken a noticeably angstier turn. The following album, ''Little Machines'' went back in a lighter direction.

** Trip-Hop as a whole has moved in this direction. It originated as a soothing, acid jazz-inspired blend of hip-hop and dub; in mid 90's, the post-punk influences turned into angry distorted riffs, the trippiness became heavy psychedelia, and the {{retraux}} atmosphere traded nostalgia for old horror movie creepiness.
* Jazz musicians will occasionally take songs from seemingly light repertoire and turn the intensity up. Music/SonnyRollins took the corniest of show tunes (such as "There's No Business Like Show Business") and turned them into positively hip (for the time) jazz tunes. Music/JohnColtrane famously turned the light-hearted, optimistic ''Music/MyFavoriteThings'' into what one critic described as a "hypnotic eastern devish dance", one that lasted an impressive 13 minutes.
** Trane himself is a truly a great example of this trope. Starting with light-hearted simplistic albums like ''Music/BlueTrain'' before becoming gradually more complex with ''Music/GiantSteps'' and ''Music/MyFavoriteThings'' and culminating in the madness of ''Ascension'' and ''Meditations''.
** ''Music/BlueTrain'' is many things, but it is in no way simplistic. Look at the chord progression to "Moment's Notice" for example, and you'll see that it's an early iteration of ''Coltrane changes'' - the substitutions that would eventually result in ''Music/GiantSteps''. Although Coltrane hadn't yet gotten to what would later be called his famous "sheets of sound", ''Blue Train'' is still a seminal album in the history of jazz.

* Music/{{Weezer}}'s release after their self titled debut, ''Music/{{Pinkerton}}'', contained a more abrasive and darker sound than their previous album.

* The first album by Music/SkidRow was a pretty typical HairMetal album, containing popular rock anthems such as "18 And Life" and "Youth Gone Wild" as well as the PowerBallad "I Remember You". The band's second album, ''Slave To The Grind'', was darker, edgier, and less mainstream than the first with many songs adopting a ThrashMetal sound and lyrics about drugs, politics, and criticism of religion.

* Music/{{Metallica}}:
** The band's sophomore album ''Music/RideTheLightning'' is quite a bit darker than their debut ''Kill 'Em All'', shedding most of the youthfulness and camp of its predecessor in favor of songs centering around death and fate.
** ''...And Justice for All'' is arguably the darkest and most serious album Metallica has ever made, shedding pretty much all of the youthful rebellion of their first three records in favor of songs addressing serious topics like The Cold War ("Blackened"), spousal abuse ("Harvester of Sorrow" - which is probably the darkest song the band has ever written), dementia ("Frayed Ends of Sanity"), and the death of bassist Cliff Burton ("To Live Is to Die").
** While the band certainly went in a LighterAndSofter direction with their music during the 1990s, ''[=ReLoad=]'' was decidedly darker and more sinister-sounding than the comparably upbeat ''Metallica'' and ''Load''.
** And in the 2000s, the band returned to the darkness of their 1980s material with ''St. Anger'' and ''Death Magnetic''.
* Music/{{Megadeth}}'s return to metal from ''The System Has Failed'' onwards has been this, with Mustaine revamping his singing style into a snarling spitting style and going for a heavier and less speed oriented form of metal. His lyrics are almost exclusively political now.
** ''[=Th1rt3en=]'' took them back in a more radio-friendly direction, which was further expanded on with ''Super Collider''.
* Music/{{Anthrax}} played this trope completely straight with ''Persistence of Time''. They 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.

* Creator/VincentPrice's 1977 cover version of light-hearted novelty song ''The Monster Mash'', which had a more sinister melody and also had the sound of a woman screaming near the end.

* Of all the Seattle [[Main/{{Grunge}} grunge]]-era bands, Music/AliceInChains were this compared to the [[Music/{{Nirvana}} other]] [[Music/PearlJam three]] [[Music/{{Soundgarden}} bands]] from the "Big 4", with a lot of their music arguably qualifying as DoomMetal. But this trope even applies to the band's discography, as they got ''much'' heavier with each release; their predecessors Alice 'n' Chainz were pure GlamRock in the vein of Music/{{Poison}}. The first incarnation of the current Alice in Chains was GlamMetal in the vein of Music/GunsNRoses, and their debut album ''Facelift'' took it even further, with a much heavier sound clearly in HeavyMetal territory, but still very glam. The album that followed, 1992's ''Dirt'', was a far bigger transition, with the music being their first attempts at doom metal and the lyrics focused on war, death, depression, and ''especially'' heroin addiction. Their 1995 self titled album took this trope UpToEleven, being easily one of the darkest, most depressing albums ever released into mainstream. The band's latest material, with Wiliam [=DuVall=] having replaced the late Layne Staley on vocals, has still kept the tradition going.
* More generally {{boy band}}s, if they last more than a few years, will generally become frustrated with the limited TastesLikeDiabetes material they are spoon-fed in their early career and want to pursue a more grown up sound with darker and more introspective lyrics and more aggressive instrumentation, sometimes played by themselves as they strive to prove they have genuine talent.

* The whole genre of HipHop owes its current existence to this trope. Until the late '80s, the genre was dismissed as a passing fad by most music critics, due to its generally shallow/goofy lyrics and repetitive beats. But in 1988, two albums were released that would go on to legitimize hip hop and make it a relevant form of music: ''Music/ItTakesANationOfMillionsToHoldUsBack'' by Music/PublicEnemy and ''Music/StraightOuttaCompton'' by Music/{{NWA}}. The former featured biting political commentary, centered around the oppression of black culture in mainstream America. While the latter contained some of the most genuinely scathing lyrics ever heard in popular music up to that point (it was, in fact, one of the first albums to earn a "Parental Advisory" sticker). In the wake of those two albums, HipHop took on a much more serious and socially conscious tone, much to the delight of both critics and fans. A few years later, the genre of GangstaRap showed the world just how dark and edgy hip hop could be, cultivating in the real life deaths of rappers Music/TupacShakur and Music/TheNotoriousBIG. And then came the sub-genre known as {{Horrorcore}}. GangstaRap turned UpToEleven, with lyrics worthy of DeathMetal.

* The entire genre of HipHop owes its current existence to this trope. Until the late '80s, the genre was dismissed as a passing fad by most music critics, due to its generally shallow/goofy lyrics and repetitive beats. But in 1988, two albums were released that would go on to legitimize hip hop and make it a relevant form of music: ''Music/ItTakesANationOfMillionsToHoldUsBack'' by Music/PublicEnemy and ''Music/StraightOuttaCompton'' by Music/{{NWA}}. The former featured biting political commentary, centered around the oppression of black culture in mainstream America. While the latter contained some of the most genuinely scathing lyrics ever heard in popular music up to that point (it was, in fact, one of the first albums to earn a "Parental Advisory" sticker). In the wake of those two albums, HipHop took on a much more serious and socially conscious tone, much to the delight of both critics and fans. A few years later, the genre of GangstaRap showed the world just how dark and edgy hip hop could be, cultivating in the real life deaths of rappers Music/TupacShakur and Music/TheNotoriousBIG. And then came the sub-genre known as {{Horrorcore}}. GangstaRap turned UpToEleven, with lyrics worthy of DeathMetal.

* Believe it or not, Music/{{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 Music/{{Foreigner}} or Music/{{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, horror and {{Angst}}y subject matter (one song even deals with [[DrivenToSuicide suicide]]).

* For Music/ATribeCalledQuest, the change was very gradual, starting from ''Music/TheLowEndTheory'''s more laid-back tone, more earthy soundscape, and slightly more realistic lyrics to ''Midnight Maurader'''s more confrontational and serious tones, ''Beats, Rhymes, and Life'' finally topped this off with plenty of swearing, dark beats, and realistic situations. It also watered-down its playful, surreal sound. Music/DeLaSoul also went through this, except its transition was MUCH more sudden.

* ''Third/Sister Lovers'' by Music/BigStar. It was recorded at a time when Alex Chilton was tired of getting fucked around with by various record companies, and boy, does it show. It carries on the messy sonic sprawl of ''Radio City'', but with more bleaker lyrics.

* For Music/ATribeCalledQuest, the change was very gradual, starting from ''Music/TheLowEndTheory'''s more laid-back tone, more earthy soundscape, and slightly more realistic lyrics to Midnight Maurader's more confrontational and serious tones, Beats, Rhymes, And Life finally topped this off with plenty of swearing, dark beats, and realistic situations. It also watered-down its playful, surreal sound.
** Music/DeLaSoul also went through this, except its transition was MUCH more sudden.

** Frankly, the last thirty years of HeavyMetal could be summed up as a sort of DarkerAndEdgier LensmanArmsRace.

* ''Music/{{Lemonade}}'' is ''Music/{{Beyonce}}'''s darkest work yet. The album is entirely based around AdultFear: what to do when your partner cheats on you, how to move on and the lasting effects it can have in a marriage. The songs go further and show this is a problem to have also happened to her mother and grandmother. The album has also been praised for it's exploration of black feminism and womanhood.

* Music/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 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).

** Many hold that if you compare her to other teen pop stars, she's dark and edgy. Others contend that, in comparison to many other genres and groups, she's not that much different from any other popstar despite a different packaging.

** ''Th1rt3en'' took them back in a more radio-friendly direction, which was further expanded on with ''Super Collider''.

* The entire genre of HipHop owes its current existence to this trope. Until the late-80's, the genre was dismissed as a passing fad by most music critics, due to its generally shallow/goofy lyrics and repetitive beats. But then, in 1988, two albums were released that would go on to legitimize hip hop and make it a relevant form of music: ''Music/ItTakesANationOfMillionsToHoldUsBack'' by Music/PublicEnemy and ''Music/StraightOuttaCompton'' by Music/{{NWA}}. The former featured biting political commentary, centered around the oppression of black culture in mainstream America. While the latter contained some of the most genuinely scathing lyrics ever heard in popular music up to that point (it was, in fact, one of the first albums to earn a "Parental Advisory" sticker). In the wake of those two albums, HipHop took on a much more serious and socially conscious tone, much to the delight of both critics and fans. A few years later, the genre of GangstaRap showed the world just how dark and edgy hip hop could be, cultivating in the real life deaths of rappers Music/TupacShakur and Music/TheNotoriousBIG. And then came the sub-genre known as {{Horrorcore}}. GangstaRap turned UpToEleven, with lyrics worthy of DeathMetal.
* For Music/ATribeCalledQuest, the change was very gradual, starting from ''Music/TheLowEndTheory'''s more laid-back tone, more earthy soundscape, and slightly more realistic lyrics to Midnight Maurader's more confrontational and serious tones, Beats, Rhymes, And Life finally topped this off with excessive swearing, Dark beats, and realistic situations. It also watered-down its playful, surreal sound.

* Music/LanaDelRey's album "Ultraviolence" was particularly well-received because of its darker and edgier themes and more personal content. Among other things, the album deals with abusive relationships, drug use, and prostitution.

** Then they managed to go from Darker And Edgier after three albums, to even more, MUCH MORE, with the release of their eighth album "The Great Southern Trendkill", which dealt with the afforded-mentioned subject matter relating to suicide, drugs, the end of the world by a massive flood, the media and many more topics along with Anselmo AND Seth Putnam from Music/AnalCunt himself sounding like both are ready to go "[[ContinuityNod fucking hostile]]"

* Progressive metal band Music/DreamTheater subtly evolved in this direction; in terms of lyrics, the band started to explore slightly darker themes over time, and the occasional curse word started popping up, but this change has been mostly for the better, as their softer songs don't really portray the technical brilliance of the instrumentalists: 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" (from 1992's ''Images and Words'') stand in stark contrast to guitar riffs and drumming which wouldn't be out of place in a Music/{{Metallica}} song. The vocals also got darker over time, due to James' vocal injury and an increasing presence of Mike Portnoy's backing vocals. As well, their music has gotten heavier over time, with an increased use of seven-string guitars.

* Music/NeilYoung's ''Music/RustNeverSleeps'' album is an example, as Young responded to the death of Music/ElvisPresley, the rise of PunkRock, and his own [[CreatorBreakdown fears of becoming culturally irrelevant]] by turning his soft-ish folk rock into nihilist hard rock with heavy distorted guitars, in a postmodern stage show with giant amps, roadies dressed like Jawas, and decaying film footage from Woodstock. It ''worked'' - the album received widespread popular and critical acclaim, and has been cited as one of the earliest examples of what would become {{Grunge}} music.

* Music/TheBeatles went this direction with ''Music/TheWhiteAlbum''. Though light, silly songs remained ("Back In The U.S.S.R", "Obi-La-Di, Obi-La-Da", "Birthday") many songs on the album were quite dark, such as "Julia", about the death of John Lennon's mother, "Blackbird", about racism, and especially "Revolution 9", a nightmarish sound collage.

* The musical history of Music/PinkFloyd seems to have been one long slide from the [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHRE5dyDKTA spacey, exploratory psychedelia]] of Music/SydBarrett, down into Roger Waters' descent into dark cynicism with ''Music/TheDarkSideOfTheMoon'' and ''Music/TheWall''. Waters' post-Pink Floyd solo work continues the trend.
* Compare the album "The Cheerful Insanity of Giles, Giles and Fripp" to anything that Music/KingCrimson's done, ever. The first King Crimson lineup ''was'' Giles, Giles and Fripp, plus Greg Lake and [=Ian McDonald=].
** Similarly, compare the album "From Genesis to Revelation" by Genesis to the track "The Knife", which was from the very next album.

** Also compare "The Aerosol Grey Machine" with any of Music/VanDerGraafGenerator's subsequent output.

* Winger was originally known for being a standard glam act with a pretty-boy frontman and musicians that were far above the rest of the pack, but their overly poppy leanings made them among the most frequent targets of ire from the anti-glam crowd, which wasn't helped by the ''relentless'' mockery they received on ''WesternAnimation/BeavisAndButthead''. 1993's ''Pull'' answered these criticisms with a shockingly dark and mature album that emphasized their technical ability while completely eliminating the poppiness of their earlier material. Unfortunately, it was too little, too late, and the album went unnoticed until the mid-00's glam revival.

** 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 Music/MilesDavis'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").

* Happened naturally to Music/MichaelJackson in the mid-90s. His 1991 album ''Music/{{Dangerous}}'' was, like his previous albums, a mix of standard pop and uplifting songs. His next album, ''Music/HistoryPastPresentAndFutureBookI'' (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 ''a song 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 ''Music/{{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=]''.

* Music/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).

* Music/{{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 violent psychopath with the Music/PlasticBeach 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 abusive]], though it could always have come off this way [[FridgeHorror if you thought about it.]]
** And ironically, their musical style has become [[LightIsNotGood brighter and more polished,]] though certainly no softer in theme.

** The band's sophomore album ''Music/RideTheLightning'' is quite a bit darker than their debut "Kill 'Em All", shedding most of the youthfulness and camp of its predecessor in favor of songs centering around death and fate.
** "...And Justice for All" is arguably the darkest and most serious album Metallica has ever made, shedding pretty much all of the youthful rebellion of their first three records in favor of songs addressing serious topics like The Cold War ("Blackened"), spousal abuse ("Harvester Of Sorrow" - which is probably the darkest song the band has ever written), dementia ("Frayed Ends of Sanity"), and the death of bassist Cliff Burton ("To Live Is To Die").
** While the band certainly went in a LighterAndSofter direction with their music during the 1990s, "[=ReLoad=]" was decidedly darker and more sinister-sounding than the comparably upbeat "Black Album" and "Load".
** And in the 2000s, the band returned to the darkness of their 1980s material with "St. Anger" and "Death Magnetic".

* Music/{{Anthrax}} played this trope completely straight with ''Persistence Of Time.'' They 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.

* Music/DefLeppard's 1996 album ''Slang'' showcased a more organic, darker musical style and subject matter, fueled by [[CreatorBreakdown personal turmoil]] in the band members' lives, express themselves more honestly and by their willingness to experiment with new sounds and acknowledge the [[TheNineties 1990's]] AlternativeRock movement. It was their first album since their debut ''On Through The Night'' not to be produced by Creator/RobertJohnMuttLange.

* Future Perfect's third album, ''After The Fall'', took a darker turn from their first two albums, both instrumentally and lyrically; e.g. "Protect and Survive" is about [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt an impending nuclear strike on Britain]].

* [[Creator/VincentPrice Vincent Price's]] 1977 cover version of light-hearted novelty song ''The Monster Mash'', which had a more sinister melody and also had the sound of a woman screaming near the end.

* "[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2oY-4TMOI0 Dio vi salvi Regina]]", Corsica's national anthem, is considered one of the saddest national anthems due to its tone and the lyrics. The one of the lines (In un mar di dolore, E d'amarezza) describes Corsica being surrounded by a "sea of pain and bitterness" which refers to the troubled past of the island.

* Music/ATribeCalledQuest, the most well known AlternativeHipHop group suffered from this.
** The change was very gradual, starting from ''Music/TheLowEndTheory'''s more laid-back tone, more earthy soundscape, and slightly more realistic lyrics to Midnight Maurader's more confrontational and serious tones, Beats, Rhymes, And Life finally topped this off with excessive swearing, Dark beats, and realistic situations. It also watered-down its playful, surreal sound.

* By [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQbcYlraq_g the songs that have been]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLD3PDI41K8 revealed so far]], Future Perfect's upcoming third album, ''After The Fall'', appears to taking a darker turn from their first two albums, both instrumentally and lyrically; e.g. "Protect and Survive" is about [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt an impending nuclear strike on Britain]].