Before they ruled adult contemporary airwaves and department store playlists, some of the most popular pop-rock and bands were busy headbanging.
Many artists kick off their careers with scrappy projects, DIY recordings, and short-lived label deals, often toying in genres much heavier than those for which they’d eventually be known. It makes sense, considering that punk, hard rock, heavy metal, grunge, and emo served as major inspirations for emerging musicians from the early ’80s through the mid-2000s.
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The hair metal boom surely inspired some Mötley Crüe and Bon Jovi copycats, and just a few years later, the sweeping success of Nirvana and Pearl Jam had dozens of young bands wanting to tap into the grunge movement. In the late ’90s, however, alternative rock began to veer off into various scenes and niches; there were the tried and true post-grunge rockers, the still-growing pop-punk and emo favorites, and the clean-cut stylings of adult contemporary and soft rock.
From here, so many acts ditched their previously-visceral sound for lighter fare, like Maroon 5, Yellowcard, and Five for Fighting. Meanwhile, the 2000s emo and hardcore revival that eventually dominated MySpace pages and Warped Tour stages would go on to influence countless bands in the 2010s, like Teddy Swims, Portugal. the Man, and The 1975. For some bands, their heavier origins serve as a crucial part of their lore; others are a bit more surprising.
If anything, looking at the trajectory of these bands and artists is a testament to their abilities to evolve within a turbulent, unpredictable music landscape. They eventually earned success not for their original style, but for a sound that resonated with a large audience. Plus, those strains of punk and metal never really die in an artist — they help shape the star they’ll eventually become.
Listed in alphabetical order, here are 10 pop-rock acts that used to be heavy.
— Paolo Ragusa
Associate Editor