Revolving line ups. -

[Megaroad 2012]

This is Iced Earth's line up:

(Fun fact Jon Schaffer stormed the capitol on jan 6th lol)

Discuss.

Do having consistant line ups matter? Is a band still the band if everyone from the start is gone (Sepultura)?

Personally I think the worst thing a band can do is have a rotating vocalist. Only time that really worked on a band where the vocalist didn't die was with Black Sabbath, and they managed to make it work multiple times too.

Guitarists and drummers come a close second, but only if it's a musicians with a distinct "voice" where when they play you know who it is (Slash, David Gilmour on guitar, Neil Peart or John Dolymayan on drums) .

 

[Boris Blank's glass eye]

Black Sabbath is an interesting case as they shifted from the early doom/stoner style into heavy metal which no longer suited Ozzy's voice.
IMO Deep Purple also pulled it off well with Coverdale and Hughes doing that quirky "two lead singers" thing, but the funkier style was clearly too much for Blackmore.

The worst vocalist change I know of is probably Journey signing on Arnel Pinada with Blaze Bayley's time in Iron Maiden coming in a close second.

 

[Pissmaster]

Is a band still the band if everyone from the start is gone (Sepultura)?

I've thought about that, and it comes down to the Ship of Theseus question. What I came up with was:

• Either the band is still the band if the people from the very beginning are gone, because the band's identity and artwork is what the band actually is, and that has been passed down to a new generation
• Or the band is not the same band as before after the very first person either leaves or joins, since it's now functionally made up of different people, and the potential output will not be the same as with/without the same members

As for the actual Ship of Theseus, I'd consider that to be the same ship, since it's not a creative endeavor. It's a tool. It serves its purpose, and that purpose can be fulfilled by any ship suitable for its role.

But for a band, since it's a creative endeavor, it's a different band as musicians come and go. They influence one another differently, and you can't get the same output with different people.

I'll even go so far as to say that a band with the same lineup, but after a significant even that changed a member could technically make it a different band. Here's a funny example of Tom Delonge performing with Angels & Airwaves, doing a horrible cover of his own song that he sang when he was with Blink-182. He even forgets the first verse, and the song wasn't even three years old at the time:

And for reference, this is the 2003 Blink-182 version of Down:

Same singer, new band, completely different sound after Tom got his messiah complex and went nuts. Even by 2006, the Blink-182 that existed in 2003 that released that song ceased to exist. If you want the 2003 Blink-182 back, you'd have to revert whatever the hell Tom did that morphed him into the kind of lolcow he became when he founded Angels & Airwaves.

 

[User names must be unique]

this is the weirdest line up listing I can think of.

 

[Pissmaster]

this is the weirdest line up listing I can think of.
View attachment 2276703

lol the last guy's name is mal cum dick

 

[ClownBrew]

the funkier style was clearly too much for Blackmore.

Don't even get me started on what he did to Rainbow with all the lineup/style changes every other year. From about Joe Lynn Turner on out it was all straight downhill. It's actually a relief he's taken to prancing around Long Island in larp gear playing a medieval mandolin or whatever tf he and Wifey are up to now.

 

[tehpope]

I've thought about that, and it comes down to the Ship of Theseus question. What I came up with was:

• Either the band is still the band if the people from the very beginning are gone, because the band's identity and artwork is what the band actually is, and that has been passed down to a new generation
• Or the band is not the same band as before after the very first person either leaves or joins, since it's now functionally made up of different people, and the potential output will not be the same as with/without the same members

As for the actual Ship of Theseus, I'd consider that to be the same ship, since it's not a creative endeavor. It's a tool. It serves its purpose, and that purpose can be fulfilled by any ship suitable for its role.

But for a band, since it's a creative endeavor, it's a different band as musicians come and go. They influence one another differently, and you can't get the same output with different people.

Smahing Pumpkins come to mind. Ever since 2007, its essentially been Billy's solo career with various formations and sometimes with members of the original lineup. Mostly Jimmy (the drummer) but James did come back (which I never though would happen since there's a lot of bad blood on Billy's side). Billy did try a solo career but it didn't work so well.

They mostly sound the same, each lineup. The extended lineup from 2008 was a little different.

 

[Boris Blank's glass eye]

Don't even get me started on what he did to Rainbow with all the lineup/style changes every other year. From about Joe Lynn Turner on out it was all straight downhill. It's actually a relief he's taken to prancing around Long Island in larp gear playing a medieval mandolin or whatever tf he and Wifey are up to now.

While it's no excuse for the other shortcomings, IMO Blackmore was in a tough spot having to hire someone after Ronnie James Dio. Keeping that level of performance, let alone surpassing it, was nearly impossible.

 

[ClownBrew]

While it's no excuse for the other shortcomings, IMO Blackmore was in a tough spot having to hire someone after Ronnie James Dio. Keeping that level of performance, let alone surpassing it, was nearly impossible.

Graham Bonnet is an amazing singer but he is also a hard cow to wrangle at times.

 

[Gordon Cole]

Surprised no one mentioned The Fall:

 

[Duncan Hills Coffee]

Megadeth's gone through a shitload of musicians over the years.

 

[Megaroad 2012]

Megadeth's gone through a shitload of musicians over the years.

View attachment 2289457

I think Megadeth survives just fine with a rotating cast because it's more Dave's baby than anything with him as both songwriter and singer/guitar player. He's doing just as fine without Marty and Nick as he did with them.

Sucks Junior had to go jack off for some stupid underage thot though. Not so much because she was 17 but because his whole legacy is ruined now over retarded rock and roll behavior.

 

[Tarnished Fraggle]

One band that always springs to mind when I think of revolving line ups is Slipknot. Their original lineup is so different to the band they ended up being by the first album, and every few years a member dies/gets injured/fucks off the face of the earth for a bit.

 

[5318008]

Swans is one example I can think of. Especially prior to their first hiatus.

 

[Megaroad 2012]

Swans is one example I can think of. Especially prior to their first hiatus.View attachment 2293367

Whenever I see little blips fot a member, especially in between records, it makes me wonder what went wrong.