Looks can be decieving

Name a band that totally blew you away, looking one way, but sounding totally different than what you expected.

Early Enforcer. They had a motley Crüe look. But their music rules!

The first Icon album

If you were to go back and look at Living Color without hearing their music first, you might assume they were a funk band. Stereotypes were more common back then.

Molly Hatchet and their album covers. Looks like melodic power metal, sounds like southern rock with muscle.

After seeing pictures like this as a kid



I imagined that Kiss would be super heavy, super evil

This was a bit of a surprise

James B. wrote:

The first Icon album

Excellent call, James!

Boris2008 wrote:

After seeing pictures like this as a kid



I imagined that Kiss would be super heavy, super evil

Ha! Yes! I kept bugging my mom to get me a KISS album at a used record store (she didn't want me listening to them). She finally bought me Gene Simmons's solo album for 50 cents. The orchestra beginning of the first song, "Radioactive," sounded like it was going to be a horror song and then came "You're my food, you're my water..." I was a bit disappointed then, but love the album now.

More recently, when searching for new-to-me '80s metal, I came upon the band Demon. From the band's name and the album cover, I expected a pretty heavy album. Actually sounds more like classic AOR or hard rock. Not bad, just not what I expected.

80s Metal Lady wrote:

More recently, when searching for new-to-me '80s metal, I came upon the band Demon. From the band's name and the album cover, I expected a pretty heavy album. Actually sounds more like classic AOR or hard rock. Not bad, just not what I expected.

Never heard the band, but that's a great song! Nice sound, reminds me of Nazareth. Maybe more NWOBHM-ish and straight up metal, rather than the brash 70's style heavy metal of Nazareth. Or edgy AOR-ish hard rock, or whatever you want to call Nazareth...

80s Metal Lady wrote:

More recently, when searching for new-to-me '80s metal, I came upon the band Demon. From the band's name and the album cover, I expected a pretty heavy album. Actually sounds more like classic AOR or hard rock. Not bad, just not what I expected.

Demon turned into a much different band by the time they got to their third album - The Plague. They went in a much more progressive rock direction for the rest of their career.

The demon cover art looks like the cover of an 80s horror movie.

music is good.

Praying Mantis, for a NWOBHM band they were a bit lighter then I was expecting(their not even listed on Metal Archives), but soon I began to enjoy them.

The Darkness.

To eyeball the band themselves, you'd assume they were doing the Steel Panther thing. To look at their album art, you'd assume it was just middle of the road rock.

Just my taste, but what they're actually doing is very solid 70s hard rock with a few modern touches.

I expected some straight up 80s glam but instead they are a modern rock sound...

Runicen wrote:

The Darkness.

To eyeball the band themselves, you'd assume they were doing the Steel Panther thing.  To look at their album art, you'd assume it was just middle of the road rock.  

Just my taste, but what they're actually doing is very solid 70s hard rock with a few modern touches.

Steel Panther was actually one for me, when I first looked at some of their song titles, I assumed they would suck, but they were a lot better then I expected.

That's why I use my ears and actually listen to the music instead of focusing on what the promo pictures look like.

Maybe when I was 14 an image of a band had some impact on whether I would check them out or not (pre-internet), but that went away by the time I reached my 20s.

Phantom Blue. Looks like weak pop rock from the 80's, is actually kick ass hard rock and heavy metal!

ultmetal wrote:

Phantom Blue. Looks like weak pop rock from the 80's, is actually kick ass hard rock and heavy metal!

I have to say, just from the cover, I wouldn't even give that band the time of day. I'd figure they would be weak rip-offs of Vixen.

S.D. wrote:

That's why I use my ears and actually listen to the music instead of focusing on what the promo pictures look like.

Maybe when I was 14 an image of a band had some impact on whether I would check them out or not (pre-internet), but that went away by the time I reached my 20s.  

So what you are saying is that if you come across a band and their promo pictures looked like this



You would listen to the music with absolutely no preconceptions?

I'm calling bullshit dude!!

I bought Cold Lake despite a band picture almost that bad....but the music sucked balls too so that was a lose/lose scenario.

I'm also wondering how many times this exact same discussion has shown up here over the past 7 years...this is definitely not the first time.

I mean, I don't think anyone said they liked a band based on what they look like. We all use our ears to determine if we like something or not, and not their image.

I believe this thread is just kinda about bands/artists that do not sound like they look like they would.

S.D. wrote:

I'm also wondering how many times this exact same discussion has shown up here over the past 7 years...this is definitely not the first time.

You could say that about any number of threads on here! (That's got me thinking, why is there no thread on underground '80s thrash  )

Boris2008 wrote:

S.D. wrote:

I'm also wondering how many times this exact same discussion has shown up here over the past 7 years...this is definitely not the first time.

You could say that about any number of threads on here! (That's got me thinking, why is there no thread on underground '80s thrash  )

Vexer6 wrote:

Praying Mantis, for a NWOBHM band they were a bit lighter then I was expecting(their not even listed on Metal Archives), but soon I began to enjoy them.

Plus, they have former members of Onslaught (England's answer to Slayer) and Iron Maiden, which would lead people to believe they'd be a lot heavier than they actually are.

A few heavier tracks (particularly "Children of the Earth"), but the bulk of their material is AOR.