Bands you're surprised made it past their first album

[rumborak]

I was just thinking of Genesis' "From Genesis to Revelation", and how it really shows none of the awesomeness that was to follow in later albums. It made me wonder how they ever got past their first album.

Any other bands?

[TAC]

Rush and Accept

[wolfking]

Adrenaline Mob.  And I mean their EP, not their album.

[Podaar]

Rush and Accept

Accept never did make it past their first album. 

[TAC]

Adrenaline Mob.  And I mean their EP, not their album.

Have they actually made it past?

Rush and Accept

Accept never did make it past their first album. 

What? Music-you are doing it wrong!

[wolfking]

Adrenaline Mob.  And I mean their EP, not their album.

Have they actually made it past?

Yeah ok, I should have thought about the thread subject a bit first, I took the subject too literally.

[jammindude]

TBH....   Dream Theater. 

I mean, I still like WDADU, but the production is so distractingly poor that I'm not sure I would have given them too many listens if that was my first exposure to the band.   Growing to like the album was a matter of "forced listens" after falling in love with IAW.   But the recording is so poor that it took several listens to see the songs through the sea of crap sound quality.     I've heard self financed cassette demos from local bands that sound 10000x better than that album.   It's a shame that Terry Date did such a great job for Soundgarden, and then turned around and made Metal Church's 3rd album (Blessing in Disguise) and DT's debut sound like they were recorded on a $20 shoebox cassette recorder from Radio Shack.

Porcupine Tree is another good one.   There's one or two gems on OTSOL but it's really just...meh.

[PwnsomeWin]

Black Sabbath for sure. They were pretty much insane to everyone at the time.

[Zook]

Iced Earth. Instrumentally, the debut is great, but Gene Adam is such a horrific singer I'm surprised anyone gave them a chance. Fortunately I got used to him after a while, which is good because the debut really is great.

[jjrock88]

I agree with Accept. I couldn't get into their first two albums at all.

[wolfking]

Iced Earth. Instrumentally, the debut is great, but Gene Adam is such a horrific singer I'm surprised anyone gave them a chance. Fortunately I got used to him after a while, which is good because the debut really is great.

I never had a problem with the debut to be honest.

[jammindude]

I suppose I might catch some slack from some diehards, but I would include Anthrax.    I really love Anthrax...I love ALL of the big 4, because I was there when it all started.   But of all the debuts of the big four (Kill Em All, Killing is My Business, Show No Mercy, Fistful of Metal), Anthrax's is the least impressive, and it's not even close.   It's not horrible, but I could find at least a dozen or more thrash metal debuts from that era that blow it completely out of the water.

[KevShmev]

Styx

Hell, considering they only had one minor hit on their first four albums, it's amazing they were still around and had a contract for a fifth, which ended up being their breakout.  Granted, it was a different time - bands back then were given more leeway to take a few albums to "get it right" - but still.

[TAC]

I suppose I might catch some slack from some diehards, but I would include Anthrax.    I really love Anthrax...I love ALL of the big 4, because I was there when it all started.   But of all the debuts of the big four (Kill Em All, Killing is My Business, Show No Mercy, Fistful of Metal), Anthrax's is the least impressive, and it's not even close.   It's not horrible, but I could find at least a dozen or more thrash metal debuts from that era that blow it completely out of the water.

Anthrax was very lucky in the beginning. For a band that had such a great sense of timing so early in their career, they had an even worse sense of timing later in their career.

[Outcrier]

Pantera 

[rumborak]

Adrenaline Mob.  And I mean their EP, not their album.

Good one. I was astonished that they kept going after the horrendous reception of the first album.

[Nick]

Styx

Hell, considering they only had one minor hit on their first four albums, it's amazing they were still around and had a contract for a fifth, which ended up being their breakout.  Granted, it was a different time - bands back then were given more leeway to take a few albums to "get it right" - but still.

Hell, I remember buying "The Wooden Nickel Collection" awhile back, which was the first four albums in one cheap set. Hadn't really ever went into their early stuff before that. Even knowing the great stuff I nearly gave them up after that!

[Kotowboy]

Vampire Weekend.

Dunno how they got signed. Dunno how they are so popular. Easily one of the worst bands i've ever heard in my entire life.

[ThatOneGuy2112]

Vampire Weekend.

Dunno how they got signed. Dunno how they are so popular. Easily one of the worst bands i've ever heard in my entire life.

You have to keep in mind the kind of demographic they appeal to. In fact, I'd be more surprised if they had only survived for one album.

[Shadow Ninja 2.0]

Vampire Weekend are pretty cool. I'm not a big fan or anything, but they're not bad.

[Dark Castle]

Vampire Weekend.

Dunno how they got signed. Dunno how they are so popular. Easily one of the worst bands i've ever heard in my entire life.

You have to keep in mind the kind of demographic they appeal to. In fact, I'd be more surprised if they had only survived for one album.

I like them, what demographic are you talking about? 
If you don't dig them that's cool I guess, but it almost seems like you're suggesting that they only appeal to a certain crowd, in a bad sort of manner.

[Cool Chris]

Styx is a good example for this, and yes it does seem like bands had more leeway back then to make it big.

Pink Floyd. I expect to get slammed for this. But how did any music industry exec hear that and think that band had a future?

Edit.... just doing some reading, looks like it was received relatively positively by reviews and listeners alike. So, never mind I guess.

[Kotowboy]

I don't dislike them for their audience. I've heard a few of their songs and find them to be extremely poor musicians.

And it's not because i'm a fan of technical music. Dream Theater is about the only technical band I really listen to besides maybe Mastodon.

I just think their songs are weak and badly played and just really uninteresting to me.

[Outcrier]

Styx is a good example for this, and yes it does seem like bands had more leeway back then to make it big.

Pink Floyd. I expect to get slammed for this. But how did any music industry exec hear that and think that band had a future?

Edit.... just doing some reading, looks like it was received relatively positively by reviews and listeners alike. So, never mind I guess.

Well, Piper is considered to be one of the greatest albums ever so, of course the band had a future 

[GentlemanofDread]

Piper, whilst not understood by music execs, did the one thing that execs love: Sold Well.

[ThatOneGuy2112]

Vampire Weekend.

Dunno how they got signed. Dunno how they are so popular. Easily one of the worst bands i've ever heard in my entire life.

You have to keep in mind the kind of demographic they appeal to. In fact, I'd be more surprised if they had only survived for one album.

I like them, what demographic are you talking about? 
If you don't dig them that's cool I guess, but it almost seems like you're suggesting that they only appeal to a certain crowd, in a bad sort of manner.

Naw, that's not what I implied at all. I myself don't really feel too strongly about them either way. They don't really stick out to me but I wouldn't call them bad by any means.

[TheAtliator]

re: Styx, you have to remember they had basically no control over their first album. Lady was supposed to be on the first album but the label didn't approve of it and it was eventually put on the second album instead. According to DDY, the label hated that song and that's why it didn't become a hit until 3 years later when Equinox (the 5th album) came out. Meaning the band, themselves, really had what it took from the beginning, just not the backing.

Really, if you look at the number of songs that totally could have been hits toward the beginning like Best Thing, You Need Love, Rock and Roll Feeling, in addition to Lady, it's no surprise that once Styx had the freedom to make the albums they wanted to make with the proper backing, they easily had everything it took to make it right away.

Add to that the addition of Tommy Shaw for their 6th album, and we go from moderately successful underground 70s prog band, to chart topping stadium headlining supergroup. (Of course I like their music with JC just as much musically, though clearly it wasn't as commercial.)