It's not a universal truth, but some bands certainly change their sound over time. Sometimes in the case of bands like Opeth it's a drastic change (all of which is great in this writer's opinion), and sometimes in a case like Clutch it's a much slower turn. Of course with this change comes some very strong opinions from their respective fanbase, both complimentary and critical.
Though in an interview with Ryan J. Downey of Knotfest, Clutch vocalist Neil Fallon discusses how maybe that cry for any given band to go back to their "old sound" really isn't about the music.
"That's one thing I never really quite understood. 'Oh, I wish you could return back to your old sound' or whatever. That's like, 'well do you want the same thing over and over and over and over?' There are there are bands that found a very specific thing and did very well doing variations of that one or two themes. I'm thinking of like AC/DC or the Ramones.
"That's all well and good but, if you want to listen to… and honestly, I think a lot of it has to do with people wanting a time machine. It's not so much they want the same music, [but instead] they want the period in their life that they associate with that music to come back. Musicians are not wizards. They can't take you back to your glory days or a good time in your life, because ultimately I think that's what people are actually looking for."
I also love the point that Downey makes before Fallon answers the question – nobody is taking away ay band's old material. So if you decided that everything Clutch has ever done from Blast Tyrant onward totally sucks, good news! All those old records are still available in both digital and physical formats. Nobody took 'em from you.
