Rock and Metal Bands That Declined at an Alarming Rate

It may seem hard to believe now, but there was a time when rock music ruled the world.  In fact, during the '70s and even '80s, rock (and metal) was the coolest, most badass music genre of them all --- a time when pretty much everyone wanted to be a part of it.

Fast forward to today, and you'll get a completely different story. Rock isn't quite what it once was, and there are plenty of reasons for that.  Many bands fell victim to the decline of rock music, and some of them fell from what seemed invincibility, to mortality.

So, in no particular order, here we look at six rock an metal bands that fell from the heights of the top to the deep, dark depths of mortality, in an instant.  Here are the bands that declined at an alarming rate...

Guns N' Roses 

LA hard rockers, Guns N' Roses, had everything, or so it seemed.  After exploding onto the scene with their massive debut album, Appetite For Destruction, world domination was surely on the cards.  Guns continued to dominate the rock world with the much anticipated releases of the Use Your Illusion albums in 1991, but the wheels began to come during the tour that followed.

After dozens of riots, late appearances, no-shows, and court cases, that would end up being the final tour of the original line-up.  The rise of grunge music certainly didn't help the cause, and by 1996, Axl Rose was the only original member left in the group.

Oasis

Oasis were at the centre of an explosive new wave of Brit-Pop bands, and they were also one of the very few British music acts to make it big across the pond. The problem is, the band broke up just before world domination looked inevitable.

With founding members, and brothers Noel and Liam, constantly at each others throats, the band split during a time when they were at the peak of their powers. With reunions and one of tours rumoured, you can't help but feel the moment has passed.  It all feels too little too late.

The Smashing Pumpkins 

Before The Smashing Pumpkins came through with their 1993 breakthrough album, Siamese Dream, they were already having issues. Main songwriter and leader Billy Corgan insisted on playing the bass and guitar on many of the album’s tracks which irritated, bassist D’arcy Wretzky and guitarist James Iha.  However, things stayed on track until 1996 when touring keyboardist Jonathan Melvoin died of a heroin overdose and drummer Jimmy Chamberlin overdosed the same night. By 2000, the Pumpkins were a wrap.

The truth of the matter is that guitarist James Iha broke up the Smashing Pumpkins. Did it help that bassist D’arcy Wretzky was fired for being a mean-spirited drug addict, who refused to get help? No, that didn’t help keep the band together, not at all.

The Eagles

Remember The Eagles? You know, the band that pumped out that iconic track, "Hotel California," and set the rock world alight some four decades ago? Well, when The Eagles soared onto the scene in the ’70s, they were incredibly successful. But, by 1980 fatigue, substance abuse, and infighting had set in and the band was in a very fragile state. Then band members Don Henley and Glenn Frey decided to use the group to promote a political campaign and guitarist Don Felder was just outdone.

The band eventually split, and in many people's view, wasted an opportunity to go and dominate for years after. It seems The Eagles fell victim to fatigue - which killed them off in an instant.

Rage Against The Machine

If you love rap and rock, then Rage Against the Machine was the band for you in the ’90s. They literally exploded onto the scene with their different, and very edgy form of rock music, which fascinated music lovers worldwide.  The group had an epic and unique sound with some stellar albums. However, by 2000 things were beginning to crumble. The group had booked a co-headlining tour with the Beastie Boys until Mike D injured himself and had to cancel the entire show. Though Rage tried to carry on, they began bickering over releasing their album Renegades. In October 2000, lead singer Zack de la Rocha said he had had enough.

He wrote, “I feel that it is now necessary to leave Rage because our decision-making process has completely failed. It is no longer meeting the aspirations of all four of us collectively as a band, and from my perspective, has undermined our artistic and political ideal.” --- And with that, the band went from kings of the world to zip, in a matter of moments!

Deep Purple

So, Deep Purple being on this list may come as a surprise to some, but if you really think about it, it is easy to see why.  In their heyday, Purps were the kings of the rock world - they knew what they were, and they did it with style and substance. The Mark II line-up was unstoppable, with classic albums like In Rock and Machine Head --- probably ranked as two of the greatest hard rock albums ever made --- the band really did set the bar extremely high.

...and that was probably the main problem they had.  Their peak was an almighty one, and anything after Machine Head was always going to come under intense scrutiny.  After a number of changes in the line-up, and a fall in quality of music, Deep Purple declined quite rapidly, and by the '80s, they were done!