[Zone]

This should not be seen as a thread where a band is trashed for being successful, rather a band that you never expected having seen start out ever achieving the level of success they attained later. What are some bands you've heard that through a combination of factors achieved an undreamed level of success? What was their largest contributing factor to the success they garnered, and how have their albums shown the transformation from when you first heard them?
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[The Farthest Star]

I've never though Behemoth would reach international superstardom and A list celebrity status in Poland. They didn't change their sound a tiniest bit -- in fact, they only got more abrasive and less accessible with their latest. Yet there you have it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bncORNaJ4KU

[Synesthesia]

I know you guys will probably disagree vehemently, but August Burns Red comes to mind. I first got into metal via metalcore, and since they're from just a couple counties over, it was pretty cool to hear their debut album as one of my first metal-ish albums. I've always had kind of a personal connection to them in that way, even though I don't listen to their newer stuff (still put on their first couple albums every now and then for nostalgia). It was weird when they really blew up into a pretty recognizable name, it's like seeing an old friend suddenly become famous.

[nonwave]

Portal. i literally cannot believe about 9 out of 10 people who claim they like them. i actually think these people are totally full of shit. it's not portal's fault - i think they're pretty good, myself - but most of the people who claim to like them don't seem to actually like weird music at all so it seems absolutely incongruent that they "like" portal. just seems like a trendy thing to say you like Portal. i don't get people.
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http://www.ugEXPLODE.com
The finest in unrelieved tension since 1991

[VOTHANA666]

...anything that is considered "shoegaze"....i don't really care for it, but ive seen hardcore metallars liking this shit

[Nichts]

[Hellpig]

Watain ... when I got the 7" from Grim rune back then, I never thought that they were gonna be this popular. Didn't think the 7" was anything out of the ordinary back then and still don't

[Descension]

Is LITURGY as big as I hope they aren't?

[impaled_existence]

i've had friends' bands become popular. All Shall Perish is one such band. i remember when they first started out they were called End of All, and played standard brutal death metal. they were influenced by underground bands like Internal bleeding, Brodequin, etc. They changed their name to All Shall Perish eventually and added somewhat more hardcore influence and before you know it they get in on the deathcore scene, and made it big. Now they are playing stadium shows and have their t-shirts and cd's for sale at hot topic!

[Hallucinogen]

[SWO]

Dark Funeral
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[Weltering in Blood]

[Shiru]

actually i would say

[Werewolf]

Toxic Holocaust, Weapon - I was very surprised when I heard that each one of these bands signed a deal with Relapse, although it was pretty obvious that TH's selling potential is pretty high.

Entrails - so what if they were copycats of Entombed already in 1990? I bet they sucked really hard back then and they still do. (Well, they're an OK live band, but really nothing special). This drums sound might be even gayer than that of any metalcore band next door: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YeurxdwV25o
How come that this band is on Metal Blade is beyond me.

[N.W.D]

Saw Northlane live around the beginning of 2010 at some small gig at a youth centre, they were boring as fuck.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIPdH7vLmgQ

A few years later they're touring Australia and somehow one of the bigger trendasfuck hardcore bands in the country.

Oh what the fuck, they're touring in Canada right now
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