# Awesome bands that "disappeared" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 23, 2010, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/awesome-bands-that-disappeared/537150 "2010-04-23T20:28:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![GESancMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gesancman/32/2923_2.png) [@GESancMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GESancMan)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2010, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/awesome-bands-that-disappeared/537150/1 "2010-04-23T20:28:30Z")
From the [What do you think of Rush?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=560383) thread: > [@What do you think of Rush?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-of-rush/536791/69): > > I think that Rush put out 5 AMAZING, CLASSIC, INCREDIBLE records and then they disappeared (you can end the story however you want to). > > After the first 5 records I think MOST of what they have done since sucks HARD, they have shown occasional moments of brilliance but the highlights are WAY under 1 track per record. Now, the way I remember it, Rush stuck around for quite a bit longer - until 1991. Then they must have retired or something. This got me thinking… what other bands out there had promise once upon a time, then simply disappeared? I can think of a few: Back in the '80s there was this really cool band called **Metallica**. They put out four great albums, the last one in 1988. I wonder what ever happened to them? Then there’s **Queensrÿche**. They started out at the same time as Metallica, but lasted a bit longer - after their 1994 album, they vanished too. A pity. An interesting case is **Yes**. They put out a string of great albums from 1968-1980, then went up in a puff of smoke… only to reemerge from the ether in 1996. It’s been nine years since their last album, but this time they haven’t vanished, their singer is just being a pain in the ass. But that’s another topic… ---
**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2010, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/awesome-bands-that-disappeared/537150/2 "2010-04-23T20:54:35Z")
Dude, your info on every band except for Yes is wrong. Rush is still around and their last studio album came out in 2007. Metallica is also still around and their last studio album came out in 2008. Same with Queensrÿche. Their last album came out last year. None of them have disappeared. ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2010, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/awesome-bands-that-disappeared/537150/3 "2010-04-23T20:56:31Z")
> [@x-ray\_vision](#): > > Dude, your info on every band except for Yes is wrong. Rush is still around and their last studio album came out in 2007. Metallica is also still around and their last studio album came out in 2008. Same with Queensrÿche. Their last album came out last year. None of them have disappeared. Oh boy. ---
**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2010, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/awesome-bands-that-disappeared/537150/4 "2010-04-23T21:00:08Z")
> [@amanset](#): > > Oh boy. What am I missing? ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2010, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/awesome-bands-that-disappeared/537150/5 "2010-04-23T21:01:36Z")
Yessucks ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2010, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/awesome-bands-that-disappeared/537150/6 "2010-04-23T21:08:57Z")
> [@x-ray\_vision](#): > > What am I missing? Seriously? He’s pretending that they disappeared at their peak rather than continuing for years releasing crap. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2010, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/awesome-bands-that-disappeared/537150/7 "2010-04-23T21:31:52Z")
**Genesis** disbanded in 1975 after being unable to find a suitable singer to replace Peter Gabriel. Is that the kind of stuff you’re looking for? (This is like a musical verson of the “Highlander II or Star Trek V never existed!” meme.) ---
**Author:** ![fuzzypickles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9d8465/32.png) [@fuzzypickles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fuzzypickles)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2010, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/awesome-bands-that-disappeared/537150/8 "2010-04-23T21:45:07Z")
> [@Shoeless](#): > > **Genesis** disbanded in 1975 after being unable to find a suitable singer to replace Peter Gabriel. Same thing happened with **Marillion** , after Fish quit the band in '89. **Pearl Jam** was on a meteoric rise to stardom, until they abruptly vanished after _Vitalogy_. Whatever happened to them? **Motorhead** apparently broke up after 1984’s “Killed by Death”, then re-formed to record the incredible _1916_, and then…nada. Maybe they’re still playing clubs somewhere? And I’ve always wondered what **Motley Crue** could have accomplished if they hadn’t disbanded shortly after releasing _Shout at the Devil_. ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2010, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/awesome-bands-that-disappeared/537150/9 "2010-04-23T21:54:42Z")
> [@Shoeless](#): > > **Genesis** disbanded in 1975 after being unable to find a suitable singer to replace Peter Gabriel. > Is that the kind of stuff you’re looking for? (This is like a musical verson of the “Highlander II or Star Trek V never existed!” meme.) Quite right. It’s called [“Dis Continuity”](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Discontinuity/Music) at TV Tropes. ---
**Author:** ![GESancMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gesancman/32/2923_2.png) [@GESancMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GESancMan)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2010, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/awesome-bands-that-disappeared/537150/10 "2010-04-23T21:55:29Z")
> [@x-ray\_vision](#): > > Dude, your info on every band **except for Yes** is wrong. Rush is still around and their last studio album came out in 2007. Metallica is also still around and their last studio album came out in 2008. Same with Queensrÿche. Their last album came out last year. None of them have disappeared. > [@amanset](#): > > Seriously? > > He’s pretending that they disappeared at their peak rather than continuing for years releasing crap. Bolding mine. **x-ray vision** : in Reality, Yes did indeed break up in 1980, but got back together with an inferior lineup in 1983; remember “Owner of a Lonely Heart?” The band hasn’t officially broken up since then, but the “real” lineup (minus Bill Bruford) reformed in '96, after Trevor Rabin and Tony Kaye left. There’s a lot more to it than that, but that’s the story in a nutshell. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2010, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/awesome-bands-that-disappeared/537150/11 "2010-04-23T22:39:39Z")
I still think it’s totally sad that the death of Keith Moon broke up The Who. Who knows what kind of great rock we missed out on!? ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2010, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/awesome-bands-that-disappeared/537150/12 "2010-04-23T23:00:22Z")
On the other hand, **Alan Parsons Project** was putting out servicable music until as late as 2005. oh wait, wrong game 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aji_de_gallina/32/260_2.png) [@Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aji_de_Gallina)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2010, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/awesome-bands-that-disappeared/537150/13 "2010-04-23T23:27:36Z")
Dude, \*\*Supertamp \*\*was great until they split up over the skinny guy with the high-pitched voice. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2010, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/awesome-bands-that-disappeared/537150/14 "2010-04-23T23:28:27Z")
> [@fuzzypickles](#): > > **Pearl Jam** was on a meteoric rise to stardom, until they abruptly vanished after _Vitalogy_. Whatever happened to them? I realize you’re joking here, but by the late '90s or early 2000s I think quite a few people genuinely believed that Pearl Jam was no longer active. Pearl Jam deliberately stepped back from their fame around the time of _Vitalogy_ (they weren’t merely on the rise, at their peak they had record-breaking album sales and were one of the most popular bands in the world) and stopped doing much of the usual promotional stuff for their albums. Their battle with Ticketmaster made it difficult for them to tour and a number of their 1995 shows were either canceled or rescheduled. They came close to breaking up but decided to carry on and have continued to work steadily since then. Their later albums have obviously come nowhere near matching their previous level of success, but they seem happy with their current situation. ---
**Author:** ![Sutremaine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e495f1/32.png) [@Sutremaine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sutremaine)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2010, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/awesome-bands-that-disappeared/537150/15 "2010-04-24T00:36:03Z")
I wonder what **Dream Theater** have been doing since 2003? _Train Of Thought_ was a fine album even if some of the tracks could have done with a bit more fat-trimming, but perhaps they just got bored? 18 years is nothing compared to some bands, but it’s still a good run by anyone’s standards. ---
**Author:** ![Joe\_Kerrman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/45deac/32.png) [@Joe\_Kerrman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joe_Kerrman)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2010, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/awesome-bands-that-disappeared/537150/16 "2010-04-24T00:43:06Z")
I’m going to get creamed for this, but what the heck, you guys don’t have my home address. 😉 **The Beatles** went on their “Magical Mystery Tour” and never came back. What a shame. And the boys never really had solo careers to speak of. Then George joined up with The Traveling Wilburys. Speaking of which, **Bob Dylan** quit after his motorcycle “accident” in '66, and only showed up every ten years or so, in time for “Blood on the Tracks” ('75); “Infidels” ('83), and “Oh Mercy” ('89), before coming back to life in '97 with “Time Out of Mind”. Some said he was going to release an embarrassment of a Christmas CD, but fortunately he never did. He showed up in the Wilburys, too, which was a lot of fun. ---
**Author:** ![Drain\_Bead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47774/32.png) [@Drain\_Bead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drain_Bead)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2010, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/awesome-bands-that-disappeared/537150/17 "2010-04-24T01:32:05Z")
**Nirvana** kicked ass until Kurt Cobain shot himself. …oh, wait. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2010, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/awesome-bands-that-disappeared/537150/18 "2010-04-24T01:42:49Z")
> [@Drain\_Bead](#): > > **Nirvana** kicked ass until Kurt Cobain shot himself. > > …oh, wait. And Dave Grohl never played anything other then the drums. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2010, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/awesome-bands-that-disappeared/537150/19 "2010-04-24T02:12:01Z")
The Steve Miller Band vanished after **Number 5.** Too bad; they were a pretty good act. Then there was Rod Stewart, who seems to have stopped recording after **Every Picture Tells a Story**. I’m also sad that Blood Sweat and Tears broke up after Al Kooper left. Their first album is a classic.