What Came Next...

Ghost is one of those rare modern rock bands that has increased in popularity over the last few years, selling out stadiums and frequently debuting in the upper realm of the album charts.  Not a mean feat as that is usually relegated to pop acts, with rock having become a thing of the past.  With their faux occult stylings and extensive comic lore, Ghost have managed to gain fans of all ages despite heavy gatekeeping in the metal community.  2022's Impera truly broke them into the mainstream, and Skeletá, released in 2025, is keeping them there.  However, the more pop they become, the less leader Tobias Forge seems to be delving into his own creativity.

After five albums within the span of two and a half years Creedence Clearwater Revival was starting to have some issues.  John Fogerty was the songwriter, lead guitarist, lead singer and producer for all of their material, and by Pendulum, their second album for 1970, that was wearing him down.  Combine that with the rest of the band getting jealous of his frontman status and the cracks began to show.

After a decade absent John Fogerty returned to the spotlight with the hit album Centerfield in 1985, only to be promptly sued by his old label boss Saul Zaentz for plagiarizing himself.  Fogerty won, but legal costs and the desire to remain in the spotlight meant a second album had to come out fast.  That album was 1986's Eye of the Zombie, which saw Fogerty embracing the synths and rum machines of the mid-1980s with predictably disappointing results.

Pop Will Eat Itself elevated themselves above their grebo roots with 1989's This Is the Hour... This Is the Day... This Is This!.  Combining hip-hop, punk rock and alternative rock with sampling and experimentation the album was one of the best of the 1980s.  Somehow, they managed the same feat with the follow-up, Cure for Sanity, in 1990 while embracing the club culture of the time.

After departing Yes during the sessions for the follow=up to 1978's Tormato Jon Anderson took his songs with him.  They formed the backbone of his second solo album, Song of Seven, in 1980.  The album is a hodgepodge of different styles, ranging from the folksy stuff he wanted to do with Yes to more progressive music.  Unfortunately, it doesn't make for a satisfying follow-up to Olias of Sunhillow.