56 Rock + Metal Bands Who Changed Names Before Getting Famous

“What’s in a name? That which we call a band by any other name would be twice as sick.” That’s what Shakespeare would have wrote if he were alive today and put together this comprehensive list of 56 Rock + Metal Bands Who Changed Their Name Before Getting Famous.

Deciding on a band name is intensely challenging. Getting a handful of strong-willed people to agree on anything isn’t easy, nevermind when that thing is what your personal name and future will be forever tied to. Sometimes, the first name a group decides on is ultimately discarded in favor of something better (ie: cooler).

Dozens of your favorite rock and metal bands all started off as something other than what we know them as today. Remember when Black Sabbath were called the Polka Tulk Blues Band? Of course you don’t — most of you weren’t alive in 1968, hitting local pubs in England to scope out the hottest new bands.

READ MORE: 17 Rock + Metal Bands Who Have Never Had a Lineup Change

There’s some pretty strange ones in here too: Red Hot Chili Peppers were first known as the incredibly verbose Tony Flow and the Miraculously Majestic Masters of Mayhem, for example.

As for the rest, you’ll find that all directly below.