Like the Satan guys.

They just go nuts

I'd perhaps only count Summoning and Burzum.

Alternating between nwobhm and wank every album every 5-10 years

Varg lsot it

Though their later work is much different from their old work

And isn't metal.

Summoning didn't and is kinda metal.

Sammath

The Finns. Who are totally nuts.

Sammath is the most legitimate example.

Sammath changes his style every release though

Godless Arrogance is end of the world music.

Burzum and Summoning mellowed with age

Black metal -> brutal death -> zyklon b metal -> black metal rust in peace twin guitar wank -> blizzard beasts part 2

there's plenty of bad classical

There is a ton.

especially relative to a composers own output

Even from the 1700s

People paid for it to

Yeah, @Ꜻnnihilation

Beethoven wrote a bunch of middling atuff

Paid to go see lame Symphonies and quartets

As they were bored on a Saturday

even the romantic "ultimate high art will nature etc" stuff is silly much of the time

I'm mainly thinking about how the metalguys almost exclusively make their best stuff while 18-25

That's mostly when they get to express it.

influential/groundbreaking stuff usually corresponds to an artist's debut

Some get to express it later.

THEY DO BEST WITH NO SKIN IN THE GAME

MEANING

Like the czech black metal guys

THEY ARE NOT INVESTED IN THE HOPES OF OTHER PEOPLE IN THE BAND

or when there's a major character shift

THEY CAN FIRE AND FORGET AND MOVE ON IF NEED BE

BUT INSTEAD

Were 30 something

"LET'S MAKE THIS OUR DAY JOB!!!"

Yeah

also early stuff usually has more time and thought behind it

AND THAT IS HOW YOU GET NU-SLAYER