Smashing Pumpkins, ‘Machina/The Machines of God’ – Albums That Almost Killed a Band’s Career

According to Billy Corgan, there are numerous reasons that Smashing Pumpkins' 2000 would-be swan song sold fewer copies than 'Adore,' the divisive electronic-tinged album that came two years earlier. First, it's a concept album whose storyline went way over people's heads. And then there was the timing. The band was in the midst of breaking up, and the alt-rock scene was then ruled by the loud and dumb likes of Korn and Limp Bizkit.

"So the combination of those elements was a career-killer," Corgan said in a 2006 interview. "'Adore' didn't alienate the audience, they were just sort of like, 'Oh, it's not the record I want.' ['Machina'] alienated people."

Corgan waited seven years to revive the Pumpkins and issue a proper follow-up, 'Zeitgeist.' The album divided critics, but it reached No. 2 on the Billboard 200. Last year's 'Oceana' seemed to fare better, at least critically, and many hailed the disc as Corgan's finest since the early '90s.