Under-rated bands....

[Liam]

I can definitely give you Faith No More, but STP? STP were huge, and while they were first considered nothing but Pearl Jam ripoffs, STP actually went on to surpass them. Just because a lot of younger folks don't know them today doesn't make them underrated. A lot of younger kids today don't know who Frank Sinatra is, but that doesn't make him underrated.

Auf der Maur

Melissa Auf der Maur has been around for quite some time, playing with Hole and the Smashing Pumpkins, yet her solo project got very little attention. What makes this even more offensive is the fact that her debut record was easily better than anything else that came out in 2004. Hopefully her next record will do better and maybe listeners will be ready for it this time.

Maybe with my Stone Temple Pilots choice, I'm talking more about here in the UK. They never got much attention over here, either today or back when they were around. I dunno how big they were in the US (obviously from not being over there), but like Bush, Creed, Staind and bands such as that, all I've ever heard was that they were an "insert grunge band here" rip-off (as you named for STP, Pearl Jam). They may have surpassed that in the US, but never got that much interest generated in the UK, it would seem.

And I don't know why, but Auf Der Maur's CD did nothing for me....I wanted it to be good, and in the end, I was left a little dissapointed.

Portishead:

When you say trip-hop to someone, usually you get Massive Attack or The Sneaker Pimps in response. Portishead is everything The Sneaker Pimps are, and more. Beth Gibbons' voice is perhaps the most crushingly emotional and beautiful voice I've heard since... well, I don't know when, but that's not the point. They deserve to be bigger than their peers, in my opinion. I know Portishead is probably well known, but they don't get near as enough credit for being a solid band as they should. It's a shame too. Pick up the new album when it's released, too.

I dunno if its just in the US, but in the UK, you'd most likely get Portishead and Massive Attack as your answers. I'd still admit they are pretty under-rated, but they are also probably the second biggest Trip-Hop act, especially riding off the success they had with the excellent "Dummy" album. If they are under-rated, I guess you could throw Leftfield in there. I think both bands are in the shadow of Massive Attack (although deservedly so, as Massive Attack are the best at what they do, IMO), but Leftfield and Portishead definitely worth a look.

Plus I totally agree with your Cave-In selection. How they aren't bigger than they are does astound me a little bit, especially with how solid and enjoyable the music is. I'm not sure about the US, but they seem to have a pretty small fanbase in the UK, but thier new album is out soon, so we'll see from there.

[Skummy]

To everyone saying Fozzy, do you honestly think they'd be anywhere near as big as they are now if they didn't have Chris Jericho in the band? Because if you do, you're just deluded. Rich Ward is pretty washed up now, he's a shadow of his former Stuck Mojo self, and no one really cares about him anyway, and as a band they're about as generic as metal can get.

[Liam]

To everyone saying Fozzy, do you honestly think they'd be anywhere near as big as they are now if they didn't have Chris Jericho in the band? Because if you do, you're just deluded. Rich Ward is pretty washed up now, he's a shadow of his former Stuck Mojo self, and no one really cares about him anyway, and as a band they're about as generic as metal can get.

I'd have to agree. They play decent metal, but they wouldn't be anywhere near as big with Jericho. Sure, that fact sometime overrides the fact that they are a decent band otherwise, but they aren't anything overly special.

[Guest Booker T & The MG's]

Ash - One of the greatest singles band the UK has ever produced, yet they are always accepted as just being there and nothing more. Very rarely have they put a foot wrong in there 10+ year career, they are brilliant live, adding Charlotte to the band gave them glamour, yet they are overlooked in favour of whoever is flavour of the month.

Kraftwerk - For a band with this much influence on music (moreso than any other band in the 20th century) and pioneered so many genres ranging from Ambient to Techno, and even including the fact that they are very reclusive, they have never achieved the kind of success which would reflect there influence.

Mull Historical Society - Colin McIntyre is one of the finest songwriters this country has produced in a long time, but Mull have never achieved any sense of commerical success, to the extent they were dropped from there label. Like Ash great live, have'nt put a foot wrong in 3 albums but are constantly overlooked.

[Darloboy]

Ash - One of the greatest singles band the UK has ever produced, yet they are always accepted as just being there and nothing more. Very rarely have they put a foot wrong in there 10+ year career, they are brilliant live, adding Charlotte to the band gave them glamour, yet they are overlooked in favour of whoever is flavour of the month.

[GA!]

Ash - One of the greatest singles band the UK has ever produced, yet they are always accepted as just being there and nothing more. Very rarely have they put a foot wrong in there 10+ year career, they are brilliant live, adding Charlotte to the band gave them glamour, yet they are overlooked in favour of whoever is flavour of the month.

I agree 100%, I've seen them live twice and they were great, and their albums are consistently very good.

I agree too. Meltdown is a fantastic album and Intergalatic Sonic 7" is a good compilation. The charts would be so much better if they invested in bands with longetivity like Ash instead of talentless pop pretty boys who have five years tops like the Kaiser Chiefs and The Bravery.

And I saw them at Leeds Festival 2004. A fantastic set + flaming guitar =

[Katsuya]

I think this depends on what you call "underrated". In my opinion, the Scissor Sister are underrated in the way that people don't want to listen to their songs because of their image. However, they're insanely popular with most of Britain now. It's only America where they're still underrate from what I've gathered.

[tristy]

Portishead:

When you say trip-hop to someone, usually you get Massive Attack or The Sneaker Pimps in response. Portishead is everything The Sneaker Pimps are, and more. Beth Gibbons' voice is perhaps the most crushingly emotional and beautiful voice I've heard since... well, I don't know when, but that's not the point. They deserve to be bigger than their peers, in my opinion. I know Portishead is probably well known, but they don't get near as enough credit for being a solid band as they should. It's a shame too. Pick up the new album when it's released, too.

I dunno if its just in the US, but in the UK, you'd most likely get Portishead and Massive Attack as your answers. I'd still admit they are pretty under-rated, but they are also probably the second biggest Trip-Hop act, especially riding off the success they had with the excellent "Dummy" album. If they are under-rated, I guess you could throw Leftfield in there. I think both bands are in the shadow of Massive Attack (although deservedly so, as Massive Attack are the best at what they do, IMO), but Leftfield and Portishead definitely worth a look.

Plus I totally agree with your Cave-In selection. How they aren't bigger than they are does astound me a little bit, especially with how solid and enjoyable the music is. I'm not sure about the US, but they seem to have a pretty small fanbase in the UK, but thier new album is out soon, so we'll see from there.

[Summers]

Back In The Mud by Bubba Sparxx is the best thing in the world.

[Ash J. Williams]

Alice In Chains - Always overshadowed by shitty Nirvana.

[TOG]

Alice In Chains

KMFDM

Megadeth (Always seen as below fucking Metallica, which, I like Metallica, but give me a fuckin' break. Megadeth is ten times the band.)

[tristy]

Megadeth (Always seen as below fucking Metallica, which, I like Metallica, but give me a fuckin' break. Megadeth is ten times the band.)

[King Ellis]

Back In The Mud by Bubba Sparxx is the best thing in the world.

I liked that at first but it started grating on me but then again most things from the Madden 04 soundtrack did, especially Church by Outkast.

[Skummy]

I think this depends on what you call "underrated". In my opinion, the Scissor Sister are underrated in the way that people don't want to listen to their songs because of their image. However, they're insanely popular with most of Britain now. It's only America where they're still underrate from what I've gathered.

Yeah, they're hugely under-rated in America, mostly because of their image, which the likes of Clear Channel have issues with.

Scissor Sisters, and to a lesser extent The Darkness, are an example of how quirky the British music buying public can be. On one hand, you get crap like Amarillo and The Crazy Frog getting to number one, essentially shite novelty acts, but on the other you get bands like the Scissor Sisters who, in both their music and their image, feel like a band destined to be a culty underground New York act, that somehow make it huge over here. That's always intrigued me.

And just to add slightly more to this discussion, Public Image Limited spring to mind. Most people haven't heard of them, and to a lot of those who have they're just "Johnny Rotten's other band", but they're so amazing, so original and unorthodox and, ultimately, so much better than the Pistols, that it amazes me how they can go unrecognised by so many people. They're goth before goth was goth, with reggae, punk, pop, dance and even snippets of what would become industrial rock in there. They take the pure youth snarl of Johnny Rotten and transpose it into a more mature John Lydon, with an entirely different musical landscape. Hearing him scream on "This Is Not A Love Song" and "Death Disco", especially live versions, sends a shiver down my spine. In a good way.

[TOG]

Megadeth (Always seen as below fucking Metallica, which, I like Metallica, but give me a fuckin' break. Megadeth is ten times the band.)

That's not saying much.

[Skummy]

Megadeth (Always seen as below fucking Metallica, which, I like Metallica, but give me a fuckin' break. Megadeth is ten times the band.)

That's not saying much.

Fine. Megadeth is the best band ever. Good enough?

I think his point was that it's not hard to be better than Metallica, not that you hadn't bigged up Megadeth enough.

[TOG]

Megadeth (Always seen as below fucking Metallica, which, I like Metallica, but give me a fuckin' break. Megadeth is ten times the band.)

That's not saying much.

Fine. Megadeth is the best band ever. Good enough?

[zero]

Dave Mustaine's lyrics keep the majority of people from taking Megadeth seriously.

[Gabriel]

Michale Graves

Graves

Gotham Road...

whatever the fuck he's calling his band, he's always underrated. Michale Graves is an amazing writer and vocalist, with a throwback to the 50's style, while still integrating enough of today's screaming to keep the attention of the MTV teeny-boppers.

Since leaving the Misfits, it seems like a lot of people have forgotten about him, but his stuff is amazing and definately worth checking out. With albums like Web of Dharma, Seasons of the Witch, and now, Punk Rock Is Dead, he's really churning out a lot of gold from very little resources.

[MalaCloudy Black]

I hate Graves.