Top 25 most important bands of 1981-2006

[Liam]

I wanted to start some music roundtable discussion type threads a little while ago, but I couldn't be arsed.

I do like it when people get chatting about music though, it makes it worthwhile.

[Bob Roberts]

How are RATM, Emporer, Slipknot, Soundgarden, Black Flag, Napalm Death, Fugazi, Blink 182 & Korn more important than Tool?

Rage Against the Machine were one of the very few successful "political" bands since the 60s. Their music was strictly political, but they went on to sell a shit-ton of records. Whether or not you agreed with it, they were saying something - without fear of backlash - in every one of their songs. One could argue that Rage had the biggest balls of any band in history.

[gunnar hendershow]

Napalm Death, I don't know much about aside from them pretty much being the innovators of "Grindcore." But everyone here knows my hatred of sub-genre labels.

"Scum" was like extreme metal's version of "Reign In Blood". Everyone was like "woah" when "Reign In Blood" came out, as for its time it was some heavy stuff....and then Napalm Death blew it away the next year with "Scum". It was the pushing of the boundaries and the influence on a whole new genre that gets Napalm Death the placing on the list.

Plus being British >_>

Napalm Death more or less showed everyone just how extreme music could get. Since "Scum" came out, nothing's really surpassed it. Sure it's been equaled on many occassions, but "Scum" pretty much showed everyone the limit of what extreme music can be.

[zero]

I think you're overstating their popularity quite a bit. Nobody outside of punk music fans know who they are. If you walked into a room of 10 random people, you MIGHT find one person who has heard of Fugazi.

That's kind of the point though. I've said that Fugazi is kind of the band that contradicts all my other points I've been making. They have a pretty big level of popularity despite zero mainstream attention. There's a lot of bands with major record labels and a marketing blitz behind them that don't attract the kind of attention Fugazi does.

Because I lump Korn and the rest of the Rock/Rap/Metal bands in with Faith No More, because that's what they were spawned from.

Frank Sinatra started singing because he heard Bing Crosby on the radio. Bing Crosby's idol was Al Jolson. Frank Sinatra is quite possibly the greatest singer of all time, would you take away what he did for the music industry because he was heavily influenced by Bing Crosby? Would you take Crosby's achievements away because Al Jolson was the reason he got into music? Just because somebody was influenced doesn't mean they can't have a greater impact on their profession. The student does become the teacher on many occasions.

[tristy]

Is it just me, or do alot of people think that because Faith No More released a song that could have been labeled as nu-metal in todays music world ("Epic") that they suddenly founded rap/rock?

Maybe it's me, and don't get me wrong, I love Faith No More and Mike Patton, but FNM sounds horribly generic to me now. No, it's not because of bands like Korn or Limpbizkit, but actually all of these cookie-cutter radio rock bands that come out every month and get a ton of airplay. I don't think they spawned nu-metal at all.

I don't know if what I'm thinking in my head got across, but oh well.

[Bushmeister]

Napalm Death more or less showed everyone just how extreme music could get. Since "Scum" came out, nothing's really surpassed it. Sure it's been equaled on many occassions, but "Scum" pretty much showed everyone the limit of what extreme music can be.

[Liam]

Is it just me, or do alot of people think that because Faith No More released a song that could have been labeled as nu-metal in todays music world ("Epic") that they suddenly founded rap/rock?

Maybe it's me, and don't get me wrong, I love Faith No More and Mike Patton, but FNM sounds horribly generic to me now. No, it's not because of bands like Korn or Limpbizkit, but actually all of these cookie-cutter radio rock bands that come out every month and get a ton of airplay. I don't think they spawned nu-metal at all.

I don't know if what I'm thinking in my head got across, but oh well.

I don't think FNM sound generic at all, as they are one of the only bands who seem to mix their sound up on albums and across albums. The "Angel Dust" album still sounds great today, and I can't think of any band that does the kinda music FNM did on that album, to a certain degree. "The Real Thing" may sound a little generic these days, but it still is better than most of the cookie-cutter bands who try and copy that style of music.

I know "Epic" gets all the credit when talking about FNM, but most people cite the "Angel Dust" album as being the most influential of the FNM albums, which I'd say it is. It was (as was stated in some magazine or website, can't remember) probably the weirdest mainstream label release ever, as they pushed boundaries and basically did what they wanted to, instead of pushing the rap/rock that was the basis of "The Real Thing". And then, "Album Of The Year" saw their sound change a lot as well, as it was more straight up rock than anything, but also saw Patton crooning, growling, singing....it was one that seemed to focus mostly on what Patton could do as anything. So yeah, FNM wasn't a band that could be pigeon-holed to one sound. Hell, even "The Real Thing" had songs like "Surprise, You're Dead!" which were nothing like the songs that got them big such as "Epic".

[Face Turn!~]

I may be biased but i would of prefered to of seen The Red Hot Chili Pepper's in there over someone like Slipknot. I don't mean to say the Chili's should be high on the list; somewhere near the 20's would be reasonable, but i just feel they have done a lot more for the music world than some of the other bands on the list.

The Chili's were the first 'successful' band to blend rap/funk/rock which appealed them to a variety of audiences. They later went on to storm pop charts, introducing that mild funk-rock into the pop charts for the first time sucessfully. Not to mention their first number one hit 'Under the Bridge' is an anthem for all recovering drug addicts. Their bassist; Flea is probably one of the few that stand out as possibly the biggest star of the band (whereas a bassist is usually overshaddowed by the singer and guitarist(s)) and have inspired many to learn bass guitar and perhaps more specifically the viscous, fast past paced Flea style of Slapping and Popping.

Don't get me wrong. Im not some hardcore Chili Peppers fan who wants to preach to everyone, but i just feel some of their stuff at least makes them worthy of entering the list.

[Liam]

I was gonna state it when that Bob Roberts mentioned it, but I don't think RHCP should be anywhere near this list. I like them, but I'd just see it as them getting on there due to having a long and successful career more than anything else. Since we already have people liek Bon Jovi on there due to their huge selling numbers as much as anything, it didn't need more.

I just don't think RHCP were that influential, at least until they nuetered their funk-rock style somewhat, in which case (aside from "BSSM") they became another rock act.

[fineintent]

One Hot Minute was a funk album, and pretty fucking good, then Navarro left and they became shit.

[Liam]

One Hot Minute was a funk album, and pretty fucking good, then Navarro left and they became shit.

Not having listened to One Hot Minute, I can't judge, I just know that between the first four albums and BSSM, there was a noticable taming of the funk-ness (....if thats a word), so I just assumed One Hot Minute went along similar guidelines to BSSM..funky, but with more rock sensibilities than their earlier stuff.

When they fused the two, it worked out for the best for them in my eyes.

[gunnar hendershow]

Napalm Death more or less showed everyone just how extreme music could get. Since "Scum" came out, nothing's really surpassed it. Sure it's been equaled on many occassions, but "Scum" pretty much showed everyone the limit of what extreme music can be.

I disagree absolutely, but not because "Scum" isn't extreme but because it is pretty fucking hard to say what covers extreme metal. I mean, Pelican are extreme metal on their own end of the spectrum: so are Sunn O))) and other drone/funeral doom bands. Nevermind extreme speed bands such as The Berzerker. It's all relative!

Good points, and since you mentioned Sunn O))) I'm not even going to debate with you.

[zero]

One Hot Minute is a vastly underrated and overbashed album. People always say Navaro didn't fit the band, which may be true, but it's a really interesting sound.

That said, RHCP don't belong on the list. Faith No More did the rock/funk blending to a mainstream audience before RHCP, and in all honesty, did it much better.

[Skummy]

Not to mention that funk rock hardly changed the world. I could be the first man to play synth-grindcore-disco to a mainstream audience, but if no one did it after me, it wouldn't be important. It's not like, post-FNM and RHCP, everyone's playing that genre. RHCP are still pretty much the only band doing it, and even that's arguable.

Personally, I think that if One Hot Minute was recorded with Frusciante, it could well have been their best album.

And, yeah, Napalm Death are important when it comes to extreme music, but to say they haven't been surpassed in that regard is ludicrous. Just look at bands like The Berserker and Pig Destroyer, or even "spazcore" bands like The Locust, An Albatross, xbrxx or The Smackdown, they're taking extreme music in directions that Napalm Death probably never even considered, and in many cases surpassing them in terms of what "extreme" can be. And that's coming from a huge Napalm Death fanboy.

Edited June 3, 2006 by Skumfrog

[DMN in the House]

People who say KoRn dosen't belong on the list don't know music. Sorry, but KoRn was THE most important 'hard' rock band of the 90s.

I'd take Blink off, and throw either Bad Religion, or a band like The Adolecents (I might be off on the years though), instead.

Oh, and, personally, Metallica over Iron Maiden at 1, with Maiden moving to 2.

[gunnar hendershow]

Oh, and, personally, Metallica over Iron Maiden at 1, with Maiden moving to 2.

If Kerrang! were American, that would likely be the top two. Hell, Maiden might be dramatically lower if it were done by an American magazine. It seems to work out that way on American music lists in terms of the respect given to Maiden.

[Bob Roberts]

I was gonna state it when that Bob Roberts mentioned it, but I don't think RHCP should be anywhere near this list. I like them, but I'd just see it as them getting on there due to having a long and successful career more than anything else. Since we already have people liek Bon Jovi on there due to their huge selling numbers as much as anything, it didn't need more.

I just don't think RHCP were that influential, at least until they nuetered their funk-rock style somewhat, in which case (aside from "BSSM") they became another rock act.

Edited June 3, 2006 by Bob Roberts

[sirdavinator]

And, yeah, Napalm Death are important when it comes to extreme music, but to say they haven't been surpassed in that regard is ludicrous. Just look at bands like The Berserker and Pig Destroyer, or even "spazcore" bands like The Locust, An Albatross, xbrxx or The Smackdown, they're taking extreme music in directions that Napalm Death probably never even considered, and in many cases surpassing them in terms of what "extreme" can be. And that's coming from a huge Napalm Death fanboy.

[Guest C4P0]

Being a British magazine and all... shouldn't the Manic Street Preachers be on? I mean they actually did a lot for a simple three-piece art-rock band and were considered ahead of their time:

• Richies disappearence was a big thing at the time

• They were MCR (but better) before MCR was even a thought

• Dealt in politics before RATM

• Wrote amazing songs for the generation

• Loyal fan-base

• A number of hits throughout their timespan

Meh i know that that might not look to be much, but the fact remains that MSP were completely unique and that they should be at least noticed for their contribution to the music industry

That being said, maybe they just weren't "big" enough to be put on a list like that, I mean, they were nothing compared to the Metallicas and Green Days of the time.

Edited June 4, 2006 by C4P0

[Pesci]

I wouldn't even say Manic Street Preachers were that important to British music, let alone music in general.

Kerrang wouldn't be interested in them anyway. The 90s British music scene isn't exactly it's forté.