Most Overlooked Bands/Artists (1 Viewer)

[V Chip]

Similar to the other thread, but the flip side.

In this one, list the band/artist that you feel is/was overlooked and never received either the critical acclaim or the popularity/sales they should have received.

If possible limit your mentions to bands/artists that at least received some notoriety/press and would be familiar/known to at least a few people on the board.

I'll start:

King's X. I think they're still making some music now, but in the late 80's early 90's they should have ruled at least parts of the charts and I never figured out why they didn't do better and more people didn't pick up on them than actually did.

XTC. Still got pretty popular, but for the level of songwriting talent and musicianship of these guys, I'm amazed they didn't get nearly as much mention/sales as they should have.

Going more local (and maybe violating one of my own rules! ):
Func Haus: local Baton Rouge band from the early 90s, featured some incredible musicians -- Wendell Tilley on guitar, Terrence Higgins (now in Dirty Dozen Brass Band) on drums, and monster bass player Marc Pero, now in Papa Grows Funk. The songs were tight, melodic, and featured great musicianship. They just never took off, even locally although they did enjoy some good local success for a while. I remember seeing them once at Jimmy's and they came out and... unplugged their equipment because at Jimmy's you had to pay $150 to play there and they weren't going to make enough at the door to cover the $150. But when they DID play, man it was awesome.

 

[antipop]

clutch

 

[keepoursaints]

10001110101

 

[wamland]

Dozer
Fugazi
Bad Brains
Morphine

 

[geauxboy]

I don't know why Bad Brains didn't get the recognition they deserved. What a band.

I don't know if they are as popular, but I don't think Fishbone has gotten the recognition they deserve.

 

[HouDat]

+1 on:
King's X
Clutch
Fugazi
Bad Brains
Fishbone

I'm going to wait to let this thread hit 3-4 pages before jumping in. Great start though.

 

[MSUSousaphone]

Avenged Sevenfold.

They had a decent song on Madden and then Guitar Hero and had a video on MTV so people lump them in with all the crap bands that are coming out. Pick up Waking the Fallen. By far the album contains some of the best compostional pieces of music in the past 100 years. Its tonal progressions are reminiscent of Wagner and there is more talent and musicality coming out of it than any rock/metal band I have ever heard.

Chord progressions, tonal centers, dissonant harmonies...Avenged Sevenfold has some of the most complex music of any band, ever.

 

[obwhiteo]

My Morning Jacket..

 

[TheMike62987]

Avenged Sevenfold.

They had a decent song on Madden and then Guitar Hero and had a video on MTV so people lump them in with all the crap bands that are coming out. Pick up Waking the Fallen. By far the album contains some of the best compostional pieces of music in the past 100 years. Its tonal progressions are reminiscent of Wagner and there is more talent and musicality coming out of it than any rock/metal band I have ever heard.

Chord progressions, tonal centers, dissonant harmonies...Avenged Sevenfold has some of the most complex music of any band, ever.

I have to disagree with you here man. Although Waking the Fallen was a good album, every one after that has been crap. They are a sorry excuse for a metal band, and their singer is a metric ton of dog poop.

You want a good metal band with actual complex music with tonal progressions, chord progressions, tonal centers, dissonant harmonies, and a good singer who can scream and growl as well? Look no further than Between The Buried And Me. Now that's an completly underrated band if I have ever heard one. By the way, they are the overall favorite for best metal album of 2007. It's called Colors. Pick it up and listen to real musical composures.

 

[Broadmoor74]

Corrosion of Conformity

 

[MSUSousaphone]

I have to disagree with you here man. Although Waking the Fallen was a good album, every one after that has been crap. They are a sorry excuse for a metal band, and their singer is a metric ton of dog poop.

You want a good metal band with actual complex music with tonal progressions, chord progressions, tonal centers, dissonant harmonies, and a good singer who can scream and growl as well? Look no further than Between The Buried And Me. Now that's an completly underrated band if I have ever heard one. By the way, they are the overall favorite for best metal album of 2007. It's called Colors. Pick it up and listen to real musical composures.

Eh....they're good and I like them a lot.....but nowhere near the musicality. Maybe to the untrained ear....

Avenged Sevenfold could actually fit in with the Romantic period of classical music compositionally. The Buried and Me, and I do like them, fit in with other bands out there in recent times and now.

 

[TheMike62987]

Eh....they're good and I like them a lot.....but nowhere near the musicality. Maybe to the untrained ear....

Avenged Sevenfold could actually fit in with the Romantic period of classical music compositionally. The Buried and Me, and I do like them, fit in with other bands out there in recent times and now.

To the untrained ear? I've played bass for 8 years, and guitar since I was 12 yrs old. My ears are well trained, and trust me, Between The Buried and Me are light years ahead of Avenged Sevenfold. Maybe you haven't listened very well, or maybe you just don't like melodic death metal, but to say A7X are better composers that BTBAM is absurd! Download the Alaska Instrumentals album. BTBAM's use of time signatures alone make them a better band.

I suggest you go on you tube and look up some videos of the lead guitarist from A7X and then look up videos of Paul Waggoneer and you'll see the huge drop off in talent. A7X's guitarists are some of the sloppiest live players around. The only reason the music sounds decent on the record is because it is overhauled in the mixing and mastering stages. They sound like crap live.

A band that makes good music sounds good live and on their records. A7X polishes their music by cutting and pasting. Listen harder, and you'll correctly train your ears to see that their drummer is the only musician worth a darn in their band. How is it that you're associating power chords,and standard chord progressions with classical composing?

 

[TheMike62987]

Also, A7X is anything but overlooked. It's become a trend amongst little teenage girls to listen to them. You can't walk into a Hot Topic without seeing or hearing them.

 

[Broadmoor74]

You can't walk into a Hot Topic without seeing or hearing them.

I can't walk into a Hot Topic. I'm 33.

 

[TheMike62987]

I can't walk into a Hot Topic. I'm 33.

Yeah you can man, they have some cool old school band t-shirts. I got a sick Queen t-shirt the other day on clearance for $9, and a pretty sweet Sublime t-shirt as well.