I think just about every old-school rock fan digs UFO and Schenker is huge with guitarists, but as far as popularity with newer audiences go you're probably right... I see younger fans get into Zeppelin, Sabbath, Purple, AC/DC- all kinds of 70s stuff but never UFO, oddly enough
Loved Phenomenon, Lights Out and TWTWATI - thought they were the best produced. Strangers In The Night is pure magic - my favorite live album. I thought the others albums were underproduced. Schenker coming and going so much didn't help. Somewhere I read where Neil Carter talked about how Gary Moore was more organized and less wasteful in the studio and how that helped them both make more money. I think the band made a lot of mistakes over the years on the business side. But still a great band.
When Pete Way died there was a decent article written in the Guardian (main stream national newspaper for those of you in the US). It was a beautifully well written tribute but so many of the comments were from people who had never heard of him. Really sad.
Swiss band Gotthard spring to mind for me. Very popular in their native Switzerland, but in my and some of my friends views should have been a major hard rock attraction in other markets. Steve Lee RIP was a great frontman and fantastic singer. Sweet, despite the plethora of hit singles are somewhat underrated by the album buying heavy rock crowd. Magnum could and should have been bigger, never made it in US where their brand of melodic pomp rock should have put them in a bigger league. From what Pete has said in past features, never really tried to break America. Diamond Head are another one. In my view had everything, real talent, possibly the most potentially talented band to come out of NWOBHM, but couldn't settle on a stable line up and consistent musical direction. Others include Legs Diamond, Angel, Starz and Moxy.
If Motley Crue is the "Captain Action" of heavy metal then Guns n 'Roses is "Dr. Evil". I agree with Pete. They are on the shelf in someone's basement but not mine. Never on my playlist.
'Appetite for Destruction' is a great album, a classic. There might have been another good album in 'Use Your Illusion' if they'd cut it down from being a double release. I actually think 'Chinese Democracy' is underrated. But they didn't release anything new for more than a decade and then haven't released anything new since 'Chinese'. To me they ended as a band when Izzy Stradlin left halfway through the Use Your Illusion tour. My own list of overrated bands from a mix of rock genres are Queen, KISS, Motley Crue, Bon Jovi, Def Leppard, Oasis, Blur, Pulp. You can call any of those Dr Evil if you like.
@@jimmycampbell78 Blur's Damon Albarn is a very talented musician, try his collaboration with Michael Nyman on Ravenous Soundtrack, and "Mali Music" with various Malian musicians!
@@mutant_blues Damon Albarn has done some very eclectic, varied material, you can mention Gorillaz as well. However I don't like his singing voice, and I just never really got into Blur. I do own a 'Best Of' by them but I only like a handful of songs. I actually own albums by all the bands I mentioned apart from Pulp, who I just can't stand. I don't like Jarvis Cocker's singing, his lyrics or his kind of persona which is imprinted on all his songs, its hard to explain but it does nothing for me.
@@jimmycampbell78 I almost agree about Pulp! Sometimes they sound annoying, but they didn't start as a Brit pop band. In the early 80's they were playing new wave. In 1982 they participated in a collection with the song "What do you say?" which is a gem! Unfortunately they quickly "abandoned" this sound ...
7 billion people on the planet. BOC sold maybe 30/40 million albums. The same 3/4 million people account for these sales. I for example bought vinyl then all cd too. BOC has 3 songs played on radio. Ok maybe not underated to their fans but given how many rock fans there are out there, few of them rate BOC high enough to part with money. Yet many will board the popular music bandwagon and buy lesser albums like bon Jovi, U2 (FFS!), And other commercial crap.
Fates Warning is criminally underrated... they've been around for close to 40 years and paid their dues for them to end up touring small venues in Europe in the middle of winter (January/February), sad!
@@ScottyKirk1 listen to "Theories of Flight" from 2016, its my favorite album of 2010's... and you can check out Disconnected as well, both marvelous albums
@@ScottyKirk1 I'd recommend you listen to 'Inside Out'. That followed Parallels and was very similar in style. Got criticised for being too close in fact and likely why they then went all out prog for the following record A Pleasant Shade Of Gray... Regardless, would recommend all FW but 'Inside Out' is also essential FW and should be to your liking if you loved Parallels \m/
Saga were pretty big in Europe, though. I love Saga's first 4 albums, where they sound truly unique (especially on the first 3 albums), after those they became much more commercial and generic.
I agree, sweet were great, the problem was the silly campy glam songs they released that they didn't write, kind of put a lot of people off and certainly didn't help them in other countries like America. The songs they wrote themselves were hard rocking and showed what a great hard rock band they could have been but sadly most of those tracks were b-sides, I think they'd have a bigger fan base amongst rock fans had they just stuck to writing their own stuff.
@@alexjohnston8889 exactly, Pete Pardo did a great ranking the Sweet albums and that's exactly what turned me on to their "Sweet spot" (pardon the pun) albums- desolation Blvd, Wink, level headed etc.
I seen Starz and Angel on the bill at EJ Thomas center right after theyre first albums came out. I thought both of these bands would be big. Nope, now I know what happened. Thanks , great show.
@@ronnienose8608 yes im well aware. Ray scatted most of the lyrics. Jake recorded almost everything one take according to Greg Chaisson. Great album nonetheless.
joe fafara In Thin Lizzy’s case they only had themselves to blame for not breaking America. Brian Robertson gets into a bar fight just before a tour and lacerates his hand. Philip Lynott contracts hepatitis. Their US label really tried hard to make them a success but in the end just gave up on them as they were their own worst enemies. The group changes guitarists every two years or so. The lifestyles of the band members got in the way of true global success.
@@patrickcrowther9195 Sad but true. Phil was like his pal George Best uniquely gifted but hardcore & heedlessly committed to self sabotage. Lowell George, another towering talent, hurtling headlong into catastrophe...
Underrated here in the U.S but Lizzy had success everywhere else. However it broke Phil up because they were never big in America even though they were given opportunities. Lizzy later signed with Warner Brothers who turned all thier attention to a new band out of Pasadena, California named Van-something 🤔🤔
You picked one of the two bands that immediately came to mind for me. One is Kings X which you picked. The other one is Porcupine Tree. They should have been much bigger than they were. They have such a great catalog.
April Wine didn’t hit it big in the US? But agreed about Max Webster and I find the Hip’s lack of success in the US puzzling, considering their massive popularity in Canada.
Living Color and Faith No More come to mind. Yes they had their big hit and few successful albums, but considering how much great material they had the fact their largely remembered for one big hit makes them underrated in my opinion.
Living Colour. I think the reason they r under rated is bcs they were an all black metal band when black youth were not listening to metal and hate to say it but white metal listeners wouldn't listen to black groups unless it was motown. Under rated the Cult.
Kenneth Schultz good point. I remember a lot of people liking cult of personality and then being turned off by the more funky elements of the band. I thought the 2nd and 3rd albums Times Up and stain were fantastic. Still listen to them.
Absolutely agreed. Living Colour singer is in my top-10 list. Faith No More is also a band with strong and original identity, but seems to me that the essence to be successful in the 80's was exactly the opposite: the more you are template, the more you get money.
Helstar - metal band from Texas in the 80's. Their third and fourth albums, "A Distant Thunder" and "Nosferatu" were conceptual proggy metal that predated what would eventually come along with Dream Theatre and Symphony X.
My 3 (in no order): - "Sweet": They are hands-down one of THE most under-rated bands ever, especially their heavy stuff which, for some reason, never got any airplay. Yeah they had a handful of "pop" hits but IMO they should have been HUGE in America. They were every bit as good AND as talented as Queen, again IMO. - "Shooting Star": Another great band that no one knows existed, until they hear one of their hit songs (like like "Hollywood", "Hang On For Your Life", "Flesh and Blood", "Last Chance", etc)... then it's like, "WOW!! I remember that song... is that who made it?? I had no idea." lol - "Wishbone Ash": They influenced classic rock legends (like Van Halen, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Thin Lizzy) to heavy metal giants like Metallica and Iron Maiden, to progressive rock monsters like Dream Theater... yet no one EVER talks about them (or their phenomenal music).
Literally clicked on this video with Sweet in mind. There aren't many bands you can find that go through the transformation they did in the 70's, and had great tunes with each sound (bubblegum pop, Glam rock, hard rock, progressive rock), even today most people just say Ballroom Blitz, Fox on the Run, and Love is Like Oxygen, It's really too bad.
I agree about Sweet. My sister had their records around the house when I was a kid and I loved that band. And not just Little Willy or Fox on the Run . Deep cuts are great
@Donald Duck Nothing silly about it, actually. All 4 members of Sweet were able to both write and play their own music, and all four were legit lead singers with vocal harmonies that rivaled and influenced Queen (yes, Sweet was around first), while musically they were every bit as talented, if not more so. This article sums it up much better than I ever could: espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/post/_/id/24200/the-truth-about-kobe-bryant-in-crunch-time
Kevin Turchin my family got cable TV in 1978 and there was this great Thin Lizzy concert that they played over and over. Content was thin then. It was a great show. Sweaty gritty no frills hard rockin band. I live in Philadelphia area. They reminded me a little of Grand Funk and I mean that as a compliment.
Thin lizzy is one of those bands who never actually made a bad album. There are just those who are more amazing. Prob my favourite album is vagabond of the western world.
@@ConestogaCreek "Boys Are Back in Town" got tons of airplay back then. And it was ON the "Jailbreak" album, and the title cut some, but I would not say the album as whole (or even half) got tons of play. Boston, Grand Illusion, Frampton Comes Alive, Rumors, Hotel California. THOSE albums got tons of airplay in the late 70's.
Mountain is definitely underrated and should have been huge. They just couldn’t get out of their on way. Nantucket Sleightride is one of the best albums out there.
The leader of one of the bands I used to play is a huge Mountain fan and we used to cover Nantucket Sleighride. In fact he still occasionally pulls it out with current lineups. But he's mostly originals now. Anyway, I recently discovered family lineages that go back Nantucket and even more remarkable is that I'm a Starbuck and a Coffin (two very prominent names in the story). So, that song has special meaning to me.
Finally some props to Kings X . They are still in my heavy rotation and it aged well. Dogman definitely is their best work. Watching these Rock and Metal UA-camrs this might be the first time of recognition and that disappoints me to no end.
This was hard for me to choose, and I'm going to list these bands because they rarely play hits on Classic Rock stations. 1. Uriah Heep 2. Thin Lizzy 3. Rainbow 4. Budgie 5. Camel 6. Marillion 7. Saxon
RAINBOW WAS PRETTY BIG. MY OLDER BROTHER GOT ME INTO THEM IN HIGH SCHOOL. URIAH HEEP WAS BIG IN US UNTIL 82. THE LIVE ALBUM IS STILL ONE OF MY FAVORITES. RAINBOW RISING CLASSIC! THIN LIZZY MY FAV BAND ALL VERSIONS EXCEPT JOHN SYKES WHO RUINED THUNDER & LIGHTNING. STILL A GREAT HEAVY ALBUM BUT CHINATOWN AND BLACK ROSE MY TWO FAVORITE LIZZY.
@@keithf_ Was fortunate enough to see Be Bop Deluxe live on the Modern Music tour. Bill Nelson made a life long impression on me that night with his other worldly guitar skills. A true 70’s guitar god on par with any of the bigger names.
Captain Beyond I never saw BBD live sadly. I often think Bill Nelson was influenced by David Bowie's stage persona. In any case, the BBD albums rank right up there with any album Bowie released. BBD a much much underrated band.
Manfred Mann's Earth Band for me... I felt like I was in a secret society liking them back in the 70's but the 'Roaring silence', 'Watch' and 'Angel Station' were albums that I really loved and still do.
King's X, hell yeah. It shouldn't be surprising that they were saddled with being a Christian band at first, considering both Doug Pinnick and Jerry Gaskill played in Phil Keaggy's band (Phil being one of the few Christian artists known for his guitar work, especially in his 1960s/1970s band Glass Harp) and met Ty Tabor when his band opened for Keaggy, but they were never a "worship" band like Petra, Carmen, or so many of the bands that followed in their wake--even at their most overtly Christian, King's X were more interested in criticizing its history of violence against outside thinkers (Pleiades is about the execution of Galileo at the hands of the Roman Catholic Inquisition) or its current day hypocrisies (Mission, which questioned the real "mission" of preachers, televangelists in particular). Even the song about "not looking for a one night stand," Goldilox, has some added weight to it since Doug came out as gay in 1997, considering the stereotype of homosexuals being incapable of any form of monogamy (which still seems to persist despite years of fighting for the right to marriage, an institution heterosexuals take so far for granted that 50% of theirs end in divorce). And I still love the line "this is church, this is state, rock and roll amazing grace" from Wonder.
James Fetherston Weird, the lyrics even say “burned his body” as if he was, but your right. Pleiades is definitely a homage to Galileo, but they don’t specifically name him. They also make the mistake of claiming he was saying the world was spherical when he was actually putting forth the heliocentric model of the earth revolving around the sun. Maybe they were compositing multiple historical scientists into one, or maybe they were just mistaken.
So what the heck is wrong with singing about your faith - if you're a Christian, that is. Bands sing about Buddhist and Hindu concepts, and other faith/religious materials in their songs. But, shhhh if you're a Christian. For Heaven's (oops) sake, keep it under wraps or your recording will be on the scrapheap. Hypocrisy at its ugliest. Can't folks just enjoy the music and poetry? No one thinks they're going to convert you through a song. But faith is a very important aspect of life to many people, so why shouldn't they sing about it?
So many to choose from here, but for me, ZEBRA is at the top of my list. They had the fastest selling album in Atlantic Records history, and that includes Led Zeppelin (who were also signed to their label). Zebra is also still together (45 years, same lineup) and currently working on a new album. Incredible!
I think Riot was a great band with each singer they had! Kind of just like a guest vocalist feeling looking back after Reale... #PetePardoArmy #PetePardoNation #BigMeatPete #SplashYourSeaOfTranquilityAllOverMyFace
Great band, one of the few US bands of the time to run with the NWOBHM hordes. Saw them in the UK a few times once supporting Saxon and they gave it their best shot.
I wonder if Riot got mixed up in the shuffle next to Quiet Riot? If one would say "have you checked out Riot?...the answer might have been "The bang your head guy's??
Clutch, Warrior Soul, Mindfunk, Be Bop Deluxe, The Melvins, Camel, The Stranglers, The Church, Budgie, Anathema, Antimatter, Jane, I could go on and on but got to stop it somewhere.
Jeffrey Robinson great list, especially THE CHURCH! Definetly one of the best and most prolific acts around. 26 albums into their career and a new album out soon.
I'm sure I'll forget some, but here's a few.. Living Colour, King's X, Badlands, Blue Murder, Saigon Kick, Warrior Soul, Dirty Looks, TNT, Extreme, and more I'm forgetting. A lot of these fall into that metal/grunge changeover bsd timing issue, while others kind of defy easy categorizstion.
The band Tnt are really underrated in the 80s imo, their sound in their early albums is really heavy with a little judas priest influence before changing their sound to a more unique aor rock sound in their late 80s albums, great band and still releasing music today👍
I concur ! TNT is a great band, and Ronni Le Tekrø a shredder. IMO the one who's really underrated from TNT and seldom mentioned in any circle is Tony Harnell. Harnell's vocals are killer!
Cool show. In addition to Pete's last two, which are two of my all time favorites, here's my list: Shooting Star Warrior Soul Zebra Metal Church April Wine Helix
Blackfoot is still one of my favorite bands. Saw them twice in the 80s. Once as headliners and the other opening for Ted Nugent and Cheap Trick. By the time the 90s rolled around , they were playing in small clubs. I was glad to be able to see them so close up front but I never understood why they didn't retain coliseum status.
Riot, wow! Great twin guitar sounds. Guy Sperenza, powerful singer with a Bon Scott voice like. Fire Down Under (1981) is a fantastic album with great heavy songs. Followed by Restless Breed & Born In America with Rhett Forrester bluesy voice singer, had their very good moments too. A career that deserve more than this. Thanks Pete & Martin for your great comments about Riot.
Agree with all 6 bands mentioned here...maybe a show on overrated bands now? Other underrated imo: Angel City Enuff z' Nuff Saga Coney Hatch Voivod(i.e. Gentle Giant syndrome i guess)
Angel City first U.S. album I remember...I had years ago, but it got shuffled to a used record store when I was a poor student, in the eighties. Good stuff though. Every song on that was solid.
The Angels(angel city) are my favourite Aussie band. Great albums also a live album of theirs ‘liveline’ is as good as made in Japan by deep purple. Everyone should check it out. Voivod is excellent as well.
1990's Iced Earth was as good as any metal band at that time. They were like the perfect blend of Metallica heavy and Maiden melodic. Plus Matt Barlow's vocals were just phenomenal! Shouldve broke way bigger!
AGREED. NO PLACE TO RUN ONE OF MY FAV SONGS. WILD WILLING INNOCENT. ONLY YOU CAN ROCK ME SHOULD'VE BEEN A BIG HIT SINGLE IN 78 FOR THEM. IT WASN'T. TRAGIC.
I agree with Martin...I know from past episodes Pete isn't a fan...But I love King's X...no bad albums in my opinion and the album Ear Candy is sooo yummy....gave me a rock and roll cavity🤘😝
They were pretty big actually for a few years...just couldn't sustain it. They have 4-5 gold and /or platinum albums in a row. Most bands would kill for that.
BOC and Thin Lizzy. Yeah, people know them....but they only know maybe 3 or 4 of their songs in spite of each band having lots of terrific songs. I know these 2 bands don't fit the criteria for "underrated" set forth by Pete and Martin but they're the first 2 bands that come to mind.
Keith Rulong Who never broke up ? Wishbone Ash ? Big band bust-up. Only 1 of the 4 original members is still there. Loved the band in the 1970s. Much less good since then, although their latest release 'Coat of Arms' is something of a return to form.
@@keithf_ correct Wishbone Ash never broke up. 51 years and still going. Granted only 1 original member left. But so what? As long as I can go to a club and hear their music I'm happy!
Keith Rulong Yeah ... but for me ONLY the original line-up matters. Although There's The Rub and New England (with Laurie Wisefield) were fantastic albums. PS Favourite track is Throw Down The Sword, which I've always felt Andy Powell completely murders when playing live. Just my personal opinion.
Sensational Alex Harvey Band (Maybe too eclectic for some) - Amazing front man with a really solid band backing him up Derringer - Maybe could have used a top end singer but exceptional guitar work Anything with Johnny Winter
Currently blasting Johnny's "Second Winter" and oh my lord does Winter peel paint with blistering solos and golden riffs......great vocals too! He and Edgar just drip with musicality-if there are two more talented brothers in rock and roll, I haven't heard it! Great mention!
Angel yes! as a KISS fan in 70's I loved the look style and bought all their albums. the last one Sinful was their best 'radio' friendly song with numerous hits that weren't hits! favorite album was White HOT!
Back in the day, I always thought Tesla was very underrated. Other mentions: Saigon Kick, Overkill, Night Ranger, Extreme. I have to admit I had forgotten about Love/Hate, will have to revisit their albums, thanks Martin. Edit: Why Do You Think They Call it Dope, I had forgotten about this song from Love/Hate, the bass is insane in this song, I think Pete will like this, same as the drums on "One More Round".
Speaking of Jim Morrison, Martin, as a fellow Canadian, I'm sure you agree that "The Tea Party" (from Windsor, Ontario, Canada) is a CRIMINALLY underrated band!!! They really need more exposure. They released insanely amazing albums throughout the 90's and 2000's!
They sure were a great band. I sent Ray manzarek a copy of their videos DVD. And the doors asked Jeff Martin to be their lead singer for the Doors of the 21st century and he turned them down.
This is really interesting, compelling and amazing discussion/show. This combination of Pete and Martin is truly remarkable. My favorite duo when it comes to in depth, critical music discussion.
It Bites from my home county of Cumbria in the UK. Great band that just didn’t get the credit they deserved. Listen to the live album‘Thankyou and Goodnight’ to see what I mean.
Always puzzled that the British band ,Thunder were not huge in the States. Terrific band. Seem them many of times over the years. Great lead singer. Maybe Grunge killed them ?
A few bands that should have been bigger, and/or deserved more: Gentle Giant (too good for their own good), Can, Fishbone, Faith No More (they had decent success, but...), Mandrill, XTC, King's X, Queen City Kids, Sparks. I know I'm forgetting many more...
This is great stuff! Warrior Soul. Got lumped into the grudge sound, but from New York and a few years before the alt-rock thing began. Give them a go. Lost in the grudge.
Ram Jam everybody knows the band for Black Betty from their first album but the second one took the band to another level its better than the debut and sadly never got recognized.
@@brucefranklin6295, That's debatable. Bloody Kisses went platinum and October Rust went gold. It's not like they were a band that released numerous multiplatinum albums. I'd say their somewhat underrated.
@@ryanantler184 Well,they weren't Def Leppard or AC/DC,but they were even bigger in Europe than in the states and while they weren't superstars,they did sell millions of albums. Even now,look at their videos on UA-cam. They have multi-millions of views.Tough for me to call that underrated.
@@brucefranklin6295 Never mind bands like AC/DC or Def Leppard. Im comparing Type O Negative to their peers. Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam,Tool, STP, Smashing Pumpkins ect. Were all more successful in terms of album sales and concert attendance. Unfortunately, TON never reached that level of mainstream success.
Guy Speranza from RIOT was an incredible singer. Saw them in ‘81 promoting Fire Down Under, when they opened for Frank Marino & Triumph (The Power Of Rock & Roll & Allied Forces tours, respectively). Interestingly, Guy left RIOT disillusioned with the Rock & touring life, ultimately becoming a Christian. Later he moved with his family to Florida and sadly passed away in 2003 due to pancreatic cancer. Check out the excellent live recording of RIOT’s Road Racin’ on 1980’s Castle Donington: Monsters Of Rock album; also featuring great live songs by Touch, April Wine, Saxon, Scorpions & Rainbow (Graham Bonnet phase).
The Pretty Things. Heavier than The Stones during the British Invasion. Ahead of The Kinks and The Who doing concept albums/rock operas. Still made HEAVY albums till the end (check out Balboa Station) - their last record just came out, a few months after we lost Phil May.
I think Y & T was very underrated. I loved this band. So much great music. They had a small degree of success but with Meniketti's vocals and fantastic guitar playing, I honestly feel they should have been way bigger!!
Shooting Star would be appreciated by any fan of the rock genre. They were so regional, quite big here in Cincinnati. I interviewed Van McClain for my college newspaper. Love them!
I have just one band off the top of my head. This does require a qualification because, at one point, they were one of the biggest rock bands on the planet. What do I mean? Who do I mean? The band in question is Journey. The qualifier in question is their original incarnation, their original musical direction and sound. Perhaps no other band has such a Jekyll-and-Hyde dynamic regarding their music as Journey does. I love those first 3 LPs and, in fact, Look Into the Future is on my short list of all time favorite albums. However, the record sales weren't there and so, as I understand things, they were in danger of being dropped by their label. So in comes Perry and a whole new musical direction and with it, a trip to the stratosphere. Be that as it may, I think their initial sound was something special. (My apologies for bending the rules some.) 😎
Atomic Rooster, loved ‘Death Walks Behind You’ saw them live. They should have been at a premiere theatre ala Rainbow or Hammersmith Odeon . They were playing a small college in the town of Rugby UK. Underrated for sure. Got to meet Vincent Crane after the show, he was very gracious and asked if we’d enjoyed the show.
Fastest should have done so much better. First two albums are great, third was a sound track that was way better than the movie. I actually liked the movie, lol
Bands like Iced Earth, Helloween, Gamma Ray, Primal Fear, Angra, Shaman,Viper, Masterplan, and Blind Guardian in my opinion are underated, and should have been way bigger than are.
Great episode - and 10/10 to Martin for bringing on King's X. Such a fantastic, underrated band. Oh, and Riot were superb as well, especially during the Guy Speranza years.
I totally agree with all your choices. King’s X is always the go to for sure on this subject. One of the bands that I always thought should have been bigger is Armored Saint. They haven’t put out a bad album ever.
@Steve Evans With people unfortunately only knowing Radar Love (which is a great song by the way), is a real shame, because they have a tone of incredible albums with marvellous songs. GE are truly one of the most unique bands but also most underrated of all time. A band full of heart and passion.
Tony Martin & Ronnie James Dio’s I Always thought they sounded 🎤A bit Similar. This Proves Tony Was Underratted ! Ronnie is Thee Eternal Idol 🤟 Hey a Black Sabbath Coincidence🇺🇸😎
Two similar sounding bands that I thought should have been bigger are Leatherwolf and Lizzy Borden, both heavy with catchy riffs and great vocals. Also Giant deserved to be bigger but like a lot of bands just came at the wrong time for commercial success, Last of the Runaways is a great album.
They put out about seven Great albums in a row and their later stuff got boring even though I bought their CDs yes they are probably one of the number one underrated ones among some more I guess
when i first saw the title of your video, my two thoughts were starz and angel...so thank you mr. popoff...you could possibly say that be bop deluxe was underrated.....they were amazing...triumph also....personally i think the shirts were very underrated, but that might have something to do with my time at cbgb's....but i do love their three albums....anyway...here's to all musicians everywhere...peace and playing good music always...rocky
ON the Thrash Front, I would argue Death Angel and to a lesser extent Testament were underrated in that they could and I think maybe should be up their with the Big Four.
Having seen all of the Big 4 bands and a handful of other thrash bands, I couldn't agree more with Death Angel. Saw them about two years ago in a dive bar and they put on easily one of the best shows I've seen in ages. Maybe 100 people there and the majority of the audience had no idea who or what they were seeing but Death Angel played it like they were headlining Madison Square Garden. I'd been a casual fan for awhile but I never knew just how good they were until that night.
@@andypostema4269 their new stuff is really good too check it out. I saw them at a gig in S.F. where Halford headlined before the Priest reunion. Death angel and Violence stole the show.
I feel that UFO is a fairly underrated band that very few people seem to talk about despite them being fairly big back in the 70's
I think just about every old-school rock fan digs UFO and Schenker is huge with guitarists, but as far as popularity with newer audiences go you're probably right... I see younger fans get into Zeppelin, Sabbath, Purple, AC/DC- all kinds of 70s stuff but never UFO, oddly enough
Agree
Loved Phenomenon, Lights Out and TWTWATI - thought they were the best produced. Strangers In The Night is pure magic - my favorite live album. I thought the others albums were underproduced. Schenker coming and going so much didn't help. Somewhere I read where Neil Carter talked about how Gary Moore was more organized and less wasteful in the studio and how that helped them both make more money. I think the band made a lot of mistakes over the years on the business side. But still a great band.
Don't get me started !! lol For me, as it's Randy Rhoads, Michael Schenker and Eddie Van Halen for Hard Rock, then everyone else :)
When Pete Way died there was a decent article written in the Guardian (main stream national newspaper for those of you in the US). It was a beautifully well written tribute but so many of the comments were from people who had never heard of him. Really sad.
I think Uriah heep is well known, but very underated
Yep, people know the name but couldn't list 5 of their songs off the top of their head.
Often unfairly tagged as a 'poor man' s Deep Purple'which is very unfair.
Swiss band Gotthard spring to mind for me. Very popular in their native Switzerland, but in my and some of my friends views should have been a major hard rock attraction in other markets. Steve Lee RIP was a great frontman and fantastic singer.
Sweet, despite the plethora of hit singles are somewhat underrated by the album buying heavy rock crowd.
Magnum could and should have been bigger, never made it in US where their brand of melodic pomp rock should have put them in a bigger league. From what Pete has said in past features, never really tried to break America.
Diamond Head are another one. In my view had everything, real talent, possibly the most potentially talented band to come out of NWOBHM, but couldn't settle on a stable line up and consistent musical direction.
Others include
Legs Diamond, Angel, Starz and Moxy.
They had like 5 gold albums in the US.
@@jerryattwooll4864 All the Swiss rock space was taken by Krokus :)
When Martin said Guns n'Roses is probably overrated, I could see Pete was thinking 'I don't even rate them'.
If Motley Crue is the "Captain Action" of heavy metal then Guns n 'Roses is "Dr. Evil". I agree with Pete. They are on the shelf in someone's basement but not mine. Never on my playlist.
'Appetite for Destruction' is a great album, a classic. There might have been another good album in 'Use Your Illusion' if they'd cut it down from being a double release. I actually think 'Chinese Democracy' is underrated. But they didn't release anything new for more than a decade and then haven't released anything new since 'Chinese'. To me they ended as a band when Izzy Stradlin left halfway through the Use Your Illusion tour.
My own list of overrated bands from a mix of rock genres are Queen, KISS, Motley Crue, Bon Jovi, Def Leppard, Oasis, Blur, Pulp. You can call any of those Dr Evil if you like.
@@jimmycampbell78 Blur's Damon Albarn is a very talented musician, try his collaboration with Michael Nyman on Ravenous Soundtrack, and "Mali Music" with various Malian musicians!
@@mutant_blues Damon Albarn has done some very eclectic, varied material, you can mention Gorillaz as well. However I don't like his singing voice, and I just never really got into Blur. I do own a 'Best Of' by them but I only like a handful of songs. I actually own albums by all the bands I mentioned apart from Pulp, who I just can't stand. I don't like Jarvis Cocker's singing, his lyrics or his kind of persona which is imprinted on all his songs, its hard to explain but it does nothing for me.
@@jimmycampbell78 I almost agree about Pulp! Sometimes they sound annoying, but they didn't start as a Brit pop band. In the early 80's they were playing new wave. In 1982 they participated in a collection with the song "What do you say?" which is a gem! Unfortunately they quickly "abandoned" this sound ...
Blue Oyster Cult is my choice of most underrated band.
Not under rated.
Pretty big band and still here them in the radio so how can they be underrated?
7 billion people on the planet. BOC sold maybe 30/40 million albums. The same 3/4 million people account for these sales. I for example bought vinyl then all cd too. BOC has 3 songs played on radio. Ok maybe not underated to their fans but given how many rock fans there are out there, few of them rate BOC high enough to part with money. Yet many will board the popular music bandwagon and buy lesser albums like bon Jovi, U2 (FFS!), And other commercial crap.
@@MAGNUM2F More like 25 million albums, but still a lot.
@@SpotWorksLNC but only like two or three songs are on the radio.
Fates Warning is criminally underrated... they've been around for close to 40 years and paid their dues for them to end up touring small venues in Europe in the middle of winter (January/February), sad!
In a proper world, should be as big/bigger than Dream Theater!
Parallels and No Exit are the only ones I own and I love both to death.... What do you recommend for other essentials?
@@ScottyKirk1 A Pleasant Shade Of Gray, Disconnected, Theories of Flight,..All must haves !
@@ScottyKirk1 listen to "Theories of Flight" from 2016, its my favorite album of 2010's... and you can check out Disconnected as well, both marvelous albums
@@ScottyKirk1 I'd recommend you listen to 'Inside Out'. That followed Parallels and was very similar in style. Got criticised for being too close in fact and likely why they then went all out prog for the following record A Pleasant Shade Of Gray... Regardless, would recommend all FW but 'Inside Out' is also essential FW and should be to your liking if you loved Parallels \m/
Armored Saint and the John Bush era of Anthrax.
I'm with you there.
Thin Lizzy and Blue Oyster Cult are easily the most underrated hard rock bands of the 70s
UFO wants to know your location
Also Triumph and Trapeze
Dio........ ,,,
Sweet
King's X and Savatage are both in my list, also:
Saga
Camel
Galactic Cowboys
Jellyfish
UFO
Magnum
In agreement with Saga. Just discovered this year and they should've been bigger.
Jellyfish!!
Saga were pretty big in Europe, though. I love Saga's first 4 albums, where they sound truly unique (especially on the first 3 albums), after those they became much more commercial and generic.
Early 80's I really thought Shooting Star would take off.Maybe a touch too Prog.
@@fredhamilton4687 Their first wave, in the U.S., came with early MTV.
Van Der Graaf Generator. Absolutely love Peter Hammill. Unbelievable (and underrated) Prog band.
I'd Put SWEET in this catagory as well! They should have been ginormous imo!
I agree, sweet were great, the problem was the silly campy glam songs they released that they didn't write, kind of put a lot of people off and certainly didn't help them in other countries like America. The songs they wrote themselves were hard rocking and showed what a great hard rock band they could have been but sadly most of those tracks were b-sides, I think they'd have a bigger fan base amongst rock fans had they just stuck to writing their own stuff.
@@alexjohnston8889 exactly, Pete Pardo did a great ranking the Sweet albums and that's exactly what turned me on to their "Sweet spot" (pardon the pun) albums- desolation Blvd, Wink, level headed etc.
I realized that when we say underrated, often we mean overlooked.
Agreed 💯 with Kings X
Each of the three members are constantly overlooked and underrated, great records.... should have been huge.
GREAT band.
Agreed 100% man!
Mountain, one song everyone knows. Not a lot of people know anything else.
No doubt. Love Nantucket Sleighride
GREAT BAND
There is a reason why. Bad music.
The Animal trainer and he Road?
Underrated for me:
XYZ, Y&T, Extreme, Triumph,
XYZ yeah!
Extreme!
Good choices, Extreme was pretty big in the early 90s tho.
XYZ had one of the best heaviest chainsaw guitar tones, especially on Face Down in the Gutter
Popoff hates Triumph, they were one of my favorites...Triumph loves you!
The Cult I think was highly underrated. Ian Astbry's voice is amazing and their albums kick ass.
I agree with Badlands.
I seen Starz and Angel on the bill at EJ Thomas center right after theyre first albums came out. I thought both of these bands would be big. Nope, now I know what happened. Thanks , great show.
Badlands = true stuff. And so is everything Jake does. No heavy merchandising, no big deals, but true rock.
Love that band. First album is a classic and Dusk was recorded with one take.
@@xdreampcs8554 Dusk was really just a collection of demos and ideas, hence the lack of discernable lyrics throughout. I still love it though.
@@ronnienose8608 yes im well aware. Ray scatted most of the lyrics. Jake recorded almost everything one take according to Greg Chaisson. Great album nonetheless.
Totally agree with you bro
Thin Lizzy almost certainly heads the list. Trouble, like others have pointed out.
Clutch awesome band always a bit under appreciated.
Coroner!
joe fafara In Thin Lizzy’s case they only had themselves to blame for not breaking America. Brian Robertson gets into a bar fight just before a tour and lacerates his hand. Philip Lynott contracts hepatitis. Their US label really tried hard to make them a success but in the end just gave up on them as they were their own worst enemies. The group changes guitarists every two years or so. The lifestyles of the band members got in the way of true global success.
@@patrickcrowther9195 Sad but true. Phil was like his pal George Best uniquely gifted but hardcore & heedlessly committed to self sabotage. Lowell George, another towering talent, hurtling headlong into catastrophe...
Clutch awsome Neil Fallon best vocalist around today definitely underrated
Underrated here in the U.S but Lizzy had success everywhere else. However it broke Phil up because they were never big in America even though they were given opportunities. Lizzy later signed with Warner Brothers who turned all thier attention to a new band out of Pasadena, California named Van-something 🤔🤔
You picked one of the two bands that immediately came to mind for me. One is Kings X which you picked. The other one is Porcupine Tree. They should have been much bigger than they were. They have such a great catalog.
Porcupine Tree, Opeth, Saigon Kick...
Being a Canadian, never understood why April Wine, Max Webster and The Tragically Hip were not a lot bigger in the U. S.
You ever heard of Gino Vannelli? He’s pretty popular in Canada, where he’s from.
@@bigsquisums Best hair in rock and roll.
@@soylentgreendip indeed. Gregg Rolie had some great hair in the 70s as well.
Saga and Prism two other underrated Canadian bands.
April Wine didn’t hit it big in the US? But agreed about Max Webster and I find the Hip’s lack of success in the US puzzling, considering their massive popularity in Canada.
Flotsam and Jetsam - great riffs, vocals, hooks and layered guitar harmonies. Unique stylings. Variations in song writing.
Saw them live w No Place for Disgrace, at a great place called the Ritz in Indianapolis aka Naptown.
Living Color and Faith No More come to mind. Yes they had their big hit and few successful albums, but considering how much great material they had the fact their largely remembered for one big hit makes them underrated in my opinion.
Dont forget Fishbone and Primus. These are the Funk-Rock Big 4
Living Colour. I think the reason they r under rated is bcs they were an all black metal band when black youth were not listening to metal and hate to say it but white metal listeners wouldn't listen to black groups unless it was motown. Under rated the Cult.
Kenneth Schultz good point. I remember a lot of people liking cult of personality and then being turned off by the more funky elements of the band. I thought the 2nd and 3rd albums Times Up and stain were fantastic. Still listen to them.
Absolutely agreed. Living Colour singer is in my top-10 list. Faith No More is also a band with strong and original identity, but seems to me that the essence to be successful in the 80's was exactly the opposite: the more you are template, the more you get money.
Living Colour 🤘🤘
Helstar - metal band from Texas in the 80's. Their third and fourth albums, "A Distant Thunder" and "Nosferatu" were conceptual proggy metal that predated what would eventually come along with Dream Theatre and Symphony X.
I saw Helstar open for WASP. Killer show.
Absolutely!!! Fantastic band
I totally dig Helstar.
That guitarist could really shred, definitely underrated
My 3 (in no order):
- "Sweet": They are hands-down one of THE most under-rated bands ever, especially their heavy stuff which, for some reason, never got any airplay. Yeah they had a handful of "pop" hits but IMO they should have been HUGE in America. They were every bit as good AND as talented as Queen, again IMO.
- "Shooting Star": Another great band that no one knows existed, until they hear one of their hit songs (like like "Hollywood", "Hang On For Your Life", "Flesh and Blood", "Last Chance", etc)... then it's like, "WOW!! I remember that song... is that who made it?? I had no idea." lol
- "Wishbone Ash": They influenced classic rock legends (like Van Halen, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Thin Lizzy) to heavy metal giants like Metallica and Iron Maiden, to progressive rock monsters like Dream Theater... yet no one EVER talks about them (or their phenomenal music).
I agree with you!!🎤🎸🎵🥁
Sweet were awesome during the mid 70s, early metal
Literally clicked on this video with Sweet in mind. There aren't many bands you can find that go through the transformation they did in the 70's, and had great tunes with each sound (bubblegum pop, Glam rock, hard rock, progressive rock), even today most people just say Ballroom Blitz, Fox on the Run, and Love is Like Oxygen, It's really too bad.
I agree about Sweet. My sister had their records around the house when I was a kid and I loved that band. And not just Little Willy or Fox on the Run . Deep cuts are great
@Donald Duck Nothing silly about it, actually. All 4 members of Sweet were able to both write and play their own music, and all four were legit lead singers with vocal harmonies that rivaled and influenced Queen (yes, Sweet was around first), while musically they were every bit as talented, if not more so. This article sums it up much better than I ever could: espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/post/_/id/24200/the-truth-about-kobe-bryant-in-crunch-time
This list starts with Thin Lizzy. They had a string of fantastic albums.
The Jailbreak album got tons of FM radio AirPlay at the time in the late 70s.
Mike MakesRight Not even their best album either.
Kevin Turchin my family got cable TV in 1978 and there was this great Thin Lizzy concert that they played over and over. Content was thin then. It was a great show. Sweaty gritty no frills hard rockin band. I live in Philadelphia area. They reminded me a little of Grand Funk and I mean that as a compliment.
Thin lizzy is one of those bands who never actually made a bad album. There are just those who are more amazing. Prob my favourite album is vagabond of the western world.
@@ConestogaCreek "Boys Are Back in Town" got tons of airplay back then. And it was ON the "Jailbreak" album, and the title cut some, but I would not say the album as whole (or even half) got tons of play.
Boston, Grand Illusion, Frampton Comes Alive, Rumors, Hotel California. THOSE albums got tons of airplay in the late 70's.
Mountain is definitely underrated and should have been huge. They just couldn’t get out of their on way. Nantucket Sleightride is one of the best albums out there.
The leader of one of the bands I used to play is a huge Mountain fan and we used to cover Nantucket Sleighride. In fact he still occasionally pulls it out with current lineups. But he's mostly originals now.
Anyway, I recently discovered family lineages that go back Nantucket and even more remarkable is that I'm a Starbuck and a Coffin (two very prominent names in the story). So, that song has special meaning to me.
Finally some props to Kings X . They are still in my heavy rotation and it aged well. Dogman definitely is their best work. Watching these Rock and Metal UA-camrs this might be the first time of recognition and that disappoints me to no end.
King's X is the ultimate underrated band. How about a ranking the albums for King's X (Sorry if you have done it already, but I did not see it)
He’s not a fan of Kings X.
Pete doesn't like their singing but I agree with you completely about Kings X.
He literally says in the video he's been asked a million times but doesn't have the interest or knowledge.
King’s X and Galactic Cowboys for a thrashier take on that sound!
Was lucky to see dUg play on the Experience Hendrix tour last year.....still sounding & playing great!!
This was hard for me to choose, and I'm going to list these bands because they rarely play hits on Classic Rock stations.
1. Uriah Heep
2. Thin Lizzy
3. Rainbow
4. Budgie
5. Camel
6. Marillion
7. Saxon
Be bop deluxe.....check out ,axe victim. Made I.n heaven .sister seagull.
.blazing apostles...😎👍
Great acts of the 70 and early 80s heavy scene
RAINBOW WAS PRETTY BIG. MY OLDER BROTHER GOT ME INTO THEM IN HIGH SCHOOL. URIAH HEEP WAS
BIG IN US UNTIL 82. THE LIVE ALBUM IS STILL ONE OF MY FAVORITES. RAINBOW RISING CLASSIC!
THIN LIZZY MY FAV BAND ALL VERSIONS EXCEPT JOHN SYKES WHO RUINED THUNDER & LIGHTNING.
STILL A GREAT HEAVY ALBUM BUT CHINATOWN AND BLACK ROSE MY TWO FAVORITE LIZZY.
@@elvinposey5251 Have you super glued the Caps Lock?
Great show love the topic, my top three grossly underrated bands.
1- Sensational Alex Harvey Band
2- Be Bop Deluxe
3- Captain Beyond
Donald Duck Alex was the man!!!!
Steve Evans Bill Nelson such an underrated guitarist. Absolute monster player as good as any of the big names.
Steve Evans
Me too. Sunburst Finish and Modern Music are great albums ! Bill Nelson, a fantastic guitarist & songwriter.
@@keithf_ Was fortunate enough to see Be Bop Deluxe live on the Modern Music tour. Bill Nelson made a life long impression on me that night with his other worldly guitar skills. A true 70’s guitar god on par with any of the bigger names.
Captain Beyond
I never saw BBD live sadly. I often think Bill Nelson was influenced by David Bowie's stage persona. In any case, the BBD albums rank right up there with any album Bowie released. BBD a much much underrated band.
Shooting Star, Marillion, Saxon, Y&T, IQ, Pendragon, Poco, Saga, Triumph, Krokus
Y&T yes! still doing it putting out great albums. Ten is my favorite album but Mean Streak is killer.
Shooting Star is extraordinary and should have been one of the biggest acts of the 80s and beyond.
A couple of bands I still enjoy to this day...
Zebra
Raven (fun fact: They brought Metallica on tour in 1983)
Raven, absolutely! You know they have a new album out called "Metal City"?
@@RickNBacker I didn't know this. Just checked it out. John's still got it goin' on! Definitely gonna pick it up!
Rick N Backer Great album heard it yesterday. Metal church has a new one to. Metal 🤘🏻Rules
zebra yes
@@bengalgangster Yes Zebra. I actually listen to 3.V quite a bit. Solid.
Manfred Mann's Earth Band for me... I felt like I was in a secret society liking them back in the 70's but the 'Roaring silence', 'Watch' and 'Angel Station' were albums that I really loved and still do.
🤜🤛
I agree, me too.
solar fire was pretty good aswell
King's X, hell yeah. It shouldn't be surprising that they were saddled with being a Christian band at first, considering both Doug Pinnick and Jerry Gaskill played in Phil Keaggy's band (Phil being one of the few Christian artists known for his guitar work, especially in his 1960s/1970s band Glass Harp) and met Ty Tabor when his band opened for Keaggy, but they were never a "worship" band like Petra, Carmen, or so many of the bands that followed in their wake--even at their most overtly Christian, King's X were more interested in criticizing its history of violence against outside thinkers (Pleiades is about the execution of Galileo at the hands of the Roman Catholic Inquisition) or its current day hypocrisies (Mission, which questioned the real "mission" of preachers, televangelists in particular). Even the song about "not looking for a one night stand," Goldilox, has some added weight to it since Doug came out as gay in 1997, considering the stereotype of homosexuals being incapable of any form of monogamy (which still seems to persist despite years of fighting for the right to marriage, an institution heterosexuals take so far for granted that 50% of theirs end in divorce). And I still love the line "this is church, this is state, rock and roll amazing grace" from Wonder.
“ about the execution of Galileo at the hands of the Roman Catholic Inquisition”
Galileo was not executed.
James Fetherston Weird, the lyrics even say “burned his body” as if he was, but your right. Pleiades is definitely a homage to Galileo, but they don’t specifically name him. They also make the mistake of claiming he was saying the world was spherical when he was actually putting forth the heliocentric model of the earth revolving around the sun. Maybe they were compositing multiple historical scientists into one, or maybe they were just mistaken.
James Fetherston he was, of course, tried for heresy.
SO.MUCH.THIS. CRIMINALLY underrated, as a band and as individual artists...
So what the heck is wrong with singing about your faith - if you're a Christian, that is.
Bands sing about Buddhist and Hindu concepts, and other faith/religious materials in their songs. But, shhhh if you're a Christian. For Heaven's (oops) sake, keep it under wraps or your recording will be on the scrapheap. Hypocrisy at its ugliest. Can't folks just enjoy the music and poetry? No one thinks they're going to convert you through a song. But faith is a very important aspect of life to many people, so why shouldn't they sing about it?
So many to choose from here, but for me, ZEBRA is at the top of my list. They had the fastest selling album in Atlantic Records history, and that includes Led Zeppelin (who were also signed to their label). Zebra is also still together (45 years, same lineup) and currently working on a new album. Incredible!
THE CHURCH..... criminally underrated!
LOVE AND MONEY as well. Both fantastic bands, with masterclass musicianship and songwriting!
Absolutely agree with The Church ...
I think Riot was a great band with each singer they had! Kind of just like a guest vocalist feeling looking back after Reale... #PetePardoArmy #PetePardoNation #BigMeatPete #SplashYourSeaOfTranquilityAllOverMyFace
Great band, one of the few US bands of the time to run with the NWOBHM hordes. Saw them in the UK a few times once supporting Saxon and they gave it their best shot.
Forerunners of the NWoBHM and well received by that movement
I wonder if Riot got mixed up in the shuffle next to Quiet Riot? If one would say "have you checked out Riot?...the answer might have been "The bang your head guy's??
@@offtherealm5438 this was a bad thing for Riot, that success of quite Riot with their hit single Cum on feel the noise
@@laurenzgraffilpenstein8117 Yeah, shame really, in my opinion the New York Riot were the superior band.
1. Wildhearts
2. Hanoi Rocks
3. Golden Earring
The Dutch band Golden Earring wasn't really under rated as they have been huge in Europe 4 five decades and were popular for 5 yrs here twice.
HANOI ROCKS TWO STEPS ALBUM IS MY FAV SHOULD'VE MADE THEM HUGE.
STILL ONE OF MY FAV ALBUMS. JUST MADE A DVD OFF UA-cam OF THEM LIVE IN 83.
- Tygers of Pan Tang!
They are sooo underrated
Definitely.
Clutch, Warrior Soul, Mindfunk, Be Bop Deluxe, The Melvins, Camel, The Stranglers, The Church, Budgie, Anathema, Antimatter, Jane, I could go on and on but got to stop it somewhere.
Warrior Soul & Mindfunk were AWESOME. However, they put out too few albums, IMO. I think that may knock them off the list. Not a bad list. Good deal.
Jeffrey Robinson great list, especially THE CHURCH! Definetly one of the best and most prolific acts around. 26 albums into their career and a new album out soon.
I'm sure I'll forget some, but here's a few..
Living Colour, King's X, Badlands, Blue Murder, Saigon Kick, Warrior Soul, Dirty Looks, TNT, Extreme, and more I'm forgetting. A lot of these fall into that metal/grunge changeover bsd timing issue, while others kind of defy easy categorizstion.
Riot and savatage
Preach
...and Armored Saint
Savatage you bet
RIOT one of my fav bands up until the original singer left. Fire Down Under should have been HUGE in America!
The band Tnt are really underrated in the 80s imo, their sound in their early albums is really heavy with a little judas priest influence before changing their sound to a more unique aor rock sound in their late 80s albums, great band and still releasing music today👍
Great, great band. Knights of the New Thunder is really underrated, I don't think there's anyway that album wasn't a huge influence on power metal.
Love ‘Tell no Tales’ and ‘Intuition.’ Classic Metal.
I concur ! TNT is a great band, and Ronni Le Tekrø a shredder. IMO the one who's really underrated from TNT and seldom mentioned in any circle is Tony Harnell. Harnell's vocals are killer!
Cool show. In addition to Pete's last two, which are two of my all time favorites, here's my list:
Shooting Star
Warrior Soul
Zebra
Metal Church
April Wine
Helix
Everyone still remembers Lynrd Skynrd (apologies for the spelling) but Blackfoot have been lost in time. Their first album is superb.
Amen! Reservations was an incredible album! If Skynyrd was the southern rock torch bearers, Blackfoot is the southern METAL king!
Blackfoot is still one of my favorite bands. Saw them twice in the 80s. Once as headliners and the other opening for Ted Nugent and Cheap Trick. By the time the 90s rolled around , they were playing in small clubs. I was glad to be able to see them so close up front but I never understood why they didn't retain coliseum status.
Riot, wow! Great twin guitar sounds. Guy Sperenza, powerful singer with a Bon Scott voice like. Fire Down Under (1981) is a fantastic album with great heavy songs. Followed by Restless Breed & Born In America with Rhett Forrester bluesy voice singer, had their very good moments too. A career that deserve more than this. Thanks Pete & Martin for your great comments about Riot.
I think Rhett had way more of a Bon Scott vibe than Guy.
Agree with all 6 bands mentioned here...maybe a show on overrated bands now? Other underrated imo:
Angel City
Enuff z' Nuff
Saga
Coney Hatch
Voivod(i.e. Gentle Giant syndrome i guess)
Enuff Z'Nuff writes great Rock songs.
Angel City first U.S. album I remember...I had years ago, but it got shuffled to a used record store when I was a poor student, in the eighties. Good stuff though. Every song on that was solid.
The Angels(angel city) are my favourite Aussie band. Great albums also a live album of theirs ‘liveline’ is as good as made in Japan by deep purple. Everyone should check it out. Voivod is excellent as well.
What is the Gentle Giant syndrome?
Thin Lizzy, Iced Earth and Savatage is top of my list.
1990's Iced Earth was as good as any metal band at that time. They were like the perfect blend of Metallica heavy and Maiden melodic. Plus Matt Barlow's vocals were just phenomenal! Shouldve broke way bigger!
UFO had many songs that should have been radio hits , such as Out in the Streets , Cherry , Looking Out For No. 1 , and Space Child
AGREED. NO PLACE TO RUN ONE OF MY FAV SONGS. WILD WILLING INNOCENT. ONLY YOU CAN ROCK ME
SHOULD'VE BEEN A BIG HIT SINGLE IN 78 FOR THEM. IT WASN'T. TRAGIC.
The Tubes, The Damned, The Stranglers, Sparks, Stereolab, Nick Drake, Laura Nyro, Jason Falkner.
Uriah Heep, Atomic Rooster, Golden Earring, Yesterday &Today, Demon, Heavy Load, Buffalo (Australia), Picture, Flames (Greece)...
I agree with Martin...I know from past episodes Pete isn't a fan...But I love King's X...no bad albums in my opinion and the album Ear Candy is sooo yummy....gave me a rock and roll cavity🤘😝
The Cult, to me, should have been even bigger than they were...
They were pretty big actually for a few years...just couldn't sustain it. They have 4-5 gold and /or platinum albums in a row. Most bands would kill for that.
@Alberto Ramirez Totally agree with you!!
@@seaoftranquilityprog the Cult is awesome! Is an album ranking in the works?
@@seaoftranquilityprog just to be clear we're not talking about Blue Oyster Cult
The Cult is one of my favorite bands. Ian Astbury and Billy Duffy are gods
BOC and Thin Lizzy. Yeah, people know them....but they only know maybe 3 or 4 of their songs in spite of each band having lots of terrific songs. I know these 2 bands don't fit the criteria for "underrated" set forth by Pete and Martin but they're the first 2 bands that come to mind.
BOC had two platinum and 4 gold albums.
@@independenceltd. Yeah...and most people can still only name 3 or 4 of their songs.
Two of my favorite rock bands
Silverhead,Quartz,Detective totally underated
@@b2tall239Mirrors and I Love the Night are phantastic, Buck rules!!
I've always found Wishbone Ash to be one of the most underrated bands out there. Argus is a masterpiece.
Thank God they never broke up, and sre still kicking butt!
Keith Rulong
Who never broke up ? Wishbone Ash ?
Big band bust-up. Only 1 of the 4 original members is still there. Loved the band in the 1970s. Much less good since then, although their latest release 'Coat of Arms' is something of a return to form.
@@keithf_ correct Wishbone Ash never broke up. 51 years and still going. Granted only 1 original member left. But so what? As long as I can go to a club and hear their music I'm happy!
Keith Rulong
Yeah ... but for me ONLY the original line-up matters. Although There's The Rub and New England (with Laurie Wisefield) were fantastic albums.
PS Favourite track is Throw Down The Sword, which I've always felt Andy Powell completely murders when playing live. Just my personal opinion.
Too many favorites to list. As far as I'm concerned Andy Powell taught me how to play guitar.
Budgie, B.O.C., Thin Lizzy, Max Webster, Riot, Jaguar, Manilla Road, Cirith Ungol.... All underrated!!!
Speaking of Vanderhoof, Metal Church is a super underrated one.
Killing Joke, most underrated band of the world !
Brighter Than A Thousand Suns..one of the best albums of all time.
My underrated top ten
BeBop Deluxe
Crack The Sky
Budgie
Head East
Camel
Angel City
Trooper
Moxy
Wishbone Ash
Rory Gallagher
The Angels(Angel city), The Stranglers are two of the most under rated bands ever. The Angels should have been as big as ac/dc.
Overkill should’ve been bigger then the big four imo. They have the most consistent catalog.
Riot and omen
Sensational Alex Harvey Band (Maybe too eclectic for some) - Amazing front man with a really solid band backing him up
Derringer - Maybe could have used a top end singer but exceptional guitar work
Anything with Johnny Winter
Currently blasting Johnny's "Second Winter" and oh my lord does Winter peel paint with blistering solos and golden riffs......great vocals too! He and Edgar just drip with musicality-if there are two more talented brothers in rock and roll, I haven't heard it! Great mention!
Budgie should have been top of this list. A great band with a sense of humour severely lacking in a lot of bands.
Angel were highly underrated
Morbid Angel?
No, 70’s prog/glam/ hard rock band Angel
@@curtharvilla958 haven't heard of them. Have you heard the Black Angels?
The Godfathers of Glam....#1 greatest band ever.
Angel yes! as a KISS fan in 70's I loved the look style and bought all their albums. the last one Sinful
was their best 'radio' friendly song with numerous hits that weren't hits! favorite album was White HOT!
The angles face to face !!!!
THE MOST underrated album of AllTIME
4x platinum australia 1978
Face To Face
Back in the day, I always thought Tesla was very underrated. Other mentions: Saigon Kick, Overkill, Night Ranger, Extreme. I have to admit I had forgotten about Love/Hate, will have to revisit their albums, thanks Martin.
Edit: Why Do You Think They Call it Dope, I had forgotten about this song from Love/Hate, the bass is insane in this song, I think Pete will like this, same as the drums on "One More Round".
Great show, I could listen to you guys discuss bands and music for hours on end. Keep up the great work!
Speaking of Jim Morrison, Martin, as a fellow Canadian, I'm sure you agree that "The Tea Party" (from Windsor, Ontario, Canada) is a CRIMINALLY underrated band!!! They really need more exposure. They released insanely amazing albums throughout the 90's and 2000's!
They sure were a great band. I sent Ray manzarek a copy of their videos DVD. And the doors asked Jeff Martin to be their lead singer for the Doors of the 21st century and he turned them down.
This is really interesting, compelling and amazing discussion/show. This combination of Pete and Martin is truly remarkable. My favorite duo when it comes to in depth, critical music discussion.
I would love to see some real discussion between Pete and Martin with two opinions. Actually that never happens on SOT.
As already mentioned : Be Bop Deluxe for sure
These guys should have been bigger :
Max Webster
Little Feat
Los Lobos
Max Webster were huge in Canada. They filled arenas. Maybe too quirky for the rest of the world.
It Bites from my home county of Cumbria in the UK. Great band that just didn’t get the credit they deserved. Listen to the live album‘Thankyou and Goodnight’ to see what I mean.
Always puzzled that the British band ,Thunder were not huge in the States. Terrific band. Seem them many of times over the years. Great lead singer. Maybe Grunge killed them ?
A few bands that should have been bigger, and/or deserved more: Gentle Giant (too good for their own good), Can, Fishbone, Faith No More (they had decent success, but...), Mandrill, XTC, King's X, Queen City Kids, Sparks.
I know I'm forgetting many more...
Can is good. Fishbone has a Hollywood house they throw some wild parties at, at least they used to....
Mandrill was great, also, little known, Rasputin`s Stash.
MANDRILL!!!! 🤜🤛
This is great stuff! Warrior Soul. Got lumped into the grudge sound, but from New York and a few years before the alt-rock thing began. Give them a go. Lost in the grudge.
Interesting that where you were WS were considered alongside grunge. Nice perspective.
Two of my favorite, UFO and Y&T, both underrated. Not here but in general.
Ram Jam everybody knows the band for Black Betty from their first album but the second one took the band to another level its better than the debut and sadly never got recognized.
Ram Jam merits an episode of their own.
Second that.
Type O Negative, Accept, Saxon, and Fates Warning
I 💗Type O Negative
I love Type O Negative, but they sold millions of records. Can't really say underrated.
@@brucefranklin6295, That's debatable. Bloody Kisses went platinum and October Rust went gold. It's not like they were a band that released numerous multiplatinum albums. I'd say their somewhat underrated.
@@ryanantler184 Well,they weren't Def Leppard or AC/DC,but they were even bigger in Europe than in the states and while they weren't superstars,they did sell millions of albums. Even now,look at their videos on UA-cam. They have multi-millions of views.Tough for me to call that underrated.
@@brucefranklin6295 Never mind bands like AC/DC or Def Leppard. Im comparing Type O Negative to their peers. Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam,Tool, STP, Smashing Pumpkins ect. Were all more successful in terms of album sales and concert attendance. Unfortunately, TON never reached that level of mainstream success.
Another great show, as usual ! I have to go with Camel, Caravan, and Nektar and last but not least Hawkwind.
Cool choises
Been singing the praises of Fire Down Under for almost 40 years. Just a great, kick-ass record!
Should be on every list
Guy Speranza from RIOT was an incredible singer. Saw them in ‘81 promoting Fire Down Under, when they opened for Frank Marino & Triumph (The Power Of Rock & Roll & Allied Forces tours, respectively).
Interestingly, Guy left RIOT disillusioned with the Rock & touring life, ultimately becoming a Christian.
Later he moved with his family to Florida and sadly passed away in 2003 due to pancreatic cancer.
Check out the excellent live recording of RIOT’s Road Racin’ on 1980’s Castle Donington: Monsters Of Rock album; also featuring great live songs by Touch, April Wine, Saxon, Scorpions & Rainbow (Graham Bonnet phase).
The Pretty Things. Heavier than The Stones during the British Invasion. Ahead of The Kinks and The Who doing concept albums/rock operas. Still made HEAVY albums till the end (check out Balboa Station) - their last record just came out, a few months after we lost Phil May.
I think Y & T was very underrated. I loved this band. So much great music. They had a small degree of success but with Meniketti's vocals and fantastic guitar playing, I honestly feel they should have been way bigger!!
Riot
Angel
Shooting Star
Zebra
Holland
Malice
TT Quick
Blackfoot
Great call on Malice. I really dig License to Kill.
@@joint2joint2k 👍 RIP Mick Zane. I saw them at this show, opening for Nazareth ua-cam.com/video/fSOZ2SDUknw/v-deo.html
Shooting Star is on my list, too.
Angel and Blackfoot certainly brother. Shooting star are one of the best bands on the planet too. how about BOC, Magnum, Y&T?
Shooting Star would be appreciated by any fan of the rock genre. They were so regional, quite big here in Cincinnati. I interviewed Van McClain for my college newspaper. Love them!
I have just one band off the top of my head. This does require a qualification because, at one point, they were one of the biggest rock bands on the planet. What do I mean? Who do I mean? The band in question is Journey. The qualifier in question is their original incarnation, their original musical direction and sound.
Perhaps no other band has such a Jekyll-and-Hyde dynamic regarding their music as Journey does. I love those first 3 LPs and, in fact, Look Into the Future is on my short list of all time favorite albums. However, the record sales weren't there and so, as I understand things, they were in danger of being dropped by their label. So in comes Perry and a whole new musical direction and with it, a trip to the stratosphere. Be that as it may, I think their initial sound was something special.
(My apologies for bending the rules some.) 😎
Atomic Rooster, loved ‘Death Walks Behind You’ saw them live. They should have been at a premiere theatre ala Rainbow or Hammersmith Odeon . They were playing a small college in the town of Rugby UK. Underrated for sure. Got to meet Vincent Crane after the show, he was very gracious and asked if we’d enjoyed the show.
My favorite keyboard/organ player of all time
Thin Lizzy, Savatage and Iced Earth the 3 with the highest quality discographies of underrated bands IMO
We have same taste lol
King’s X are the definitive underrated band for me.
Some others that I loved were
Zebra
Metal Church
Trouble
Jellyfish
The Posies
Riot, Savatage, Fastway, Cry of Love to name a few underrated bands.
Fastest should have done so much better. First two albums are great, third was a sound track that was way better than the movie. I actually liked the movie, lol
Good call with Fastway!
Cry of Love still one of my fav bands. Loved those guys. saw them a few times live.
Bands like Iced Earth, Helloween, Gamma Ray, Primal Fear, Angra, Shaman,Viper, Masterplan, and Blind Guardian in my opinion are underated, and should have been way bigger than are.
Great episode - and 10/10 to Martin for bringing on King's X. Such a fantastic, underrated band. Oh, and Riot were superb as well, especially during the Guy Speranza years.
I totally agree with all your choices. King’s X is always the go to for sure on this subject. One of the bands that I always thought should have been bigger is Armored Saint. They haven’t put out a bad album ever.
Y&T, KING'S X, THE TEA PARTY, GOLDEN EARRING, ELOY, BIGELF, ALEX HARVEY BAND, ANGEL, FRANK MARINO/MAHOGANY RUSH, GRAND FUNK RAILROAD, TRIUMPH, SAVATAGE, MOUNTAIN, WISHBONE ASH, SAVOY BROWN, RIOT, MANFRED MANN'S EARTH BAND...
Triumph definately. The problem is u can't find there albums here.
@@kennethschultz4910 you can't find any?Why is it hard? Get albums from the internet Kenneth. You can find all of their works...in good prices.
I prefer buying the vinyl from the store. Don't like to wait plus if you buy online there's always a chance they get damaged.
@Steve Evans With people unfortunately only knowing Radar Love (which is a great song by the way), is a real shame, because they have a tone of incredible albums with marvellous songs. GE are truly one of the most unique bands but also most underrated of all time. A band full of heart and passion.
The Tony Martin fronted Black Sabbath is extremely underrated.
💯💯💯💯💯💯
Tony Martin & Ronnie James Dio’s I Always thought they sounded 🎤A bit Similar. This Proves Tony Was Underratted ! Ronnie is Thee Eternal Idol 🤟 Hey a Black Sabbath Coincidence🇺🇸😎
Absolutely man!
cross purposes is so undervalued - all his records are - but that makes my top 10 sabbath list always
AGREED
I like a little drop of Kings X myself, although over her in England I've always thought of them as Kings Cross.
I always wondered about that especially with their Christian aspect I.e. Jesus’s crucifix. Perhaps I am looking too deep.
Two similar sounding bands that I thought should have been bigger are Leatherwolf and Lizzy Borden, both heavy with catchy riffs and great vocals. Also Giant deserved to be bigger but like a lot of bands just came at the wrong time for commercial success, Last of the Runaways is a great album.
Blue Oyster Cult
Golden Earring. Most people only know two songs..
They put out about seven Great albums in a row and their later stuff got boring even though I bought their CDs yes they are probably one of the number one underrated ones among some more I guess
Screaming Trees were just as good as any of their fellow Seattle bands. Should have been huge.
Eventually, they achieved more with "Sweet Oblivion". Lanegan is an amazing songwriter
Shocking Blue is my pick for the most underrated band of the late 60's and early 70's.
Agreed. Seriously ignored in the USA. Fantastic band
@@waynewaltz466 They had a #1 hit in the USA, so they weren't totally ignored...
Warrior Soul; massively underrated.
Yes Yes Yes 👌
Love Warrior Soul. Definitely way way underrated.
when i first saw the title of your video, my two thoughts were starz and angel...so thank you mr. popoff...you could possibly say that be bop deluxe was underrated.....they were amazing...triumph also....personally i think the shirts were very underrated, but that might have something to do with my time at cbgb's....but i do love their three albums....anyway...here's to all musicians everywhere...peace and playing good music always...rocky
ON the Thrash Front, I would argue Death Angel and to a lesser extent Testament were underrated in that they could and I think maybe should be up their with the Big Four.
Having seen all of the Big 4 bands and a handful of other thrash bands, I couldn't agree more with Death Angel. Saw them about two years ago in a dive bar and they put on easily one of the best shows I've seen in ages. Maybe 100 people there and the majority of the audience had no idea who or what they were seeing but Death Angel played it like they were headlining Madison Square Garden. I'd been a casual fan for awhile but I never knew just how good they were until that night.
@@andypostema4269 their new stuff is really good too check it out. I saw them at a gig in S.F. where Halford headlined before the Priest reunion. Death angel and Violence stole the show.