Underrated albums, that aren't by obscure bands

Patricide

So been listening to a lot of my music collection today and i realized there are a lot of gems in there that not a lot of people listen to. Im not talking about some underground black/death/hardcore bands either theirs some greatness in there by bands who have had some good solid mainstream exposure through magazines such as metal hammer and terrorizer.

Il start off with Chimairas Resurrection

Most of the tracks on this album are killer, the songwriting is modern metal with melody and thrash and hardcore influences, its brilliantly executed with fine musicmanship and lets not forget the killer instrumental on the album "six". Yet most people didn't even give this one a chance.

Next up is a double entry for Deftones with both There self titled and Saturday Night wrist.

I can understand both of these albums came after white pony which is always going to mean that its going to be compared to it, and i can also understand that there a bit of a departure from there heavier earlier stuff but the albums in themselves at least in my opinion are excellent in every way, them being two of my favorite Deftones albums.

Another one I really never understood was Reinventing the steel by Pantera.

Sure a lot of people will say that this is a classic album. Its true it is, but the thing i never get is why its regarded as one of Pantera's worst...then again i dont think they had a bad major release album.

Other honorable mentions i can think of are:

Staind - Chapter V:

Some solid musicianship and melody along with a less commercial edge makes this easily there best album to date. Its less of the whiney stuff that turns a lot of people off every other staind album. Its a must listen in my books.

Static X - Shadow Zone: There poppiest most radio friendly album. If you take it for that its surprisingly good. If you dont well then your left to wonder, what is this shIot?

Soulfly - Dark Ages:

Some handy guitar work from mark rizzo and some old school brutality from max cavelera. Its not sepultura but apart from that whats not to like!

Papa Roach - Lovehatetradgedy:

Yeah il probably get lynched for this one but its one step away from the cliche nu metal sound and one step before they went all glam like with this "NU sunset strip" malarky. Some catchy tunes in it, the singles were muck though.

Faith No More - King For A Day Fool For A Lifetime:

Out of all of faith no mores catalogue this one gets overlooked FAR too often.

Decapitated - Organic Haulosis:

Some of the tightest catchiest technical death metal ever recorded in my opinion. They even manage to mix in a little meshuggah style riffage in there too at points. A lot of people were put off by the change in singers which i find is an injustice.

So, thats my pick of the litter, what do you guys reckon. Any of those albums justified/unjustified. What albums would you put in that list?

Jako8

I thought that SOAD's Steal This Album was very under-rated.

Mozzeltoff

I am probably going to get an awful going over for this but I just can't help it.

I think Metallicas Load and ReLoad albums are very underrated..I mean it's a BIG departure from the old stuff and I know it left alot of hardcore fans scratching their heads about what the hell they were doing BUT in my opinion if you forget the fact that a "metal" band made these albums and just focus on the music you will actually like it!Ok there is one or two dodgy tracks but still they are worth listening to!And if anything these albums show James Hetfields love for the blues..nothing so wrong about that!:)

Patricide

Mozzeltoff wrote: »

I am probably going to get an awful going over for this but I just can't help it.

I think Metallicas Load and ReLoad albums are very underrated..I mean it's a BIG departure from the old stuff and I know it left alot of hardcore fans scratching their heads about what the hell they were doing BUT in my opinion if you forget the fact that a "metal" band made these albums and just focus on the music you will actually like it!Ok there is one or two dodgy tracks but still they are worth listening to!And if anything these albums show James Hetfields love for the blues..nothing so wrong about that!:)

Il agree here. Taken as a separate from the first 5 albums they really are pretty good! The only thing is that at the time people wanted another black album. I think maybe in another 10 years they will be held in much higher regard than they are now.

cournioni

Slayer - Divine Intervention.

Great aggressive album.

Mental Mickey

PORNAPSTER wrote: »

Slayer - Divine Intervention.

Great aggressive album.

They went rubbish after this, though....

An album that I think is extremely underrated, is "Load" by Metallica.

Some great songs on there, with this being the highlight for me: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pntfxi5vZ_8

Patricide

I dunno, id rate god hates us all pretty highly. Its defiantly one of the angriest albums ive ever heard. Not so trashy like traditional slayer but man is it heavy.

buck65

Diabolus In Musica , much maligned but to me is one of the better latter day Slayer albums.

Mozzeltoff

Patricide wrote: »

Il agree here. Taken as a separate from the first 5 albums they really are pretty good! The only thing is that at the time people wanted another black album. I think maybe in another 10 years they will be held in much higher regard than they are now.

I hold these two albums in high regard as it is!Load was the first Metallica album I bought when I was first starting to get into them and I thought every song on that album was solid gold!When I started getting into their earlier stuff then I had a greater apreciation for them.

Jako8

Oh and Scars on Broadways self-titled album.

I really enjoyed it.

Schism

Patricide wrote: »

So been listening to a lot of my music collection today and i realized there are a lot of gems in there that not a lot of people listen to. Im not talking about some underground black/death/hardcore bands either theirs some greatness in there by bands who have had some good solid mainstream exposure through magazines such as metal hammer and terrorizer.

Il start off with Chimairas Resurrection

Most of the tracks on this album are killer, the songwriting is modern metal with melody and thrash and hardcore influences, its brilliantly executed with fine musicmanship and lets not forget the killer instrumental on the album "six". Yet most people didn't even give this one a chance.

I'd definitely agree with this. It's a great album pretty much for beginning to end. It does take a few listens to really grow on you though.

waltersobchak

I think The Razors Edge by ACDC is a ridiculously underrated album its got some of their best songs on it but no one seems to really rate it

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BfTXI6jwM4

my other choice would be The Divison Bell by Pink Floyd, its a awesome album but because Roger Waters didnt write it, people dont give it the credit it deserved imo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ClBdZzn5dD8

ride-the-spiral

Schism wrote: »

I'd definitely agree with this. It's a great album pretty much for beginning to end. It does take a few listens to really grow on you though.

Six is an awesome song. Never really been that much into Chimaira but this albums good.

calerbass

Would have to say Evil Invaders by Razor and Unveiling the Wicked by Exciter are two very under rated albums.

buck65

Waters slammed this when it came out , said it was laughable, therefore alot of critics bowed down to the prick and agreed without it getting an unbiased review. It is a decent record, some good songs, a bit of filler but a lot of Floyds later albums were like that.
Certainly not laughable.

Kess73

buck65 wrote: »

Waters slammed this when it came out , said it was laughable, therefore alot of critics bowed down to the prick and agreed without it getting an unbiased review. It is a decent record, some good songs, a bit of filler but a lot of Floyds later albums were like that.
Certainly not laughable.

Have to say I love the Division Bell, and it would be one of my favourite PF albums.

stringbox

Are High On Fire obscure?

Their album Death Is This Communion is amazing and totally worth checking out.
Don't be turned off by the sh tty production values of Blessed Black Wings.

kona

Motley Crue- Motley Crue.

Hooligans Holiday, Misunderstood are excellent tunes.

Infact you could throw Generation Swine in there, that album was 10years ahead of itself.

fluke

Mozzeltoff wrote: »

I am probably going to get an awful going over for this but I just can't help it.

I think Metallicas Load and ReLoad albums are very underrated..I mean it's a BIG departure from the old stuff and I know it left alot of hardcore fans scratching their heads about what the hell they were doing BUT in my opinion if you forget the fact that a "metal" band made these albums and just focus on the music you will actually like it!Ok there is one or two dodgy tracks but still they are worth listening to!And if anything these albums show James Hetfields love for the blues..nothing so wrong about that!:)

I remember mentioning Load in a similar thread a a while back and got a few responses from people saying "it's got 5 K's in Kerrang and (the equivalent) top rating in Metal Hammer how can it possibly be underrated?"

However, anytime I look on threads referring to Metallica, people completely diss Load and Reload. Load to me is Metallica at the height of their creative peak. It is not a metal album which many fans wanted, but it is a collection of songs that the band clearly wanted to make and were passionate about. I even love the sleeve pics as they poke fun at the whole macho metal thing.

One of my favourite rock albums.

Reload isn't great as a long player but has some decent moments scattered here and there e.g. Where The Wild Things Are is unusual but I like it cos of that.

I wish they played more cuts from these albums live (and no I don't just mean Fuel & The Memory Remains), but they seem to be playing strictly metal songs these days. Nothing wrong with playing metal but listen to Lars banging the **** out of an upside down tin of roses is painful (live, on St. Anger, & on Death Magnetic).

Rant over.

Other albums worth mentioning:

The last Audioslave album - Revelations. Not classic, but decent.
Page & Plant - Walking Into Clarksdale. Brill.

waltersobchak

fluke wrote: »

I remember mentioning Load in a similar thread a a while back and got a few responses from people saying "it's got 5 K's in Kerrang and (the equivalent) top rating in Metal Hammer how can it possibly be underrated?"

However, anytime I look on threads referring to Metallica, people completely diss Load and Reload. Load to me is Metallica at the height of their creative peak. It is not a metal album which many fans wanted, but it is a collection of songs that the band clearly wanted to make and were passionate about. I even love the sleeve pics as they poke fun at the whole macho metal thing.

One of my favourite rock albums.

Reload isn't great as a long player but has some decent moments scattered here and there e.g. Where The Wild Things Are is unusual but I like it cos of that.

I wish they played more cuts from these albums live (and no I don't just mean Fuel & The Memory Remains), but they seem to be playing strictly metal songs these days. Nothing wrong with playing metal but listen to Lars banging the **** out of an upside down tin of roses is painful (live, on St. Anger, & on Death Magnetic).

Rant over.

Other albums worth mentioning:

The last Audioslave album - Revelations. Not classic, but decent.
Page & Plant - Walking Into Clarksdale. Brill.

To be honest i always loved Load and would go to far as to say it has at 2 of the greatest songs Metallica ever wrote in Bleeding Me and The Outlaw Torn, and i completely agree although it got great critical reviews, amongst fans i dont think it gets the credit it deserves, but i think if they had of actually released Load and Reload as one album with no filler on it, it would have been their best album by a mile imo

hitlersson666

Jako8 wrote: »

Oh and Scars on Broadways self-titled album.

I really enjoyed it.

+1 thats a really good album

Somnus

I think Opeth's Ghost Reveries is a fantastic album. You don't really hear much mention of it though and Mike Akerfeldt has said in interviews none of the other members of the band said they liked it :P

I love it though. Great running story and really atmospheric. It's very focused or something.

I know metalheads who have never heard Bonded by blood - Exodus when its one of the best metal albums ever made.

Kess73

LittleNipper wrote: »

I know metalheads who have never heard Bonded by blood - Exodus when its one of the best metal albums ever made.

Age plays a big part in people not knowing some of the great albums from the 80's. There is almost a scary amount of music that I loved back then that draws a blank look on faces when it gets mentioned.

Then again for younger metalheads it must be great as they have decades of new music to explore if they were not around to hear the 70's, 80's and 90's the first time around.

Kess73

Kess73 wrote: »

Age plays a big part in people not knowing some of the great albums from the 80's. There is almost a scary amount of music that I loved back then that draws a blank look on faces when it gets mentioned.

Then again for younger metalheads it must be great as they have decades of new music to explore if they were not around to hear the 70's, 80's and 90's the first time around.

Im a young metaller myself and am shocked when people older than me have never even heard of them or say " didnt kirk hammet used to be in that band or something":mad:

Kess73

LittleNipper wrote: »

Im a young metaller myself and am shocked when people older than me have never even heard of them or say " didnt kirk hammet used to be in that band or something":mad:

I guess it is all relative. But I would be shocked myself if a metalhead from the 80's had not heard of Exodus.

Mind what I think is worse is when the age thing goes in reverse. As in older metalheads who end up with their taste stopping at a set decade and pretty much being close minded to new young bands.

And don't get me started on folk who get stuck in one genre of music. Way too much cool sh*t out there to not want to sample as much as possible.

hitlersson666

stringbox wrote: »

Are High On Fire obscure?

Their album Death Is This Communion is amazing and totally worth checking out.
Don't be turned off by the sh tty production values of Blessed Black Wings.

High on fire ROCK!!!!!!! i them. i can't wait for snakes for the divine lol and concidering it's releaced the same time as mastodon go on tour in the uk im hoping i'll be getting to see them as support

Sirsok

One Hot Minute-Red Hot Chilli Peppers......lot of chilli fans dont like it but i think its unreal.....a great funk rock album!!!!!!!!!!!!Navarro kicked ass

Mozzeltoff

fluke wrote: »

I remember mentioning Load in a similar thread a a while back and got a few responses from people saying "it's got 5 K's in Kerrang and (the equivalent) top rating in Metal Hammer how can it possibly be underrated?"

However, anytime I look on threads referring to Metallica, people completely diss Load and Reload. Load to me is Metallica at the height of their creative peak. It is not a metal album which many fans wanted, but it is a collection of songs that the band clearly wanted to make and were passionate about. I even love the sleeve pics as they poke fun at the whole macho metal thing.

One of my favourite rock albums.

Reload isn't great as a long player but has some decent moments scattered here and there e.g. Where The Wild Things Are is unusual but I like it cos of that.

I wish they played more cuts from these albums live (and no I don't just mean Fuel & The Memory Remains), but they seem to be playing strictly metal songs these days. Nothing wrong with playing metal but listen to Lars banging the **** out of an upside down tin of roses is painful (live, on St. Anger, & on Death Magnetic).

Rant over.

.

I agree with you whole heartedly on that one!As I have said Load was the first proper Metallica album I bought and I loved it!Ain't my bitch was and still is my song and to hear them play it live would be a dream come true!When I started getting into the older albums I had more of an appreciation for them for that transition from Trash metal to hard rock/metal.They lost alot of fans because of it but still I have more respect for them as musicians to at least experiment!Devil Dance,Where the wild things are and Fixxxer are three of my favourite songs from Reload,Low mans Lyric is a good enough too!

Adyx

Dunno if it's underrated as such but definitely under appreciated is Nirvana's Incesticide. When I was really into Nirvana, this album and Bleach got much more play time than Nevermind.

Patricide

Sirsok wrote: »

One Hot Minute-Red Hot Chilli Peppers......lot of chilli fans dont like it but i think its unreal.....a great funk rock album!!!!!!!!!!!!Navarro kicked ass

This, i think its one of there very best. Dark and funky, just the way i like it!

AxlRose1992

kona wrote: »

Motley Crue- Motley Crue.

Hooligans Holiday, Misunderstood are excellent tunes.

Infact you could throw Generation Swine in there, that album was 10years ahead of itself.

Nah, not a hope. Only song I think's good on that album is Loveshine. Motley Crue need Vince.

As for underrated albums, Chinese Democracy by Guns N' Roses is great, modern rock. Ppeople expected an old '80s feel but were let down.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cbyqqd2Lwp8

Another underrated album is Humanity: Hour I by Scorpions. Just a brilliant hard rock album. Really wierd because it has a very modern feel, but then most of the songs sound like they're from 1986!. One of my favourite Scorpions album. Lyrics are great as well.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1T0fcNS7Q4M

fluke

AxlRose1992 wrote: »

Nah, not a hope. Only song I think's good on that album is Loveshine. Motley Crue need Vince.

As for underrated albums, Chinese Democracy by Guns N' Roses is great, modern rock. Ppeople expected an old '80s feel but were let down.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cbyqqd2Lwp8

Another underrated album is Humanity: Hour I by Scorpions. Just a brilliant hard rock album. Really wierd because it has a very modern feel, but then most of the songs sound like they're from 1986!. One of my favourite Scorpions album. Lyrics are great as well.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1T0fcNS7Q4M

I only got a chance to listen to this recently. It's hard for me to know what to make of it, but it definitely does demand repeated listenings!

ADTR

Hopesfall - A-Types

thebigcheese22

Riot Act by Pearl Jam

Lullabies to Paralyse - QOTSA

fluke

thebigcheese22 wrote: »

Riot Act by Pearl Jam

Lullabies to Paralyse - QOTSA

Since the 00's everytime a new PJ album comes out, the die hard fans generally say 'oh they're crap now' e.g. when Binaural came out it was 'crap', then Riot Act came out and Binaural was 'good' but Riot Act was 'crap', then Pearl Jam came out and Riot Act was 'good'...Backspacer is out now and Pearl Jam is still well 'crap' from what I last read

I love 'em all though

Yeah Lullabies was a treat, i didn't know what to expect with Nick Olivieri having left the band, but that album was damn good!

300th post yay! That was some slog!

blindpilot

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KT60tUIdLfQ&feature=fvst

A personal fave from Lullabies To Paralyse

AxlRose1992

fluke wrote: »

Since the 00's everytime a new PJ album comes out, the die hard fans generally say 'oh they're crap now' e.g. when Binaural came out it was 'crap', then Riot Act came out and Binaural was 'good' but Riot Act was 'crap', then Pearl Jam came out and Riot Act was 'crap'...Backspacer is out now and Pearl Jam is still well 'crap' from what I last read

I love 'em all though

Yeah Lullabies was a treat, i didn't know what to expect with Nick Olivieri having left the band, but that album was damn good!

300th post yay! That was some slog!

I think Pearl Jam are great, including Backspacer. It's got a nice vibe about it. Force of Nature blows me away, one of the best songs I've heard in years. I think the artwork is great too.

Rubberlegs

Chinese Democracy definitely underrated, I think it was well worth the wait. Think Axl sounds just as good as he ever did. Lot of people seem disappointed with it, my OH hates it. Ah, the memories of Slane 92:D

Wooden Jesus

thebigcheese22 wrote: »

Riot Act by Pearl Jam

Lullabies to Paralyse - QOTSA

Ill agree with both, my favourite album from both bands

thebigcheese22

Wooden Jesus wrote: »

Ill agree with both, my favourite album from both bands

Ah now lets not go crazy....

Also from your username I presume you're a big fan of Temple of the Dog?

Its not that that album is underrated, if enough people heard it they'd agree its a masterpiece!

That_Guy

Clutch - From Beale Street to Oblivion.

Absolutely fantastic rock album with this song being one of the highlights for me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kx6FV2qR2TY

Red Hot Chili Peppers - Mother's Milk.

It's one of my favourite albums from them and for me has some of their most memorable songs on it. "Higher Ground" and "Pretty Little Ditty" which some of you may know from that Crazy Town song in which they ripped off a riff for use in that song.

Beekay

I'd have to go with Korn - Untouchables.
Has a very dark sound to it and went in a newer direction for Korn, Was one of the first albums I bought too.

Patricide

Il agree with this one. I hated it when it came out because it was different but now its the only Korn album i will listen to!

AxlRose1992

That_Guy wrote: »

Clutch - From Beale Street to Oblivion.

Absolutely fantastic rock album with this song being one of the highlights for me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kx6FV2qR2TY

Red Hot Chili Peppers - Mother's Milk.

It's one of my favourite albums from them and for me has some of their most memorable songs on it. "Higher Ground" and "Pretty Little Ditty" which some of you may know from that Crazy Town song in which they ripped off a riff for use in that song.

Wow, I've never heard of Clutch before, but I REALLY like that song. Might just have to download some of their albums. Thanks.

Kess73

That_Guy wrote: »

Clutch - From Beale Street to Oblivion.

Absolutely fantastic rock album with this song being one of the highlights for me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kx6FV2qR2TY

Red Hot Chili Peppers - Mother's Milk.

It's one of my favourite albums from them and for me has some of their most memorable songs on it. "Higher Ground" and "Pretty Little Ditty" which some of you may know from that Crazy Town song in which they ripped off a riff for use in that song.

Seeing as you mentioned Clutch, Strange Cousins From The West is another overlooked album.

OLP

Motorhead, nearly everything except Ace Of Spades and Overkill is massivly underrated.

The last album Motorizer had one or two dodgy tunes but for the most part was great.

The album Rock N Roll is also great, and the song Red Raw from Hammered is an utter beast.

March or Die aswell with Hellraiser and I Ain't No Nice guy. Brilliant songs.

fluke

I am warming to Chinese Democracy and I'm not even a GnR fan...perhaps that makes me more objective??

and oh for the hell of it...Libertad by Velvet Revolver is alright. It's not as good as Contraband but it's not dirt either!

Patricide

I also gotta agree that chinese democracy is really underrated. Its not the typical late 80ies/early 90ies hard rock that a lot of people were looking for but cmon it(was) 2009 and it was always going to be different. I liked it though, some great tunes in there like better which is one of my all time G+R favorites.

stringbox

Most of the people who didn't like Chinese Democracy did so for egregious reasons.

fluke

stringbox wrote: »

Most of the people who didn't like Chinese Democracy did so for egregious reasons.

Ooh big word! :eek: now that you've digested a dictionary would ye mind expanding on your statement. Just curious