Who is your "Rodney Dangerfield" band ?

[Cheiron]

Wow Devil Doll... When I first started listening to metal I came across this group and had a hell of a time finding any of their music.

For people who don't know this group -- http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=83203813

 

[Sumeet]

A band that would qualify to be the photo caption in the unabridged Webster's dictionary next to 'underappreciated' it would have to be:

King's X

Great musicians, great songwriting and a killer live band. Should have been huge...

Agreed. While I'm not that much into King's X personally, they are a talented band, who have been plying their trade for decades now, and never really get the respect they deserve. It seems like they almost broke big a few times, but it just never quite happened.

 

[the rhythm]

Best album of the year so far, IMO.

And their band name is criminally misspelled.

That explains why I have so much trouble finding them online.

 

[The Fiddler]

Easy. Iced Earth.

No matter what Jon does, people have a penchant for saying he recycles his riffs and all the stuff sounds the same. Maybe I'm, "riff deaf", but I sure don't hear any 2 IE albums or songs that sound like clones. While all the people out there are begging for Metallica to return to their roots after selling out, Jon has never left his roots and has never sold out, and he gets slammed for it (i.e. recycling his music). What a bunch of fucking bullshit. The guy can't win. Metalreviews.com gave, "The Glorious Burden" a 50/100.

 

[Pellaz]

A band that would qualify to be the photo caption in the unabridged Webster's dictionary next to 'underappreciated' it would have to be:

King's X

Great musicians, great songwriting and a killer live band. Should have been huge...

Totally concur. One of my most prized rare CD items is Building Blox, a "best-of King's X" promotional compilation that was mailed for free to many members of the Ytsejam Mailing List many years ago. It has lived in my home CD changer ever since.

As someone else posted, it seems like they were on the brink of breaking huge once or twice during their career, and never made it. It's a damned shame.

 

[Sumeet]

Easy. Iced Earth.

No matter what Jon does, people have a penchant for saying he recycles his riffs and all the stuff sounds the same. Maybe I'm, "riff deaf", but I sure don't hear any 2 IE albums or songs that sound like clones. While all the people out there are begging for Metallica to return to their roots after selling out, Jon has never left his roots and has never sold out, and he gets slammed for it (i.e. recycling his music).

I don't agree here. This was probably true at one point, but Iced Earth have been steadily building their fanbase and recognition, and are considered by many metal fans to be one of the leading US metal bands today. I saw them play their first east coast show ever in 1998, in a tiny club with about 40 people in attendance. By 2003, they were headlining a 700+ venue. Their US record sales have gone from 15,000 - 20,000 a decade ago, to well beyond 100,000. They're not the biggest thing in music, and never will be, but they've been gaining ground, and have by this point cemented their status at least among metal fans, if not among the general mass-media. Hardly a band who has not gotten any respect.

What a bunch of fucking bullshit. The guy can't win. Metalreviews.com gave, "The Glorious Burden" a 50/100.

As big a fan as I am, I'll be the first to admit that Schaffer does sometimes use some very familiar-sounding riff structures. But clearly, you cannot consider the review at metalreviews.com to be a representative sample. It's glaringly obvious that the author of that review got angry at some comments Schaffer made in interviews, and decided even before hearing the album that he was going to hate it... despite many tracks on The Glorious Burden being a noticeable departure from some of Schaffer's trademark song structures. The reviewer seems to be blinded with rage, so much so that he can't even think clearly. Like, there's one part where he says the riffs are tasteless and copied from previous Iced Earth discs (discs which he has rated very highly). Then in the very next sentence he completely contradicts himself, saying "Iced Earth's classic riff and rhythm is dead, gone, disappeared, vanished away, crucified". And ultimately, if he hates the disc as much as he claims to, he should have rated it considerably lower than 50, which by the guidelines of that website means "medium".

Clearly not a review that warrants any serious consideration. I've talked to people who didn't care for The Glorious Burden, and while I don't agree with them, their comments certainly made a lot more sense than this guy's ridiculous diatribe.

 

[Bryant]

Easy........Accept !! Priest and Maiden get 90% of the credit for the era they dominated, but Accept really put out monster release after release in the early-mid 80's.

Secondly, a more modern band would be another German band, namely Vanden Plas. I think after the latest release, they have made more of a splash than before, but they have been releasing masterpieces consistantly starting with "The God THing" in 1997.

Lastly would be The Goo Goo Dolls for a totally different reason. They make lots of money, get airplay etc. but rarely get kudos from people that prefer the more elite music (like us.) However, they give substance along with the hook. I can still put in "Dizzy Up the Girl" (the one with "Iris" on it) and enjoy it. Rzeznik is a great artist and puts 100% into his songs on guitar and vocals.


Bryant

 

[Jasonic]

I agree 100% on Accept. Lots of bands don't get their due recognition thanks in part to one commercial hit "Balls to the Wall". I think the same is true for the Scorps. "Rock You Like a Hurricaine" alone probably prevents the younger generation from checking out their stuff, leaving them to be written off as a one-hit wonder.

I love Iced Earth, though disagree with the poster above. They have received more than their fair share of recognition.

I personally do not care for Kings X. Though I appreciate the fact that they are hard workers and road warriors truly worthy of some recognition.

 

[Magius]

I agree 100% on Accept. Lots of bands don't get their due recognition thanks in part to one commercial hit "Balls to the Wall". I think the same is true for the Scorps. "Rock You Like a Hurricaine" alone probably prevents the younger generation from checking out their stuff, leaving them to be written off as a one-hit wonder.

One hit wonder? Before "Rock You Like A Hurricane" the Scorpions had big hits with "The Zoo" and "No One Like You." "Holiday" was a pre-RYLAH smash.
The biggest hit they ever had was "Winds OF Change" from Crazy World, which was released 2 albums after Love At First Sting.
One hit wonder...

 

[edgeofthorns]

One hit wonder? Before "Rock You Like A Hurricane" the Scorpions had big hits with "The Zoo" and "No One Like You." "Holiday" was a pre-RYLAH smash.
The biggest hit they ever had was "Winds OF Change" from Crazy World, which was released 2 albums after Love At First Sting.
One hit wonder...

Dude, Rock You Like A Hurricane is the one song everyone associates with the Scorps.

Extreme is another Dangerfield band for me. Most people associate the band with the song "Whole Hearted", but they had so much more to offer than that silly ballad! Pornograffitti and III Sides to Every Story are hard rock masterpieces IMO!

 

[Thorn23TX]

Hey, Pellaz... I have that Building Blox CD - got it when managing a record store about a dozen years ago just prior to the release of Dogman. I just got the guys to sign it when I met them for the first time after their show in Ft. Worth last month!

And I also agree that Accept didn't get the recognition they deserve back in the day, but think many people just didn't appreciate Udo's vocal stylings in the hair band era. Fast as a Shark is one of those songs that will get you energized EVERY TIME you hear it.

 

[Thorn23TX]

Oh, and I completely forgot about Extreme - thanks for jogging that memory EoT. They were every bit as talented as most of the bands that made it big in the 80's... it's a shame that "More Than Words" was their big break. It was funny how many people would come into my store to buy Pornograffiti for that song and then return it when they discovered that they weren't Simon and Garfunkel. LOL

Edit to include:

Oh, and the same can be said of Savatage to a lesser degree... they released Christmas Eve (Sarajevo 12/14) on Dead Winter Dead. So many people bought that CD because that song was getting massive airplay on the Christmas Muzak stations. They had no idea what they were getting into, and I'm sure Savatage didn't realize that they would be performing Christmas concerts as the Trans Siberian Orchestra a few years later either. HA!

 

[Rakosh]

It's nice to see all the love for Poverty's No Crime.

We've offered to sponsor them a few times, but Glenn hasn't bitten yet...yet...just a matter of time...

('course it would help if they put out something NEW, dammit!)
:Smokin:

 

[J-Dubya 777]

no one's backed me on Rage yet?

Had I noticed earlier, I sure would have!

Rage, dammit!!!!!!!!!


J-Dubya

 

[Magius]

Dude, Rock You Like A Hurricane is the one song everyone associates with the Scorps.

I doubt that anyone who seriously listens to Metal or Hard Rock would fail to recognize The Zoo within 5 seconds from the first note. Nevertheless, having a signature song does not make a band a 1 hit wonder. AC/DC is known for Back In Black. Deep Purple for Smoke On The Water. Led Zepplin for Stairway To Heaven. Iron Maiden for Run To The Hills, Ozzy for Crazy Train. No one write them off as 1 hit wonders.

Accept has 1 Gold album- Balls To The Wall.
The Scorpions have 4 Platinum albums, 3 Multiplatinum albums, and 1 Gold album. That's more platinum than either Judas Priest or Iron Maiden BTW.
The mighty DIO has 2 platinum and 1 Gold. Tell me again how The Scorpions are written off as a 1 hit wonder?

 

[edgeofthorns]

I doubt that anyone who seriously listens to Metal or Hard Rock would fail to recognize The Zoo within 5 seconds from the first note. Nevertheless, having a signature song does not make a band a 1 hit wonder. AC/DC is known for Back In Black. Deep Purple for Smoke On The Water. Led Zepplin for Stairway To Heaven. Iron Maiden for Run To The Hills, Ozzy for Crazy Train. No one write them off as 1 hit wonders.

Accept has 1 Gold album- Balls To The Wall.
The Scorpions have 4 Platinum albums, 3 Multiplatinum albums, and 1 Gold album. That's more platinum than either Judas Priest or Iron Maiden BTW.
The mighty DIO has 2 platinum and 1 Gold. Tell me again how The Scorpions are written off as a 1 hit wonder?

I personally don't write the band up as a one hit wonder, but I can understand where a casual listener could mistake them for being one. IMO, mainly due to the song, Rock You Like A Hurricane. I'm not accusing of anyone on this board chalking the Scorps as a one hit wonder by the way!

You were saying that they had hits before and after, which is true. My point is, the casual listener is going to associate the band with Hurricane and not The Zoo.

 

[Soundscape]

Soundscape. My s/n, yet NOBODY talks about em, as defunct as they are. They did play at Powermad 3 years in a row.

I'd echo the statements about Superior and Kevin Gilbert...and would probably add dozens of obscure bands. Klimt 1918 would be one namely. I keep playing their DOPOGUERRA album over and over. It's just so energetic and addictive, and yet basically nobody outside of a few Dredg fans talk about this band. They're incredible. Katatonia fans should really check them out http://www.myspace.com/klimt1918

Kyle

 

[General Zod]

Easy........Accept !!

Hey Bryant, 1983 called. They want their cassettes back.

Secondly, a more modern band would be another German band, namely Vanden Plas. I think after the latest release, they have made more of a splash than before...

I agree that they're vastly underrated. But the "splash" is more like a drip. It's only on this forum, that they're getting any sort of recognitiom.

Zod

 

[Bryant]

Hey Bryant, 1983 called. They want their cassettes back.

Secondly, a more modern band would be another German band, namely Vanden Plas. I think after the latest release, they have made more of a splash than before...

I agree that they're vastly underrated. But the "splash" is more like a drip. It's only on this forum, that they're getting any sort of recognitiom.

Zod

No way !! cassettes aren't oldschool enough baby !!! I didn't stop buying LPs until they stopped making them. Reluctantly, I was forced to buying cassettes after that. You had to see that post coming from me though.


Bryant

 

[General Zod]

Who among your favorites "Gets No Respect", or much less than you think they deserve?

If we're talking about this on larger scale, than my answer is, every band I listen to deserves a better fate than what their current record and ticket sales suggest. If we're talking about on places like this forum, UM, the underground (I use that term loosely), than I would say the following:

Nevermore (anyone surprised?) - while these guys are bigger than many in the genre, it's a crime they're STILL unable to do a proper headlining tour in the US. Meanwhile, crap bands like In Flames (new stuff is crap... don't argue, you know it's crap) and Children of Bodom (see In Flames) sell out good sized clubs.

As for lesser known bands that deserve more recognition (confining my answer to bands we might discuss here), 3, Grand Magus, Kiaus, Persuader, Pharaoh, Lanfear and Zero Hour.

Zod