Music: Most Overrated and Most Underrated Rock Band in History

[Roo Returns]

Disagree. I still enjoy Ride a lot. And actually quite a bit of Kill Em' All.

Master whilst musically great is a chore to get though. I listened to it in the first time in years recently and found it boring. And even at the peak of my fandom I never considered Justice or Garage perfect. No where close. And their material since Load has been bad. St Anger is one of the worst albums I have ever purchased. Yet they are still revered.

Kill 'Em All is tremendous. In some ways it might be my favorite album they did. Compositionally though it's more "green" than Ride/Master/Justice.

I think between those four and Garage EP (plus the 1998 Garage Inc. had some really great stuff too) is enough protein to take them out of the overrated convo and into the greats. We didn't even touch on Black Album.

Has there been a metal band who has made more money, been on the radio, and sold more in albums and concerts consistently? Sabbath even at their peak, Maiden, or Priest don't come close and those are all great bands.

St .Anger isn't a good album but it has 4-5 songs that I can at least workout to. I'd take it over Death Magnetic which is a complete snoozefest and I start day dreaming while listening to (Rick Rubin from 2006-present as producer is batting below .200). Even Hardwired which has maybe 3-4 good songs, in some ways I'd take the peaks of St. Anger over.

Modern Metallica's biggest weakness is they have one of the top five bass players in all of rock/metal and they don't let him write. I'm not saying Rob should start slapping and go full Infectious Grooves but he should contribute riffs and use his full arsenal. Lars is a better drummer when he's challenged which is what Cliff used to do to him.

 

[MakeTheGoalsLarger]

Overrated: Foo Fighters.

So bland.

I agree. All the hate Nickelback get should be redirected to Foo Fighters.

 

[TheGreenTBer]

Kill 'Em All is tremendous. In some ways it might be my favorite album they did. Compositionally though it's more "green" than Ride/Master/Justice.

I also adore that album. It's one of the best unpolished metal records of all time. Pure energy with little, if any, filler.

I think between those four and Garage EP (plus the 1998 Garage Inc. had some really great stuff too) is enough protein to take them out of the overrated convo and into the greats. We didn't even touch on Black Album.

Listening to AJFA with a better bass mix is a wonderful experience. It was just terribly mixed on purpose and doesn't sound good as a result. There's a few good unofficial remastered versions on YouTube.

RTL and MOP, well, there's not much to say that hasn't already been said. Legendary records in every possible way.

Black Album is where Metallica started to lose me. I don't think it's bad music by any stretch but it just makes me long for their previous releases. Load and Re-Load...the less said the better IMO.

St .Anger isn't a good album but it has 4-5 songs that I can at least workout to. I'd take it over Death Magnetic which is a complete snoozefest and I start day dreaming while listening to (Rick Rubin from 2006-present as producer is batting below .200). Even Hardwired which has maybe 3-4 good songs, in some ways I'd take the peaks of St. Anger over.

Modern Metallica's biggest weakness is they have one of the top five bass players in all of rock/metal and they don't let him write. I'm not saying Rob should start slapping and go full Infectious Grooves but he should contribute riffs and use his full arsenal. Lars is a better drummer when he's challenged which is what Cliff used to do to him.

Agreed on all points.

 

[Cas]

The most overrated American heavy metal band might be Anthrax, honestly.

 

[MVP of West Hollywd]

The Beatles are only overrated if you consider them a rock band. Their songs are pop and if you don't like them you probably just don't like the genre.

Agree Foo Fighters are overrated, they are just a generic dad rock band with a few half decent radio hits.

It's hard to drag any of the most iconic bands, people just have different tastes. Led Zeppelin and Van Halen isn't my thing personally. I used to think U2 was overrated but over time I am more sentimental to them. Same goes for The Rolling Stones, I'm not really as big a fan of them as others, but they still wrote some of the best songs of all time so I won't be too hard on them.

Under: Honestly I'm a huge fan of the Killers and Brandon Flowers is one of my favorite songwriters, they haven't been quite as good since they came back, but their albums usually age well. Not exactly an hip underground pick but I think they are probably my favorite of the post 2000s ones.

 

[Shareefruck]

Agreed on Foo Fighters. Although I feel like finding them overrated is so common that what they are is kind of widely acknowledged.

 

[frisco]

Feel free to share some. I know The Power of Love, It's Hip To Be Square, and I Want A New Drug.

They were never one of my favorite bands but they were all over the 1980's:
Top 40 (chronologic)
Do You Believe In Love #7
Hope You Love Me Like You Say You Do #36
I Want A New Drug #6
Heart Of Rock And Roll #6
If This Is It #6
Walking On A Thin Line #18
Power Of Love #1
Stuck With You #1
Hip To Be Square #3
Jacob's Ladder #1
I Know What I Like #9
Doing It All For My Baby #6
Perfect World #3
Small World #25

Speaking of the 80's, most people think of Rick Springfield and mostly just Jessie's Girl but from 1981-1985 he had the following top 40 hits:
Jessie's Girl #1
I've Done Everything For You #8
Love Is Alright Tonite #20
Don't Talk To Strangers #2
What Kind Of Fool Am I #21
I Get Excited #32
Affair Of The Heart #9
Human Touch #18
Souls #23
Love Somebody #5
Don't Walk Away #26
Bop Til You Drop #20
Bruce #27
Celebrate Youth #26
State Of The Heart #22

That's quite a run in just over four years so he might be a bit underrated (solo artist, though--not thread worthy).

My Best-Carey

 

[Spring in Fialta]

I feel like the "uniqueness" of Radiohead is overstated and the plain satisfaction of their music is understated, personally. Feels like they borrowed a lot of their uniqueness from other artists that were way more unique than they were, but did it in a way that feels fuller, maybe with higher production value, and easier to grab onto, but not necessarily better.

While I don't find Radiohead overrated, I'll safely call them a band that were able to get more out of their impeccable taste than actual trailblazers. But they were still able to deliver it (starting with Kid A) in a way that's legitimately satisfying rather than corny. In short, they're not very original but they're great artists. I hate referencing to another artist (or across forms) when talking about another but it's particularly fitting here. They're the musical equivalence of David Foster Wallace (not in theme but in terms of quality relative to approach). They wear their influences on their sleeves and try to subvert them but without much success. Yet the end result is still great, bordering on the perfect in their best moments. Their current credibility and artistic success is also very similar to The Beatles. They never reach their current popularity if they started off with Kid A, regardless of the album's quality. Much like The Beatles with Revolver (which is way more accessible in this day and age).

 

[Shareefruck]

While I don't find Radiohead overrated, I'll safely call them a band that were able to get more out of their impeccable taste than actual trailblazers. But they were still able to deliver it (starting with Kid A) in a way that's legitimately satisfying rather than corny. In short, they're not very original but they're great artists. I hate referencing to another artist (or across forms) when talking about another but it's particularly fitting here. They're the musical equivalence of David Foster Wallace (not in theme but in terms of quality relative to approach). They wear their influences on their sleeves and try to subvert them but without much success. Yet the end result is still great, bordering on the perfect in their best moments. Their current credibility and artistic success is also very similar to The Beatles. They never reach their current popularity if they started off with Kid A, regardless of the album's quality. Much like The Beatles with Revolver (which is way more accessible in this day and age).

Yep, exactly. I'm not blown away by their electronic/IDM sensibilities/innovations half as much as Autechre/to a lesser degree Aphex Twin or their Krautrock sensibilities/innovations half as much as Can or Neu!, but damn do they make it go down easy and make pretty impressively complete, cohesive, polished, and satisfying albums out of exactly the type of influences that I love most (kind of a more impressive Stereolab for me) in a more accessible way that I'd have a much easier time recommending to others.

 

[Spring in Fialta]

Yep, exactly. I'm not blown away by their electronic/IDM sensibilities/innovations half as much as Autechre/to some degree Aphex Twin or their Krautrock sensibilities/innovations half as much as Can or Neu!, but damn do they make it go down easy and make pretty impressively complete, cohesive, polished, and satisfying albums out of exactly the type of influences that I love most.

While I'm far more familiar with Can than Neu! simply due to sheer appreciation, I think Neu! and Radiohead are far more tight bands that Can (who I think are superior to both). While I think Radiohead takes from both (regarding vocals and atmosphere, Radiohead rips off Tago Mago so much) their structure is far more coherent/accessible than Can's hallucinations.

 

[Shareefruck]

While I'm far more familiar with Can than Neu! simply due to sheer appreciation, I think Neu! and Radiohead are far more tight bands that Can (who I think are superior to both). While I think Radiohead takes from both (regarding vocals and atmosphere, Radiohead rips off Tago Mago so much) their structure is far more coherent/accessible than Can's hallucinations.

Said something similar in my edit about accessibility.

Tightness in individual songs, yeah, although I'd say Radiohead (and Can) are definitely more consistent and album-oriented than Neu!, who at times feels like they're putting all of their effort into giant set pieces and filling out the rest of the albums with less impressive experimental transition bits.

 

[Anthrax442]

IMO, the most underrated are The Tea Party...

Skip ahead to 1:35 to avoid the small talk:




Skip ahead to the 0:50 mark:

saw Jeff Martin few times. last time he was solo, took 5 minutes between each song to trash Trump. Each time. I get it, once, but stopping the show basically every 5 mins to blab on, like please, I came here for music to escape this nonsense.

my overrated one is The tragically Hip

 

[johnjm22]

I find it hard to accept "overrated" as a label for the most commercially successful bands in the world. The basic purpose of being a musician in the public sphere is to entertain, which is quantified by how many people put their money down in order to be entertained.

A working definition of "overrated" might be a band who:

• most people on the street would recognize the name, but would be unable to name or sing one of their songs
• didn't have any special commercial impact, compared to what you expect from a household-name band
• didn't have any broad or long-lasting influence on mainstream music
• didn't have a foundational or game-changing influence on their own genre (i.e. the genre would still have existed and sounded pretty much the same if this band had never existed)
• Has little appeal for people who aren't devotees of their specific genre

I'd nominate Anthrax as a band that ticks all those boxes.

I can't think of anything more metal than being a pundit on VH1.

I used to be heavily involved in the local rock/metal scene. Over time I observed how a good band name and good t-shirt will give bands some success even when their music is totally mediocre. Anthrax is one of those type bands.

They're a "cool t-shirt band" as my buddy used to say.

 

[Roo Returns]

I can't think of anything more metal than being a pundit on VH1.

I used to be heavily involved in the local rock/metal scene. Over time I observed how a good band name and good t-shirt will give bands some success even when their music is totally mediocre. Anthrax is one of those type bands.

They're a "cool t-shirt band" as my buddy used to say.

Anthrax is a weird one. They're definitely the least successful of the Big Four but The Sound of White Noise did well and they were always around whether with tracks like I'm The Man which was a humor/tribute, Got The Time the Joe Jackson cover, or Bring In The Noize with Public Enemy.

They've even had a sort of mini comeback once Joey rejoined with their last two albums Worship Music and For All Kings.

Four gold albums. Not super amazing because much like NHL goal scoring, everyone had a platinum album back in those days (everyone had a 40 goal scorer in the 80s/90s) but not terrible either.

 

[Roo Returns]

XTC might be the most underrated pop rock band of all time. If someone mentioned them feel free to raise your hand.

 

[johnjm22]

Black Album is where Metallica started to lose me. I don't think it's bad music by any stretch but it just makes me long for their previous releases. Load and Re-Load...the less said the better IMO.

The Black Album is a great achievement from a production and commercial stand point.

While the production is great, it's too well refined, too thought out, too smooth, too "perfect". It just doesn't have much attitude or rawness. In the end, it kind of ends up being a boring album.

Honestly, I'd rather listen to Load or Reload.

 

[Cas]

Anthrax is a weird one. They're definitely the least successful of the Big Four but The Sound of White Noise did well and they were always around whether with tracks like I'm The Man which was a humor/tribute, Got The Time the Joe Jackson cover, or Bring In The Noize with Public Enemy.

They've even had a sort of mini comeback once Joey rejoined with their last two albums Worship Music and For All Kings.

Four gold albums. Not super amazing because much like NHL goal scoring, everyone had a platinum album back in those days (everyone had a 40 goal scorer in the 80s/90s) but not terrible either.

I think the existence of the "Big Four" pretty much defines why Anthrax is overrated. It's a media construct that builds a fence between the members and those not deemed "big enough" to belong and necessarily props Anthrax up above bands like Testament, Overkill, Dark Angel, Exodus, and lots and lots of non-American bands (like Kreator, Sodom, Sepultura, Artillery, or Razor) or later entries (Demolition Hammer). I'm not sure Anthrax is really better than any of those bands (certainly I'd rather listen to several of them more than Anthrax).

 

[MVP of West Hollywd]

The Black Album is a great achievement from a production and commercial stand point.

While the production is great, it's too well refined, too thought out, too smooth, too "perfect". It just doesn't have much attitude or rawness. In the end, it kind of ends up being a boring album.

Honestly, I'd rather listen to Load or Reload.

As a Springsteen fan Metallica fans relationship with the Black Album sounds similar to Born in the USA which I think calling a sellout album is too harsh, but it's a "interested in making more mainstream accessible songs for this one". I get the sense the Black Album was the same. Either way because it's made with that obvious decision in mind, something doesn't feel quite as organic or raw about it, it has a lot of great songs but doesn't feel like as much of an album. I'm not sure I would rank it as higher than my 7th or 8th favorite album from him or something (Which still isn't too bad, mind you)

 

[TheGreenTBer]

The Black Album is a great achievement from a production and commercial stand point.

While the production is great, it's too well refined, too thought out, too smooth, too "perfect". It just doesn't have much attitude or rawness. In the end, it kind of ends up being a boring album.

Honestly, I'd rather listen to Load or Reload.

It is indeed overproduced, and that album signaled to me that Metallica was trending away from metal and more toward hard rock. I don't blame them, given how well that album sold and how big they became after that, but the albums after Justice just don't speak to me like the 80's albums did.

 

[Incubajerks]

Overrated: Radiohead, R.E.M.

Underrated: Happy Mondays, The Sound, Wipers.

 

[tarheelhockey]

Four gold albums. Not super amazing because much like NHL goal scoring, everyone had a platinum album back in those days (everyone had a 40 goal scorer in the 80s/90s) but not terrible either.

That, and also their albums have been around for 30+ years now and they still haven't hit platinum. According to wiki, which only has the numbers through 2014, Sound of White Noise had only sold a little over 600K by that time. So it still had 40% of the way to go before hitting platinum. Reading between the lines, one can infer that the album wasn't that big of a deal to begin with and also hasn't aged very well.

Obviously Metallica is at a totally different level commercially, but so is Megadeth... we're talking orders of magnitude worth of difference between those three bands (125M -> 38M -> 3M). Anthrax compares commercially to Slayer, though Slayer has still sold close to twice as many albums and is easily considered the more critically significant and musically influential group.

 

[Roo Returns]

Overrated: Radiohead, R.E.M.

Underrated: Happy Mondays, The Sound, Wipers.

Happy Mondays are very cool. I feel like that whole Madchester scene only scraped the surface here in the US. I remember seeing Black Grape videos all over late night MTV like during the Spring/Summer 1995.

 

[TheGreenTBer]

That, and also their albums have been around for 30+ years now and they still haven't hit platinum. According to wiki, which only has the numbers through 2014, Sound of White Noise had only sold a little over 600K by that time. So it still had 40% of the way to go before hitting platinum. Reading between the lines, one can infer that the album wasn't that big of a deal to begin with and also hasn't aged very well.

Obviously Metallica is at a totally different level commercially, but so is Megadeth... we're talking orders of magnitude worth of difference between those three bands (125M -> 38M -> 3M). Anthrax compares commercially to Slayer, though Slayer has still sold close to twice as many albums and is easily considered the more critically significant and musically influential group.

Absolutely agreed. In my opinion, Anthrax never made anything that compares to Reign in Blood.

 

[Gordon Lightfoot]

Overrated: Queen and Rush. Translation: They seem loved by many people and I find them both annoying for the most part. Some songs I enjoy but overall not much I like.

 

[TheGreenTBer]

Overrated: Queen and Rush. Translation: They seem loved by many people and I find them both annoying for the most part. Some songs I enjoy but overall not much I like.

I think there are a few common denominators with Queen and Rush. Both bands were composed of members of extraordinary musical talent (including arguably the greatest frontman in Mercury and greatest drummer in Peart) but produced a lot of what I would call "filler" music in attempts at experimentation along the way. AC/DC has a lot of forgettable songs because they often sounded too similar from song to song, while both Rush and Queen have a lot of forgettable songs because each band has a lot of wtf-is-this-shit moments. Both bands at their best were simply legendary but they each have their fair share of nothing in their discography.

However, I will say that in my opinion, Queen is the best live rock band of all time. I don't think anyone else in the history of rock can really compare to Mercury when it comes to performing in front of a live audience.