Underrated bands reviews

[Agent 008]

There are a lot of bands out there, that are not particularly popular, the ones that you don't hear much about on the radio, or anywhere else for that matter.
However, some of these bands are really good, and when you find out about them, they end up appearing pretty often on your playlist.

But most of the times, when you hear of such a band that you may be interested in, you have no idea where to start, what song/album of theirs to listen to. All bands have their ups and downs, and last thing you would want is to end up listening to one of their worse songs, loosing your interest and missing all of their great material that you would have loved otherwise.

In this thread, I suggest that we post information about such bands that we like, give them brief reviews, and recommend a few songs / an album to start with. Any genres are welcome really.

I'll start, to give you an idea of what we should aim for here

[Agent 008]

King Diamond
(1985 - present)

Music: If you like intricate guitar solos, music that sets the mood and that reflects perfectly what's happening in the song plot-wise, you'll love King Diamond. The style in which they play can be described as Heavy metal. With King Diamond, you will never get bored of having to listen to the song from the beginning to the end - his songs feature somewhat frequent rhythm changes, that keep you intrigued and interested from the beginning to the end.

Lyrics: In most of King Diamond's album, a dark Edgar Poe-like story is told throughout the album. That means, if you listen to a song individually, you might not understand what's going on, unless you're familiar with the album's lyrics. I have to mention here, that I decided to check out King's albums after I stumbled on the lyrics of one of them, and read them from the beginning to the end, captivated, thinking, that if I'm enjoying the read that much, how awesome it could be with the music and the singing.

Vocals: King Diamond is famous for his broad vocal range. In the songs, he tries to "act" out different protagonists of his stories, and his vocals range from deep low to falzetto. Don't be put off by the falzetto part - the way he uses it in the songs is fine, it doesn't get annoying. But again, because of the broad range used in the songs, you don't get tired of listening to the same thing over and over again for 5 minutes.

Mood/when to listen to: I prefer to listen to them late at night, in the summer/autumn, especially when it's raining / there's a thunder outside. Basically, when I'm in the kind of mood you would be when you might want to listen to some horror stories. If you also happen to be in a manor/house away from the city, you wouldn't be able to help but listen to a King's album, trust me on that one.

Song to start with: If you want to check out a song, to get a feel of what King Diamond is like, I would highly recommend the "Sleepless Nights" song from the "Conspiracy" album. Listen to it at midnight

Album to start with: Here, you would want to start with Abigail. It is his most famous album, and in my opinion, the best one. The first few songs on there are absolutely awesome, and you would surely enjoy the "Abigail" song too.

[HomieG6189]

Jeremy Kay

There's just something about his voice. My taste of music is very different from most of the posters here, that's why I just stay out (I don't like hard metal music, country is more of my thing). But yeah, his music is just so great. Look him up on iTunes and listen to some of his music. Truly great.

[fl]

3
http://www.purevolume.com/3

They were a pleasant surprise to see when they opened for Porcupine Tree in May. They play a blend of hard hitting rock with acoustic guitar incorporated into their sound. Joey Eppard, the lead singer, also plays a mean acoustic guitar. Check them out if you haven't already done so. They are a really unique band.

[Infectedgoose]

Originally Posted by fl

3
http://www.purevolume.com/3

They were a pleasant surprise to see when they opened for Porcupine Tree in May. They play a blend of hard hitting rock with acoustic guitar incorporated into their sound. Joey Eppard, the lead singer, also plays a mean acoustic guitar. Check them out if you haven't already done so. They are a really unique band.

I'll vouch for this one too. Queen and Wake Pig are GREAT songs with great nylon string guitar playing.