The Hudson Valley Squares: Underrated Hard Rock & Metal Bands!

[@TheMafrand]

My best wishes to Ralph and his fight against that horrible disease.

[@countralfus6408]

🤘🤘

[@philipmorrissey9142]

@@TheMafrand Amen to that. We need to have the count giving 47 honourable mentions for years to come

[@TheMafrand]

@@philipmorrissey9142 and a rant about Michael Jackson and Prince once in a while

[@jeffkimball5365]

@@TheMafrand I wanted to add my best wishes to Ralph also

[@aquabot]

1. King's X. 2. Killing Joke. 3. Living Colour. 4. Annihilator. 5. Love/hate. And so many others...

[@tomp8463]

I listed King's X and LC but nice one with Love/Hate.

[@AlzataDiMano]

King's X is a really unique band.

[@jaimeres]

We all know Riot is going to be on everyone’s list.

[@independenceltd.]

as they should be

[@mahogany174]

Unless you don’t rate them .🤔

[@yinzerchuck6001]

You gotta love Canz: he gets right to the point and keeps it short and sweet. I don’t mind when people talk a little about a band/album etc…but sometimes less is more. Go on with your bad ass self Canz!

[@rickrobb6546]

April Wine....................... Rules

[@AlzataDiMano]

Yes. They were so great.

[@nathanwelbourne116]

This is a topic as old as time but one I have several opinions on. Here’s five bands that I think are underrated in the Hard Rock & Heavy Metal genre. 1) Corrosion Of Conformity- they have a solid recorded output once Pepper joined the band. Some great Metal music that borders on Southern Rock and Hard Rock that I think people would absolutely love. 2) Melvins- They literally do every genre ever. Some incredibly great music and some seriously heavy music too. 3) Rose Tattoo- A fantastic straight up Rock & Roll band. Melodic and rocking at the same time. Some seriously bluesy music too. A little something for everyone. Plus it’s AC/DC on steroids! 4) Leeway- A crossover band that did what Biohazard did before Biohazard did it. And they did it way better. Just plain rippin and heavy and really melodic and cool. Give em a listen if you like bands like Cro-Mags, Agnostic Front, Carnivore, Biohazard. 5) Poison Idea- A hardcore punk band that borders on Crossover Thrash at times. Hell it they even come close to Motörhead style rock & roll music. They are melodic and heavy and dark and just truly unique. Give their album Feel The Darkness a listen and you’ll see what I mean it’s a hybrid of Motörhead, Black Flag and Cro-Mags!

[@FlakAttak66]

Great choices!

[@tobyparsons2480]

Agree ,great list ,,stare too long should/could be played on classic rock radio daily

[@martinfranco3716]

Feel The Darkness is killer! Nice choice.

[@nathanwelbourne116]

@tobyparsons2480 I completely agree with you! That’s one of the best COC songs ever

[@nathanwelbourne116]

@martinfranco3716 thank you! Poison Idea has several records I could’ve picked but Feel The Darkness has the most heavy metal feel I think.

[@jeffkimball5365]

UFO Thin Lizzy Sweet Blue Oyster Cult, John Hiatt some of the bands I love but why not more love!

[@chrismoyse3529]

Those first three were rated highly here in UK

[@iltonwhite]

UFO with Schenker blew everyone off stage during the 70's!

[@jeffkimball5365]

The reason I put John on there is he has written so many great songs that musicians from Eric Clapton and bb king Bonnie riatt Jeff Healy and may other have covered his work. His guitar work can be complex. Lyrics can pierce the soul. How many weddings have there been with have a little faith in me. A song that portrays a man and his flaws that is so relevant today. I just feel he doesn’t get the respect he deserves as an artist that has been around for a long time and influenced many. I got to meet him once when I lived in Florida. He and his band mates were class acts. I feel the first three bands I mentioned fit the same bill. There are people out there that have not experienced the greatness of their music catalog. Thank you for commenting!

[@walterwhite4366]

Thank you so much for the Deceased shout out! We had a blast playing NY this past weekend! (I was on bass)

[@countralfus6408]

Fuckin love Deceased, my friend did a live feed of your set last weekend in Brooklyn, I watched the whole amazing set, if I didn't have covid, I would have went, I was there the time before when Deceased played there with Aggression, Children of the Morgue is on the way from Hells Headbangers, I can't wait! 🤘🤘

[@walterwhite4366]

@@countralfus6408 Right on! Thanks for the support!

[@martymartin2894]

The one that immediately comes to my mind is thin Lizzy, they are a better band than any other rock band that made it huge in my personal opinion. They had it all, great song writing with variation, great guitar playing and very underrated fantastic drummer Brian Downey. I know it was Phil's addiction that prevented them making it huge, such a pity.

[@chrismoyse3529]

Not here in U.K. Highly rated here

[@rememberbeginning]

Great band, excellent catalog. A top 10 for me. Building a pretty good collection of these guys, 🤘☕

[@joaopintojr6780]

Fates Warning, Tygers of Pan Tang, Saxon, UFO, Thin Lizzy, Badlands, Blue Murder.

[@mgerometta]

Status Quo, huge everywhere but the USA.

[@steevenfrost]

I love The album Quo; my introduction to Status Quo. Love Slow Train.

[@nickbovi]

Y&T, Death Angel, Testament, Giant, Warrior Soul.

[@camwatters-iz5bs]

Coney hatch, goddo, streetheart, harlequin, Kim Mitchell, David Wilcox, trooper,-from Canada

[@Duality_of_Man]

Would love a HVS episode where everyone makes their own supergroup, names it, gives a genre, be creative with it. Like Fantasy Football... could do it with tour lineups, setlists, etcetera.

[@countralfus6408]

That's a cool idea!

[@rockfantasysteve]

RIVAL SONS should be all over the radio and filling stadiums , SAXON they never got the fame here they deserved in the states

[@thedarkwizardroom]

SAXON Saw 3 times so they did right on me seeing them and me growing as big fan and meeting the guys of the band the last two times I saw them . Haven't seen them on their latest go around in the states. Time, availability and $$$ being factor/ Should be good show HVS has. Lots of choices Steve, TC my friend

[@tylerpatterson4787]

Definitely agree with you Steve, I’ve seen rival sons live twice always put on a great show

[@garyjoyce2160]

Absolutely. Steve 👍💯

[@martymartin2894]

Seemed so easy for a good band to make it back in the day compared to now. For a start we all listened to ordinary radio and also there were loads of big money record label's willing to spend money to promote bands. And that was driven by the fact that we all had to pay for albums back then Which funded it all. The free downloads and streaming destroyed the music industry. I don't know how it was ever legal for the likes of KZbin etc to just give away bands music.

[@CathyLahn]

Rival Sons: a friend of mine loves this band as well. I got their CDs, and while I was impressed with their musical chops pretty well, I left that listening session with a kinda-sorta "meh..." feeling. I tried again a few months later and came away the same. I haven't listened to them again. Maybe the issue there, for me, is that i grew up as a young ROCK loving kid in the 1970s, and there was so much "greatness" within that time, something like Rival Sons just doesn't set me off so much, you know. As for SAXON, you hit the nail on the head with that one! Most especially for their first 5 LPs, plus the recent (i.e. from '97 forward) albums. SAXON, while not the best of that era, was certainly up there, and absolutely should've been bigger. No doubt about it! Marc ⚡

[@andrewprentice8857]

Here's a shout-out for Kings of the Sun. They are terribly underrated - possibly victims of bad timing and/or poor treatment by record execs? If anyone needs proof, go and listen to "Full Frontal Attack". An awesome, bad-ass rock band with fantastic riffs and one of the best rock drummers anywhere!

[@turefromfinland3264]

First record and Resurrection are awesome too.

[@rememberbeginning]

Oh man Karyn!!!! I'm with you on the Nuclear Assault. Another favorite here!!!

[@tobyparsons2480]

Should be hitting 100k subscribers soon ,,Congrats ,well deserved!!!

[@jeffsharpless1949]

How about Pretty Maids? I think I've heard you mention them once or twice, Pete, but no one else in the hard rock community seems to even know they exist. For those that don't know them check them out if you enjoy high quality hard rock/heavy metal. They have around 18 studio albums and I don't think there's a stinker in the bunch. Terrible name but a GREAT band! Quality musicianship, songwriting and production. If they had been better promoted when they came around in the mid-80's, they could have been huge.

[@dankelly-jl8xn]

You can get their first 5 from the Original Albums on cd package for less than 20 bucks. Good deal.

[@steelerfreak1977]

@@jeffsharpless1949 I play Red Hot and Heavy fairly regularly.

[@TheMafrand]

I have a soft spot for them. Especially the early albums. The lead singer Ronnie Atkins is from the same town as me - Vejle, Denmark. Sadly he is battling terminal cancer nowadays. Pretty Maids played the bands hometown Horsens a couple of weeks ago. Same event as Mr Big and I believe Sydney Taylor, known from this channel, might have been there as a part of the Mr Big team. I wish I could have been there.

[@Matias-music-71]

Uriah Heep , Tygers Of Pan Tang , Accept , Testament , Badlands , Anvil , Krokus , Rose Tattoo , Voivod , just to name a few

[@HM2dylanpowell]

Man I love these videos. Just picked up left hand solution Lp on vinyl. Been a fan since 93 I used to write to Peter the bass player. Just read your review Pete. Such a great album. Love you mate 😉🤘🏻

[@CathyLahn]

I hate to sound like a record company guy here, but some of these bands mentioned just weren't "good enough" to be bigger. HANOI ROCKS is one of the beter examples of this. Y&T as well. I mean, when I think back to that time in the 80s, Hanoi Rocks came off as a less effective, and not as talented, Glam 70s band. To me, they didn't make it because of their songs. Honestly, who can pop 5 distinctive "good" Hanoi Rocks songs off the top of their head. You know, like songs that could've been hits. They just came off as a samey, generic type of band, to be honest. I never had a problem with them, I'm just saying it as it seemed. If they had come out in say, 1973, I think they would've been bigger, but still not huge, because again, you gotta have "songs" Songs which connect and are catchy. In the 80s, there were too many other groups like this...without real songs, pumping out that generic pap. SWEET, SAXON, 10cc and UFO are all much better choices for this show.

[@K0stassklv]

Βlue Murder / Badlands / King Kobra / Giuffria / House of Lords / Riverdogs / Silent Rage / Bang Tango / Rough Cutt / Unruly Child / Signal / Harem Scarem / Icon / Bangalore Choir / Giant / Dare / Vandenberg / Gotthard , all Underrated cause of bad timing or bad pr

[@jazzcatjohn]

That first Icon album ruled!

[@toxicwaltz69]

Bang Tango - absolutely. I'd also throw Kik Tracee on this list, and Extreme - More Than Words notwithstanding.

[@hardrockingtriviashow667]

I agree with almost everyone of these bands. You have great taste in music.

[@glerp10000000000]

April Wine and Y&T both played at Monsters Of Rock festivals in the UK in the early Eighties. I enjoyed them both, but only ended up having a compilation CD by each 40 years later. Riot played there too..I have a box set of official boots which contains the Monsters show...the second band I saw at my first concert.

[@murreygellmann7708]

Spot on with Hanoi and Nuke Assault

[@mudshark6666]

King’s X, Riot, Coney Hatch, Badlands, Cry Of Love, Kick Axe, Killer Dwarfs, Zebra

[@adammorris1943]

Virgin Steele Demon Riot Running Wild Manila Road

[@magnuswettermark8293]

Omen,Armored Saint,Cirith Ungol,Tygers Of Pan Tang,Treat,220 Volt,Metal Church,Heavy Load,Pretty Maids,Obus,Peer Gynt....

[@alvaropita3487]

For me, the most underrated band of all time is Fates Warning: arguably the creators of a new genre, they have not any bad album and they have created great music during five different decades.

[@andyshelton4889]

Proto Metal- Yesterday’s Children. 80’s hardcore/metal - Graveyard Rodeo. Nineties metal hard rock - Skin Yard

[@jalanhart]

First few that come to mind 1. Dorthy 2. Dirty Honey 3. Beartooth 4. Shaman’s Harvest 5. Gov’t Mule Honorable Mention : Sons of Eden

[@lateramae]

I freaking love Dirty Honey! Their most recent album, 'Can't Find the Brakes,' is simply amazing!

[@AlzataDiMano]

Gov t Mule, geniuses.

[@carlsteinhagen9128]

Great discussion by the whole crew! Off the top of my head I thought of Warrior Soul. I love their first three albums.

[@SuperChangcho]

My picks - Melvins; Warrior Soul; Toadies; Anvil; Coheed & Cambria; and yes Armored Saint.

[@user-zq5eb2hj9o]

Anvil I thought about also

[@jeffreyrobinson9120]

Should be/should have been bigger. Clutch Melvins Solitude Aeturnus Be Bop Deluxe Anathema The Church Kraan The Tea Party Riverside Strawbs

[@wernermoritz882]

Great list!

[@jeffreyrobinson9120]

@@wernermoritz882 Thanks, Werner.

[@AlzataDiMano]

Clutch and Riverside are not big because they aren't from the '70s.

[@turefromfinland3264]

Hard rock/Metal bands...? Come on.

[@kevingartland723]

Y&T, Armored Saint, Corrosion of Conformity, Clutch & Govt Mule

[@georgea6733]

Circus Of Power, Junkyard, Asphalt Ballet

[@herbie-f4x]

Oh yeah some Junkyard, drinkin my Blooze again!

[@paulcollins5586]

all great Junkyards singer had that punk attitude. .Good choices.

[@ArcangelofRock]

Just to name a few: Saxon,Rival Sons,The Tea Party,AlterBridge,Wucan. Though some of these groups have or had some commercial success;they're not household names like other bands that are sub-par(musically) or just sound like a thousand other musical groups.

[@monte.olson58]

Excellent show! So many great bands and albums listed. You all nailed it! Happy to see Riot, Armored Saint and the Chasm. Newer underground band Negative Plane is awesome! These are also underground but I'd list Sadistic Intent and Ares Kingdom.

[@SomeCenturio93]

Metal Church post-'Mob Rules' Black Sabbath Impellitteri Vicious Rumors Grim Reaper Riot Saxon Anvil Rage Galactic Cowboys Icon

[@donmcmillan4388]

Killing Joke. Very diverse and progressive but super heavy at times.

[@robsonschneider702]

Good Rats, Leatherwolf, Running Wild, Metal Church, Ramones

[@tylerpatterson4787]

Here are my 5 bands that are underrated Zebra Rival Sons Blackberry Smoke Alter Bridge The Godz I got into the Godz from Grant Arthur and the debut album is so good. Other bands it’s crazy how they are not massive and playing bigger venues, all of them are so good

[@RobertParks-h7r]

Going to Rival Sons at Hampton Beach in 2 wks,3rd time in 4 yrs,always play there,great band,have also seen blackberry Smoke there last yr,they opened for Kenny Wayne Shepetd.

[@tylerpatterson4787]

@@RobertParks-h7r awesome Robert, enjoy the rival sons concert

[@hardrockingtriviashow667]

Hanoi Rocks! Great call! I had tickets to their show at the Hollywood Palace show when the Razzle tragedy happened. My brother and I were so pissed. That's why Hanoi Rocks were in Los Angeles at the time. There was a lot of hype about Hanoi Rocks and they were poised to break in the States when the wheels came off and the band broke up.

[@kevinm5957]

Nevermore Manilla Road Chapel of Disease Triumph (big band, but should have been massive)

[@guto5986]

Armored Saint, Helstar, Jag Panzer, Manilla Road, Cirith Ungol, Satan, Heavy Load...

[@karllux-d6g]

Avenger, Blitzkrieg, Savage, ...

[@AlzataDiMano]

I never heard about Jag Panzer and Heavy Load. The others are fantastic.

[@AlzataDiMano]

@@gadgettheratboy9051 Ok. I'll check them.

[@ericdinse5047]

In Chicago during the late 70's, UFO was a big band. "Too Hot to Handle" even got played on local top 40 station.

[@stephenbrown4211]

Angelwitch Samson Toad The Wet Sprocket (the British band, not the US pop band)

[@7BobbyGaylor7]

Nice to see Solstice make the cut. I love White Horse Hill!

[@HM2dylanpowell]

Spot on mate! An absolute classic hail Albion 🤘🏻

[@bobdtoastie]

Thin lizzy we’re big here in the uk, quite a few top 10 albums

[@CathyLahn]

I'd like to say, as far post 2000 groups to start, that ORCHID was a special, talented and excellent band. Yes, they were a Black Sabbath influenced group, and they most certainly did emulate Sabbath to a tee (yet much more accurate and musically infectious than ANY of those other stoner bands that attempted it).. .meaning great songs, all with the swing of Bill Ward, and their own riffs that were equally as monstrous and powerful as Iommi's in most cases) As far as the fantastic 1970s goes, there's a good amount of choices. Lots of excellent 2nd tier bands. But if i had to choose one of the majors that should've been bigger, I'd have to say SWEET. Sweet was not only very talented, and wrote great, catchy songs, but they also tackled several genres swimmingly! My favorite albums by SWEET have been the same ones since the 70s for me: Sweet Fanny Adams (1974) Desolation Blvd. (1975) - the US combo version Give Us a Wink (1976) plus... Off The Record (1977) Level Headed (1978) which are also very good Not to mention the fact that SWEET had an immense number of top notch B-sides from 1972-1977... songs tgat many bands would kill for as their main tracks. Budgie, UFO, Skyhooks, Be Bop Deluxe, Saxon, 10cc, Girlschool, Satan, Wishbone Ash, etc. are all good choices as well

[@LeatherRebel75]

My personal favorite Riot album is their 1997 album Inishmore. Riot was on Metal Blade at the time. I heard the song "Angel Eyes" on a Metal Blade VHS video compilation and "Liberty" on one of the label's Metalmeister CD compilations, and I had to get my hands on the full album. The album cover is awful, but it is a criminally underrated album, even for Riot, who are one of the kings of underrated bands with many worthy but overlooked albums.

[@spideyman2099]

I'll go with newer rock and metal bands since I think Rock as a genre is underrated now haha. 1. Rival Sons (We all know these guys right? Not like theyre reinventing the wheel, but just kick ass Rock.) 2. Squid (I will keep stanning for these guys. I think theyre part of a new wave of "Prog" Rock coming out of the UK) 3. Bad Nerves (Power Pop/Punk band, definitely been on my constant plays recently) 4. Blue Stones (They do a great job of mixing Blues Rock with modern pop sensibilities) 5. Black Pistol Fire (One of my favorite bands period. Very White Stripes/Black Keys with some grunge and blues.)

[@davidpousho4828]

Karen you are so cool for bringing up Diamond Nights! The song Destination Diamonds is sooooo good! It’s a Shokka! That band was DOPE.

[@karenlaprez8358]

I love Diamond Nights & I wonder why no one else does! I think that was a case of a band falling through the cracks of the major label machine. Too bad, right? They were so good

[@Kyush4]

@@karenlaprez8358 hey Karen, is your surname legit or a nickname? because as a Spanish, if it's legit thats one kickass surname haha

[@davidpousho4828]

@@karenlaprez8358 My wife and I revisited that album last night and were totally rocking out Judas Priest style!

[@karenlaprez8358]

@@Kyush4 It is! It's Italian but the Italian & Spanish languages are so close. Name kinda suits me haha

[@bonehead797]

1. Axel Rudi Pell 2. Grand Magus 3. Monster Truck 4. Kalmah 5. Primal Fear Honorable mentions: War Of Ages Airbourne Vanir Skiltron Maylene And The Sons Of Disaster Frank Marino Eluveitie The Quireboys Lordi Nocturnal Rites Running Wild

[@leonscoretzka801]

Ancient Rites BAEST Savage Annihilator: Yes i know, they are pretty popular, but only because of their first 2-3 albums. In my opinion they have only released like 2 or 3 duds. The rest is just fantastic technical thrash metal with killer guitar work from Jeff Waters. And they have almost 20 albums

[@Tonydiosmetalemporium]

This was a great show!! April Wine did very well in the Midwest and Texas. Harder Faster eventually went Gold and Nature of the Beast went Platinum. When I was a teen, everyone had Beast.

[@hardrockingtriviashow667]

I saw April Wine headline Merriweather Post Pavilion (Columbia, Maryland) on "The Nature of the Beast" tour, but that was the last time they played a large venue in that area.

[@Grandizer8989]

Idea for a video… Rock stories that went viral before the Internet/Social Media became available. Everyone heard the Ozzy stories, and bands trashing hotel rooms for example.

[@randallvaldez7777]

How about Anvil and Warlord. Ralph, thanks for the shout out of Jag Panzer. The band I formed in high school in March 1979 (I left in October 1980) became Jag Panzer. I'm a fan of all of their '80's releases.

[@countralfus6408]

🤘🤘 Jag Panzer are great, that's awesome that you were there in the beginning 🤘🤘

[@Quolion668]

Status Quo comes to mind with a great career all over the world except the USA.

[@bertkarlsson1421]

I would love to see underrated prog bands!

[@markfurru3368]

One of my picks had their albums ranked on here by Pete, yesterday: Corrosion of Conformity. A great little North Carolina based band that started as a hardcore punk/crossover thrash band, but progressed into the southern fried stoner/doom band some of us love today! My other picks... Atrocity: a great German death metal band that have flirted with thrash, groove, symphonic, industrial, et al, throughout their career. Willenskraft is probably my favorite album of theirs. At the Drive-In: excellent post-hardcore, proto-emo band that were about to blow up with their third album Relationship of Command but abruptly disbanded. Cedric and Omar then formed The Mars Volta, who were quite successful. They broke up, and At the Drive-In reunited, but that 2000 momentum was long gone. Now, they seem to be back on hiatus. Sad. Shadows Fall: they were actually fairly popular for a bit in the early to mid '00s. However, they never got quite as big as Lamb of God, Killswitch Engage, Avenged Sevenfold, Mastodon, et al. Now, Jonathan Donais is in Anthrax. And my last pick were fairly popular in the '90s, and had MTV airplay and are still on rock radio today, but I think they should've been even bigger. And this band, my second favorite just after Metallica, are... Faith No More!

[@seekah1]

For sure Mars Volta, love ém❤

[@wernermoritz882]

@@markfurru3368 yeah, At the Drive-in! Not to forget Sparta, the other band rising from the ashes of ATD-I, also great.

[@Intermentor]

Back in the days. Love/Hate, Vain, Warrior Soul and Lizzy Borden

[@rickrobb6546]

Coney Hatch, Duke Jupiter, Thin Lizzy, Wet Willie, Great White, Golden Earring.

[@andyshelton4889]

Wet Willie would have been bigger. Their name held them back. “ Do you want to see Wet Willie?”😀❤️🎼

[@JohnnyRecently]

I'm such a Golden Earring fan, that I forget they never got over the hump.

[@leeconnors5973]

UK Thrash Bands Onslaught, Sabbat, Virus, Hydra Vein, Xentrix, Toranaga, Slammer, Lawnmower Deth, ReAnimator, Acid Reign, Anihilated, Atomkraft, Warfare, Blood Money, Deathwish, English Dogs, The Exploited.

[@NickPalfrey8]

I'm from the UK and Lizzy were bigger over here, Lynott was pretty famous. I got into rock/metal in the early 80s - Kiss, Sabs, AC/DC and then later Metallica, Slayer, VoiVod and for some reason never heard UFO until recently. Pissed off I never got round to them circa 1982 but I was only young and couldn't afford to buy much music, they were never on the radio.

[@TheGenXLocker]

For my five I'm going to start with Saigon Kick. Their sophomore album, The Lizard only got really one single recognized, that ballad, "Love Is On The Way" But honestly, the rest of that album was intense with some great songwriting. Next up I have to give credit to New Jersey's own, Overkill, In my humble opinion, Bobby Blitz is an amazing front man and I just don't think he got the recognition he deserves over the years and also giving D.D. the credit, quite frankly he can be considered one of the top 10 metal bassists of all time. For my third pick I'm going with the New York band Quicksand, their debut album Slip was a staple cassette in my walkman Junior year of high school and definitely a connection I had with a small handful of my classmates into senior year. We would listen to that album in the student parking lot wondering why these guys weren't huge. My next two bands are local, (well local for me) one from where I grew up on Long Island and the other from here in the Hudson Valley. A four piece No nonsense metal band that came out of Glen Oaks Queens in the mid-80s called Norman Bates & the Showerheads. These guys actually opened up for the Ramones on more than one occasion at former famed spots like CBGBs and the Lismar Lounge. I actually let Ryan Skow listen to them and in his opinion, they had some decent chops but he thinks their name just wasn't sellable. I thought about that often, actually, for most people that were living in that section of Queens at the time, we knew them as N.B.S.H. But unfortunately they're two founding members have since passed away and all that remains is a small handful of albums that never made it to a major label. My final and number one pick I might get shit for but I really don't care, and that would be Middletown's Bent Sirkis. These guys were the first local band I saw after moving up to the Hudson Valley with my parents when I was still in high school. I lost count of how many times I saw these guys from '93 to '95 at such local venues that are no longer here like The Class, The Downtown, Vinny's and The Hot Rod formally Ashley's. These lads had a hell of a following, me and my friends continued to see them well into our freshman and sophomore years of college. Especially those of us that went away, when we were back in the area on break, if Bent Sirkis were playing, I can guarantee we would be there in the pit right in front of the stage. I still own their cassettes, Freak Of Nature and Rise Up. Their stage shows alone were phenomenal and their song structures were definitely ahead of their time. Maybe I'm biased because I am still very good friends with founding member and former basist Brian Raap. But nevertheless they were a fantastic band that didn't get enough recognition. So those are my selections and of course, again, all in my humble personal opinion.

[@countralfus6408]

Yeah Bent Sirkis was such an important Hudson Valley band! Seen them live so many times and they were always great , I still have there first 7 inch and those cassettes🤘🤘

[@JIF882]

The Lizard rocks! I think that Saigon Kick is like a cross between Skid Row and Alice In Chains

[@knightvisioniixv]

I love that Saigon Kick album! Love the hit ballad, too. 🤫

[@jasongaylor2232]

You could pick a bunch of NWOBHM bands alone for this topic. Four classic hard rock bands that are underrated that I love are "Budgie", "Riot", "Neon Rose", and "Golden Earring".

[@thedarkwizardroom]

Budgie should have been bigger in the states, Just unjustly that is. Golden Earring got to see once or twice and well the would have been bigger if radio had been able to keep up with back when and today well much winding down. Radar Love and Twilight Zone getting the most radio plays.

[@independenceltd.]

@@thedarkwizardroom yea, i have a hard time calling Golden Earring "underrated". they were, but they still had a gold album in the states, same as Thin Lizzy. I'd love to call them underrated too cuz they should've had 8 platinum albums, but a gold album means they did have some success.

[@seekah1]

@@independenceltd. Ikr, but then it depends how you define it. Lizzy and BOC should've been MUCH more widely known for just Boys are Back and the Reaper which is what the general masses only know them for, underrated then.

[@herbie-f4x]

The Sword

[@tonyn3227]

Sword from Canada, and England's Marshall law, wow

[@adnilrummut105]

1. psychotic waltz 2. cynic 3. vital remains 4. manilla road 5. hard stuff worth to mention: carcass, belphegor, charred walls of the damned

[@stevemcnary7963]

A friend of mine played guitar with Psychotic Waltz at one time.

[@adnilrummut105]

@@stevemcnary7963 steve cox??

[@stevemcnary7963]

@@adnilrummut105 Yes

[@mechanicalanimal125]

Where the heck is Chris Alo ???? seems like forever since i've seen him in any of the video's i've watched on this channel and he's my favorite person on this channel!

[@steelerfreak1977]

Hey Ralph I’m glad you mentioned Plasmatics. Coup D’etat is one of my all time favorite albums. And I definitely agree with you that they could’ve been bigger.

[@countralfus6408]

🤘🤘

[@fredriklindgren8313]

Saw The Crown last weekend and they are still great, what a total crushing set they blasted thru!

[@erikscholten5434]

Very nice episode, which basically comes down to personal taste. Agree with the obvious ones like Armored Saint, Y&T or Badlands. The only one I definitely did not agree with from a European point of view are Hanoi Rocks. They were pushed on TV shows and festivals, but their albums are average at best. For me personally I would mention Lillian Axe one of the very best in melodic hardrock arriving maybe a bit late. Also their current century albums are all great. In Progmetal Psychotic Waltz should have been much bigger, and on the tech/thrash region I think Hades and Watchtower criminally underrated. Finally most US metal bands from the eigties were amazing, but never broke big (Heir Apparent, Crimson Glory, Fifth Angel, Flotsam and Jetsam , Lethal and the likes)

[@paulh6673]

Screaming Trees - my fave band from the grunge era and possibly my all-time fave vocalist. Warrior Soul - incredible run of early albums, but bad timing. Too weird and post-punky and political for 80s rock, but too RAWK N ROLL for the alternative era Pagan Altar - from the genre I like to call "mouldy old paperback metal". Timeless, culty, almost folklore-ish. Feels like something an archaeologist would dig up rather than a band you'd find in a shiny record store. See also Brocas Helm, Manilla Road, Cirith Ungol. Kyuss - they get their due now, but they should've been huge when they were around. NoMeansNo - "the Rush of hardcore". The album 'Wrong' is rightly hailed as a genuine all-time classic, but they had so much more!

[@andyshelton4889]

Kyuss first album was widely praised.😀❤️🎼

[@paulh6673]

@@andyshelton4889 actually their first album was pretty much dismissed, even by the band. It was their 2nd album Blues For the Red Sun where they started to become a favourite of other bands and critics. So they weren't underrated by those "in the know", but they had virtually no impact commercially - similar to many bands mentioned by the panel in this video. A lot of them also had some critical acclaim that didn't translate into big success.

[@andyshelton4889]

@@paulh6673 I meant “ Blues”, some members of the band started. QOTSA. The “ Blues” album was produced by Chris Goss. Thank you for your message.😀❤️🎼

[@Earthdog777]

My favorite band, the last 8 years or so, is The Cold Stares.

[@bonemaplegaming9324]

Praising Hanoi Rocks, and then trashing Anthrax is insane to me.

[@Intermentor]

I dont get the hate either. Among the living is one of my fave thrash albums. We should rather be grateful that we didnt have shitty bands like the popular metal bands these days. The underground is more important than ever

[@Kyush4]

How? Anthrax is a great band but without Hanoi Rocks, neither Guns N' Roses or Skid Row happen.

[@Skycladatdusk78]

I agree, that was a very bizarre take. Anthrax have some classic albums and deserve the praise they get.

[@CathyLahn]

@@Kyush4 Wow, that would've been great without GnR and Skid Row!

[@Kyush4]

@@CathyLahn how cool of a hipster you are!

[@JohnnyRecently]

Solitude Aeturnus is an underrated Doom Metal band. Toadies, Kingcrow, Sparks, Budgie, and Aquilus.

[@house9Tube]

A couple of "modern" underrated bands: - All Them Witches: great psychedelia, bluey stoner rock; hard to describe but worth checking out - Gojira: in the US they have been opening for bands like Slipknot, Deftones, Korn; should be headlining these shows; maybe the Olympics will bring them more fans in the US

[@frankcantelmi245]

Armored Saint Budgie Rose Tattoo The Angels Pentagram Saint Vitus Obbessed Iced earth Venom

[@hardrockingtriviashow667]

1. Thin Lizzy 2. Blue Murder 3. April Wine 4. Y&T 5. Harem Scarem

[@carl-johanfougstedt199]

Great show! I absolutely 100% agree with Karen. Hanoi Rocks is a massively underrated band. I also think that Zero Nine is greatly underappreciated.

[@stefhan4667]

43:20 Fun fact: There is a German version of "Fox on the run" ("Fuchs geh voran") from 1975 by The Hunters which in fact was an alias for the Scorpions who openend for The Sweet back then in Germany. Hilarious lyrics, btw.😂

[@guillermomaldonado6277]

Magnum of course! they should have been huge (in my heart they are) 💖🍺🤘 Riot V; Armored Saint; Axxis; Virgin Steele ...thanks!

[@jensnilsson1507]

Yes! Were quite big here in Sweden late eighties but deserved even more. ’Wings of Heaven’ reached number 2 on the album charts in 1988. RIP Tony…

[@nicholasscott7860]

BOC, UFO, April Wine, Blue Rodeo, anthrax, yes I said it. Smallest of the big 4 but I love their new material and their classic period albums from the 80’s. “Discovered” them in 2012 because I ignored them early on. They seemed too jokey.

[@markwilburn4962]

Armored Saint King's X Giant Metal Church April Wine HM- Nuclear Assault (great pick, Karen!) Cirith Ungol Budgie

[@jimmyfrost5065]

Great show again. Very nice discussions also, not just nodding. One point on band names; people do not appreciate Y&T, U.F.O like letter names?

[@laurenzgraffilpenstein8117]

Budgie, Rory Gallagher, Riot, TANK, Gillan, UFO, Ram Jam, Witchfynde just to name a mix of these great more or less unknown acts

[@rongabrieljr.8784]

Doc Holliday is a band I would love to have seen make it bigger. Bruce Brookshire is an amazing guitarist and vocalist.

[@j.m.5300]

Saw them open for Black Sabbath. Mob Rules tour. Hollywood Sportatorium near Miami.

[@jbrewerize]

fantastic episode! Karen kicked it off great and it continued

[@henrikkarlsson1088]

Y&T, Axe, Ashbury, Magnum, Demon, Dare, Q5, Triumph, The Devil´s blood, Warlord

[@MrCecilnoise]

you know you've been watching SOT for a while when you know one of Ryan's picks from seeing it on a past show "Negative Plane" great one there

[@gordy3714]

1,Paradox 2,Falconer 3,Dark Quarterer 4,Dew Scented 5,Limbonic Art Off the top of my head. 👌

[@kylemacneil3477]

Junkyard. From LA in the late 80s. Toured with Black Crowes and Lynyrd Skynrd. Were signed to Geffen. A mix of ACDC, GnR, with a southern rock vibe. Members were from well known underground bands.

[@tomp8463]

King's X, Living Colour, Rival Sons

[@blaineryan-smith1451]

living colour is one of my favorite bands ever. Good choice!

[@quigon6349]

King's X fore sure.

[@tomp8463]

@@blaineryan-smith1451 , I saw them on Saturday night. Great show.

[@JIF882]

I'm picking two bands that had Jimi Jamison. The first one was Target. They released two albums in the late '70s. They sound like a combination of Free and Bad Company if they were from the South. Jimi even sounded a bit like Paul Rodgers. Cobra released their one and only album in 1983. It was produced by Tom Allom. They kind of remind me of UFO. Check out the music video for Blood On The Money. Cobra was a combination of American musicians from Memphis, Tennessee and Swiss musicians. One was Mandy Meyer from Krokus/Asia. Cobra disbanded when Jimi joined Survivor

[@richpope7218]

Kix. Seemed head and shoulders above everyone of that time period with the exception of Crue, GNR, Whitesnake and Great White.

[@brandonbelt5055]

Zombi, 16 Horsepower/Wovenhand, Fatso Jetson, Meat Puppets, Keelhaul, Monster Magnet, Blackfoot, TAD, The Ruins of Beverast Cool to see The Chasm mentioned! And Hammers of Misfortune.

[@wernermoritz882]

@@brandonbelt5055 good call on Meat Puppets!

[@connorburtontraining1297]

Hi Pete, Love the video. Could you please consider doing a video w/ Martin Poppof about what the “Brown Sound” is? I don’t quite understand it and am sure many of the viewers would appreciate it. Sorry if it’s already been covered. Thank you

[@SimonMackUK77]

Yep Budgie, Blue Murder s debut LP ! Freak of Nature, Mindbomb, and...Senser ( UK hybrid of Public Enemy meets Rage against the Machine with huge riffs , and talent) . There ! Cheers from Planet Mack Liverpool 🎉

[@mariusjacobsenlixomania]

after only 3mins; HAIL AND MUCH LOVE AND RESPECT to YOU Karen 🙂thank you for mentioning thee LEGENDARY Hanoi Rocks AND Demolition 23, whose sole album were finally issued on record last year, for ANYONE interested to get that DO NO ORDER from the label, yes it's run by Tiny Steven, and i have unfortunately A VERY good reason for discrediting them, they not only COMPLETELY ignored my pre order, and when it was out they did NOT response to my simple question if there's any news on if it's shipped, and at this point it was already shipping, and it was their ONLY physical release on their bandcamp store, their only store, so after getting in touch with the very friendly and helpful service peeps from Bandcamp, who wrote to the label, whom the label ignored twice, which ended with Bandcamp refunded me the money for the LP directly, where this amount would be taken from further sales by that label, HIGHLY unprofessional, and it's not like Little Steven operates that label on his own, i've had more professional dealing with PROPER DIY Punk labels/distro's than this, as i buy/love H/C punk a lot, which there is no outlet for here in Norway, as i know basically everyone dealing with underground music in this little country, anyhow i ended up getting a copy at a local store after all, was just so eager and afraid it would get sold out again to quickly, as this was the 2nd press as the first flew away before i managed to say cheese, but i digress, LOVE you Karen for giving good ol' Hanoi a mention, and it bothers me sick that they get called a glam metal/hair metal band, listen these guys as 16-17 years old kids, grew up in the shady places in the UK AND NYC in the early '80 where the drug dealers frequented etc, talk about trial by fire as a teen want to make it as rock n' roll band, huh?!, and has more to do with punk rock/REAL rock n' roll, and are genuine music lovers, i mean it's not normal for a Finnish guy like the real McCoy; Andy McCoy to play flamenco guitar AS WELL as he did in his prime AND having his own technique/style as well, but then again he has gypsy blood, like bassist Sam Yaffa also has, btw his Soundtracker music documentary series is highly recommended , where he travels around the world and checks out interesting music cultures/sub cultures/traditional music, and in many cases jams along, these guys were the real deal, also Monroe's latest handful of band project albums are great too, with the latest being perhaps his best, since is debut solo album from '87 anyways, also another related underrated band is Nasty Suicide's Cheap & Nasty, the first album, very tasteful, soulful rock n' roll, and a real band effort with an all star line up, so i will now get back to the program, VERY good start 🙂 and yes Hanoi INFLUENCED along with Van Halen a lot of the early LA bands like Motley to Guns N' Roses, who after all, were a counter reaction the whole hair/glam metal scene, that kinda "peaked" spandex overkill with the debut album by Poison, just sayin....though AFTER that you got the ACTUAL hair/poodle rock bands of the late '80's which all had their no 1 ballad, no thanx, i like kick ass hard rock/rock n' roll real McCoy style 🙂