10 Most Underrated Bands Of The '90s
Outliers of the Grunge Era.
The '90s were often known as a whirlwind time for music. With rock and pop progressing a few times each year, the last decade of the millennium marked a definitive shift towards the alternative boom and more out-there ideas coming to the forefront. Even in a decade where anything was fair game, some of the most talented acts of the bunch ended up remaining anonymous.
While you had bands like Nirvana and Pearl Jam who got the just praise they deserved, many artists had only a handful of shots at the spotlight before disappearing completely. Though fans wouldn't really give these kind of bands the time of the day, many of these artists have a solid discography that could even surpass some of the more popular kids on the scene.
Even though some of them may have the unlucky fortune of being at the wrong place at the wrong time, others have gotten to the top of the rock heap only to be dragged through the mud by rock fans once again. Either way, these acts deserve another shot at redemption. Now that we have the benefit of hindsight, let's take a look at some of the bands that should have been as massive as their peers.
10. Kyuss
With the grunge movement in full swing by the early '90s, rock fans were itching for something much heavier than hair metal. While Nirvana and Soundgarden might have provided the sound everyone knew and loved, a little genre known as stoner rock was starting out of the West Coast, destined to infiltrate the rock mainstream. Though bands like Monster Magnet and Sleep have gotten accolades as some of the titans of the genre, Kyuss deserved to be even bigger than their peers.
Across just 4 records, Kyuss was setting the standard for what stoner rock would become, with tons of attitude and meaty guitar riffs that would have made Tony Iommi proud. As opposed to just blasting their audience with noise, Josh Homme found his own sound by tuning his guitar down to unheard of levels, which gave each song an added punch. From Blues for the Red Sun to Welcome to Sky Valley, the band ended up garnering an underground following while also attracting mainstream fans like Dave Grohl and the members of Metallica.
Kyuss ended up bottoming out prematurely at the end of the decade, but Homme was able to run with his ideas and form Queens of the Stone Age out of the band's ashes. We may have gotten one of the greatest bands of the new millennium out of the deal, but the disillusion of Kyuss marked the end of one of stoner rock's most influential acts.