10 Most Underrated Band Members

With every mainstream rock band that comes along, there always seems to be the one member that everyone gravitates towards. It could be the fantastic moves of the frontman or the magnificent fretwork of the guitar player, but there's is always that one person that makes music fans do a double take.

These musicians tend to hog the spotlight so much that even some of the best aspects of the band seem to get overlooked. Whether it comes from lack of star power or just by coincidence, these musicians never seem to get the recognition for the massive amount of talent they possess.

While some of these musicians have been recognized in retrospect for their foundational contributions to their respective bands, they always seem to be living in the shadows of the more eye-grabbing members of the group. The unfiltered amount of talent that these guys have goes far beyond just a subtle bass accentuation or an occasional great drum solo. These are the sonic masterminds who made the sounds that their bands could not live without. Sure, there may be a central person to focus on in a group, but the foundation of these bands would collapse if they didn't have these tremendous musicians behind them.

For anyone even remotely interested in Van Halen, it all really comes down to the two brothers or David Lee Roth. While Roth had a charismatic stage presence that was unmatched in rock history, Eddie Van Halen's guitar prowess wrote the new handbook of rock guitar for the next generation. Each member brought innovations to their respective instruments that Michael Anthony tends to look more like a sideman than anything else.

On the other hand, Anthony's musical chops are what gave the band their distinctive character. Sure, there was perfection coming from Eddie's amplifier, but the low ending provided by Anthony's bass playing gave the band that all-important groove. To put it bluntly, Eddie's tapping riffs were essential, but if the song didn't have Anthony's bass laying down the pocket, it wouldn't mean a damn thing.

Even more important than Anthony's nimble fretwork were his backing vocals, which gave the band almost a second lead singer. There's no denying Roth's natural frontman mannerisms, but Anthony's soaring backing vocals help propel the melody of the song. It almost felt like 3 different melodies would be coming through at once from Anthony's backing vocals, Eddie's guitar, and Roth's lead. While he may now have been replaced with Eddie's song Wolfgang, Van Halen is still missing one of its integral puzzle pieces.