10 Most Underrated Metal Albums Of The 2000s
2. Earthtone9 - Arc'tan'gent (2000)
Just scraping into our allotted timeframe comes an album for which the words "underrated" and "underappreciated" were invented for.
Formed in the most creative of hubs in Nottingham, earthtone9 forged together an alliance of alt metal, progressive metal, metalcore and shoegaze for a quick-fire trilogy of albums, starting with 1998's 'Lo-def(inition) Discord'. Gathering acclaim and prestige along the way, the group released their third album 'arc'tan'gent' to massive acclaim in the alternative scene, finishing in Album of the Year lists for the likes of Metal Hammer, Rocksound and Terrorizer, as well as being named one of the greatest British rock albums of all time by Kerrang! in 2005.
Despite it all though, earthtone9 announced their dissolution in 2002. They cited the age-old "creative differences" at the time, but the group had a torrid affair attaining decent distribution for each of their albums and were marred by wave after wave of bad luck. They'd make their triumphant return in 2010 literally "to play a handful of gigs to remind everyone just how good they were" before the comeback album 'IV' was released in 2013.
If the likes of Black Peaks, Loathe, or Phoxjaw have been in your heavy rotation over the past few years, then doff your cap to the Nottingham OGs.