10 Rock Bands People Love To Hate

From American alt scene sweethearts to the most hated band on the planet, the 2000’s proved to be a rollercoaster ride for Nashville’s Kings of Leon. The family band formed of brothers Caleb, Nathan and Jared Followill with cousin, Matthew Followill, first started playing music together in 1999. Their primordial sound had no resemblance to the international super hits which appeared a decade later, as they adopted a blend of blues and garage rock for early material.

Kings of Leon released their debut album, ‘Youth & Young Manhood’, in 2003 and unless somebody told you, there would be no way for an untrained ear to realise this was the same band behind the hit single ‘Use Somebody’. The incredibly underrated ‘Aha Shake Heartbreak’ followed a year later and ‘Because of the Times’ became their third album in 2007. Little over a year later, the band’s image, sound and style had completely shifted for ‘Only By the Night’, the band’s breakout album.

In the years that followed ‘Sex On Fire’ and ‘Use Somebody’, the band bounced from one controversy to another. From cancelling live shows halfway through their opening song to fighting each other backstage, Kings of Leon fell into complete disarray. Vocalist Caleb Followill has repeatedly expressed his hatred for ‘Sex On Fire’, stating that he didn’t even want to release it because he disliked it so intensely. Despite this, the band have mounted a moderate comeback in recent years with albums like ‘Walls’ (2016) and ‘When You See Yourself’ (2021) but, their peak years of fame are almost certainly behind them.