Many classic artists have vast catalogs full of grand music. But, some of that music is sometimes overlooked or just simply shat on. It's a plain shame that this happens because a lot of these artists have some very killer albums in their catalogs besides the classic albums everybody wants to listen to. I have decided to pick, by personal opinion, the 5 albums that, to me, are extremely under appreciated in the hard rock and heavy metal community. So, here we go fuckers!
1. Aerosmith - "Night in the Ruts"
Aerosmith is a very extremely legendary band, known for everything from their bluesy hard rock to their excesses. It was around the time that this album was released that the band started to fall off the wagon due to the drugs and partying. But, it honestly did not stop them from making killer music like most people say. A lot of people look at this album like a piece of shit, because for some reason, they do not think Joe Perry played on this record at all, but he actually did play on 5 of the songs on this record. They also think this album is shit because they felt the drugs effected their songwriting and therefore, the songs on this record are rather weak. That is DEFINITELY not the case. I bought this record at a garage sale for 2 bucks when I was 8 years old. I remember knowing that I did not have this Aerosmith record, and since it was Aerosmith, I was buying it no matter what. I only knew one song off of that album, "Remember (Walking in the Sand)", due to its inclusion on 1980's "Greatest Hits" record that I had, but I would soon find out that their is a hell of a lot more to the record than that damn song. This record simply kicks ass and rocks like a mother most of the way through (save for the last song on the album, the weak ballad "Mia"). From the swaggering "Cheese Cake" to the funky "Bone to Bone (Coney Island White Fish Boy)", this album is chock full of Aerosmith gems. It is a bit hard to find, but I'm sure your local record store has it in some form, somewhere. I suggest to you all to check this record out. It simply is a killer underrated record, and the most underrated record of all time, in my opinion.
Bonzo Brad's Killer Tracks: "No Surprize", "Chiquita", "Cheese Cake", "Three Mile Smile", "Bone to Bone (Coney Island White Fish Boy)"
2. AC/DC - "Flick of the Switch"
Holy HELL! I must admit, I blew off this album myself for awhile for some odd reason. Now that I finally listened to record, I kick myself in the head every damn day wondering WHY I blew this record off and thought it wouldn't be good at all. The truth is, this album rocks and rolls all the way through and also features some of THE best riffage by Sir Angus Young, the schoolboy from hell. The album has such a raw, reckless sound to it compared to the last couple albums they had put out, 1980's "Back in Black" and 1981's "For Those About to Rock", that were quite slickly produced by Mutt Lange (Def Leppard, Foreigner). Those albums really kick ass too, especially "Back in Black." But, this record, man oh man, it is a dirty motherfucking record. The album was the last for awhile to feature drummer Phil Rudd, who was fired from the band midway through recording the record. He did complete the drum parts on this record though. This album is perhaps the rawest album they have made with Brian Johnson, and the more I listen to it, the more it becomes one of my favorite AC/DC records.
Bonzo Brad's Killer Tracks: "Guns for Hire", "Landslide", "Deep in the Hole", "Badlands", "Bedlam in Belgium"
3. Ted Nugent - "Intensities in 10 Cities"
Sweaty fucking Teddy. He is simply a guitar god and a fucking maniac. Yeah, I definitely don't agree with his politics, but the man is simply a killer musician and one hell of a hard rocker. He has many great albums and is honestly one of the more under appreciated artists in the music world. He just loves having a good time and going crazy like many fun people, but unfortunately, in the music world, some people don't believe in fun. ANYWAYS! This record simply kicked my ass listening to it. I did not know what to expect of it because well...I never knew it existed until about December of last year. Once I knew of this record, I decided to check into this record and see what it was all about and holy shit! This record smokes! A live album with all new songs on it was something that was quite adventurous at the time (1981), but Uncle Ted pulled it off with the only way possible: making the songs as "Gonzo" as possible. The songs were definitely very "Gonzo." Just loud slabs of raucous and righteous rock and roll in overdrive. I can't believe that this record is not even talked about when it comes to Sweaty Teddy's best work, because it is certainly one of his top 3 best albums, along with "Cat Scratch Fever" and his self-titled record. Very hard to find record, but you can get it on i-Tunes for sure!
Bonzo Brad's Killer Tracks: "Put Up or Shut Up", "My Love is Like a Tire Iron", "Heads Will Roll", "The Flying Lip Lock", "I Take No Prisoners"
4. Judas Priest - "Point of Entry"
Yeah, yeah, I know. I have mentioned this album before here on this site. In fact, the first thing I wrote about on this site was this album. Why? Because this album simply kicks ass and no one even talks about this record. Hell, people talk about "Turbo" more than this record, and "Turbo" is quite weak compared to this record! Yeah, this album was a little slicker and commercial than the previous record they put out, 1980's "British Steel", but this album is still hard rockin' and heavy as hell. There are so many killer moments on this record and not one weak spot at all. What people find to be the weakest spot on the record, "Turning Circles", is actually quite a good fucking song. Very catchy and great guitar work from Glenn Tipton and K.K. Downing. I will never understand why this record does not get talked about much, but I know, in my heart, that this album will be one of my favorite Priest records. Hopefully, they play a couple tunes off of this album on their farewell tour this year!
Bonzo Brad's Killer Tracks: "Heading Out to the Highway", "Don't Go", "Desert Plains", "Solar Angels", "Troubleshooter"
5. KISS - "Rock and Roll Over"
Well, well. My boys in KISS. It was quite tough to choose between this album and 1974's "Hotter Than Hell", but, this record really is a killer hard rock record full of KISS KLASSIKS. Yeah, people know "Calling Dr. Love" or "Hard Luck Woman", but no one ever knows what ALBUM they are from. Well, boys and girls, this is it! But, those songs are not the only ones on the record. This record, well really, the rest of the record, has so many killer hard rockin' tunes about women, rock and roll, and plenty of underage sex. The album definitely has plenty of swagger to go around and killer heavy, bombastic production thanks to the excellent Eddie Kramer (Jimi Hendrix, Anthrax, Led Zeppelin). When people talk KISS, they think "Alive!" or "Destroyer", but god damn, this album is definitely right up there with those two. A very underrated KISS record, in my opinion.
Bonzo Brad's Killer Tracks: "I Want You", "Take Me", "Ladies' Room", "Love 'Em and Leave 'Em", "Makin' Love"
Honorable Mentions:
Van Halen - Van Halen II
Motley Crue - Theatre of Pain
Scorpions - Animal Magnetism
Anthrax - State of Euphoria
Def Leppard - On Through the Night
UFO - Obsession
Cheap Trick - Dream Police
Dio - Sacred Heart
Megadeth - So Far, So Good, So What!
Whitesnake - Come an' Get It
Enjoy these great underrated albums and please check these out! They are definitely worth it.
Cheers fuckers,
Bonzo Brad
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