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Hidden Gems - what are yours?


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It always fun (well, for me!) to have a great album in my possession that seems to be unheard of by nearly everybody else. Something that is not tainted by over exposure in the mainstream.

 

Well I have 11 hidden gem albums here that are probably not well known by most people and in my opinion should have been more successful.

 

How many of these have you heard or heard of? 

Agree/Disagree?

 

But more importantly - what are yours? 

 

In no order of preference:-

 

Mary My Hope - Stones/Velvet Underground-ish band who were on the same label as the Stone Roses initially. One of my favourite albums:-

Ny02NjIxLmpwZWc.jpeg

 

Naked Sun - prog rock a la Queen - loose concept album:-
OS5qcGVn.jpeg 

 

Excel - hardcode/thrash crossover:-

LTQwMzAuanBlZw.jpeg

  

Shout - hard/aor rock from from a Ken Tamplin who does singing lessons on youtube - were supposed to be  a Christian band:-

OS5qcGVn.jpeg

 

The Big F - another Stones/Stooges-like bands - opened for some big bands at the time:-

NC00NjczLmpwZWc.jpeg


 

 

Burning Tree - bluesy hard rock:-

NC05OTEyLmpwZWc.jpeg

 

Last Crack - twin guitared alternative metal fronted by a (seemingly) slightly mad philosophy major/student:-

NS5qcGVn.jpeg

 

Thee Hypnotics - Led Zep/Stonesy-like retro rock:-

LmpwZWc.jpeg

 

The Toll - alternative rock:-

Ni00NzQ5Lm1wbw.jpeg

 

Sword - classy hard rock/metal from Canada (surely someone else on this site has heard of them?):-

OS0yMTUxLmpwZWc.jpeg

 

Intrinsic - thrash metal:-

Ni01MjA5LmpwZWc.jpeg

 

I think all of these except Naked Sun, Burning Tree and Intrinsic had at least another album that's worth a listen. 

Last Crack's album Burning Time is darn good too.

 

 

Edited by Malignant Narcissist
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Some are indie and completely unknown, others have a cult following and some are locally well known but drops in popularity outside a certain region

 

31YSkGsZvbL.jpg

 

COC meets Primus? Used to see them live around Toronto and bought their only (afaik) release

 

Ny02NjI3LmpwZWc.jpeg

 

some call this a Canadian punk classic - played this cassette to death back in the day

 

My5qcGVn.jpeg

 

another Canadian punk classic

 

OS04MzgwLmpwZWc.jpeg

 

Can't decide which Wireless album I love more this one or No Static

 

LmpwZWc.jpeg

 

this one was a difficult title to track down and my favorite FM album although Black Noise and City of Fear are close behind

 

I could go on with a few more Canadian has beens and never wuzez but I'll stop there

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13 hours ago, taurus said:

Some are indie and completely unknown, others have a cult following and some are locally well known but drops in popularity outside a certain region

 

31YSkGsZvbL.jpg

 

COC meets Primus? Used to see them live around Toronto and bought their only (afaik) release

 

Ny02NjI3LmpwZWc.jpeg

 

some call this a Canadian punk classic - played this cassette to death back in the day

 

My5qcGVn.jpeg

 

another Canadian punk classic

 

OS04MzgwLmpwZWc.jpeg

 

Can't decide which Wireless album I love more this one or No Static

 

LmpwZWc.jpeg

 

this one was a difficult title to track down and my favorite FM album although Black Noise and City of Fear are close behind

 

I could go on with a few more Canadian has beens and never wuzez but I'll stop there

 

Not to be confused with a Brit AOR band with the same name. Or rather, called FM UK on your side of the pond so as not to be confused with the Canadian band. 

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3 hours ago, Malignant Narcissist said:

 

Not to be confused with a Brit AOR band with the same name. Or rather, called FM UK on your side of the pond so as not to be confused with the Canadian band. 

 

yeah different bands. I think they were both active around the same time as well. Not sure of the genre of the UK FM, never heard any of their music

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The debut album by this band called Van Halen is great.  It hasn't been "tainted by overexposure," literally speaking.  You couldn't play it enough to "taint," it.

 

The original lead singer of Black Sabbath released an album by his new band, "Blizzard of Ozz," that was excellent.

 

That same year, a prog rock band from Canada released an album called Permanent Waves that I love.

 

:biggrin:

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11 hours ago, Rick N. Backer said:

The debut album by this band called Van Halen is great.  It hasn't been "tainted by overexposure," literally speaking.  You couldn't play it enough to "taint," it.

 

The original lead singer of Black Sabbath released an album by his new band, "Blizzard of Ozz," that was excellent.

 

That same year, a prog rock band from Canada released an album called Permanent Waves that I love.

 

:biggrin:

 

Err they sound awful :tongue: Especially stuff about waves - sounds like an album about hairdressing!

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2 hours ago, IbanezJem said:

I am definitely not telling any of you. Why should I do the hard work of discovery and then gift the knowledge away? :no:

Lol

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On 9/24/2022 at 6:40 AM, Malignant Narcissist said:

 

 

Last Crack - twin guitared alternative metal fronted by a (seemingly) slightly mad philosophy major/student:-

NS5qcGVn.jpeg

 

 

 

I have to say that cover has all the makings of an internet "Worst Album Cover" list entry

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Well in terms of prog, I don’t know a ton of things that aren’t widely known amongst prog fans, but in terms of general rock audiences most will not have heard of these records that I really love:

 

Premiata Forneria Marconi - Per Un Amico

Le Orme - Felona E Sorona

Banco Del Mutuo Soccorso - Darwin!

Crack The Sky - Safety In Numbers

Captain Beyond - Captain Beyond

The Tangent - A Spark In The Aether

Pendragon - Masquerade Overture

 

 

also, in terms of not prog, there are these two artists I adore from the past decade who aren’t exactly unknown but certainly not massive:

 

White Reaper - World’s Best American Band

MisterWives - Connect The Dots

 

and there’s this old pop punk band I love who are pretty much minor one hit wonders

 

Eve 6 - Eve 6

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this band got some recognition for their song "impulse" off of this EP -- which i just recently found out is because it was included somewhere on a guitar hero game. other than that they're basically unknown.  i think this it's a great instrumental prog rock group which prioritizes interesting songwriting above everything else, making them much better than the more successful bands active in this genre such as CHON (who are okay) or Polyphia (who i dont like) who work for commercial appeal while showing off their chops.

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So some of you do have a few recommendations and hidden treasures to share!

Very cool (to me)! I and hopefully others will check them out.

I think Pendragon is the only band I've heard of so far outside of my selections. 

 

But as IbanezJem jokingly hinted at, revealing these bands to the larger world of the Rush or any forum does conflict with the idea of them being untainted and not over exposed. Maybe we should delete this topic immediately and wipe our minds....:ohmy::laugh:

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On 9/26/2022 at 2:15 PM, Rod in Toronto said:

The Temperance Movement. Incredible band with Stones and Faces influence, who unfortunately broke up after only three albums.

 

I'd have to check but I think they were mentioned several times over the last few years in one of the UK's rock magazines. Maybe Classic Rock. A track of theirs might have been on one of the free compilation CDs these mags sometimes have. I've got a few and see if I can track it down (although Spoti-thingy might be easier).

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7 hours ago, Malignant Narcissist said:

 

I'd have to check but I think they were mentioned several times over the last few years in one of the UK's rock magazines. Maybe Classic Rock. A track of theirs might have been on one of the free compilation CDs these mags sometimes have. I've got a few and see if I can track it down (although Spoti-thingy might be easier).

Tell me what you think when you get to listen to them!

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14 hours ago, stoopid said:

I listen to a fair bit of prog, so pretty much all those bands aren't mainstream.

Mon dieux - yes totally. Love prog too but I've only scratched the surface of it and there are loads of good bands under the radar in that genre.

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