Looking for your top three heavy acts that missed the boat to success and should have been more when compared to other bands of the day. Looking for technical ability, composition strength, originality and overall sound. List them under Death, Thrash, Speed metal etc.

Seeing as I used to be into death metal, the three in that genre that come to mind are:

Nocturnus - Thresholds album
THE best death metal album ever, way ahead of its time, included a keyboard player and guitarists that could shred amazing solos. Crap vocalist though, just a regular death grunt but the lyrics are a brilliant mix of sci-fi and horror. I just focus on the guitar playing and shut him out. The riffs range from really cool heavy grooves to extremely technical neo-classical and the solos are pure genius. If you think Children of Bodom are good, these guys outclass them on every front. Forget their other albums though, this is the one that they spent time on the music and forgot the stupid satanic lyrics.

Sentenced - Amok album
Really catchy riffs, abrasive yet original vocals, great guitar playing - nice solos and an overall classic rock feel.

Cynic - Focus album
Think Death meets jazz guitar. Brilliant mix of two opposing styles, very technical and complicated compositions. Extremely original vocals, sounds like Chuck Schuldiner in one ear and a robot singing through a voice box in the other. Production was a little tinny though, the only slight fault on this otherwise must have cd.

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I think it would be Venom - a death metal band who allegedly made a pact with the devil for fame and superstardom but to no avail.

Seriously the best would be Children of Bodom, I think they will make it big time like Metalica if just given the right exposure.

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Bodom hasn't made it big time? I mean, if Bodom is an UNfamous metal band, let's go ahead and talk about Dream Theater, Shadows Fall, and Black Label Society in this thread as well.

Umphrey's McGee- (WARNING: doesn't count as unfamous if you're a hippie) So these two metal guitarists one day decided to form a jam band. I'm not completely sure why, but the results really weren't that bad.

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Venom is no where near death metal. They came out way before death metal was even thought of back in 78. Death metal didn't begin until a decade later.


Check the news, they are as big as Metallica and worse yet, they're turning into a crappy band like Metallica.

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Most bands I listen to are relatively "famous," even Cynic is known by many. But I have to agree that their album is one of the best to come along in metal. Though, I never understood the "jazz metal" label, I don't hear anything that reminds me of jazz in their music.
Check out the re-release of the album though, they remixed some songs, and re-mastered the whole thing. It sounds much better. They even added some Portal demo tracks, which are just as good as the Cynic tracks.

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As a lyricist and as somebody who listens to more than the solos, I have to disagree.

By far, Are You Dead Yet? is BY FAR their most interesting work from a rhythmic perspective and I think the toned down guitar and keyboard work was necessary to complement that.

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