1. Local H: When Steve Goss gave me a copy of "Ham Fisted" in high school I had no idea that I would get so into Local H. They rock. For a trio, they rock even more. Scott Lucas is a well rounded musician (I also really like his band, The Married Men), but Local H is where he shines the most for me. My favorite album of theirs is "Here Comes The Zoo". It's the heaviest and the songs drive in an intense way that gets my blood flowing. Lots of people only know Local H because of their one big hit in the nineties (off of "As Good as Dead", their most poppy album... I won't mention the song) and a couple more minor hits from around the same time. They kept making music, though, and touring, and getting better. I saw them live in the early two-thousands and the show kicked ass.
2. Therapy?: I'm not sure I could have ever got into metal without hearing about Therapy? in high school. The band crosses over into metal (I think they even toured with Metallica once??), but somehow the music is too simple or basic, or punk, or something else. In any event, the songwriting is top notch, albeit a little weird at times. A trio, they do so much with just 3 instruments and I think Andrew Cairns has one of the best rock voices in the biz (underrated!!). They're from Ireland, fyi. I heard of them when my family had a foreign exchange student from France was was very into them and have yet to meet another fan of their music. However, for me they remain a band that I jump at any chance to hear something new from, or something I didn't have already. My favorite album remains "Infernal Love", most likely because it's the first I heard. "Troublegum" is likely the most metal. Even their new stuff is good.
3. King Tuff: Ian at CD World told me about King Tuff and I'm glad he did. They're a bit punk, kinda doomy, kinda stoner rock... I dunno. The songs are short and to the point. The style is straight up and in your face. Too much of them and you might get tired of the vocal sound, but you'll eventually come back for more. This is a band I haven't known about for too long, but has quickly entered my regular music rotation and remained. My favorite album is "Black Moon Spell" (The purple one), then the self titled (red one), then "Was Dead" (the blue one), but they're all good and worth listening to. Great riffs galore.
4. Caustic Casanova: I keep waiting for Caustic Casanova to branch fully into metal, but the more I listen to them I realize that they just rock hard. It's not metal. However, they might as well be. Their music is so solid and in your face. I have the feeling that they just don't care that it's not super polished or perfect, it's just good. The vocals hit a rasp that is perfect for their style of music and tone. The instruments are constantly switching it up, the music isn't predictable and constantly interesting. What a great band. Once I got into their latest release, "Breaks", I was drawn to seek out their older stuff. I actually heard about them through the Retro Futurist record subscription, with their 2 song release, "Pantheon: Vol 1", which rocks hard. I like them so much I mailed them a Christmas card last year.
5. Floater: One of my favorite bands of all time, I've seen Floater live more times than I've seen any other band live... too many times to count. It seems like in Eugene, people feel strongly one way or the other, they either love or hate this band. I love them. Also, I'm convinced that if anybody who doesn't care for them took the time to explore the diversity of their albums, they'd find something they like. Like many other bands, they get remembered for one or two releases that were the most popular at some point in their career. This trio has never changed members and they've continued to practice and tour for decades now, they're tighter than ever and sound better than ever. The music is bass heavy (although the guitar has taken a front seat in more recent releases) and Rob has a great voice for all kinds of music, demonstrated by the diversity of sound in their albums. It is a clean and pure voice that hits the notes in the right spots. Unique from any other band, ever... there is only one Floater. My favorite album: Angels in the Flesh and Devils in the Bone
6. Freedom Hawk: I first heard of this band as they were coming out with "Into Your Mind" and I stumbled across Small Stone Records' website. Somehow the band reminds me of dad rock, rockin' and little psychedelic, with blues influence. They never quite get heavy enough to roll into metal, but it doesn't matter. Their sound is accessible and I think they would sound good alongside metal, blues, stoner, doom, or psychedelic bands. I don't know much about them and only got into their stuff in 2015. Worth a listen.
7. Fu Manchu: This band first grabbed my attention when they released "King of the Road" and I was a DJ/Music Director at WSKB in college. I was not into metal at that point. I loved their sound. It's stoner rock and their sound has done a lot to define the stoner blues genre. While I like a lot of their stuff, the before mentioned album and "Gigantoid" are my favorites. Maybe it's because I got into sci fi themed music right around when "Gigantoid" was released, so it was good timing. Whenever I put on a Fu Manchu album, I think to myself... damn, I need to listen to them more.
8. Ugly Kid Joe: Wow. What a great band. Once again, a band that has been remembered for a couple songs, but has done so much more. Whenever I pay attention while listening to Ugly Kid Joe I am reminded over and over of how a guitar solo should work. Theirs are shredding. Much of their music is just fun, so maybe it's hard to take them seriously sometimes, but they are masters of their craft and forever an awesome band. Recently, I found a copy of "Menace to Sobriety" at a thrift store and can't believe it took me so long to find that gem. I'll always love their classic, "As Ugly As They Wanna Be" and the music videos from my high school daze. Their new album is solid, too, though ("Uglier Than They Used Ta Be). Many have tried at the party rock sound, extreme few have perfected it like Ugly Kid Joe. Plus, how awesome is it that one dude is wearing the Sweaty Nipples t-shirt in the pic on one of their early albums??
9. Henry's Child: There are quite a few pictures in my family's photo albums from the 90's of me wearing my Henry's Child shirt, it was a favorite of mine for many years through high school and early college. It fit right and I often got to explain... yea, it's a pretty cool band. They were signed by Elemental Records and I had a chance to see them around when they were working on their second album, "Clearly Confused". While I was interning with Elemental I got to see them in the studio, an unbelievably awesome experience to have as a young person. The album is a work of art. It's cohesive and well done, and each member of the band delivers his part flawlessly. I was sure at the time that they'd be the next big thing. I got to see them recently after a couple decades have passed and they're still a great great great band (and hella nice guys, to boot!). The music is epic. They've put on a couple of the best live shows I've ever seen.
10. Mr. Big: I'm not quite exactly sure the trajectory that Mr. Big's career took, but for me the album "Lean Into It" remains one of my favorite almost metal albums, so they made the list. Yea, I heard of them because of their one mega hit. And, I never had the urge to seek out more of their albums. One thing I know is that "Lean Into It" rocks. They play great solos. And, despite how cheesy and 80's their music sounds, I like it. It's an album to play while driving around on a summer day. I heard of them because my friend Puck once worked for MTV Taiwan and showed me his interview with them. That was pretty cool to see and a fun story from my youth... Hey, Puck... tell again how you interviewed Mr. Big. Get out that video again, will ya? Ah man. Good times.
Yes, there are a lot more bands that are almost metal. Feel free to mention your favorite in the comments.
