Porcupine Tree is one those bands that has managed to keep under the radar for nearly 20 years. I don’t know how they did it. I’m actually kind of impressed. Especially since they’ve had guest musicians like Robert Fripp (King Crimson) and Mikael Ã…kerfeld (Opeth). If you don’t know who King Crimson is then you probably weren’t aware that progessive rock has been around since their first album in 1969. If you’ve never heard of Opeth, I’ll let it slide… for now.
Over the last several years, Tool has grown to become that band that other bands look up to. Though not always popular due to their scary/haunting music videos and very descriptive/honest lyrics, they’ve grown their fan base through their quality of music rather than pop-based singles or crazy marketing schemes. It just takes an unattached/unbiased listening to any one of their songs to get hooked. It’s hard for first time listeners to appreciate at first, but once you hear the intricacies and the meaning behind the lyrics - you can’t help but to appreciate the quality.