Requests For Non-Metal Releases To Be Added To MA

Ben, could you please add Wardruna into the Non-Metal section?  I am open to the debate about their folk elements tying them in with the North clan but equally they are an ambient act and should logically reside outside of any existing clan.

I'm not sure if Ben could add Wardruna to the site, Vinny. Sure they're associated with metal because two of the members came from black metallers Gorgoroth, and a lot of metalheads enjoy this group, but Wardruna have always been ambient Nordic folk. And by the logic of tying their folk elements in with the North, a non-metal group like Two Steps From Hell could end up in The Guardians with its epic classical/choral sound. Sorry, Vinny, no Wardruna here... Hey that reminds me, have you all noticed that the cover art for their album Runaljod – Yggdrasil looks so similar to that of Woods of Ypres' The Green Album? It's a red symbol in a green leafy background! Here take a look:

Also thanks so much for starting this thread, Vinny! We can use this to request adding non-metal releases in the middle of metal band's discographies to bridge the gap. I'll start in the next post, since this one is getting a little too long...

Ben, please add these non-metal releases in the middle of metal band's discographies to bridge the gap:

Eluveitie - Evocation I - The Arcane Dominion

Eluveitie - Evocation II - Pantheon

Machinae Supremacy - Jets 'n' Guns 2 (Original Game Soundtrack) (it IS metal, but I'd like that one added in as well please)

Theatre of Tragedy - Musique

Theatre of Tragedy - Assembly

Underoath - They're Only Chasing Safety

Underoath - Define the Great Line

I don't like to be a downer but I do think it opens up a huge can of worms if we're to start adding non-metal bands that happen to offer appeal to metalheads. It's hard enough to ensure that we get all of the relevant metal bands & releases into the database without adding to the challenge with bands that the the site was never really intended for.

Ben, what are your thoughts on this?

I'll play both sides here because, probably like Vinny, I checked out Wardruna's Kvitravn this year and really enjoyed it. Wardruna puts themselves in a weird position because their music sounds like the slower, folkier sections of many, many North releases, whether it's Folk Metal or certain types of Atmospheric Black Metal. I thought about bringing up the topic earlier in the year but decided against it, so it looks like Vinny did it for me. 

However at the end of the day I sort of agree with Daniel in that this would create a massive grey area that would be really hard to properly place other albums into. I think Wardruna are a MASSIVE outlier that probably deserves to be listed in The North but sadly can't be due to the implications. 

I think there are bands / releases that are very connected to metal in one way or another, and I'm not opposed to them being on the site, particularly when a loyal regular like VInny makes the request. That said, I really don't want to be spending stacks of time adding non-metal artists when I have so many obviously metal material still to add.

So I'll add Wardruna, but with the caveat that everyone be considerate when making similar requests. Think about things like "is the band a side project of a metal band" and "is this release on an otherwise obviously metal label".

Here's an example of a release I used to listen to that isn't technically metal, but is so grounded in it that it wouldn't seem out of place on Metal Academy. It was released on Adicopere, which is very much a metal label, and I used to listen to it quite a bit when it came out. I might add it one day...

https://rateyourmusic.com/release/album/akhenaton_f1/divine_symphonies/

Ben, please add the Virgin Steele album Life Among the Ruins. Also I don't think you've added those other non-metal releases I've requested yet (from Eluveitie, Theatre of Tragedy, and Underoath), so can you please add them in as soon as possible to bridge the gap? Thanks...

Ben, please add the Samael album Era One. Also I don't think you've added those other non-metal releases I've requested yet (from Eluveitie, Theatre of Tragedy, Underoath, and Virgin Steele), so can you please add them in as soon as possible to bridge the gap? Thanks...

I've just noticed that you have added Deep Purple's discography to the site, Ben. Does this signal a change in site policy, or have I missed a conversation somewhere?

Well spotted Sonny. I wasn't aware of that myself. I look forward to hearing Ben's reasoning around that.

To be honest, I was surprised to see a classic hard rock/progressive rock band like Deep Purple added to this site, but I think I know why... Good news, Rexorcist, if you're still around: Your remaining top 100 metal album is here!

Deep Purple & Guns 'n' Roses have been added to the database as Non-Metal purely because Rex intends to raise Hall entries for a few releases to have them added to The Guardians. As is Ben's usual process, he's added only the proposed metal releases & the ones released in between them.

That meant adding 22 Deep Purple releases between In Rock and Perfect Strangers, which Rexorcist suggesting should be considered metal.

To be clear, I don't plan to add extensive non-metal band discographies to the site, but if a regular member requests an album or two so they can add them to the Hall of Judgement, I'll happily fulfill the request.

The rest of the Killing Joke catalogue please?  Or do you want that I just ask to add the one album I need for my top 100?

And thanks for adding Deep Purple and GNR.  Having said that, there's only a couple out of them that I'd like to suggest for metal tags.

With some non-metal releases added to the site to be sent to the Hall of Judgement lately, I think it's a good time for me to suggest a couple more. Ben, please add the Psyclon Nine albums Crwn Thy Frnicatr and We the Fallen. I strongly believe there's a lot of industrial metal in the majority of those albums' tracks mixed with the band's earlier aggrotech.

The rest of the Killing Joke catalogue please?  Or do you want that I just ask to add the one album I need for my top 100?

And thanks for adding Deep Purple and GNR.  Having said that, there's only a couple out of them that I'd like to suggest for metal tags.

It would be great if you could tell me the album(s) you feel should have metal tags. Thanks!

The rest of the Killing Joke catalogue please?  Or do you want that I just ask to add the one album I need for my top 100?

And thanks for adding Deep Purple and GNR.  Having said that, there's only a couple out of them that I'd like to suggest for metal tags.

It would be great if you could tell me the album(s) you feel should have metal tags. Thanks!

I thought the whole discography was supposed to go up as non-metal if a band has a metal album?  Or was that changed?

The rest of the Killing Joke catalogue please?  Or do you want that I just ask to add the one album I need for my top 100?

And thanks for adding Deep Purple and GNR.  Having said that, there's only a couple out of them that I'd like to suggest for metal tags.

It would be great if you could tell me the album(s) you feel should have metal tags. Thanks!

I thought the whole discography was supposed to go up as non-metal if a band has a metal album?  Or was that changed?

Oh wait, I think I get why you ask.  OK.

Extremities, Pylon, and the live albums Total Invasion, Laugh at Your Peril (both the Berlin and Roundhouse ones), and Malicious Damage

With some non-metal releases added to the site to be sent to the Hall of Judgement lately, I think it's a good time for me to suggest a couple more. Ben, please add the Psyclon Nine albums Crwn Thy Frnicatr and We the Fallen. I strongly believe there's a lot of industrial metal in the majority of those albums' tracks mixed with the band's earlier aggrotech.

Done.

Thanks, Ben! Judgement submissions coming soon...

Can you please add the following:

Scorpions: Tokyo Tapes

Scorpions: World Wide Live

Hi, Ben. As part of my side of the "Roots of Metal" project, there are a few albums that are often considered more hard rock than heavy metal, but they're a highly essential part of heavy metal's development and should be worth some discussion in this site. So can you please add the following:

Judas Priest - Rocka Rolla

Rainbow - Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow

Scorpions - In Trance

Scorpions - Virgin Killer (PLEASE use the replacement album cover with all the band members in it, not the original, for the sake of decency and legality)

Hi Andi. I'd like to refrain from adding non-metal releases just because someone wants to listen to them. I'll add them if a site member legitimately intends to add the release to the Hall of Judgement as they believe it to be metal. By all means check these releases out and let me know if you're convinced that they're metal.

As for the Virgin Killer cover, I'll always use the original cover for any release I'm adding to the site. While I understand your opinion, I refuse to censor the artwork here at Metal Academy.

That's OK, Ben. I'll just listen to and review the albums in my thread, and I'll let you know which ones I consider truly metal.