Hi from the Ancient Ones

Just joined to see what the site can offer my wilting mind.  I'm Ancient (58) and have been a metal head since about 1974.  The first album I bought was Deep Purple's 'Stormbringer' so I grew up in the classic age and I'm pretty well-versed in the releases of that era.  The last album I bought was Loathe's "I Let It In and it took everything".  I will be buying Boss Keloid's "Smile and The Family Thrush" next.  It was streamed by Decibel Magazine today and is pretty impressive after a 1st listen.  Last gig I saw was the Black Peaks streamed event 'Live From The Brighton Centre'. I can't wait for venues to re-open and bands to tour again.

I'm into pretty much everything that pushes the metal envelope (I'm also into Prog Rock so the Infinite clan seemed like my natural home) and  the metal scene has never been as vibrant and exciting as it is now.  The genre-defying diversity and cross pollination in modern acts is what thrills me.   The young musicians (and plenty of journeymen) keeping Metal alive and evolving keep me actively seeking new material.  Also, the number of women in contemporary bands is something I approve of.  I wonder how they can stomach the smell?...

Hello, I think you're still not the oldest here btw.  Good to see new blood on the site.

We just did a feature on that Loathe record - which wasn't to my particular taste but each to their own and all that.  

Looking forwards to hearing your thoughts on releases in reviews and forum threads etc.

Hi Makntak and welcome to the Metal Academy. You're of a similar vintage to myself - I remember being 58 like it was only last year (it was). I grew up a Beatles fan as a young kid then graduated to the glam rock scene - Queen, Bowie, T-Rex, Slade and Alice Cooper were particular faves of mine. Around '75 I started to get into Pink Floyd and some time in '76 I came upon Paranoid and that was it - I was hooked on metal. Just out of interest, when you buy an album is it digital, CD or vinyl?

I completely agree that the metal scene has never been more diverse or interesting. There's fantastic stuff coming out seemingly every week . Metal sure has come a long way since those early days of the 1970's.

Looking forward to an exchange of views.

Just out of interest, when you buy an album is it digital, CD or vinyl?

Hey Sonny we share a lot in common with our growth into music!  These days I tend to buy digital versions and I always want FLAC.  Occasionally, I will want the physical album (as in days of yore) and usually I buy CD.  I no longer have the means to play vinyl and sold off my vinyl collection a few years ago :( 

Welcome to Metal Academy Makntak! I hope you find some value in what we're doing here. We've definitely got some unique things going on, and I think you'll find our small (but growing) community to be friendly and passionate about metal.

We're always looking for ways to make Metal Academy even better, so don't be afraid to submit ideas or leave feedback.

Cheers,

Ben.

Just out of interest, when you buy an album is it digital, CD or vinyl?

Hey Sonny we share a lot in common with our growth into music!  These days I tend to buy digital versions and I always want FLAC.  Occasionally, I will want the physical album (as in days of yore) and usually I buy CD.  I no longer have the means to play vinyl and sold off my vinyl collection a few years ago :( 

I too sold off a lot of vinyl in the early 2000s which I have come to regret, but at the time it seemed like vinyl had run it's course. I bought a new turntable though two or three years ago and have since become an avid collector again. I tend to focus on limited editions for vinyl purchases and still buy quite a few CDs - physical music is one habit I've never been able to break! I do buy digital sometimes, but usually for stuff I'm not too fussed about or where postage costs make a physical purchase prohibitively expensive - the number of times postage charges are more than the cost of the record is getting ridiculous, from the US to the UK is particularly insane!

Welcome Makntak. I think you'll fit in nicely around here. We have a broad cross-section of age groups at the Academy but have found some of our more seasoned members to be amongst our most devoted & most valued in the community. We've built a completely inclusive environment here at MA & intend on keeping it totally free of the sort of judgement & elitism you'll often find at other metal sites so we encourage our members to indulge themselves in whatever way they feel & to share as much of your thoughts & feelings as they like. There's absolutely no subgenre bias allowed.

Here are a few cool features to check out if you'd like to get amongst it early:

1. The monthly feature releases for each clan are released on the first day of every month & are chosen by our clan members in a rotating roster. All of our members then rate, review & discuss the chosen releases on dedicated forum threads. You can find the whole list of June feature releases under the FEATURED tab with links to the threads. If you'd like to be added to the rosters for some (or all) of your three clans then let me know.

2. Each month we release a two-hour Spotify playlist for each clan. Each playlist has a portion of its tracklisting made up of tracks that are nominated by the members of the associated clan so that it truly represents that clan's current listening habits. You'll see that there is a playlist suggestions thread in each clan where you can make your submissions & each clan has its own limitations for how much runtime each member can submit for inclusion. Let me know if you'd like to be a part of that & I can adjust the associated playlist limits to include you.

3. Under the LISTS tab you'll find the CLAN CHALLENGES. These challenges enable a member to earn a fourth clan of their choice. Some people love the idea while others (like myself) are happy with just the three. Maybe check it out & see if it's for you.

4. And finally, we love to see as much rating, review & forum activity as possible so go nuts! This is a great place to meet like-minded people & you'll find that once we all learn a bit about your unique taste profile you'll be getting some great recommendations from the rest of our members. This is probably the best part about being a member of the Academy actually. We look after each other.

Have fun & we hope to see you around!