Metal Academy - requesting feedback

So we're a couple of years down the track with the Metal Academy website now. I'm interested to hear what you think of the clan setup now after you've had a bit of time to get used to it. Did we get it right? Are there clans whose configuration frustrates you? If so, how would YOU have done them differently? Did we get the number right? Which ones did we absolutely nail?

I have to admit that I'm very surprised that no one mentioned the clan that I've had the most concern about in recent times & that's The North. It certainly seemed like the right call at the time but I've struggled with the fact that we have folk metal lumped in with black metal for some time now & it's one of the primary reasons that I elected to remove myself from The North. This was particularly evident when creating the initial playlists because the subgenres of folk metal (i.e. Celtic metal & medieval folk metal) have absolutely nothing to do with black metal & neither does a portion of folk metal as a whole so their playlist inclusions sound drastically out of place most of the time. I feel like we would have been better off separating folk metal & Viking metal into it's own clan even though it may have struggled for numbers. What does everyone think about this? Do you think it's fine as it is? What would you have done differently? Is there any other subgenres that would have fit nicely with folk metal & Viking metal?

The other main area of annoyance for me is with niche subgenres like trance metal, Nintendocore & trancecore which I feel really don't have all that much to do with the rest of The Revolution subgenres & (in the case of Nintendocore & trancecore) are borderline metal at all. Given my experiences since putting together the clans, I may have pushed for alternative solution for those although I can't really think of a better solution at the moment.

I know a lot of death metal fans struggle with the grindcore part of The Horde but to my ears it makes perfect sense. Any thoughts on that?

4 of the most recent bands I've discovered are subjects to this debate. Viking metal started as just Viking-themed black metal, coming from early Enslaved (and of course we can't forget Bathory). And whether or not another black metal band is also folk metal, that band Woods of Ypres has prominent folk elements here and there (if you wanna hear both black metal and folk metal, maybe try Moonsorrow). So I think The North is fine at its current subgenres. HORSE the Band is known for their Nintendocore sound that mixes metalcore with 8-bit video-game synths. And I think if trancecore is related to melodic metalcore, should it be related to trance metal as well? They're both related to trance! Other bands I listen to with similar elements like Amaranthe and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (two examples I would suggest for you, Sonny) shouldn't be kept apart. Speaking of Amaranthe, their trance metal still has metalcore elements like the harsh vocals and a few occasional breakdowns. So I think the better solution is to keep those niche subgenres intact. Grindcore is perfectly fine in the same clan as death metal, which is another reason why I chose to leave The Horde. However, Gaza is in the Revolution, yet it is also in The Horde because a couple of their releases are grindcore, and I'm not sure I feel comfortable about that (obviously different from what I think of Gulch). My opinion won't affect The Horde, but would affect some (just SOME) Revolution releases. Also according to the Metal Archives, grindcore power metal is a thing: Apofigeus (United States) - Death Metal/Grindcore with Melodic and Power Metal elements; Wisdom (Spain) - Power/Thrash Metal (early), Death Metal/Grindcore (later).

I disagree that Viking Metal started as just Viking-themed black metal. Viking Metal, as performed by Bathory, has zero black metal in it. Viking-themed black metal (Enslaved) is just black metal, just as viking themed death metal (Amon Amarth) is just death metal.

What makes things even more messed up is that Bathory's Viking Metal was HEAVILY inspired by Manowar (even if Quorthon denied it), which is just labelled Heavy Metal. If you listen to Blood on Ice, the first non-black metal album recorded by Bathory, there are sections lifted straight from Manowar.

I agree wholeheartedly with Ben's assertion that the issue lies with laziness around genre descriptions (particularly on RYM) and the fact that any metal with folk elements becomes tagged automatically as folk metal or any Viking-themed metal is therefore Viking Metal. The question then is, do you rely on genre tagging from RYM and try to fix it through the Hall, in which case maybe MA needs it's own, less ambiguous genre descriptions, or do you find another source for the initial genre designations?

The Manowar / Bathory connection is also very similar to the Black Sabbath / nearly every single stoner doom band ever who claim the Sabbs as an influence connection where Sabbath are heavy metal and all those others are stoner or doom metal, even those who sound exactly like Sabbath.

The wild and weird world of genre definitions, frustrating though it is, is certainly a great source of debate in the Metalverse though isn't it?

I'm not sure I'd want it any other way! What would we talk about?! 

I think on a site with limited members already (not meant to sound harsh) I would not see the point in further division of the existing clans.  Look at The Sphere which is I agree a defined genre of metal that has the lowest activity of the clans.  If you take out Viking Metal and Folk Metal and Trance Metal/core (whatever the fuck that is?) you're just diluting the coverage of these sub-genres and potentially limiting exposure to them across the site.

I grow tired easily of "boxes" talk so I am probably in my own "box" (the irony) in terms of what seems to be a very passionate subject for other members but in all honesty I just don't care that much about what fits into what genre/sub-genre.