Ben's Forum Replies

The following bands have been added to Metal Academy from the 4th to 10th of July, 2026.

1. Coffin Torture (FALLEN)

2. From Oceans to Autumn (FALLEN, INFINITE)

3. Gnaw Their Tongues / Bismuth (FALLEN)

4. Languish (FALLEN, HORDE)

5. Pigpen (FALLEN)

6. Sektarism (FALLEN)

7. SolNegre (FALLEN)

8. Geek (GATEWAY)

9. Windrunner (GATEWAY, INFINITE, REVOLUTION)

10. Hocculta (GUARDIANS)

11. Jormungand (GUARDIANS) - requested by Andi

12. Mad Hatter (GUARDIANS)

13. Bloodtruth (HORDE)

14. Brutal Sphincter (HORDE)

15. Crash Syndrom (HORDE)

16. Death Decline (HORDE)

17. Defacing (HORDE)

18. Godless (HORDE)

19. Ineffable Demise (HORDE)

20. Micawber (HORDE)

21. Sectarian Defacement (HORDE)

22. Splatterpuss (HORDE)

23. Tempestas (HORDE)

24. Wolfslair (HORDE, NORTH)

25. Zealot Cult (HORDE)

26. Victoria (INFINITE)

27. Astral Alchemy (NORTH)

28. Forest Mysticism (NORTH)

29. Forlor (NORTH)

30. Harvest (AUS) (NORTH)

31. Hiidenhauta (NORTH)

32. Phlegein (NORTH)

33. Saltus (NORTH)

34. Selenite Scrolls (NORTH)

35. Shade (NORTH)

36. Strigoii (NORTH)

37. Perpetratör (PIT)

38. Azalea (REVOLUTION)

39. Before I Turn (REVOLUTION)

40. dbAF2004 / razones para odiar (REVOLUTION)

41. Deuce (REVOLUTION)

42. Fordirelifesake / Deluge (REVOLUTION)

43. Heck (REVOLUTION)

44. Maniac (REVOLUTION)

45. Roseblood (REVOLUTION)

46. Seric (REVOLUTION)

47. you've got mail (REVOLUTION)

48. N17 (SPHERE)

The following bands have been added to Metal Academy from the 26th of June to the 3rd of July, 2026.

1. Consecration (GBR) (FALLEN)

2. Mínus (FALLEN, REVOLUTION)

3. Truck Violence (FALLEN) - requested by BlackSunMortality

4. Nine Shrines (GATEWAY)

5. Our Mirage (GATEWAY)

6. Pillar (GATEWAY)

7. Snow White's Poison Bite (GATEWAY)

8. Victim (OH-USA) (GATEWAY)

9. Wartime (GATEWAY)

10. Chariots Overdrive (GUARDIANS)

11. Eden's Curse (GUARDIANS)

12. Grudge (GUARDIANS)

13. Mantas (GBR) (GUARDIANS, PIT, SPHERE)

14. Alice Caulfield (HORDE)

15. Amok (CHE) (HORDE)

16. Bleeding Spawn (HORDE)

17. Dead Youth, The (HORDE)

18. Detachment (HORDE)

19. Inscribed (HORDE, PIT)

20. Under Moonlight Sadness (HORDE)

21. Unlucky Morpheus / Undead Corporation (HORDE)

22. Xenosis (HORDE, INFINITE)

23. Ad Christi Gloriam (INFINITE, NORTH)

24. Dødsfall (NORTH)

25. Eldamar / Dreams of Nature (NORTH)

26. Evroklidon (NORTH)

27. Misteltein (NORTH)

28. Sargoth (NORTH)

29. Destro, The (PIT) - requested by BlackSunMortality

30. City in the Sea (REVOLUTION) - requested by BlackSunMortality

31. Come the Dawn (REVOLUTION) - requested by BlackSunMortality

32. Death of an Era (REVOLUTION) - requested by BlackSunMortality

33. Feast for Kings, A (REVOLUTION) - requested by BlackSunMortality

34. For All I Am (REVOLUTION) - requested by BlackSunMortality

35. From Atlantis (REVOLUTION) - requested by BlackSunMortality

36. God Glitch (REVOLUTION) - requested by BlackSunMortality

37. Honour Crest (REVOLUTION) - requested by BlackSunMortality

38. Illumination, The (REVOLUTION) - requested by BlackSunMortality

39. Inked in Blood (REVOLUTION) - requested by BlackSunMortality

40. InVisions (REVOLUTION) - requested by BlackSunMortality

41. Love Ends Suicide, A (REVOLUTION) - requested by BlackSunMortality

42. Narrator, The (REVOLUTION)

43. One Year Later (REVOLUTION) - requested by BlackSunMortality

44. Paramedic, The (REVOLUTION) - requested by BlackSunMortality

45. Red Sky (REVOLUTION)

46. Righteous Vendetta (REVOLUTION) - requested by BlackSunMortality

47. They Are Cutting My Arms Off (REVOLUTION)

48. Underneath / Kicked in the Head by a Horse (REVOLUTION)

49. Antisect (SPHERE)

These new clan badge designs do look incredibly cool Ben. Should the new site not materialise, could these be incorporated into the old site?

I'm sure they could be, but I'm still determined to make the new site work. I just added a new feature on the Covers page that allows you to search using keywords. For example, you can look for every album cover that contains a woman holding a sword or any cover that contains a cemetery with a zombie or basically anything you want. It returns covers that match, and it's fucking cool. I'm making so much stuff that I really want you guys to see, so I'm not giving up. It might just take a while for me to be able to afford it.

The first thing that stuck out to me is the new Clan symbols. I dig the idea of the M/F versions, especially since they're placed on everyone's profile, but I'm personally not sure about the updated designs? They are extremely busy and detailed for an asset that is going to be pretty small most of the time, like on people's reviews or forum posts. I think that the current ones, while dated, are way less muddy and easier to discern with the generic skull and color differences rather than the detailed portraits. The bold, glowing colored outline on the new ones do wonders for readability but I'm still on the fence. Maybe have the detailed one for the large clan badge in the top right of the release page like you showed, then have more simplistic badges for the smaller ones on forum posts and the release lists? But then that's double the assets, so...

I did try using the old images, but they just don't hold up in the new environment. I also really love the new badges, and I think everyone will agree when you see them in larger formats. There are places on the site where you can hover on the badges and see them in all their glory. I've actually been working on the badges for a long time. Way longer than the new site. It's only when I saw just how great they look that I wanted to build a new site where they could shine.

Here's one from each clan in all their glory...

I've thought about lyrics, but I don't think there's an API available that would consistently return lyrics for all the underground metal releases we have on Metal Academy. I could always allow the community to help populate lyrics. I guess there would be no harm in having the option. I'll explore.

Sonny, I'm very open to ideas like yours. I don't actually think it would be that hard to implement. Let me have a think about that one.

Hi Sonny. When you go to Lists on the new site, it defaults to only showing your lists. You can then select Discover to see all public lists and filter them all sorts of ways.

And here's an individual Release page. I'm really happy with the way this is coming along. The clan based colouring works really well and the added features (Tracklisting, Track rating, ability to add the release to one of your lists, and a comprehensive recommendation section) are all working the way I'd hoped they would.

Here's the current Releases page in List view. There's also a Grid view.

Here's the current Homepage. I will continue to tinker with it, so this is the most likely page that could change dramatically before any potential go live. Still, it gives you an idea.

For the past 3 or 4 months, I've been working on a new Metal Academy website. At first I was doing it just to see what I could do, but I found myself going back to it every day and spending hours playing around and building some ideas that I've had for a long time. It's got to a point where I can genuinely see a time where we might want to switch over to the new site, but I must admit that I'm very daunted by the idea of trying to move across all the content from this site (forum posts, reviews, releases, bands, cover images etc.) to the new one.

I feel like it's time to share some of the work I've done to date. More importantly though, I genuinely want to hear what people would change on Metal Academy, or what new features they would like to see. I encourage everyone to think of Metal Academy as a metal community site and not just a novel way to rate and review content. Let's think big and come up with crazy ideas that would make the site even more novel than it is. New features could be clan based, or they could have absolutely nothing to do with our novel clan approach.

Before you make suggestions, know that the new site allows you to filter and sort everything the way you want to, with no limitations. There have been lots of requests to improve the filtering on the current site, so know that whatever you want to do on that front will be possible on the new site, including AND / OR options (show me all releases that belong to The Fallen AND The North or show me all releases with Atmospheric Black Metal AND Depressive Black Metal subgenres).

OK, here are some images of what I'm working on. Obviously these are not necessarily the finished product. Also note that the new site contains dummy data, so don't pay any attention to the actual album information you're seeing.

Yeah, there's no point adding images for each release or even album names. I'm going to source high quality images anyway.

Just tell me the bands you want and ideally where they come from in case there are multiple bands with the same name.

The following bands have been added to Metal Academy from the 20th to the 25th of June, 2026.

1. City of Ships (FALLEN, INFINITE)

2. DNMF (FALLEN)

3. Galvanist (FALLEN, NORTH)

4. glamscure (FALLEN, GUARDIANS)

5. Stygian Obsession (FALLEN, HORDE)

6. AWS (GATEWAY, REVOLUTION)

7. GRYP (GATEWAY)

8. Indorphine (GATEWAY)

9. Lex Legion (GUARDIANS)

10. Soulitude (GUARDIANS)

11. Ablation (HORDE)

12. Abyssous (HORDE)

13. Fixation on Suffering (HORDE)

14. Goreworm (HORDE)

15. Lucifer's Hammer (USA) (HORDE, NORTH)

16. My Minds Mine (HORDE)

17. Suppression (USA) (HORDE)

18. Thy Feeble Saviour (HORDE, NORTH)

19. Towering (HORDE, NORTH)

20. Answer From Cygnus (INFINITE, NORTH) - requested by LeGuru

21. Five Pound Pocket Universe (INFINITE)

22. Marlugubre (INFINITE, NORTH)

23. Waken Eyes (INFINITE)

24. Black Blood Invocation (NORTH)

25. Dark Storm (NORTH)

26. Exesa (NORTH)

27. Eyelessight (NORTH)

28. Infernal Execrator (NORTH)

29. Nachtheem (NORTH)

30. Primal Cult (NORTH)

31. Rimthurs (NORTH)

32. Sex Messiah (NORTH, PIT)

33. Soul Grip (NORTH)

34. Bled Across Miles (REVOLUTION)

35. Cherem (REVOLUTION)

36. Deamon's Jaded Passion (REVOLUTION)

37. Outed (REVOLUTION)

38. Petalfold (REVOLUTION)

39. Prevail (REVOLUTION)

40. Tourniquet (NJ-USA) (REVOLUTION)

41. Shadow Domain (SPHERE)

Hi there and welcome to Metal Academy! I've never heard of this band, but I thought I'd ask AI and see what it had to say. See below...

..............................................................

Iziah appears to have been an unsigned Brisbane heavy-metal band active from 1985 to 1990. Metal Archives lists them as originating from Brisbane, Queensland, with status split-up, genre Heavy Metal, and no label beyond unsigned/independent. It also says the band later split and re-formed with a different line-up under the name Aces Wild. The last-known line-up listed is Brett McLean on bass, Richard Cornish on drums, Rory Martin on guitars, and Bill Richardson on vocals.

Their only listed release is a 1988 independent cassette demo simply titled Demo. The track list is:

• Sagittarius — 3:12
• Elizabeth of Bathory — 4:25
• T.N.O. — 5:13
• Fade Away — 4:11
• Soul Survivor / Wish on the Wind — 9:16

Total running time is listed as 26:17. The release page itself does not list individual recording credits.

There is very little critical or historical commentary available. A 2024 Metal Academy forum post by a collector/reviewer refers to Iziah as a “Brisbane four-piece” and describes the 1988 tape as fairly basic heavy metal, with ordinary sound quality, disputing the idea that it should be classed as power/thrash. That should be treated as one listener’s opinion rather than an authoritative genre classification.

The Aces Wild connection has one small supporting trace: an archive of Brisbane Orient Hotel gigs lists Aces Wild on bills in October 1991, including with K Agents on Sunday 13 October and with Black Magic on Sunday 27 October, the latter under a “Monster Metal Night” note. That fits the post-Iziah Brisbane metal-scene timeline, though it does not independently confirm which Iziah members were involved.

I did not find a confirmed official website, Bandcamp, Discogs entry, reissue, photos, lyrics, contemporary press coverage, or verified gig dates under the Iziah name. The available footprint is basically: Brisbane heavy metal band, 1985–1990, one 1988 cassette demo, later associated with Aces Wild.

..............................................................

So it caught my attention that it mentioned a previous comment on Metal Academy. That comment was unsurprisingly made by Daniel (our resident Australian metal expert). His comment can be found here: https://metal.academy/forum/9/thread/1548?page=4

Daniel, I don't suppose you have this demo? Do you even have any of your old cassettes? I'm assuming not.

The following bands have been added to Metal Academy from 17th to the 19th of June, 2026. Only added 2026 and requested releases this week due to a 4 day boys weekend (that I'm still recovering from).

1. Matador (FALLEN, INFINITE)

2. Memorandum (FALLEN)

3. Shades of Deep Water (FALLEN) - requested by Sonny

4. Smoke Witch (FALLEN) - requested by Sonny

5. Critical Mass (GUARDIANS, PIT) - requested by Daniel

6. Nightscape (GUARDIANS) - requested by LeGuru

7. Barbaric Oath (HORDE, NORTH)

8. My Cold Embrace (HORDE) - requested by LeGuru

9. Rivers Ablaze (HORDE, INFINITE, NORTH)

10. See You Next Tuesday & CHOP CHOP CHOP CHOP CHOP CHOP CHOP (HORDE)

11. Alkhemia (NORTH)

12. Auzawandils (NORTH)

13. Riverflame (NORTH)

The following bands have been added to Metal Academy from 5th to the 16th of June, 2026.

1. Bevar Sea (FALLEN)

2. Bottom Feeder (FALLEN)

3. Northern Graves (FALLEN, NORTH)

4. Santo Rostro (FALLEN) - requested by Sonny

5. Seer's Tear (FALLEN, INFINITE)

6. Slift (FALLEN)

7. Acid Blitz (GATEWAY)

8. gibkiy gibkiy gibkiy (GATEWAY)

9. Etrusgrave (GUARDIANS)

10. Knights of the Realm (GUARDIANS) - requested by Sonny

11. Rex Inferi (GUARDIANS, PIT)

12. Vanexa (GUARDIANS)

13. Anatomy (HORDE, NORTH) - requested by Daniel

14. Bleeding (HORDE)

15. Bygones You Had Better Be Bygones (HORDE, REVOLUTION)

16. Deracination (HORDE) - requested by Daniel

17. Discarnated (HORDE) - requested by Daniel

18. Dissentient (HORDE, INFINITE) - requested by Andi

19. Faces of Death (HORDE) - requested by Daniel

20. Medecophobic (HORDE)

21. Orgy of Pigs (HORDE) - requested by Daniel

22. Sanctum (AUS) (HORDE) - requested by Daniel

23. Tscabeze (HORDE) - requested by Daniel

24. Kolm (INFINITE)

25. Bras d'Honneur (NORTH)

26. Fields of Agony (NORTH)

27. Sarg (NORTH) - requested by Sonny

28. Zephyrous (NORTH)

29. Betrayer (AUS) (PIT) - requested by Daniel

30. Chain Ripper (PIT) - requested by Gator

31. Cromok (PIT) - requested by Daniel

32. Fatal Array (PIT) - requested by Daniel

33. Frozen Doberman (PIT) - requested by Daniel

34. Neophobia (PIT) - requested by Daniel

35. Anterrabae (REVOLUTION)

36. At the Mercy of Inspiration (REVOLUTION)

37. Damascus Intervention, The (REVOLUTION)

38. Hold My Own (REVOLUTION)

39. Summary Execution, A (REVOLUTION)

40. xforever warx (REVOLUTION)

The following bands have been added to Metal Academy from the 30th of May to the 4th of June, 2026.

1. Anthemon (FALLEN)

2. Atargatis (FALLEN, GUARDIANS)

3. Lunar Funeral (FALLEN)

4. Moon and the Nightspirit, The (FALLEN, INFINITE)

5. Rote Mare (FALLEN) - requested by Sonny

6. Sinistrous Diabolus (FALLEN)

7. Wake Up on Fire (FALLEN)

8. As Lions (GATEWAY)

9. Charm the Fury, The (GATEWAY, PIT, REVOLUTION)

10. Hyphema (GATEWAY)

11. Port Noir (GATEWAY)

12. Powerflo (GATEWAY)

13. Miecz Wikinga (GUARDIANS)

14. Road Warrior (GUARDIANS) - requested by Sonny

15. Warriors (GUARDIANS)

16. Witching Hour (GUARDIANS, NORTH, PIT)

17. Cemetery Reign (HORDE)

18. Cranial Engorgement (HORDE)

19. DADABOTS (HORDE, INFINITE, NORTH, REVOLUTION)

20. Exploding Zombies (HORDE)

21. Firstborn, The (HORDE, INFINITE, NORTH)

22. Hadal Maw (HORDE, INFINITE)

23. Kabak (HORDE)

24. Lou Cyfer (HORDE)

25. Marraneitors (HORDE)

26. Nashgul (HORDE)

27. Putrefy (HORDE)

28. Sulfuric Cautery / Tolerance (HORDE)

29. Guttersnipe (INFINITE)

30. Northern, The (INFINITE, REVOLUTION)

31. Black Usurper (NORTH)

32. Blood Countess (NORTH)

33. Drowning the Light / Vampyric Blood (NORTH)

34. Forlorn Winds (NORTH)

35. Galibot (NORTH)

36. Malum (NOR) (NORTH)

37. Miasthenia (NORTH)

38. Moonlight Drowns (NORTH)

39. Silaera (NORTH)

40. Svartby (NORTH)

41. Unholy Vampyric Slaughter Sect (NORTH)

42. Angel Crew (REVOLUTION)

43. He Said She's Dead (REVOLUTION)

44. Obscure of Acacia (REVOLUTION)

Sorry Gator. I missed this thread until Daniel drew my attention to it. I can very easily remove your reviews / ratings if that's still what you want to do. Just send me a private message. It would take me a few minutes to do.

The following bands have been added to Metal Academy from the 23rd to the 29th of May, 2026.

1. Closterkeller (FALLEN, GATEWAY)

2. Dead Quiet (FALLEN)

3. Flame, Dear Flame (FALLEN) - requested by Vinny

4. Ggu:ll (FALLEN, INFINITE)

5. Heir (FALLEN, INFINITE, NORTH)

6. Poisoned by Life (FALLEN) - requested by Sonny

7. Saule (FALLEN, INFINITE)

8. Witchcryer (FALLEN)

9. YLVA (FALLEN, INFINITE)

10. XIII (GATEWAY, SPHERE)

11. Lions Pride (GUARDIANS)

12. Begerith (HORDE)

13. Blasphemer (GBR) (HORDE, PIT)

14. Diabolical Messiah (HORDE)

15. Fake Dust (HORDE)

16. Infected (HORDE)

17. Logic of Denial (HORDE)

18. Miserist (HORDE, NORTH)

19. Noise a Go Go's (HORDE)

20. Obsoletenova (HORDE)

21. Plague Widow (HORDE)

22. Schoolgirl Upon Thy Corpse (HORDE , REVOLUTION)

23. Skeptic (HORDE)

24. Spasm / Gutalax (HORDE)

25. Trimegisto (HORDE)

26. Xorsist (HORDE)

27. Ziggurat (HORDE, NORTH)

28. Morpheus Tales (INFINITE)

29. Seminary (INFINITE, REVOLUTION)

30. Ædel Fetich (NORTH)

31. Barbelith (NORTH)

32. Chaos Cascade (NORTH)

33. Coffret de Bijoux / Aftoktonia (NORTH)

34. Forgive Me (NORTH)

35. Junon (NORTH)

36. Lonely Star (NORTH)

37. Occvlta (NORTH)

38. Ulvhedin (NORTH)

39. Worthless Life (NORTH)

40. Wounder (NORTH)

41. Wyrms (NORTH)

42. Boneless Ones, The (PIT)

43. Vacant Grave (PIT)

44. Human Error (REVOLUTION)

45. Kicked in the Head by a Horse (REVOLUTION)

46. Love Is Red (REVOLUTION)

47. So This Is Suffering (REVOLUTION)

Impending Doom... by Sadistic Intent. Any reason it wasn't included with the rest of the discography? If not, please add.

7 inch vinyls haven't been added to the site to date. That said, I can see that this release has a 12 inch release as well so I'll add it.

The following bands have been added to Metal Academy from the 18th to the 22nd of May, 2026.

1. Abyssphere (FALLEN, HORDE)

2. Steak (FALLEN)

3. Sundecay (FALLEN)

4. Glamour of the Kill (GATEWAY, GUARDIANS, REVOLUTION)

5. Hostile Groove (GATEWAY, REVOLUTION)

6. NateWantsToBattle (GATEWAY)

7. Oni no Migiude (GATEWAY, INFINITE)

8. sace6 (GATEWAY, INFINITE, REVOLUTION)

9. White Noise, The (GATEWAY)

10. Paradigm (GUARDIANS)

11. Tragedy Divine (GUARDIANS, INFINITE, PIT)

12. Whirlwind (GUARDIANS)

13. 01101111011101100110111001101001 (HORDE)

14. Antiversum (HORDE, NORTH)

15. Cordyceps (HORDE)

16. Corporal Raid (HORDE)

17. Dissociative Healing (HORDE)

18. Ensepulcher (HORDE)

19. Khazaddum (HORDE)

20. Nedgravd (HORDE)

21. Population Reduction (HORDE, PIT)

22. Psychosurgical Intervention (HORDE)

23. Suppository / Last Days of Humanity / S.M.E.S. / Inhume (HORDE)

24. Geoff Tate (INFINITE)

25. Grotto (INFINITE)

26. Author (NORTH)

27. Mourning Forest (NORTH) - requested by LeGuru

28. Nocturnal Feelings (NORTH) - Requested by Sonny

29. Nuctemeron (GER) (NORTH, PIT)

30. Useless (NORTH)

31. Water Witch, The (NORTH)

32. Dimebag Darrell (PIT)

33. Disfigured Elegance (REVOLUTION)

34. Her Demise My Rise (REVOLUTION)

35. Malenia (REVOLUTION)

36. River Black (REVOLUTION)

37. Twelve Gauge Valentine (REVOLUTION)

The following bands have been added to Metal Academy from the 11th to the 17th of May, 2026.

1. Crestfallen (FALLEN, HORDE)

2. Hrob (FALLEN)

3. Myridian (FALLEN) - requested by Sonny

4. Above the Earth (GATEWAY, INFINITE)

5. FBC (GATEWAY)

6. holywatr (GATEWAY, REVOLUTION)

7. Mahumodo (GATEWAY)

8. Mainstay (GATEWAY)

9. Miserable Faith (GATEWAY)

10. Penguins With Shotguns (GATEWAY)

11. Aeon Gods (GUARDIANS)

12. Custard (GUARDIANS)

13. Days of Yore (GUARDIANS)

14. Voltz (GUARDIANS)

15. Abated Mass of Flesh (HORDE, REVOLUTION)

16. Antipsychocircumseptemsomambulation (HORDE, INFINITE)

17. Barbarity (HORDE)

18. Bong Rips for Jesus (HORDE)

19. Deflected Sense (HORDE)

20. Dirty Infamous (HORDE)

21. Flesh, The (HORDE)

22. Golgotha (POL) (HORDE)

23. Keitzer (HORDE)

24. Limb From Limb (HORDE)

25. Mastication of Brutality Uncontrolled (HORDE)

26. Phantasma (SVK) (HORDE)

27. Raw Addict (HORDE)

28. Scent of Flesh (HORDE)

29. Shine (HORDE, NORTH)

30. Strup (HORDE)

31. Vociferation Eternity (HORDE)

32. Forsth (NORTH)

33. Svatý Vincent (NORTH)

34. Cast Aside (REVOLUTION)

35. Enemy Mind (REVOLUTION)

36. Providence (REVOLUTION)

37. Septemberistheonlytimeidontthinkofyou (REVOLUTION)

38. Towers (REVOLUTION)

39. When These Days End (REVOLUTION)

The following bands have been added to Metal Academy from the 2nd to the 10th of May, 2026.

1. Aek Gwi (FALLEN, NORTH)

2. Antarktis (FALLEN, INFINITE)

3. Demon Incarnate (FALLEN) - requested by Sonny

4. Ecocide (FALLEN)

5. Eternal Black (FALLEN)3. Demon Incarnate (FALLEN) - requested by Sonny

6. Grave, The (FALLEN)3. Demon Incarnate (FALLEN) - requested by Sonny

7. Mortalicum (FALLEN, GUARDIANS)3. Demon Incarnate (FALLEN) - requested by Sonny

8. Mother Crone (FALLEN)3. Demon Incarnate (FALLEN) - requested by Sonny

9. Show of Bedlam (FALLEN)

10. Slund (FALLEN, HORDE)

11. Wheelfall (FALLEN, SPHERE)

12. 8 Degrees (GATEWAY)

13. Árbol (GATEWAY)

14. Eastcide (GATEWAY)

15. Kyyria (GATEWAY, INFINITE)

16. My Enemies & I (GATEWAY, REVOLUTION)

17. Strangers with Candy (GATEWAY)

18. Wakrat (GATEWAY)

19. Bogside Sniper Squadron (GUARDIANS, HORDE)

20. Demon Spell (GUARDIANS)

21. Emblem (GUARDIANS)

22. Missing Tide (GUARDIANS)

23. Omen (HUN) (GUARDIANS, PIT)

24. Abolishing the Ignominious (HORDE)

25. Akakor (HORDE)

26. Apostle (HORDE)

27. Hateful Transgression (HORDE)

28. Ignobleth (HORDE)

29. Interminable Corruptions (HORDE)

30. Overtoun (HORDE, INFINITE)

31. Pisscorpse (HORDE)

32. Ratlord (HORDE)

33. Reek of the Unzen Gas Fumes / Thy Sepulchral Moon (HORDE, NORTH)

34. THECHEESEBURGERPICNIC / Secondgradeknifefight (HORDE, REVOLUTION)

35. Trichomoniasis / Dysthymia (HORDE)

36. Winter's Remorse, A (HORDE, REVOLUTION)

37. Jennifer Will Drown (INFINITE)3. Demon Incarnate (FALLEN) - requested by LeGuru

38. Odd Logic (INFINITE)

39. Redshift Pilots (INFINITE, NORTH)

40. Aherusia (NORTH)

41. Apolaustic (NORTH)

42. BHL / Kallathon (NORTH)

43. Colotyphus (NORTH)

44. Endalok (NORTH)

45. Inquinok (NORTH) - requested by LeGuru

46. Lęk (NORTH)

47. Rienaus (NORTH)

48. Unlight (NORTH) - requested by LeGuru

49. Entrench (PIT)

50. Detain (REVOLUTION)

51. Endeavor (REVOLUTION)

52. IMISSYOUALREADY (REVOLUTION)

53. Sheoldred (REVOLUTION)

54. Three Knee Deep (REVOLUTION)

55. True Temper (REVOLUTION)

56. Trust Unclean, A (REVOLUTION)

57. Cat Rapes Dog (SPHERE)

Just letting you know that Doomicidal are already on the site.

I'm intrigued by what shoegaze is all about too. It would really help me to understand the blackgaze movement better, particularly being able to recognize typically non-metal influences that came into the sound.

The following bands have been added to Metal Academy from the 25th of April to the 1st of May, 2026.

1. Abishai & Madoka Mapper (FALLEN, INFINITE)

2. Arduni / Balich (FALLEN, INFINITE)

3. Cloud Rat / Moloch (FALLEN, HORDE)

4. New Mexican Doom Cult (FALLEN)

5. Owlcrusher (FALLEN)

6. Purple Lung (FALLEN)

7. Void of Light (FALLEN, INFINITE)

8. Neversmile (GATEWAY)

9. Skars (GATEWAY)

10. Élan vital (GUARDIANS, INFINITE)

11. Metalian (GUARDIANS, PIT)

12. Signum Regis (GUARDIANS)

13. Storyteller, The (GUARDIANS)

14. Adimiron (HORDE, INFINITE, NORTH)

15. Analdicktion (HORDE)

16. Chiliasm (HORDE) - requested by LeGuru

17. Chronic Hate (HORDE) - requested by LeGuru

18. Codex Crudelitas (HORDE)

19. Corpus Offal / Undergang (HORDE)

20. Impermanent (HORDE)

21. Lividus (HORDE, NORTH)

22. Obscure Burial (HORDE)

23. Pessimist (CZE) (HORDE, INFINITE)

24. Sanzu (HORDE)

25. Artcell (INFINITE)

26. Chronologist (INFINITE) - requested by LeGuru

27. Ridiculon (INFINITE, SPHERE)

28. Claret Ash (NORTH) - requested by LeGuru

29. Crafteon (NORTH)

30. Demented Yearning (NORTH)

31. DIM (NORTH)

32. Goatvermin (NORTH)

33. Saiva (NORTH)

34. Utgard (NORTH)

35. Vobiscum (NORTH)

36. Wearg (NORTH)

37. Witches Moon (NORTH)

38. Chemical Way (PIT) - requested by LeGuru

39. Cline's Mind (PIT) - requested by LeGuru

40. Pipe Bomb (REVOLUTION)

41. Roman Candle (REVOLUTION)

42. Sabella (REVOLUTION)

43. Unicron (REVOLUTION)

Damn. I thought we were through that. I haven't had any errors since I restarted, but that could be a timezone thing.

I may have to investigate what's causing it.

Very well Sonny. We shall go to the Hall on the doom metal association too.

Really, there is no need to Daniel. I am not confiident enough in my memory to vote and I really don't have any wish to revisit it. If you consider it a done deal then that is fine by me. I don't even know why I felt compelled to comment to be honest. As I have oftten been told, sometimes I really need to keep my opinions to myself!

Nah, I think you have a valid point. I personally disagree with hall entries being closed prior to voting.

I have never ever knowingly listened to them. What is the best release to listen to that might draw me in if I were to check them out?

I think their In a Beautiful Place Out in the Country EP is an excellent way to hear their dreamy, nostalgic sound.

I was more thinking a denial of service attack. Just seems a coincidence that the site had extremely high traffic causing failures for the first time ever.

OK. I noticed resources were being smashed, which probably caused the gateway errors.. A restart seems to have cleared things up.

I have to admit, I'm a little concerned that our recently banned friend could be involved. Maybe I'm just being paranoid.

Hi all. Sorry, had a 4 day weekend here and haven't spent much time on the site. I've experienced this a few times as well. I'll restart the site and see if it helps.

The following bands have been added to Metal Academy from the 18th to the 24th of April, 2026.

1. Desert Storm (FALLEN)

2. Entheos (CAN) (FALLEN, HORDE, INFINITE, NORTH)

3. I Pilot Dæmon (FALLEN)

4. Katla (FALLEN) - requested by Sonny

5. LLNN / Wovoka (FALLEN, INFINITE)

6. Sun Dont Shine (FALLEN, GATEWAY)

7. Valhall (FALLEN)

8. Venowl (FALLEN, NORTH)

9. Wildspeaker (FALLEN, NORTH)

10. Monument of a Memory (GATEWAY, GATEWAY) - requested by BlackSunMortality

11. Scythe of Luna & Yakui the Maid (GATEWAY)

12. Thirteen Over Eight (GATEWAY)

13. Unsane (GATEWAY)

14. Celtian (GUARDIANS, NORTH) - requested by LeGuru

15. Denkishiki Karen Ongaku Shuudan (GUARDIANS)

16. First Aid (Скорая помощь) (GUARDIANS)

17. Kate's Acid (GUARDIANS)

18. Nachtgeblüt (GUARDIANS, NORTH)

19. Sacred Few (GUARDIANS)

20. Symakya (GUARDIANS, INFINITE)

21. Cryptic Void (HORDE)

22. Desecrate the Faith (HORDE)

23. Domesticated (HORDE)

24. Exhumation / Funeral Chant (HORDE)

25. Fetal Disgorge (HORDE)

26. Ghostorm (HORDE, INFINITE)

27. Hate Manifesto (HORDE, NORTH)

28. Headless Death (HORDE)

29. Maiden of the Palace of Hell (HORDE)

30. Necroblood (HORDE)

31. Necrovorous (HORDE)

32. Nexul (HORDE, NORTH)

33. Ordh (HORDE, INFINITE)

34. Purefilth (HORDE, REVOLUTION)

35. Ritualization (HORDE)

36. Rot / Sublime Cadaveric Decomposition (HORDE)

37. Sender Receiver (HORDE, REVOLUTION)

38. Tentacle Centipede (HORDE)

39. Trenchgrinder (HORDE)

40. World Narcosis (HORDE, NORTH)

41. Wrathprayer / Force of Darkness (HORDE, NORTH)

42. Dreamgrave (INFINITE)

43. God of Shamisen (INFINITE)

44. Palehorse/Palerider (INFINITE)

45. Ra's Dawn (INFINITE)

46. Blod Besvimelse (NORTH)

47. Chanid (NORTH) - requested by LeGuru

48. Cosmic Church / Kêres (NORTH)

49. Gnapenstob (NORTH, REVOLUTION)

50. Hieron (NORTH)

51. Krahnholm (NORTH) - requested by Sonny

52. Paramnesia / Ultha (NORTH)

53. Ritual Genocide (NORTH)

54. Rûr (NORTH)

55. Scuorn (NORTH)

56. Somber Funeral, A (NORTH)

57. VI / Temple of Baal / The Order of Apollyon (NORTH)

58. Zmora (NORTH)

59. Культура курения [Kultura Kureniya] / Regnmoln (NORTH)

60. G.A.T.E.S. (PIT)

61. Adaliah (REVOLUTION) - requested by BlackSunMortality

62. aplacewe'vealwaysbeen (REVOLUTION)

63. Castle Grayskull (REVOLUTION) - requested by BlackSunMortality

64. Great Commission, The (REVOLUTION) - requested by BlackSunMortality

65. Letter to the Exiles (REVOLUTION) - requested by BlackSunMortality

66. My Heart to Fear (REVOLUTION) - requested by BlackSunMortality

67. Serianna (REVOLUTION) - requested by BlackSunMortality

68. Sex Prisoner / Harm Done (REVOLUTION)

69. xELEGYx (REVOLUTION)

Ben, please add Float Face Down (deathcore band).

Float Face Down were already on the site.

Can't argue with your list!

The following bands have been added to Metal Academy from the 11th to the 17th of April, 2026.

1. Adora Vivos (FALLEN)

2. Aioria (FALLEN, GUARDIANS)

3. Dark Covenant (FALLEN)

4. Departure (FALLEN) - requested by Sonny

5. Iron Hearse (FALLEN) - requested by Sonny

6. Iron Heel (FALLEN) - requested by Sonny

7. Ominess (FALLEN)

8. Red Giant (FALLEN)

9. Tid (FALLEN, INFINITE, SPHERE)

10. Avial (GATEWAY)

11. GrimSkunk (GATEWAY)

12. Isolation (JPN) (GATEWAY)

13. Lower (GATEWAY)

14. Dæmonia (GUARDIANS)

15. Dealer (GBR) (GUARDIANS)

16. Existence (GUARDIANS, INFINITE)

17. Killen (GUARDIANS)

18. Kristet Utseende (GUARDIANS)

19. L-Train, The (GUARDIANS)

20. Wolf (JPN) (GUARDIANS)

21. Abstracted (HORDE, INFINITE)

22. At Dawn They Sleep (HORDE)

23. Disciples of Berkowitz (HORDE)

24. Disgorged Foetus (HORDE)

25. Gangrenectomy (HORDE)

26. Harrowed (HORDE)

27. Infectious Maggots (HORDE, SPHERE)

28. Mors.Void.Discipline (HORDE, NORTH)

29. Oniku (HORDE)

30. Slowmotion Apocalypse (HORDE, REVOLUTION)

31. Tower of Rome / Gun Kata (HORDE, REVOLUTION)

32. Upiór (HORDE)

33. Utopie (HORDE)

34. Witch of the Waste (HORDE)

35. Aristeia (INFINITE, REVOLUTION)

36. Todd Duane (INFINITE)

37. 3rd Attempt, The (NORTH)

38. Ambroxiak (NORTH) - requested by LeGuru

39. Benighted Leams (NORTH)

40. Drohtnung (NORTH)

41. Gnome (JPN) (NORTH)

42. Gorbalrog (NORTH)

43. Mortuus Infradaemoni (NORTH)

44. Mortuus Umbra (NORTH)

45. Nebular Moon (NORTH)

46. Skullflower / Mastery (NORTH)

47. Bloodbath in Boston, A (REVOLUTION)

48. Milhouse (REVOLUTION)

49. Racetraitor / Burn It Down (REVOLUTION)

50. Triumph of Gnomes (REVOLUTION)

The following bands have been added to Metal Academy from the 8th to the 10th of April, 2026.

1. Dwellnought (FALLEN)

2. Foetorem (FALLEN, HORDE)

3. Of Virtue (GATEWAY, REVOLUTION) - requested by LeGuru

4. Brotthogg (HORDE, NORTH) - requested by LeGuru

5. Burn Down Eden (HORDE) - requested by LeGuru

6. Caedem (HORDE) - requested by LeGuru

7. Casket Mush (HORDE)

8. Voidstar Nocturnal (HORDE)

9. Course of Fate (INFINITE)

10. Aftoktonia (NORTH)

11. Gladium Regis (NORTH)

12. Harrow (NORTH) - requested by Sonny

13. Helgafell (NORTH) - requested by Sonny

14. Black Magick SS (PIT)

15. concealer. (REVOLUTION)

16. Sue (REVOLUTION)

17. Sun Eater (GER) (REVOLUTION) - requested by LeGuru

The following bands have been added to Metal Academy from the 26th of March to the 7th of April, 2026.

1. Crouch (FALLEN, INFINITE)

2. Meth Drinker / Moloch (FALLEN)

3. Palace of Worms (FALLEN, INFINITE, NORTH)

4. Summit (FALLEN, INFINITE)

5. Dead Air Divine (GATEWAY, INFINITE)

6. Ladybaby (GATEWAY)

7. Now She's Gone (GATEWAY)

8. Pile of Heads (GATEWAY)

9. Stitched Up Heart (GATEWAY)

10. TX2 (GATEWAY)

11. Yüth Forever (GATEWAY, REVOLUTION)

12. Ark Storm (GUARDIANS, INFINITE)

13. Vivaldi Metal Project (GUARDIANS)

14. 16-Armed Winged Goddess / Oozing Pus (HORDE)

15. Asgardsrei (HORDE, NORTH)

16. AUM (HORDE)

17. Blood of the Wolf (HORDE, NORTH) - requested by LeGuru

18. Blood River (HORDE) - requested by LeGuru

19. Book of the Dead (HORDE) - requested by LeGuru

20. Coffin Lust (HORDE)

21. Gravebomb (HORDE)

22. GronD (HORDE)

23. Guttural Corpora Cavernosa (HORDE)

24. Madoka Mapper (HORDE)

25. Neighbor Shoots Neighbor (HORDE, REVOLUTION)

26. Obscure Fate (HORDE) - requested by yellow_azathoth

27. Operation Cunt Destroyer (HORDE, REVOLUTION)

28. Possessed Entity (HORDE)

29. Tremoctopodidaic Insemination (HORDE)

30. Vinterblot (HORDE, NORTH)

31. Cartoon Theory (INFINITE)

32. Deadtrees (INFINITE)

33. Leprous Vortex Sun (INFINITE, NORTH)

34. Alldrig (NORTH)

35. Anachitis (NORTH) - requested by Sonny

36. Blutvial (NORTH) - requested by LeGuru

37. Botanist / Oskoreien (NORTH)

38. Folteraar (NORTH)

39. Glass Shrine (NORTH)

40. Insane Vesper (NORTH)

41. Ljáin (NORTH)

42. Lyrinx / Elysian Blaze / D.O.R (NORTH)

43. Sevensins (NORTH)

44. Sulphur (NORTH)

45. Verge (NORTH)

46. Vlad Spirit (NORTH)

47. Wóddréa Mylenstede (NORTH)

48. Meshiaak (PIT)

49. Alove for Enemies (REVOLUTION) - requested by BlackSunMortality

50. Burning Season, The (REVOLUTION) - requested by BlackSunMortality

51. Paradise Slaves (REVOLUTION) - requested by BlackSunMortality

52. Science of Sleep (REVOLUTION)

This one should be up your alley Ben. Seven episodes that build nicely to a pretty massive crescendo over the last few episodes.

Seen it. Wouldn't miss anything made by Mike Flanagan (Haunting of Hill House is one of the greatest tv series ever in my opinion). The Fall of the House of Usher was really good too.

I just finished watching the series "Archive 81" on Netflix & really enjoyed it. It's a spooky sci-fi/horror story that's all about cults, witchcraft, alternate dimensions, demons, etc. All the good shit essentially. Eight episodes of less than an hour each. Unfortunately there won't be a second season so it's not a large time investment.

Based on a pretty good podcast series from a few years back. Might check out the series at some point.

I did some testing in Firefox today and I can't replicate this issue. I can only suggest reinstalling Firefox to see if that fixes the issue.

I've tried viewing that page in three different browsers and all seems good. Perhaps update the browser version? I had a similar experience in Chrome a while back and an update fixed it.

The following bands have been added to Metal Academy from 21st to the 26th of March, 2026.

1. Au Revoir (FALLEN, INFINITE)

2. Bus the Unknown Secretary (FALLEN)

3. Lumberjack Feedback, The (FALLEN, INFINITE)

4. RLYR (FALLEN, INFINITE)

5. Satyrian (FALLEN)

6. Temple, The (FALLEN)

7. Thy Only Forgotten (FALLEN)

8. Tomb of Finland (FALLEN, HORDE)

9. Vaults of Zin (FALLEN, INFINITE)

10. Calico System (GATEWAY, REVOLUTION)

11. De La Tierra (GATEWAY ,PIT)

12. Melissa Bonny (GATEWAY)

13. Pia (GATEWAY)

14. Scratch, The (GATEWAY)

15. Blankfield (GUARDIANS, HORDE, INFINITE, REVOLUTION) - requested by LeGuru

16. Blasdead (GUARDIANS, PIT) - requested by LeGuru

17. Eternal Idol (GUARDIANS)

18. Sellsword (GUARDIANS)

19. Valiant Sentinel (GUARDIANS)

20. Abdicate (HORDE)

21. Black Despair (HORDE) - requested by LeGuru

22. Blackstone (HORDE, NORTH) - requested by LeGuru

23. Blood Of Serpents (HORDE, NORTH, PIT) - requested by LeGuru

24. Catafalque (HORDE)

25. Defeatist (HORDE)

26. Desomorphine Gorebulldozer (HORDE)

27. Devast (HORDE)

28. Disinter (HORDE)

29. Dragging Entrails (HORDE)

30. Funeratus (HORDE)

31. Grindmother, The (HORDE)

32. Imperium (GBR) (HORDE)

33. Injury Deepen (HORDE)

34. Lureplasm (HORDE)

35. Mordbrand (HORDE)

36. Precognitive Holocaust Annotations (HORDE)

37. Septic Congestion (HORDE)

38. Spheron (HORDE)

39. Suffocate Bastard (HORDE)

40. Virulency (HORDE)

41. Cales (INFINITE, NORTH)

42. Forevermore (INFINITE, REVOLUTION)

43. Glyptoglossio (INFINITE, NORTH)

44. Angor Animi (NORTH)

45. Azaxul (NORTH)

46. Black Moriah, The (NORTH, PIT) - requested by LeGuru

47. Blasphemium (NORTH) - requested by LeGuru

48. Eufori (NORTH)

49. Fimbultyr (NORTH) - requested by Sonny

50. Mirkvid (NORTH)

51. Deluhi (REVOLUTION)

52. letterstoyou (REVOLUTION)

53. Ronnie, Donnie, and Johnny (REVOLUTION)

The following bands have been added to Metal Academy from 14th to the 20th of March, 2026.

1. Mammon's Throne (FALLEN) - requested by Vinny

2. Metsu (FALLEN, INFINITE)

3. Pik (FALLEN)

4. Kilkus (GATEWAY)

5. Asedio (GUARDIANS, PIT)

6. Berserkyd (GUARDIANS) - requested by LeGuru

7. Heretic (NED) (GUARDIANS, NORTH, PIT)

8. Au Pair, The (HORDE, REVOLUTION)

9. Cyst (HORDE, PIT)

10. Protrusion (HORDE)

11. Redivider (HORDE)

12. Sorrow of Tranquility (HORDE)

13. Starseed (HORDE)

14. Subjugated (HORDE)

15. Triac / Sick/Tired (HORDE)

16. Trucido (HORDE)

17. Beyond The Woods (INFINITE) - requested by LeGuru

18. Canvas (INFINITE, REVOLUTION)

19. De l'Abîme Naît l'Aube (INFINITE)

20. Sun Guts (INFINITE)

21. Supervoid Choral Ensemble, The (INFINITE)

22. Unverkalt (INFINITE, NORTH)

23. Baal Gadrial (NORTH)

24. Bihargam (NORTH, PIT) - requested by LeGuru

25. Conifère / Vespéral (NORTH)

26. Dewfall (NORTH) - requested by Sonny

27. Diabolism (NORTH)

28. Echoes of the Moon (NORTH) - requested by Sonny

29. Eissturm (NORTH) - requested by Sonny

30. Lömsk (NORTH)

31. Petrichor (NORTH)

32. Rosa Faenskap (NORTH)

33. Stormheit (NORTH)

34. Uprising / Panopticon (NORTH)

35. Uuhai (NORTH)

36. Lead Injector (PIT)

37. Awaiting Eschiel (REVOLUTION)

38. Bloodjinn (REVOLUTION)

39. Gather (REVOLUTION)

40. Overcome (REVOLUTION)

41. Temptation of Saint Anthony, The (REVOLUTION)

42. Torn Apart (REVOLUTION) - requested by Andi

I can’t respond right now, but these writings def resonate with me. Thank you for sharing so honestly.

The following bands have been added to Metal Academy from 7th to the 13th of March, 2026.

1. Agenbite Misery (FALLEN)

2. Black Tar Prophet (FALLEN) - requested by Sonny

3. Blood Red Water (FALLEN) - requested by Sonny

4. Boghaunter (FALLEN) - requested by Sonny

5. Cabeza de Caballo (FALLEN) - requested by Sonny

6. Cuda (FALLEN)

7. Femme fatale (FALLEN, GATEWAY)

8. Ill Omen (FALLEN, NORTH)

9. Louded (FALLEN) - requested by Sonny

10. Mädätys (FALLEN, HORDE)

11. Primitive Man / Sea Bastard (FALLEN)

12. R.I.P. (FALLEN, GUARDIANS)

13. Ritual Arcana (FALLEN)

14. Sad Whisperings (FALLEN)

15. Verdun (FALLEN)

16. Chikara (GATEWAY, REVOLUTION)

17. Disengage (GATEWAY)

18. Mothica (GATEWAY)

19. Oedipe (GATEWAY)

20. Fuki Commune (GUARDIANS)

21. Hellen (GUARDIANS)

22. Leatherhead (GUARDIANS, PIT)

23. Operatika (GUARDIANS)

24. Templar (GUARDIANS)

25. Black Therapy (HORDE)

26. Bodybag (HORDE)

27. Crator (HORDE)

28. Cryptid Spawn (HORDE, NORTH)

29. Fentanyl Surprise (HORDE)

30. Gastrorrexis (HORDE)

31. Meadows End (HORDE)

32. Necropolissebeht (HORDE, NORTH)

33. Patologicum (HORDE)

34. Shuriken Cadaveric Entwinement (HORDE)

35. Speglas (HORDE, INFINITE)

36. Tentacle Witches (HORDE, REVOLUTION)

37. Urinary Tract Infection From Severe Pus Clots (HORDE)

38. Writhe (HORDE)

39. Great Cold, The (INFINITE)

40. Nawather (INFINITE, NORTH)

41. Serpent Ascending / Ôros Kaù / Midnight Odyssey / Swords of Dis (INFINITE, NORTH)

42. Syberia (INFINITE)

43. Acherontas / Slidhr (NORTH)

44. Charlie Mauser (NORTH)

45. Concubia Nocte (NORTH)

46. Grimner (NORTH)

47. Krieg / Morte Incandescente (NORTH)

48. Lord Wind (NORTH)

49. Ohtar (NORTH)

50. Sheidim (NORTH)

51. Wørsen (NORTH)

52. Integrity / Power Trip (PIT, REVOLUTION)

53. Vitamin X (PIT)

54. anvilchandelier / A Year Ago Today (REVOLUTION)

55. Evergreen Terrace / xOne Fifthx (REVOLUTION)

56. Brainchild (SPHERE)

Please add Berserkyd.

This band has 6 ratings in total on RYM across 10 releases. There's only 1 single genre vote across all of them, which is Heavy Metal. Have you heard much of their material LeGuru? Should it all be classified as Heavy Metal?

I would only ever add a band like this on request, as applying accurate clans is just guesswork.

This is a really interesting conversation, so thanks for starting it!

I guess my two cents is that social media has changed humanity in such a massive way, that the way most people interact is completely different to how they used to. I personally feel the impact is way more negative than positive, with attention spans dwindling and argumentative / controversial opinions ruling. They aren't actually designed to form communities of likeminded individuals. They're designed to fuel outrage, as that gets the most clicks. They encourage bad behaviour, conspiracies and us vs them mentality. It's no surprise to me that forming positive, interest based communities in a world we're social media rules is actually quite difficult.

Even when sites are created seemingly with community in mind, they often end up replicating the same attention seeking behaviour. I started using Letterboxd instead of IMDB a couple of years ago. I'm a big horror movie fan (another outlier group), and while IMDB has loads of information, it doesn't really have a community as such. At first, Letterboxd seemed good, and I did find a bunch of hidden gems that I probably wouldn't have discovered elsewhere. But I quickly realised that all most people on the site really wanted was for their reviews to get lots of likes. How do you do that? Not by writing a thoughtful review of the movie, that's for sure. The only way you get noticed at all on Letterboxd is by leaving one line reviews that are as funny or stupid or controversial as possible. It's an attention seeking game that simply doesn't result in any actual community or friendship. I've realised that if I genuinely want to meet other horror move fans and form actual community, I would have to go to the horror fests around the world and spend a few days at a time meeting people who care enough to go to something like that. I can't do that, especially as I live in Australia, so I've gone back to my passion in isolation.

I started Metal Academy as a kind of old school site. I genuinely hoped that there would be a large group of metal fans that wanted to chat to other metal fans in a normal, community based way. No antagonistic, attention seeking, clickbaity, anger-fuelling controversy. No advertising or data collection or monetary gain. Just a bunch a people that enjoy metal, getting together and talking about it (or anything for that matter). I think I under-estimated the pull that social-media style sites have on people though. The kind of FOMO that a lot of humanity seems to have when they're not experiencing the things that everyone else seems to be experiencing. I think a lot of people genuinely love feeling outraged too, and want to have a cause. Metal Academy can't compete with that. But all this said, we actually do have a little community here. It's a friendly one too, which is fucking hard to find these days. Maybe, as people get off social media (which does appear to be happening), sites like this one will become more popular again in future, and community for community sake will come back into the zeitgeist. Then again, maybe not. Metal Academy isn't going anywhere though.