Ben's Forum Replies

There are so many aspects that are exciting for me and have kept me in the site throughout the almost one and a half years I've been here, so here are some of them:

Forums - My favorite forums are the interactive ones where you get to share the metal music you like (or dislike in the "Stinkers Threads") with other members such as the "Track of the Day" threads, "Recommendation to Fellow Clan Members" threads, and the monthly Clan Playlists. Those threads allow me to share and recommend the metal songs and albums I enjoy, suggest tracks that can fit well with the clan playlists, and give feedback to both my suggested tracks and other different ones in the playlists, and they help me discover bands I haven't listened to before or have heard of but not yet fully interested. It's a total win-win!

Reviews - One of the crucial elements of any metal community website is, of course, reviews! I'm on quite a roll with reviewing albums from my current favorite bands and different releases that have been recommended to me. I actually have a few releases that I plan on reviewing next week (the two Coroner studio albums left for me to review, Twilight Force's Dawn of the Dragonstar, and HammerFall's Live! Against the World), and given how much fun I had reviewing approximately 523 releases (holy f***, that much!??), those next 4 releases should be a piece of metal cake!

Ratings - And yes, ratings are also included, review or no review. I enjoy both rating releases and covers, especially rating covers because of how unique that feature is. You can finally show how much you like or dislike a piece of art that has accompanied a metal CD, ranging from an epic viking battle that deserves a high rating (Amon Amarth) to a pointlessly offensive image with its sole purpose of making someone lose their lunch (early Type O Negative).

Anniversaries - A great way to celebrate the x5-year anniversaries of metal releases! And I think October really is THE month to celebrate metal anniversary Fridays, because besides those other two special Fridays, today we celebrate a bad-a**-whopping 28 releases in the Anniversaries celebration including two of my earlier favorite releases (Children of Bodom's Follow the Reaper and Amaranthe's Breaking Point - B-Sides 2011-2015 (the latter being mostly an acoustic album but I enjoy those last two songs that were originally bonus tracks in the deluxe edition of their debut album)). Excellent feature, but it does make some of us feel old. Not me though, the only thing that makes me feel old is when high-school-age teens have more metal talent than I wish I could (Alien Weaponry, anyone?).

Hall of Judgement - This is a very interesting idea, so that way a member can submit an album they think is different from the clan or genre the release is in with a valid reason and other members can vote YES or NO. My submissions weren't so easy or clear for the most part, but I still like that helpful feature.

And for any aspects I have no interest with... NONE!! I like them all, and I certainly care about rating covers and anniversaries for the reasons mentioned above. As for any new feature ideas or different changes, I have a few suggestions, Ben. The first few ideas are about the Gallery and I suggested them before but you never seemed to get around them. First off, PLEASE implement the ability to delete cover ratings! I know we talked about this earlier and you didn't think it was necessary, but that cover rating I changed my mind about I feel it's still haunting me, and what if I change my mind about a band and wanna get rid of my ratings for both its albums and covers? Am I gonna be stuck with a cover rating I thought I liked but didn't and wanted nothing to do with, for the rest of my life?! Anyway, next, I like that suggestion by SilentScream213 about editing the minimum of ratings for both charts and the Gallery to different options like 1, 5, 10, etc, better than having to stick with a set number. Can you please implement that if you still haven't planned on doing that? Same with the "Exclude release I've rated" option that's not in the charts yet, please add that too. And finally, this idea is for the Hall of Judgement, and it's in the long run; after a few more of the highest-voted releases get the 15 votes they each needed for the Hall to decide their fate (Vektor's Outer Isolation and Terminal Redux, Venom's Possessed, Voivod's War and Pain, and Coroner's Mental Vortex), whether we ask members who haven't voted for them yet to vote or just wait for them to vote, can you please add a separate section for the finished releases instead of being in the same place as the ones that are ongoing? The idea to put the finished releases in a separate section would make the Hall look less messy and easier to find releases to vote. Thanks Ben! You and Daniel are doing a great job building the site, keeping it interesting, and letting members help keep Metal Academy alive with suggestions, threads, reviews, and much more to come. Keep it up!

Thanks for responding to the call shadowdoom9!

I will try to add the ability to remove a Cover Rating, but given everything has a cost, I have to consider it a low priority. You may personally see this as an important option, but I do doubt that anyone else would use it. If you change your mind about the rating you gave an album cover, just change it. I will definitely look into it though.

I'll also look into allowing adjustable minimum ratings and an "Exclude releases I've rated" option on the Charts. Moving the completed Judgements to another page makes sense too.

Cheers,

Ben.

The things I love about this site (that set it apart) are of course the gallery and ability to rate covers, as well as the many options for organizing albums in the Releases tab. Why has no other site ever implemented an "only releases I've rated" option? The clans and clan ratings also make sorting the charts super interesting. "Only releases without ratings" is a great way to find underground stuff and albums that need attention. I don't use most of the features unrelated to ratings/charts, but that's just because I'm a numbers guy and I love rating things and looking at other's ratings. The gallery again is just so much fun on it's own, I have never understood why no other sites have cover ratings. I would keep coming back even if that were the only feature haha.

I have two small suggestions. First, when sorting releases, there should be an easier way to select a span of time rather than manually adding every year. Even just adding an option for individual decades would be fine. Secondly, again in the releases tab, add an option in the sorting option to sort by cover rating! I'd love to be able to see all the covers I've rated organized by the site rating, as well as delve further than just the top 100 that the gallery allows.

You guys are doing great! Thanks for the awesome site and keep it up!

Thanks for the feedback SilentScream213! I'm thrilled that others are enjoying The Gallery, as I did wonder whether it was something that would really interest anyone other than myself. Now that it's popular, I agree that it could be pushed further across the site, such as adding cover options to the Releases page. I'm sure I can make that happen. I'll see if I can allow multi-page options for The Gallery too, so we can see more than the top 100.

Having a better date range section is something I've wanted myself, so I'll see what can be done with that too.

Cheers,

Ben.

Well, for one, the feature on this website that I appreciate the most is the featured release tab. It has allowed me to hear a swath of albums that I would never even have considered to listen to on my own time. It also gives me an opportunity to revisit older albums to freshen up and see if they hold up as they did when I originally discovered them. I also enjoy hearing the opinions of others to see what makes them tick about a these albums as well. One thing that I would like to see improved upon is the addition of modern releases on occasion. I have a library full of music within the last five years that I adore, but are seemingly unheard of by many, and I'm sure that many others have records like this as well.

While the clan challenge lists seem intriguing, it is something that I would like to do, but I would never be able to find the time. However, I noticed that the "Critic List" and "Metal Academy Lists" are severely underutilized. I briefly spoke to Daniel in a PM asking about allowing for other users to be able to create their own lists. I specifically brought up the example of "Best of 2020" lists created by users. Of course, it does not have to be limited just to "Best of 2020" lists. I would leave that up to the discretion of of the individual users.

I will say that I think the Hall of Judgement is broken. Or at the very least, very few people use it. This could also be in large part to the very few "recurring students". I also think that because those recurring users are all in different clans, very few records ever make it to the fifteen vote minimum. Maybe we can reduce the vote count? I can think of other alternatives that I would prefer moreso, but it's a start.

That's all I can really think of atm. As I have said from the very beginning, my favourite element of this website is being able to discover lots of heavy metal music. I have heard more new records in 2020 than I have in any of the previous three years. I hope that my comments are a step in the right direction for this website for the remainder of the year, as well as into 2021.

Thanks for the feedback saxystephens! It looks like Daniel has already taken the "more modern features" advice, so no need for me to comment on that. I do like the idea of allowing site members to create their own Lists. I'll have a think about how it could be implemented and discuss with my developer. I've considered allowing members to submit their lists (or changes) to me to administrate, but I think it would add a lot to my workload.

Regarding the Hall being "broken", I actually believe it's working as designed. The only issue is that we don't (yet) have enough regulars for it to be very functional. That being said, I don't want to lower the minimum vote number, as that would also lower the "accuracy" of the result. I've considered closing off submissions as soon as the result is clear, rather than waiting for the judgement to reach 15 votes. For example, there are instances where there have been at least 8 votes of yes, which obviously means that request will pass, so I could just call it a done deal. The issue is that I don't have a way to prematurely close a submission, meaning it would sit there waiting for the final votes, even though I've already actioned it. I guess I could just delete submissions once I've actioned them. Thoughts?

Cheers,

Ben.

Oh, and as an avid tabletop and videogame player, I'd be keen to know more about your tastes. I'm a huge Fantasy Flight LCG and Magic the Gathering fan, and a lifelong PC gamer. We've not discussed this topic here before, but I'd be surprised if there weren't a few others with similar interests?

I really appreciate each and every one of these responses. I will reply to each of them tomorrow.

A big warm welcome from me too. I hope you find what we're doing here valuable and fun.

I'm really looking forward to the next batch. Feels like ages since I devoured the October lot. Are you sure this can't be a weekly thing? 

Always been a fan of this album. Solid, aggressive Slayer worship.

The following bands have been added to Metal Academy from the 27th to the 29th of October, 2020.

1. Running Death (PIT)

2. Distillator (PIT)

3. Kiske - Somerville (GUARDIANS)

4. Demon Eye (GUARDIANS, FALLEN)

5. Ekpyrosis (INFINITE, NORTH) - requested by Revolution666

6. In Tormentata Quiete (INFINITE, NORTH) - requested by Revolution666

7. JANVS (INFINITE, NORTH) - requested by Revolution666

8. Vous Autres (INFINITE, FALLEN, NORTH)

9. Öxxö Xööx (INFINITE, FALLEN) - requested by Revolution666

10. Red Apollo (INFINITE, FALLEN)

11. Pyramids (NORTH)

12. Ethereal Shroud (NORTH)

13. The Moaning (NORTH, HORDE)

14. The Body & Krieg (FALLEN)

15. The Body & Thou (FALLEN)

16. Ruby the Hatchet (FALLEN)

17. Left Cross (HORDE)

18. Chaotian (HORDE)

Can you add Leprous' 2019 album Pitfalls?

It would be tagged as Non-Metal since it's "Art Rock" on RYM, but personally I think there's still enough Progressive Metal running through it to be on the site, and tagged Prog Metal secondary on RYM.

It's also a great album :)

As much as I'd like to make an exception for you illusionist, I'm going to stick to my rule and not add non-metal releases unless the band has a metal album or EP both prior AND after it. If I start breaking that rule I'll be wasting my days entering literally thousands of releases that have nothing to do with metal.

The following bands have been added to Metal Academy from the 21st to the 26th of October, 2020.

1. Chaos Echœs (HORDE, FALLEN)

2. GuilThee (HORDE) - requested by Revolution666

3. Island (HORDE) - requested by Revolution666

4. Teeth (HORDE, FALLEN, NORTH) - requested by Revolution666

5. Devilment (PIT, FALLEN) - requested by Revolution666

6. Speedtrap (PIT, GUARDIANS)

7. Liv Kristine (FALLEN) - requested by Revolution666

8. Heavenwood (FALLEN) - requested by Revolution666

9. Lord of the Lost (FALLEN, SPHERE) - requested by Revolution666

10. The Man-Eating Tree (FALLEN) - requested by Revolution666

11. Theatres des Vampires (FALLEN, NORTH, GUARDIANS) - requested by Revolution666

12. Mortemia (FALLEN, GUARDIANS) - requested by Revolution666

13. Damned Spirits' Dance (NORTH, INFINITE) - requested by Revolution666

14. Remmirath (NORTH, INFINITE) - requested by Revolution666

15. Lux Occulta (NORTH, INFINITE) - requested by Revolution666

16. Nucleus Torn (NORTH, INFINITE) - requested by Revolution666

17. Todesstoß (NORTH, INFINITE) - requested by Revolution666

18. Wayfarer (NORTH, INFINITE)

19. Transcending Bizarre? (NORTH, INFINITE) - requested by Revolution666

20. Ørkenkjøtt (INFINITE) - requested by Revolution666

21. Aberrant Vascular (INFINITE) - requested by Revolution666

22. The Reticent (INFINITE) - requested by saxystephens

This release has been added to the Hall of Judgement.

This release has been added to the Hall of Judgement.

This release has been added to the Hall of Judgement.

Sólstafir's Svartir Sandar has been added to the Hall of Judgement.

Please add local-to-me band Earthworm Von Doom (USA) and their strange 2018 album 8279.

Thanks Ben.

This band is not on RYM or Metal-Archives, and only has one release on Discogs. I can add them if you provide all the info.

This release has been added to the Hall of Judgement.

There have been times when I've altered the clans of releases after finding I'd made a mistake during the original entry, or when I see that voting at RYM has swung dramatically since the original entry (which is often days after a release comes out and therefore not necessarily accurate). One thing I make sure not to do though is to change the genres / clans of any release that already has at least one rating / review. If someone has taken the time to listen to an album and rate / review it, I don't think I should be altering the clan it belongs to without entry into the Hall of Judgement. So that's my general rule.

As with the Katatonia request, can you please select what you consider to be the clearest case for removal from The Fallen? We'll push that one through and see how it goes.

I'd much prefer not to put multiple releases into the Hall like this, instead choosing the most obvious case and seeing how that goes before going any further.

Can I ask you to select either Viva Emptiness or The Great Cold Distance to enter the Hall? If it comes back as categorically no, then you may choose not to push the other album through.

This release has been added to the Hall of Judgement.

This release has been added to the Hall of Judgement.

The following bands have been added to Metal Academy from the 15th to the 20th of October, 2020.

1. Greg Puciato (GATEWAY, SPHERE, REVOLUTION)

2. Hexecutor (PIT)

3. Sacral Rage (PIT, GUARDIANS, INFINITE)

4. The Armed (REVOLUTION)

5. The Last Ten Seconds of Life (REVOLUTION)

6. Black Magnet (SPHERE)

7. Night (GUARDIANS)

8. Christian Mistress (GUARDIANS)

9. Trial (GUARDIANS)

10. Dumal (NORTH)

11. Nocturnal Departure (NORTH)

12. 0 (NORTH, FALLEN)

13. Rejoice! The Light Has Come (NORTH, INFINITE)

14. Dkharmakhaoz (NORTH)

15. Grifteskymfning (NORTH)

16. Sunken (NORTH)

17. Emyn Muil (NORTH)

18. Obsidian Kingdom (INFINITE, HORDE, FALLEN)

19. Panzerballett (INFINITE)

20. Exist (INFINITE, HORDE)

21. Mutoid Man (FALLEN)

22. Rezn (FALLEN)

23. FOUL (FALLEN)

24. Frowning (FALLEN)

25. George Kollias (HORDE)

26. Encenathrakh (HORDE)

27. Enthean (HORDE)

Well, thinking about it now, I guess her taste should really have come into question.

Your disdain for the mighty Summoning will not go unpunished. May the infernal legions of Mordor vomit on your new Razor hoodie.

The following bands have been added to Metal Academy from the 8th to the 14th of October, 2020.

1. Father Sky Mother Earth (FALLEN) - requested by Sonny92

2. Great Cold Emptiness (FALLEN, NORTH) - requested by Revolution666

3. Mistress of the Dead (FALLEN) - requested by Revolution666

4. Funeris (FALLEN) - requested by Sonny92

5. Noctu (FALLEN) - requested by Sonny92

6. The Funeral Orchestra (FALLEN) - requested by Sonny92

7. Cruthu (FALLEN) - requested by Sonny92

8. The Crooked Whispers (FALLEN) - requested by Sonny92

9. Pharmacist (HORDE)

10. Kommand (HORDE)

11. Cryptworm (HORDE)

12. Visceral Mass (HORDE)

13. Proscription (HORDE) - requested by MacabreEternal

14. Gorephilia (HORDE)

15. Burden of Life (HORDE, INFINITE)

16. Lik (HORDE)

17. Plague Organ (INFINITE, NORTH)

18. Thirty Nights of Violence (REVOLUTION)

19. Alpha Wolf (REVOLUTION, GATEWAY)

20. Seether (GATEWAY)

21. Lamp of Murmuur (NORTH)

22. iANO (NORTH)

23. A Light in the Dark (NORTH)

24. Gates of Tyrant (NORTH)

25. Silver Knife (NORTH)

26. Sørgelig (NORTH)

27. Svalbard (NORTH)

28. Ars Magna Umbrae (NORTH)

The Hall has judged this release and a decision has been made. With a result of 14 to 1, Cynic's Focus will be given the Death Metal genre and subsequently added to The Horde.

I'd love to offer more  in the way of Groove Metal and Crossover Thrash, but I'm really very inexperienced beyond the obvious.

1. Iron Angel - Sinner 666 from Hellish Crossfire (1985)
   
2. Testament - Disciples of the Watch from The New Order (1988)
3. Sadus - Certain Death from Illusions aka Chemical Exposure (1988)

Here's my three for October...

1. Anorexia Nervosa - The Shining from Redemption Process (2004)
2. Summoning - Old Mornings Dawn from Old Mornings Dawn (2013)
3. Coldworld - Dream of a Dead Sun from Melancholie² (2008)

Alright...three very different tracks...from three different decades.

1. Dark Tranquillity - Hours Passed in Exile from Damage Done (2002)
2. Nocturnus - Possess the Priest from the Nocturnus EP (1993)
3. Fallujah - Starlit Path from The Flesh Prevails (2014)

Making sure I get in this month... 

1. Void of Silence - Opus II: With No Half-Measure from Criteria ov 666 (2002)
2. Theatre of Tragedy - Venus from Aégis (1998)
3. Evoken - In Pestilence, Burning from Quietus (2001)

The following bands have been added to Metal Academy from the 3rd to the 7th of October, 2020.

1. The Spirit Cabinet (GUARDIANS, FALLEN) - requested by illusionist

2. Terra Atlantica (GUARDIANS)

3. Izah (INFINITE, FALLEN)

4. Decoherence (NORTH)

5. The Committee (NORTH)

6. Over the Voids... (NORTH)

7. Nexion (NORTH, HORDE)

8. Phinehas (REVOLUTION, HORDE)

9. Mikau (REVOLUTION)

10. Fawn Limbs (REVOLUTION, HORDE)

11. Carnation (HORDE)

12. Murkrat (FALLEN) - requested by Sonny92

13. Towards (FALLEN) - requested by Sonny92

14. Until Death Overtakes Me (FALLEN) - requested by Revolution666

15. Dreams After Death (FALLEN) - requested by Revolution666

16. Black Lodge (FALLEN) - requested by Sonny92

17. Illimitable Dolor (FALLEN) - requested by Sonny92

The following bands have been added to Metal Academy from the 25th of September to the 2nd of October, 2020.

1. New Years Day (GATEWAY)

2. Palisades (GATEWAY, REVOLUTION)

3. Satan's Wrath (PIT, NORTH, GUARDIANS)

4. Bulldozing Bastard (PIT, NORTH)

5. Frosthelm (PIT, NORTH)

6. RAM (GUARDIANS)

7. Satan's Host (GUARDIANS, NORTH, HORDE)

8. Night Demon (GUARDIANS)

9. Axxanngabannaxaxagannababaillukuku (FALLEN, INFINITE) - requested by Revolution666

10. Amaranthine Trampler (FALLEN) - requested by Sonny92

11. Funeral Moth (FALLEN) - requested by Sonny92

12. Aeonian Sorrow (FALLEN) - requested by Revolution666

13. Funeral Mourning (FALLEN) - requested by Revolution666

14. Despond (FALLEN) - requested by Revolution666

15. Abske Fides (FALLEN) - requested by Sonny92

16. Arcana Coelestia (FALLEN) - requested by Sonny92

17. Ennui (FALLEN) - requested by Sonny92

18. Lethian Dreams (FALLEN) - requested by Sonny92

19. Death Karma (NORTH, HORDE)

20. Wiegedood (NORTH)

21. Shrine of Insanabilis (NORTH)

22. Ghost Bath (NORTH)

23. Northland (NORTH)

24. Autokrator (HORDE)

25. Beaten to Death (HORDE)

26. Wrvth (HORDE, REVOLUTION, INFINITE)

27. Of Feather and Bone (HORDE, REVOLUTION)

28. Zierler (INFINITE)

29. Mestis (INFINITE)

30. Earthside (INFINITE)

31. Jarrod Alonge (REVOLUTION)

32. Heccra (REVOLUTION)

33. Miss May I (REVOLUTION)

I shit you not, this is the best Metal Academy playlist to date. I'm not actually part of The Sphere, but this playlist makes me wish I as. It has a slightly rocky start for me, but once I reached Rammstein at track 6, the remaining hour and a half were consistently excellent.

So many classics that I already know and love (Samael, Ministry, Fear Factory, Strapping Young Lad, Godflesh, Red Harvest) while also introducing me to heaps of great new tracks I've never heard before (Killing Joke, JK Flesh, Neurotech, Corrections House, Napalm Death).

Excellent work Daniel!

I'll add these to the list.

Please note that requests for release additions should be made in the relevant clan forums. It generally makes it a lot easier for me to keep track of them and makes sure I don't miss anything.

While I do know the Linkin Park track in question, I'm not sure that I've ever heard a track by System of a Down or Deftones, and I've never heard an album by any of these bands.

So yeah, it's worth noting that one person's musical journey can be very different to another's. Hearing anything by these so called giants is educational for people like me.

Sorry, Ben could you please add short-lived Norwegian death doom outfit Black Lodge.

I'd be happy to. I bought their album when it came out and have a soft spot for it.

The following bands have been added to Metal Academy from the 18th to the 24th of September, 2020.

1. Satyrasis (PIT, HORDE)

2. Excel (PIT, GATEWAY) - requested by Daniel

3. Dr. Living Dead! (PIT)

4. Enabler (REVOLUTION)

5. Fear, and Loathing in Las Vegas (REVOLUTION) - requested by shadowdoom9

6. The Plot in You (REVOLUTION, GATEWAY)

7. Wage War (REVOLUTION)

8. Crystal Lake (REVOLUTION)

9. Ad Nauseam (HORDE, INFINITE)

10. Sarpanitum (HORDE)

11. Undergang (HORDE, FALLEN)

12. Disaffected (HORDE) - requested by MacabreEternal

13. Atavistia (HORDE, GUARDIANS) - requested by illusionist

14. Skinless (HORDE)

15. Uniform (SPHERE)

16. Tau Cross (GUARDIANS)

17. Vexillum (GUARDIANS, NORTH)

18. Winterage (GUARDIANS)

19. Marius Danielsen's Legend of Valley Doom (GUARDIANS)

20. Bosse-de-Nage (NORTH, INFINITE)

21. Dystopia Nå! (NORTH)

22. Katavasia (NORTH)

23. Clouds Collide (NORTH, INFINITE)

24. Ultha (NORTH)

25. Uuntar (NORTH)

26. Yaldabaoth (NORTH)

27. Evilfeast / Uuntar (NORTH)

28. Khors (NORTH)

29. Angela Martyr (INFINITE, GATEWAY) - requested by Sonny92

30. A Swarm of the Sun (INFINITE, FALLEN)

31. Kingcrow (INFINITE)

32. Blind Idiot God (INFINITE)

33. The Gazette (GATEWAY)

34. Persistence in Mourning (FALLEN) - requested by Revolution666

35. Vouna (FALLEN) - requested by Revolution666

36. Omination (FALLEN) - requested by Revolution666

37. Excantation (FALLEN) - requested by Revolution666

38. Lycus (FALLEN) - requested by Revolution666

39. The White Swan (FALLEN) - requested by Sonny92

40. Catacombs (FALLEN) - requested by Revolution666

1. Morbid Saint - Assassin from Spectrum of Death (1990)

2. Nevermore - This Godless Endeavor from This Godless Endeavor (2005)

3. Coroner - Divine Step from Mental Vortex (1991)

1. Progenie Terrestre Pura - Progenie terrestre pura from U.M.A. (2013)

2. Sear Bliss - Dreams Spectre from Glory and Perdition (2004)

3. Summoning - Old Mornings Dawn from Old Mornings Dawn (2013)

I'll go for some goodies from the naughties...

1. Nile - Cast Down the Heretic from Annihilation of the Wicked (2005)
2. Septic Flesh - Virtues of the Beast from Sumerian Daemons (2003)
3. In Mourning -  Past October Skies (The Black Lodge Revisited) from Shrouded Divine (2008)

It fittingly shares an anniversary with Faith No More's Midlife Crisis compilation. 

Damn. Missed out! Will have to get in early next month.

Regarding 20+ minute tracks, having read through the comments and given it some thought, perhaps it can be more of a case by case thing Daniel. Sonny is certainly right that funeral doom and drone get the short end of the stick with the rule, particularly the latter. Maybe this can be more of an encouragement than a rule? If there are bands out there that rarely release tracks under 20 minutes then perhaps exceptions could be made? If you do choose to include one, I think putting it last on the playlist is the way to do it. It's not overly disruptive then and listeners can just choose to stop it whenever they choose. Either way it should be a rarity. I'm a MASSIVE funeral doom fan and I reckon it's a pretty low percentage of tracks that have that sort of length. People can use common sense when recommending tracks.

The playlists are definitely Daniel's baby though. I'm easy either way.

The following bands have been added to Metal Academy from the 9th to the 17th of September, 2020.

1. Legion of Andromeda (SPHERE, HORDE, FALLEN)

2. Zardonic (SPHERE)

3. Coldrain (GATEWAY, REVOLUTION)

4. Naïve (GATEWAY, INFINITE)

5. Abrahma (GATEWAY, FALLEN, INFINITE)

6. AngelMaker (REVOLUTION)

7. Buried in Verona (REVOLUTION)

8. Blessthefall (REVOLUTION)

9. Blistered (REVOLUTION)

10. Abiotic (REVOLUTION, HORDE)

11. A Night in Texas (REVOLUTION)

12. Death Alley (GUARDIANS)

13. Michael Schenker (GUARDIANS)

14. Heir Apparent (GUARDIANS, INFINITE) - requested by SilentScream213

15. Blackslash (GUARDIANS)

16. Magister Templi (GUARDIANS, FALLEN)

17. Below the Sun (FALLEN, INFINITE)

18. Belzebong (FALLEN)

19. Abstracter (FALLEN, NORTH)

20. Brothers of the Sonic Cloth (FALLEN)

21. Void Rot (FALLEN) - requested by Sonny92

22. Domovoyd (FALLEN)

23. 6:33 (INFINITE)

24. Alkaloid (INFINITE, HORDE)

25. Amiensus (INFINITE, NORTH)

26. Akitsa (NORTH)

27. Aryan Art (NORTH)

28. Awe (NORTH)

29. Ieschure (NORTH) - requested by Sonny92

30. Ovnev (NORTH) - requested by Sonny92

31. Temple Desecration (NORTH, HORDE)

32. Deiphago (NORTH, PIT)

33. Diavolos (PIT, HORDE)

34. Bio-Cancer (PIT)

35. Act of Defiance (PIT)

36. Alustrium (HORDE)

37. Amon (HORDE) - requested by Sonny92

38. A Loathing Requiem (HORDE)

39. House of Atreus (HORDE)

I thought I'd give this a go and listened to the Shape of Despair track.

Takes away everything that's amazing about it, leaving an unlistenable and ineffective mess. Each to their own I guess.

Speaking of potential new features, go check out the Gallery now. You can now look for the top rating covers that you haven't yet rated. 

Anything is possible. I'll add it to the list.

I agree with Tymell. I initially thought that a minimum ratings option would make sense the way it does for releases, but I've actually really enjoyed going into the Gallery every few days and voting on any covers that appear (that I haven't yet voted for). There's some really great stuff that people find that we simply wouldn't see if there was a minimum ratings filter.

Since you don't have to have heard a release to vote on its cover, I now don't think we'll ever have a minimum rating for The Gallery. It seems shadowdoom9 might disagree with this, so does anyone else have any feedback? As always, I like to make decisions as a community wherever possible.

Anacrusis have a couple of really great albums, being Manic Impressions and Screams and Whispers. Well worth checking out both.

I also enjoyed this playlist. With the exception of the crossover stuff, which never does much for me, there was a lot of great stuff. I previously didn't really appreciate Speed Metal very much, but since covering a fair few great albums in that style while doing the Metal Academy podcast, I've come around to it.

The following bands have been added to Metal Academy from the 31st of August to the 8th of September, 2020.

1. Valkyrie (GUARDIANS, FALLEN)

2. Lady Beast (GUARDIANS)

3. Orbit Culture (HORDE, PIT)

4. Necrot (HORDE)

5. Entrails (HORDE)

6. Descend (HORDE, INFINITE)

7. Svartkonst (NORTH)

8. Bríi (NORTH)

9. Prison of Mirrors (NORTH)

10. Aodon (NORTH, INFINITE)

11. Xazraug (NORTH, INFINITE)

12. Andeis (NORTH)

13. Eternal Rot (FALLEN)

14. Loviatar (FALLEN, INFINITE)

15. Holy Grove (FALLEN)

16. Irist (INFINITE)

17. Okyr (INFINITE) - requested by Jean Elias

18. Expander (PIT)

19. Sharptooth (REVOLUTION)

Hi Ben, could you please add progressive metal band from Brazil: Okyr

A quick look at RYM confirmed my suspicion that you're actually a member of the band. That of course is perfectly fine, and I'll add it to the list to be added to the site this week.

Feel free to share any info you want to about the band and/or the album.

Also, if you do intend to contribute to stick around Metal Academy, note that you have the option to have three clans. Just let me know which other two you like to be part of and I'll sort it.