Ben's Forum Replies

The following bands have been added to Metal Academy on the 26th of June, 2019:

1. Wolf (GUARDIANS) - requested by Daniel

2. DragonForce (GUARDIANS) - requested by shadowdoom9

3. Bullet for My Valentine (REVOLUTION, GATEWAY) - requested by shadowdoom9

4. Godsmack (GATEWAY) - requested by Strig

5. Carpathian Full Moon (NORTH)

6. Abysmal (NORTH)

7. Carnal Forge (PIT, HORDE) - requested by Strig

8. Vulture (PIT)

9. Ophthalamia (NORTH, FALLEN)

10. Ceremonium (FALLEN, HORDE) - requested by Revolution666

11. Dawn of Solace (FALLEN, HORDE) - requested by Revolution666

12. Firespawn (HORDE)

13. Beheaded (HORDE)

Ben, please add German heavy metallers Sinner & NWOBHM outfit Wolf.

Done.

Hi Ben. Any chance of adding Stilla, Skogen, Downfall of Nur and blackened doom outfits Yith and Gaul?

These are all done. Got any more!? 

The following bands have been added to Metal Academy on the 24th of June, 2019:

1. Hate (HORDE)

2. Before the Dawn (HORDE, FALLEN) - requested by shadowdoom9

3. Blood Tsunami (PIT) - requested by Strig

4. Metreya (PIT) - requested by Daniel

5. Bloodwritten (PIT, NORTH) - requested by Strig

6. Stilla (NORTH) - requested by Sonny92

7. Yith (NORTH, FALLEN) - requested by Sonny92

8. Sunterra (FALLEN) - requested by Revolution666

9. The 11th Hour (FALLEN) - requested by Revolution666

10.Sear Bliss (NORTH)

11. Mörk Gryning (NORTH)

12. Enthroned (NORTH)

13. Betraying the Martyrs (REVOLUTION, GUARDIANS) - requested by shadowdoom9

14. Sinner (GUARDIANS) - requested by Daniel

The following bands have been added to Metal Academy on the 21st of June, 2019:

1. Battlelore (GUARDIANS, NORTH, FALLEN) - requested by shadowdoom9

2. Battle Beast (GUARDIANS) - requested by shadowdoom9

3. Gaul (FALLEN, NORTH) - requested by Sonny92

4. Atomizer (PIT, NORTH) - requested by Strig

5. Skogen (NORTH) - requested by Sonny92

6. Rapture (FALLEN, HORDE) - requested by Revolution666

7. Sundown (FALLEN) - requested by Revolution666

8. Anihilated (PIT) - requested by Daniel

9. Korzus (PIT) - requested by Daniel

10. Black Fast (PIT) - requested by Strig

11. Fleurety  (NORTH, INFINITE)

12. Gorefest (HORDE)

The following bands have been added to Metal Academy on the 19th of June, 2019:

1. Crematory (FALLEN, HORDE) - requested by Daniel

2. Mourning Beloveth (FALLEN) - requested by Revolution666

3. Avatar (HORDE, GATEWAY) - requested by shadowdoom9

4. Downfall of Nur (NORTH) - requested by Sonny92

5. Ammit (NORTH, PIT) - requested by Strig

6. Drain S.T.H. (GATEWAY)

7. Russell Allen & Jorn Lande (GUARDIANS)

8. Naglfar (NORTH)

9. War From a Harlots Mouth (REVOLUTION, HORDE)

10. Dååth (SPHERE, HORDE)

11. Witchery (GUARDIANS, PIT)

12. Into Eternity (HORDE, INFINITE)

13. Obscure Sphinx (INFINITE, FALLEN)

14. Iron Monkey (FALLEN)

Ben, please add the following bands:

Adrift For Days (Australia)

Blood For The Black Owl (USA)

Crematory (Germany)

Done.

I notice you haven't added any ratings or reviews yet. That's absolutely fine of course, but do you mind if I ask how you intend to use Metal Academy? Will it be a resource for you to find music or do you plan to contribute stuff at some stage. Perhaps you just like the idea, and want to see it turn into something special? I'm keen to find out what value different members get from the site.

Cheers,

Ben.

Awesome!! You included one the bands I requested! Thanks man!

No problem. I'll get through them all, one each day.

The following bands have been added to Metal Academy on the 17th of June, 2019:

1. Mordor (FALLEN, INFINITE) - requested by Revolution666

2. The Wounded Kings (FALLEN) - requested by Sonny92 

3. Blood For The Black Owl (FALLEN, NORTH) - requested by Daniel

4. Dirge (FALLEN, INFINITE)

5. Aghora (INFINITE)

6. Alestorm (GUARDIANS, NORTH) - requested by shadowdoom9

7. Shotgun Messiah (SPHERE)

8. I (GUARDIANS, NORTH)

9. Dark Fortress (NORTH)

10. Hellwitch (PIT, HORDE)

11. Dies Irae (HORDE)

12. Rotten Sound (HORDE)

13. Wednesday 13 (GATEWAY)

14. Beartooth (REVOLUTION

The following bands have been added to Metal Academy on the 14th of June, 2019:

1. Love Like Blood (FALLEN)   - requested by Revolution666

2. Spiritus Mortis (FALLEN) - requested by Sonny92

3. Deivos (HORDE) - requested by Strig

4. Adrift For Days (FALLEN, INFINITE) - requested by Daniel 

5. Burning Witch (FALLEN)

6. Ra (GATEWAY)

7. Voyager (INFINITE, GUARDIANS)

8. Cro-Mags (PIT, GUARDIANS)

9. (V.E.G.A.) (SPHERE, NORTH)

10. Firewind (GUARDIANS)

11. Angelcorpse (HORDE)

12. Svartidauði (NORTH)

13. Incendiary (REVOLUTION)

Thank you very much for putting this list together. With everything I'm doing for the site, I've been wondering how I will find the time to hunt down non-metal anomalies. This list will be a great starting point. 

Hello, could we see Pungent Stench, Disastrous Murmur, Disharmonic Orchestra, Miasma, and Visceral Evisceration added to the site?

Done.

Ben, please add these bands:

Aborted (Belgium)

Aeternam (Canada)

Ares Kingdom (USA)

Done

The following bands have been added to Metal Academy on the 13th of June, 2019:

1. Immensity (FALLEN) - requested by Revolution666

2. Seamount (FALLEN, GUARDIANS) - requested by Sonny92 

3. Ares Kingdom (HORDE, PIT) - requested by Daniel 

4. Visceral Evisceration (FALLEN) - requested by Samael666x 

5. American Head Charge (GATEWAY) - requested by Strig 

6. Buried Inside (FALLEN, INFINITE, REVOLUTION)

7. Deadsoul Tribe (GATEWAY, INFINITE)

8. Augury (HORDE, INFINITE)

9. Endon (INFINITE)

10. Heavenly (GUARDIANS)

11. Anorexia Nervosa (NORTH, SPHERE)

12. Exumer (PIT)

13. Destrage (REVOLUTION)

14. Genitorturers (SPHERE)

Ben, please add 1349 (Norway), Agrypnie (Germany) & An Autumn For Crippled Children (Netherlands).

All done.

The following bands have been added to Metal Academy on the 12th of June, 2019:

1. Graveyard Dirt (FALLEN) - requested by Revolution666

2. Monolord (FALLEN) - requested by Sonny92 

3. Aeternam (HORDE) - requested by Daniel 

4. Miasma (HORDE) - requested by Samael666x 

5. Blood Ceremony (FALLEN) 

6. Psychostick (GATEWAY) 

7. Pagan's Mind (INFINITE, GUARDIANS) 

8. Sabaton (GUARDIANS) 

9. Ripping Corpse (PIT, HORDE) 

10. Benediction (HORDE) 

11. Der Weg einer Freiheit (NORTH) 

12. Psyopus (REVOLUTION) 

13. Sonic Violence (SPHERE)

The following bands have been added to Metal Academy on the 11th of June, 2019:

1. Diabolique (FALLEN) - requested by Revolution666

2. Lord Vicar (FALLEN) - requested by Sonny92

3. Aborted (HORDE) - requested by Daniel

4. Disharmonic Orchestra (HORDE, INFINITE, GATEWAY, PIT) - requested by Samael666x

5. 10 Years (GATEWAY)

6. Schammasch (NORTH)

7. Sacrilege (PIT, FALLEN)

8. Starkweather (REVOLUTION)

9. Pig (SPHERE)

10. Torche (FALLEN)

11. Jason Becker (GUARDIANS, INFINITE)

12. Quo Vadis (HORDE)

13. Scale the Summit (INFINITE)

The following bands have been added to Metal Academy on the 9th of June, 2019:

1. Clouds (FALLEN) - requested by Revolution666

2. Isole (FALLEN) - requested by Sonny92

3. An Autumn For Crippled Children (NORTH) - requested by Daniel

4. Disastrous Murmur (HORDE) - requested by Samael666x

5. Kauan (FALLEN, INFINITE)

6/ Klone (GATEWAY, INFINITE, PIT)

7. Martyr (HORDE)

8. Anubis Gate (INFINITE, GUARDIANS)

9. Angel Dust (GUARDIANS, PIT)

10. Tanzwut (SPHERE, NORTH)

11. Misþyrming (NORTH)

12. DevilDriver (PIT)

13. Ithaca (REVOLUTION)

Thanks for sharing your story Sonny92. It's awesome to find out a bit about the background of regulars here.

I'm really enjoying your reviews, and I'm keeping some mental notes of albums to check out based on your recommendations. As you know though, there are endless great metal albums, which is both a blessing and curse. Hopefully this site will continue to grow and one day be an excellent tool for discovering the very best ones that meet your own specific tastes.

Thanks for your activity and your support!

The following bands have been added to Metal Academy on the 8th of June, 2019:

1. Charon (FALLEN) - requested by Revolution666

2. Hour of 13 (FALLEN) - requested by Sonny92

3. Agrypnie (NORTH) - requested by Daniel

4. Pungent Stench (HORDE) - requested by Samael666x

5. Alice Cooper (GUARDIANS)

6. Mouth of the Architect (INFINITE, FALLEN)

7. Progenie Terrestre Pura (NORTH)

8. Cryptic Slaughter (PIT)

9. Bleeding Through (REVOLUTION, HORDE)

10. DéspairsRay (SPHERE, GATEWAY)

11. Witchcraft (FALLEN)

12. MUCC (GATEWAY)

13. Mithras (HORDE)

Certainly! I can't believe I haven't added Pungent Stench yet.

These will be added 1 each day, starting tomorrow (trying to manage everyone's requests).

I've successfully added this feature. I can now add releases with a genre of Non-Metal and no clan.

If you check out Opeth and Megadeth, you will see Damnation and Risk in their discography. These releases can be found on the Releases page too, as long as your search doesn't include a clan. You can rate them and review them as per normal.

I'll need to come up with a "rule" around which non-metal albums are added and which ones aren't. I'll then need to go back over all the bands I've already added, hunting for releases to meet that criteria.

Cheers,

Ben.

The following bands have been added to Metal Academy on the 6th of June, 2019:

1. Cemetary 1213 (FALLEN) - requested by Revolution666

2. Goatess (FALLEN) - requested by Sonny92

3. 1349 (NORTH) - requested by Daniel

4. Avatarium (FALLEN)

5. Gruntruck (GATEWAY)

6. Conception (INFINITE)

7. Xentrix (PIT, GUARDIANS)

8. Crowpath (REVOLUTION, HORDE)

9. Yerûšelem (SPHERE)

10. Cloven Hoof (GUARDIANS)

11. Sulphur Aeon (HORDE, NORTH)

12. Isengard (NORTH)

The following bands have been added to Metal Academy on the 5th of June, 2019:

1. Cemetary (FALLEN, HORDE) - requested by Revolution666

2. Cardinal Wyrm (FALLEN) - requested by Sonny92

3. Altarage (HORDE, NORTH) - requested by Strig

4. SOiL (GATEWAY)

5. Vicious Rumors (GUARDIANS, PIT)

6. Desaster (PIT, HORDE, NORTH)

7. Plebeian Grandstand (REVOLUTION, FALLEN, NORTH)

8. Tyrant of Death (SPHERE, INFINITE, NORTH)

9. Mar de Grises (FALLEN, INFINITE)

10. In Vain (INFINITE, HORDE, NORTH)

11. Vital Remains (HORDE)

12. Nagelfar (NORTH)

Wow thanks, fast work. I'll just keep feeding you then, I guess. 

Abrogation, Abscess, Abysmal Dawn, Abyssal, Acheron, Ad Patres, Aeveron, Aletheian, Alterage

All done!

The following bands have been added to Metal Academy on the 4th of June, 2019:

1. Celestial Season (FALLEN) - requested by Revolution666

2. Briton Rites (FALLEN) - requested by Sonny92

3. Aletheian (HORDE) - requested by Strig

4. Godkiller (SPHERE, NORTH, FALLEN)

5. Textures (INFINITE)

6. A Pale Horse Named Death (GATEWAY, FALLEN)

7. Khemmis (FALLEN)

8. Hell (GUARDIANS)

9. Monstrosity (HORDE)

10. Thyrfing (NORTH)

11. Angelus Apatrida (PIT)

12. Carnifex (REVOLUTION)

The following bands have been added to Metal Academy on the 3rd of June, 2019:

1. Amederia (FALLEN) - requested by Revolution666

2. Age of Taurus (FALLEN) - requested by Sonny92

3. Aeveron (HORDE) - requested by Strig

4. Samsas Traum (SPHERE, NORTH, FALLEN, GUARDIANS, HORDE)

5. Battle of Mice (FALLEN, INFINITE)

6. Aosoth (NORTH)

7. Ratos de Porão (PIT)

8. Caliban (REVOLUTION)

9. Nonpoint (GATEWAY)

10. Halford (GUARDIANS)

11. Misery Index (HORDE)

12. Indukti (INFINITE

Firstly, thanks for the feedback. We want this to be a community, so we're super keen to hear about any suggestions people have or things they feel could be better.

We're not opposed to including some of the albums you're talking about. The problem we face is that for every obvious and very noticeable gap (Megadeth's Risk and Opeth's Damnation are good examples), there are bands that have released a huge amount of albums, with only one or two of them actually being metal. Off the top of my head I'll bring up Killing Joke, Nine Inch Nails, Scorpions, Def Leppard, Europe and Krokus. Those 6 bands have about 15 metal releases between them, but I'd have to add over 150 non-metal releases (live, compilations, albums, EPs) to complete their discographies. In every one of those instances, the band released a couple of metal releases decades ago and then went in a different direction for the rest of their career. Daniel and I feel that it's more strange that other sites like Metal-Archives keep adding their releases indefinitely than it is for Metal Academy to stop including them. As much as I love The Gathering, Anathema and Ulver, they've distanced themselves from metal. I can't see us deciding that any band that releases a single metal-related album will be included forevermore.

All that said, we're much more open to including those one-off non-metal albums that sit smack-bang in the discography of otherwise metal playing bands. Risk and Damnation are good examples, and I can think of several traditional folk albums that have been released by bands in The North that wouldn't feel out of place. I don't think anyone would oppose Beherit's Electric Doom Synthesis being included, even though it's a purely electronic release, since it's surrounded by black metal.

We'll sit down and figure out how we might technically include the anomalies. I'd personally like them to not have a clan at all, so you can see them in the band's discography (and rate them) but they won't appear in any clan-based search or charts. I'll just have to figure out how to achieve that. 

The following bands have been added to Metal Academy on the 1st of June, 2019:

1. Sempiternal Deathreign (FALLEN, HORDE) - requested by Sonny92

2. Spectral Voice (FALLEN)

3. He Is Legend (GATEWAY)

4. Demons & Wizards (GUARDIANS)

5. Disma (HORDE) - requested by Sonny92

6. Abrogation (HORDE) - requested by Strig

7. Origin (HORDE)

8. Minsk (INFINITE, FALLEN)

9. Carpathian Forest (NORTH)

10. Violator (PIT)

11. Monuments (REVOLUTION, INFINITE)

12. Slab! (SPHERE)

A few "one and done" releases I'd like to see:

Scald - Will of Gods Is a Great Power

Disma - Towards the Megalith

Sempiternal Deathreign - The Spooky Gloom

Thergothon - Stream From the Heavens

and Inter Arma's latest opus, Sulphur English.

Thanks...

All done! I love me some death doom and funeral doom.

The following bands have been added to Metal Academy on the 31st of May, 2019:

1. Unholy (FALLEN)

2. Scald (FALLEN) - requested by Sonny92

3. Thergothon (FALLEN) - requested by Sonny92

4. Junius (GATEWAY, INFINITE)

5. Aria (GUARDIANS)

6. Mercenary (HORDE)

7. Royal Hunt (INFINITE, GUARDIANS)

8. Craft (NORTH)

9. Gama Bomb (PIT)

10. The Bled (REVOLUTION)

11. Mortiis (SPHERE)

I wasn't aware of that. I've changed the title and artwork. Thanks.

The following bands have been added to Metal Academy on the 30th of May, 2019:

1. Grief (FALLEN)

2. Sirrah (FALLEN) - requested by Revolution666

3. Head Control System (GATEWAY)

4. Wendy O. Williams (GUARDIANS, GATEWAY, PIT) - requested by Daniel

5. Griffin (GUARDIANS, PIT) - requested by Daniel

6. Brocas Helm (GUARDIANS)

7. Acheron (HORDE) - requested by Strig

8. Timeghoul (HORDE)

9. Ad Patres (HORDE) - requested by Strig

10. Abyssal (HORDE) - requested by Strig

11. Abysmal Dawn (HORDE) - requested by Strig

12. Barren Earth (INFINITE, HORDE)

13. The Great Old Ones (NORTH)

14. The Exploited (PIT)

15. Through the Eyes of the Dead (REVOLUTION)

16. Bile (SPHERE)

Gotta get Sirrah on here!

Done!

Ha, just saw your other request for Sirrah! Well done sir.

I shall add it shortly.

They're pretty unknown, but I would love to have theMANcalledTEA on here...

I'd happily add them but unless I'm mistaken, they only ever recorded a demo didn't they?

This request does remind me that I haven't added Sirrah yet though. They must be coming up soon.

Ben, please add Wendy O. Williams, Brocas Helm & Griffin.

Done, done and done.

Funnily enough, I was scheduled to add Brocas Helm today anyway.

The following bands have been added to Metal Academy on the 29th of May, 2019:

1. Abscess (HORDE) - on request of Strig

2. Tribulation (GUARDIANS, HORDE, FALLEN)

3. Dolorian (FALLEN)

4. downset. (GATEWAY)

5. Hour of Penance (HORDE)

6. Caligula's Horse (INFINITE)

7. Woods of Desolation (NORTH)

8. Mortal Sin (PIT)

9. Fit for a Funeral (REVOLUTION)

10. Combichrist (SPHERE)

Thanks Strig!

It's difficult to attract members to a site like this, so we're just trusting that if we keep adding features that we personally find useful, the community will eventually come.

I will add this to the Hall of Judgement as soon as I make a couple of small changes to the way it works.

I will add this to the Hall of Judgement as soon as I make a couple of small changes to the way it works.

I think Faith No More were the first Gateway band that I really listened to. I actually became obsessed with them around the age of 15 and played their albums on repeat. I reckon I could sing every word of the discography ranging from The Real Thing to Album of the Year. At least, I could, if I had even a fraction of the talent that Mike Patton has.

The following bands have been added to Metal Academy on the 28th of May, 2019:

1. Winter (FALLEN)

2. Staind (GATEWAY)

3. Axel Rudi Pell (GUARDIANS)

4. Chthe'ilist (HORDE)

5. Toundra (INFINITE, FALLEN)

6. Winterfylleth (NORTH)

7. Believer (PIT, INFINITE)

8. Walls of Jericho (REVOLUTION)

9. 16volt (SPHERE)

10. Subrosa (FALLEN) - on request of Sonny92

11. Monolithe (FALLEN, INFINITE) - on request of Sonny92

How about Monolithe & Subrosa?

Done!

I've a big fan of Monolithe I & II, so was more than happy to add them. I really need to check out their later stuff.

Black Metal - I'm pretty sure it was Bathory for me too, but it was Burzum's Det som en gang var track off Hvis Lyset Tar Oss that changed everything for me. Once again it was a track that you recorded off a late night radio program, and I thought it was amazing. In fact, Black metal has been my favourite genre of all since I heard it. I'm a black metal addict!

Folk Metal - Yep, it would have been Isengarde for me too, and I found it very difficult to enjoy. I'm certainly more partial to folk metal than Daniel is, but for every album that I totally dig (Primordial, Orphaned Land), there's a bunch that I can't get into at all.

Viking Metal - It was definitely Bathory, but I believe I explored Twilight of the Gods before Hammerheart. Both of those albums are special to me, so it's strange that I haven't really thrown myself into the subgenre over the years (unless you count Enslaved and Borknagar). I might have to remedy that some time. I'm bound to find some great albums.

Thrash Metal - Yep, it was ...And Justice for All for me too. The same cassette that got you into thrash metal too. At first I think I laughed at how stupidly heavy and fast it was, but I found myself drawn back to it over and over again. I soon found myself listening to every album that Daniel brought into our home and a lifelong obsession was formed. I owe so much to Metallica!

Groove Metal - It was Pantera's Vulgar Display of Power for me, but Cowboys from Hell followed it quickly. We saw Pantera and Sepultura within a couple of months of each other in 1994, and they were my very first big metal concerts. I can't say I enjoyed much of Pantera's output after Vulgar, but boy did I love that album!

Speed Metal - I don't think I really appreciated speed metal until we started covering bands like Savage Grace, Agent Steel and Iron Angel for the podcast. Prior to that, my experience was limited to the likes of Exciter and Venom, both of which I've always felt somewhat lukewarm about.

For me it was Ministry's Psalm 69 in 1992. We had a couple of tracks recorded off the late night metal radio program that Daniel mentioned, and I played them repeatedly. I know one of them was the title track. and the other was likely Jesus Built My Hotrod. I purchased the album (along with Pantera's Vulgar Display of Power) on my next trip to Utopia Records in Sydney, and it has been a favourite ever since.

The following bands have been added to Metal Academy on the 27th of May, 2019:

1. SUMAC (FALLEN, INFINITE)

2. Exhumed (HORDE)

3. Graveland (NORTH)

4. Tourniquet (PIT, INFINITE, GUARDIANS, GATEWAY)

5. Northlane (REVOLUTION, INFINITE, GATEWAY)

6. Rabbit Junk (SPHERE)

7. Roadrunner United (GATEWAY)

8. In Solitude (GUARDIANS)

9. Control Denied (INFINITE)

The following bands have been added to Metal Academy on the 25th of May, 2019:

1. Goatwhore (HORDE, NORTH) - on request of Strig

2. Amoral (HORDE, INFINITE) - on request of Strig

3. Kataklysm (HORDE) - on request of Strig

4. Mitochondrian (HORDE) - on request of Strig

5. Sadist (HORDE, INFINITE) - on request of Strig

6. Stargazer (HORDE) - on request of Strig

7. Adversarial (HORDE) - on request of Strig

8. Posthumous Blasphemer (HORDE) - on request of Strig

9. Polluted Inheritance (HORDE) - on request of Strig

10. Stormwitch (GUARDIANS) - on request of Daniel

11. Warlock (GUARDIANS) - on request of Daniel

12. Spinal Tap (GUARDIANS) - on request of Daniel