Encyclopaedia Metallum
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| Metal music database, reviews | |
| operator | Morrigan, light blazer |
| user | 462,000 (as of 08/2019) |
| Registration | Optional |
| On-line | July 2002 |
| https://www.metal-archives.com/ | |
The Encyclopaedia Metallum: The Metal Archives (also commonly known as the Metal Archive or just MA ) is a website that contains a database of various forms of Metal music. The content is mainly information about bands and sound carriers, but also tens of thousands of reviews. The site was started in July 2002 by two Canadians known only by their pseudonyms Morrigan and Hellblazer. The aim of the operators is to offer a complete database of all metal bands that have ever existed.
Technical development
The initiators originally offered metal bands to write HTML homepages for them . They quickly reached their capacity limits and the idea arose to convert the system to a database to which a large number of users can contribute information. This website went online in July 2002 as Encyclopaedia Metallum , and in April 2011 it was changed to a new design.
User structure
Participation in the website is free of charge. There are currently a few administrators, around 40 moderators and around 260,000 registered users. Registered users let their information flow through the three channels bands, reviews and error messages. These are checked by the moderators for their compatibility with the database structure and the basic rules of the website and then adopted; there is generally no control of the correctness of the content. Awareness or sales figures are of subordinate importance. The aim is to provide as much information as possible about each band, including discography , logo , pictures, lyrics , line- up , general information and reviews. Between 500 and 600 new band entries are added every month. In addition to these three channels, there is a freely accessible web forum.
Registered users receive points for their contributions, according to which they are divided into different groups. These have names like “Mallcore Kid” for newly registered members without contributions or “Metalhead” for experienced users. The division into these user groups is carried out separately for the website and the forum.
financing
The Encyclopaedia Metallum describes itself as independent and initially did not contain any advertising. A lack of support has led to performance problems several times since mid-2005 , which were resolved in November 2008. Since November 2007 there have been hyperlinks to various online retailers on the pages of the individual volume entries. Affiliate marketing partners include Amazon and eBay . The operators receive a commission if a visitor to the website navigates to one of the online shops via the hyperlink provided there and orders something there. According to the operator, this income is sufficient to finance the technology and server. There is also the option of donating money directly to the website operators.
Content
The very selective and subjectively justified selection of the bands that are approved for the database has repeatedly caused controversy in the scene throughout the history of the website. The content of the site is subject to strict rules as to which bands are recorded and which are not. Only bands that are considered "Metal" by the administrators will be accepted, styles such as Nu Metal or Industrial Metal are largely excluded. In case of doubt, the operators decide on the inclusion. According to Hellblazer, the criterion is that "a band [...] has released an entire album with metal-typical and not rock-typical or hardcore- typical riffs", on the other hand, it does not matter whether the operators like the music or not. A band is accepted when it has its own release. This also includes demo tapes and singles ; digital publications have also been accepted under certain conditions since 2013.
The database also has entries on NSBM bands. This is due to the fact that the Encyclopaedia Metallum sees itself as a purely musical database and therefore bands from this camp also receive an entry when they play metal.
Occasionally bands that are clearly not to be assigned to Metal, but which, in the opinion of the administrators, have a special connection to the Metal scene, are included. Meanwhile, such bands are no longer allowed to be suggested by normal users.
reception
The website is regularly referenced as a source of information by music magazines such as Terrorizer and Decibel . Popular scientific literature is also based on research in the Encyclopaedia Metallum. Rock Hard magazine called the website the "ultimate database" and a "gigantic project".
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i Wolfram Küper: ENCYCLOPAEDIA METALLUM - facts, facts, facts . In: Rock Hard . No. 329 , October 2014, p. 34 f .
- ^ Encyclopaedia Metallum - Help. Encyclopaedia Metallum, accessed October 15, 2014 .
- ↑ Encyclopaedia Metallum - FAQ. Encyclopaedia Metallum, accessed October 15, 2014 .
- ^ Encyclopaedia Metallum - Support Us. Encyclopaedia Metallum, accessed October 15, 2014 .
- ^ Encyclopaedia Metallum - Rules. Encyclopaedia Metallum, accessed on August 26, 2016 .
- ↑ cf. z. B. Rolf F. Nohr, Herbert Schwaab (eds.): Metal Matters: Heavy Metal as culture and world. Lit-Verlag, Münster 2011, p. 277; Georg Herzfeld: Poe in music: a versatile alliance. Waxmann-Verlag, Münster 2013, p. 171.