Criteria for bands being listed on MetalArchives

[WildRanger]

If you're well familiar with this site, what do you think about criteria for acceptance of bands.
Why are some bands that are generally considered metal blacklisted there?
For example, I don't get why Between the Buried and Me is not included on MA.

[The Walrus]

Ask the MA mods, not us. They have a message board, you know.

But for the sake of entertaining... Their standards are ridiculous sometimes. Anything with a hint of 'metalcore' won't be listed on the site. It's a well known fact and a lot of fans of the site (myself included) think it's stupid and elitist but that's how MA is.

Also you can google this: https://forum.metal-archives.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=70057

[Crow]

rym is the only metal archive anyone really needs

[Lethean]

I love the metal archives. I just think the layout of the site is really nice and it's always my go-to for band information.  However, I completely agree that the blacklisting a certain bands is ridiculous. Not a fan of BTBAM, but they should absolutely be on that site.

[Working man]

I like the question. I like the site but incomplete for some of the bands that would trend here

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

I love the metal archives. I just think the layout of the site is really nice and it's always my go-to for band information.  However, I completely agree that the blacklisting a certain bands is ridiculous. Not a fan of BTBAM, but they should absolutely be on that site.

100% this!

There was actually a time when BtBaM was on the site roughly around the time Colors was first released. I remember there being numerous bad reviews bashing the album.

[Zantera]

As someone who's never been on MetalArchives but only heard the name, hearing that they have an actual "blacklist" for what they don't consider metal sounds like such a joke that I would never want to spend a second on their website.

[Elite]

My own band is blacklisted because we have too much ‘progrock’ influences. We play progressive metal with 7-string guitars, but yeah whatever.

I think stuff like Avenged Sevenfold & Trivium aren’t on there either. Frankly, it’s quite ridiculous and while I get that if they want to be a ‘metal-only’ archive website they need to draw the line somewhere, but calling bands that are clearly metal ‘mallcore’ (is that radio music you hear at malls?) is downright stupid, disrespectful and damaging for the already elitist stereotype the so-called open-minded metal world has.

[Zantera]

My own band is blacklisted because we have too much ‘progrock’ influences. We play progressive metal with 7-string guitars, but yeah whatever.

I think stuff like Avenged Sevenfold & Trivium aren’t on there either. Frankly, it’s quite ridiculous and while I get that if they want to be a ‘metal-only’ archive website they need to draw the line somewhere, but calling bands that are clearly metal ‘mallcore’ (is that radio music you hear at malls?) is downright stupid, disrespectful and damaging for the already elitist stereotype the so-called open-minded metal world has.

Yeah this was what I was thinking too. Metal fans are generally viewed as very narrowminded and "stuck in their ways" and not very open to things that alter slightly from the norm (kinda like oldschool hardcore religious people) yet instead of trying to disprove this view they are basically reinforcing it. 

[Luoto]

As far as modern prog or "avant-garde" metal goes that site is irrelevant at this point. It's not friendly to bands who think outside the box.

[WildRanger]

BTBAM is definitely more metal than As I Lay Dying, who is accepted on MA.
Weird.

[?]

I think stuff like Avenged Sevenfold & Trivium aren’t on there either. Frankly, it’s quite ridiculous and while I get that if they want to be a ‘metal-only’ archive website they need to draw the line somewhere, but calling bands that are clearly metal ‘mallcore’ (is that radio music you hear at malls?) is downright stupid, disrespectful and damaging for the already elitist stereotype the so-called open-minded metal world has.

Totally agreed. While MA is a useful site, their childish "you're stupid, we don't wanna play with you " playground attitude towards nu metal and metalcore is facepalm-worthy. Like them or not, bands like Limp Bizkit are metal too.

[LCArenas]

I've always been totally against it. The dynamic of the site is flawless: Simple, yet complete, the review section has interesting critics; it's really easy to find any band and the search engine is great. I trust it way more than any other discography info site.

However the criteria has always boiled down to "What we consider metal and what we don't". Their crusade against Hardcore is ridiculous, and I honestly can't understand how on earth bands that are mainly rock like Rush are in the archives (Because their early albums are considered as Heavy Metal) and bands like August Burns Red aren't.

I remember Trivium, Amaranthe and BTBAM being on the site, but were ultimately taken down because 'fuck mallcore' I guess. These people can't understand that being a Metal subgenre they don't like doesn't mean it's not Metal. But hey, as they themselves say, Tough shit. It's not the only place on earth to look up discographies.

[WildRanger]

One discussion about Rammstein on MA forum:

http://forum.metal-archives.com/viewtopic.php?t=63023

First reply:
The reason they aren't on here is because the admins have decided that they are not metal enough. They sound like industrial hard rock to me, so I'm inclined to agree.

[Zook]

Is there a reward for creating the most threads?

[MirrorMask]

Is there a reward for creating the most threads?

Hey, this was just bumped 

[ErHaO]

Handy for some info, but ultimately an incomplete site with rules that make them appear as a joke. Some of the most popular metal bands aren't on there. In fact, quite a lot of them aren't.

[NoseofNicko]

One discussion about Rammstein on MA forum:

http://forum.metal-archives.com/viewtopic.php?t=63023

First reply:
The reason they aren't on here is because the admins have decided that they are not metal enough. They sound like industrial hard rock to me, so I'm inclined to agree.

Lol "industrial hard rock", they’re clearly more metal than hard rock.

[ErHaO]

Just out of curiousity I was searching some bands and I find it amusing that, say, Van Canto and Ayreon (and other Arjen stuff, including Ambeon) are on there, but not Slipknot and Avenged Sevenfold.

[Zook]

Ambeon is metal as fuck. I once slipped a disc headbanging to Ambeon.

[425]

I love the metal archives. I just think the layout of the site is really nice and it's always my go-to for band information.  However, I completely agree that the blacklisting a certain bands is ridiculous. Not a fan of BTBAM, but they should absolutely be on that site.

Replying to an old post, I know, but personally, I think the site design is really bad. The color scheme is ridiculously dark for no apparent reason: Much of the content is in dark red font on a black background—why? And it feels like the main content is such a small part of the layout compared to the header and two massive sidebars. RateYourMusic and ProgArchives, neither of which is exactly a feat of excellent web design, are both far nicer to look at.

As others have mentioned, the selection criteria are very silly. I was poking around the website to remember why I hated the design, and I found that Transatlantic is on the site. Transatlantic. But not plenty of metal bands who fail some sort of arbitrary test like "were they ever influenced by metalcore?"

If you want a website that will catalogue every obscure death metal band that put out one demo in 2002 and then folded, I guess that's the site for you. But I can almost always find any information I need on a website that doesn't hurt my eyes and doesn't have a completely absurd staff and reviewer base.

[Elite]

They have this silly side-project rule. TA is a side-project of at least MP, who has a band on there that DOES meet their criteria. It’s completely stupid.

[Lethean]

I love the metal archives. I just think the layout of the site is really nice and it's always my go-to for band information.  However, I completely agree that the blacklisting a certain bands is ridiculous. Not a fan of BTBAM, but they should absolutely be on that site.

Replying to an old post, I know, but personally, I think the site design is really bad. The color scheme is ridiculously dark for no apparent reason: Much of the content is in dark red font on a black background—why? And it feels like the main content is such a small part of the layout compared to the header and two massive sidebars. RateYourMusic and ProgArchives, neither of which is exactly a feat of excellent web design, are both far nicer to look at.

As others have mentioned, the selection criteria are very silly. I was poking around the website to remember why I hated the design, and I found that Transatlantic is on the site. Transatlantic. But not plenty of metal bands who fail some sort of arbitrary test like "were they ever influenced by metalcore?"

If you want a website that will catalogue every obscure death metal band that put out one demo in 2002 and then folded, I guess that's the site for you. But I can almost always find any information I need on a website that doesn't hurt my eyes and doesn't have a completely absurd staff and reviewer base.

That's interesting about the colors.  I've never found it difficult to read at all, either on my home computer or my phone.  It is a dark background, and the font is red-ish but, I dunno, I've never really been bothered by it or even noticed.  I just like how the discographies and band member lists are laid out.  And lyrics.  And versions of albums - if I want to find out how many versions there are and which ones have what bonus tracks, that site usually has it.  If I want any of that information, it's a lot faster for me than going to either Wikipedia or most band's websites.

But I completely agree that some of their rules are nuts.  BTBAM should be there for sure.  Tesseract.  Etc.

[Stadler]

Ambeon is metal as fuck. I once slipped a disc headbanging to Ambeon.

So Ambeon led to Ambien? 

[425]

@Lethean: Fair enough. I'm not a design expert by any means, I just know what I like and don't like. And the point about album versions is a good one. I just don't never really thought about it because I'm not interested in the details of different releases outside of whether there are extra tracks or something.

They have this silly side-project rule. TA is a side-project of at least MP, who has a band on there that DOES meet their criteria. It’s completely stupid.

But Avenged Sevenfold doesn't rise to the level of an MP side project? Or does the "no -core" rule trump the side-project rule? Either way, very silly.

[Elite]

Was MP ever an official member of Avenged Sevenfold?

[The Walrus]

Was MP ever an official member of Avenged Sevenfold?

Depends on whether or not you're asking MP   

[Adami]

Was MP ever an official member of Avenged Sevenfold?

I mean, he did put out his press release.

[WildRanger]

Rejecting djent bands is even more absurd than alt. metal and -core related bands. Meshuggah is the only djent band accepted on MA, while there are no Tesseract, Periphery and Animals as Leaders there.
Definition of djent: a style of progressive metal...

[MirrorMask]

Yeah well, the situation is the same as it was discussed last year: Metal Archives is not an institution, a collective, a democracy where a lot of people vote. It's a site ran by some dudes. Those few dudes have their own ideas and preferences about music. And guess what, some of these preferences can be wacky or weird.

Why Metal Archives does not list some djent bands on their site? for the same reason why some other people have sites where they criticize books or movies. People have different opinions. Their opinion is that certain styles of metal are not worthy of being listed on their site, and it's the personal opinion of a selected and very small number of individuals. It's not that they are the Ultimate Law for All Things Concerning Metal and you are forced to not consider djent a form of metal least you have your metalhead privilges revoked and you're banned for a year to attend a metal concert.

[Elite]

[hefdaddy42]

That site sounds ridiculous. 

[Elite]

It's an elitist bullshit website no-one should take seriously.

[kirksnosehair]

I think the more pressing question is:


Why do we park on our driveways and drive on our parkways?  hmmm?   

[Dedalus]

MA is funny. It reminds me of when I was 14 years old. Especially reviews.