Encyclopaedia Metallum
Encyclopaedia Metallum (also known as The Metal Archives) is a large website which attempts to list every heavy metal band, with additional information such as a discography, a short history and user-submitted reviews. The site also provides a system for submitting bands to the archives, and users are encouraged to do so. As of April 2005, the site boasted 23,129 bands listed, 24,238 registered users and 16,931 reviews.
As incentive for getting people to submit data, the site utilizes a "point" system, in which registered users gain points and move up ranks with the amount and value of data and information they submit. The more valuable and complete the information, the more points are awarded.
The site is known for its extremely strict rules, especially those that mandate the band submissions. Encyclopaedia Metallum only accepts bands which are, without debate, heavy metal bands. The exclusions are: side projects of members which actually are in heavy metal bands, bands that no longer are metal but have been in the past, darkwave bands that are still considered as members of the metal scene and grindcore bands that are close enough to death metal.
Genres that are usually associated with metal, like grindcore and hardcore are also absent as they are seen to have more in common with punk than heavy metal.
The process of being banned on the site has been nicknamed "Dursted", named after Fred Durst, a figure who is cited as a possible "enemy" of heavy metal, and thus, to members of the site.
The website is notably completely free of advertisements and, as of April 2005, is ran completely independently.
External links
Categories: Online encyclopedias