Tolkiens Arda – Sveriges stora Tolkienforum

Must be a heavy metal band...
...Or close enough.
As simple as this request may be, it involves a huge debate. None of us here think we’re a supreme authority on all things heavy metal. However, since someone has to draw a line somewhere – after all, if we accepted just about anything it wouldn’t be the Encyclopaedia Metallum anymore – we’ll have to be the one to decide whether or not your submission is valid. So this is perhaps the most important point (other than truthful information), because it can save some people a lot of time they would spend on a submission that will simply get rejected. At worst, non-neutral descriptions can be edited, but this is different.
Now...

We accept the following non-metal bands in certain cases (these exceptions can be ambiguous and debatable - scroll down for details):
Side-projects of metal band members (ex: Pain, Wongraven, Die Verbannten Kinder Eva's)
Darkwave/ambient/neo-classical bands that are still part of the "metal scene" (ex: Mortiis, Elend, Autumn Tears)
Bands that are no longer metal, but are/were still generally recognized as metal bands (ex: Burzum, Metallica)
Grindcore if it's close enough to death metal (ex: Carcass, Napalm Death)
We do NOT accept the following (this is our decision, please don't argue this):
Mallcore, also known as "nu-metal" by some (ex: Papa Roach, Limp Bizkit, Drowning Pool, Slipknot)
Glam rock (ex: Poison, Whitesnake, KISS)
Classic rock (ex: Led Zeppelin, Uriah Heep)
Progressive rock (ex: Yes, King Crimson, The Flower Kings, Spock's Beard)
Hard rock (ex: Guns 'N Roses, AC/DC, Alice Cooper)
Hardcore (ex: Earth Crisis, Converge)
Grindcore (and all its variants; noise, crust, etc) with little to zero metal influence (ex: Anal Cunt, Libido Airbag)
Punk (ex: The Misfits, The Ramones, The Sex Pistols)
Gothic rock (ex: Bauhaus, Sisters of Mercy, Fields of Nephilim)
Industrial (ex: Ministry, Rammstein, N17)
Cover/tribute/gimmick bands (ex: The Iron Maidens, Catch the Rainbow, The Great Kat), unless they start as such and eventually write their own music

Now, as mentioned earlier, we do not know all the bands in existence. If you wish to submit a band local to your area that is not very well-known even among metalheads, you’re more than welcome. But we may have never heard them, or of them, and we cannot always know for sure if they’re really a metal band or not, so we’ll have to take your word for it. So if you aren't sure, you can always ask us, or other people, before spending time to submit the band. At worst, someone may report a band that shouldn't be here, but that escaped the moderator's notice.

We ask this, not because we’re so insecure that we’ll go crazy if we ever learn there’s <gasp> one band that was accepted by mistake, but we just don’t want any “Hey, they’re not metal and they are on your site, why isn’t band X too?” reactions.

(Warning: long rambling ahead, but before you start complaining to us, read this...)
Now... let us elaborate on certain things which are apparently controversial, ambiguous or unclear to some members.
- Mötley Crüe, Deep Purple, Rainbow and Rush are not considered metal by some. Understandable, as their music and heaviness varied and was debatable at times. But what they sometimes lacked in "metalness", they made for in historical importance, and they are there to stay. That doesn't mean we're going to accept any glam or hippie rock bands though, and they are about as "borderline" as we are going to have.
They are exceptions. You might not agree. Tough shit. :p
- Side-projects are a big debate. When does a band stop being one and starts being a full-time band? What's the difference between a solo career and a side-project, etc. Now, a side-project is a band started in parallel to another band. This is not the same thing as a band member leaving a band and forming a new one, or to join another band! For example, Soulfly is no more a side-project of Max Cavalera as Voivod is a side-project of Jason Newsted.
One might argue that a band can start as such but can stop being one if the main band splits-up. Or that while it's reasonable to have Wongraven or Chaostar, that a country band started by a Flotsam & Jetsam member would simply look out of place on a metal site. Our answer is that we have no choice but to go with a case by case approach. It might be a little arbitrary, but it's hard to define a rule that will apply for every case of a non-metal side-project. Yes, that might mean you'll have to ask us before submitting this guy's side-project. Usually there shouldn't be any problem, but if the side-project really has nothing to do with the heavy metal scene and/or would really look out of place here, chances are, it won't be accepted.
- Mortiis, Elend, Autumn Tears, etc - again, this is difficult to determine. They are there because they are still somewhat relevant to the metal scene in general, but some bands who might play similar music would not be accepted. More often than not they are exceptions as decided by the webmaster. Chances are, if it's sold on blackmetal.com or at the FreeSon Rock, it has more chances of being here than otherwise. Our suggestion is to avoid submitting bands like this unless you're really sure it wouldn't be out of place. Better to ask us first.


Be careful if you submit a band with an ambiguous genre!
Over the past months we've sometimes seen some bands listed as a genre that would seem fitting, but upon hearing the actual band we've had some pretty bad surprises... So consider the following genres to be "ambiguous", in the sense that if we see a band with one of these terms in their genre field, we WILL have to hear the band, or at least read more than one detailed review, before accepting it.

Heavy/traditional/80's metal, hard rock, rock or a combination of these. Many of so-called "heavy metal" band submissions ended up being rock, glam or even mallcore bands!
NWOBHM - a lot of 80's UK rock and AOR bands got lumped into the NWOBHM category, even if they weren't metal
Melodic metal - often another term for "hard rock"
Grindcore - Death/grind = OK. Noisegrind, crustcore, jazz/grind, heavy punk/hardcore, etc. = Not OK.
Metalcore - Be VERY wary. Most of these get rejected, simply because they're hardcore with some metal influences. That doesn't make a band metal!
Progressive/avant-garde - Could mean anything, really Also, there is a difference between prog rock and prog METAL. We've even had near-mallcore bands listed as such.
Gothic metal - some people confuse goth music, darkwave or Depeche Mode soundalikes with gothic metal, for some reason
Crossover - can have the same problem as metalcore, although they generally aren't rejected as often
Stoner, sludge - same as progressive. There is stoner rock and there is stoner metal.
Industrial - if it sounds like Ministry or Rammstein, forget it
Dark metal - could mean anything...
Shred - varies from metal to borderline hard rock to jazzy rock

But what they sometimes lacked in "metalness", they made for in historical importance, and they are there to stay

Mötley Crüe har jag aldrig hört

Tack för klargörandet, Túrin. Med denna brasklapp kommer man ju runt hela genre-problematiken. Lite synd. Sajten hade vunnit på att vara än mer heltäckande. Hur som helst - tack för tipset om sajten. Den är väl värd att kolla in.