This page explains the purpose and function of the Encyclopaedia Metallum. If, as a member, you are ever unsure about how to proceed, or if you have any question, please read this first. We also strongly suggest you browse the news archives in case the issue has already been addressed. If you have any further questions, then you can ask us directly at webmaster AT metal-archives DOT com or other users at the message board.
The purpose of this site is to grow the largest and most complete database regarding heavy metal bands as possible. Since we cannot possibly know all the bands ourselves, especially the really obscure ones, we figured we should let the visitors contribute.
Of course, letting users enter information involves taking a certain risk; anyone who has ever used a service such as a message board knows that there are often users that have nothing better to do than troll and/or spam. So because of this, we took certain precautions, limiting the access to the site's database to registered users only. And even those do not have the same access as the more advanced users.
So we built interfaces for the users to be able to enter the information we wanted to have on the Encyclopaedia, while still having full control of the data. We realize that some parts of the interfaces may be more ambiguous, especially for non-experienced Web users, so we wrote this help file, hoping to clear some questions some of you might have.
Anyone can browse through the site's content as they please. You must be a registered member only if you wish to contribute to something. All contributions are totally optional if you do register.
You can browse the Encyclopaedia by alphabetical order (by choosing a letter), by country or by genre lists. You can also browse through reviews, grouped by month and sorted by date (newest reviews first) or grouped by ratings. You can also see the newest additions and newest updates on the main page. More options might be added later.
You can search for bands in several different ways. You can search by keyword(s) on the following:
band name, lyrical themes, genres/subgenres, album title, song title, label or lineup. Partial matches work, so if you type
"Demon" for band name, you can find results from "Demon" to "Demonic" or "Pandemonium".
You can also search for certain albums in other users's collections, or type in a member's username to find his profile
page. Partial matches now work, so if you search for "Morri", you will be taken to Morrigan's profile, or if you search for "Hell",
you will find a list of members with that word in their username.
You can also perform an "advanced" search, by combining several available filters. For example, you can view a list of all the thrash metal bands from Norway, or all the pagan black metal bands in Germany, or all the disbanded satanic power metal bands from Gothenburg, Sweden ;) You can also search by album in your search, with the title, release year or label.
If you stumble upon a band page that contains mistakes that you cannot correct yourself (either because
you are not a registered member, or because you don't have a high enough rank if you are), you can report the band
via the relevant link on the band's page. You don't have to be a registered member to report a band, however if
you are, you may get extra points if your report is considered helpful by the moderator.
You must enter the specific reasons for reporting the band (because if the moderator does not know the band,
s/he may not see what's wrong with the data). The band will then be flagged and reviewed by a moderator
as soon as possible, who may then perform the necessary updates. More than one user can report the same band, and
you can report the same band more than once so long as the reason is different each time.
You must also select a "priority level" for your report. You must be reasonable: constantly using the High priority for
errors that are frankly unimportant is considered abuse and will not be tolerated.
Here are some examples of what kind of errors fit what kind of priority, for accepted bands:
Examples of priority reasons for pending bands:
Note that these are examples only - there are more reasons which are not listed above, so use common sense. Being reasonable is all we ask.
If you ever stumble upon a persistent bug, by all means report it to us at webmaster AT metal-archives DOT com.
to us and we will do our best to fix it. PLEASE be specific; tell us where and how it happened (tell us anything
that you might have done which could have triggered it); it'll help us greatly for fixing it, if possible.
If it's an "internal server error", I'm afraid there is nothing we can do about it.
To be able to access and manipulate the site's database in any way other than a reading/viewing mode, you must be a registered user. To register, click here.
If you decide to register as a member of the Encyclopaedia Metallum, make sure you read the guidelines at least once. As a member, you agree to follow the guidelines, or get your submissions rejected and possibly get banned from registering again if you choose to be a troll. You also agree to take responsibility for every submission under your name. If someone else uses your computer, it may not be a good idea to make the Encyclopaedia remember your login information. Use your own judgment regarding your login preferences.
Except for your user name, you can change all the information in your profile whenever you wish. We will not validate your email address every time you update your profile; however, if you enter an invalid email address and forget your password, we will not be able to help you.
The personal information you submit to the Encyclopaedia Metallum is kept safely in our database and is NOT given to any
other parties. You can choose to keep your email address private from the other users if you prefer. You can also
decide to receive (or not) any email whenever a moderator approves or rejects your submission.
However your email address must be valid, to prevent trolls from registering multiple accounts with false email addresses:
when you register, you will receive an automatic email that will allow you
to activate your account. You will not be able to use your privileges as a member if your account is not activated.
This confirmation email is the only email that you are forced to receive as a member. We are absolutely against
spamming and we will not send you any email you do not want in your mailbox. This email is also the only place your
password will be visible. The only exceptions are : a) if you forget your password, you can choose to retrieve it with our
automatic password retrieval system (your password will be emailed to you), or b) if you report
a band but do not give sufficient information, or if the moderator would like to ask you a question, s/he may ask you
via email. But know that at least, the former is a genuine communication and not an automatic email, or something like
spam.
As you participate as a member by submitting or updating data, you can earn points. Similar to many message boards where the member changes his "rank" by posting a certain number of messages, an Encyclopaedia member can eventually change ranking by reaching a certain number of points. Only certain ranks can really make a difference.
| 10 pts. for a complete entry / 5 pts. if it's too incomplete (not counting albums or links) / 2 pts. if it's really minimal and ambiguous | |
| 5 pts. | |
| 8 pts. for a detailed, well-written review / 5 pts. for an average review / 3 pts. for a bare-bone review. | |
| 1 pts. | |
| 1 pts. | |
| 1 pts. |
| Rank name | Minimum pts | Maximum pts |
| 0 | 0 | |
| 0 | 0 | |
| 0 | 0 | |
| 1 | 99 | |
| 100 | 499 | |
| 500 | 1999 | |
| 2000 | 9999 | |
| 10000 | - | |
| - | - | |
| - | - | |
| - | - |
Here's a brief explanation of how ranks work:
All registered members can add a band to the database. However, all band entries are moderated. So unless the member
has a rank of Metal lord or above, the newly entered band will not yet appear on the website. Allow some time for a moderator
to review the submission. The required information is shown in italic, so make sure those fields have
complete and exact data.
If you are not sure as to what we mean for each field, here's a brief explanation (though most of them are self-explanatory,
but this is just in case it may be ambiguous):
| Band name | If you can't figure that one out, you may shoot yourself now. |
| Alternate spelling(s) | If the band name has an unusual accent (like Mötley Crüe), you can write the non-accented version here. If the band is an acronym, you can specify what it means. Separate each spelling by a comma. Example: for Stormtroopers of Death, we have SOD, S.O.D.. This can also be used for a band's former name(s) when the old name was similar (ex: Covenant/Kovenant). Note that this field is transparent and is used simply for the search engine. |
| Metal genre | This may be difficult if the band's discography spans many genres (like Amorphis), or if their own style mixes several common genres (like Children of Bodom). In this case, we suggest you include all keywords for the genres played altogether, seperated by slashes, commas or spaces, to optimize the search by genre. |
| Lyrical themes | If the band has a preference or particular style regarding their lyrics, describe it. If not, you can just type something like "Varied/Diverse" or leave it blank for someone else to fill it. Whatever. |
| Origin | Where the band members hail from. |
| Location (city/state) | If you want, you can write the specific area, such as the state/province and/or town. |
| Year of creation | 4-digit format. When the band was formed/created. If unknown, you can enter the year of their first release. |
| Status | If the band is active (ex: King Diamond), on hold (ex: Mercyful Fate), or split-up (ex: Bathory). |
| Label | The label on which the band is currently signed to (or was last signed to before splitting up). You can write "Unsigned" if the band is, well, unsigned. |
| Photo | Max 100 kb. You can upload a picture of the band members if you have one. We don't link to external files, so if you find a picture on the Internet you can just save it and upload it. If the image is too large, it will be automatically resized (keeping the proportions). |
| Logo | Max 50 kb. You can upload an image of the band's logo. Same restrictions as photo. |
| Lineup | The band's current lineup (or the last album lineup before splitting up). You should seperate each member with a carriage return (enter key). You should have a line for each member and the respective instruments, instead of a line for each instrument. Example: Bob - vocals, guitars, keyboards (instead of a line for each instrument followed by " - Bob" |
| Past members | The band's former members. You should seperate each member with a carriage return (enter key). If they are many, you should do the opposite of the lineup field and put all the musicians of the same instrument on the same line. Example: Greg, Mike, Mark, Brent - Drums (instead of a line for each musician followed by " - drums") |
| Additional notes | Enter any additional information here. A mini-biography, a precision, a former name, anything relevant. You can also include something like "See also band X" if they are in some way related. For example, write "See also King Diamond" in the notes for Mercyful Fate (you should also use the link syntax to link to other pages on this site) DO NOT add a hugely detailed biography, an external link or a discography here! |
Once you have entered a band, you don't necessarily have to wait until it is approved to add more data! You can still
add as many releases or links as necessary and/or as you want (if you choose to do that, make sure the band follows the guidelines or doesn't already exist, or
else you will just have wasted your time!). Of course, you don't have to enter all the discography
at once, since the band will probably release more albums eventually anyway. When you're done, click "End submission" in the band submission menu.
Once you do that, you will not be able to access the information you entered until your submission is approved.
Be warned: the moderator may feel the need to change some of the data. It could be to simply fill in a blank,
or to correct a mistake.
All registered members can add a release to an existing band. A release can, well, be any work the band has released:
demo, EP, single, full-length album, live album, DVD, VHS, boxed set or a split album with other band(s).
For the tracklisting (optional for DVDs/VHS), only the song title for each song is required, but if you know the song length, or if you can get the lyrics, then by all means add them
(after all, we strive to be as complete as possible).
If you don't want to enter the tracklisting for a DVD/VHS, just leave the "number of tracks" field blank.
For boxed sets, you will not have to enter the tracklisting, but rather, the name of each CD, and their total playing time (optional as always).
Be warned: you will not be able to add tracks to an existing release: so it's best if you enter them all at once.
Here's a brief explanation for each field:
| Title | If you can't figure that one out, you may shoot yourself now. |
| Release date | Only the year is required, the rest are optional. If you know the exact date though, please enter it; it will make the chronological sorting even more accurate. |
| Release type | See the list mentioned earlier. |
| Length | 00:00:00 format. If you know the total playing time of the release, you can add it here. If you don't, but added the length for all the songs, it will be automatically calculated. Sometimes they differ, because of hidden tracks, so that's why we offer to directly enter it here. |
| Label | The label which published this release (you can write "self-released" or "independant" otherwise). If it's been re-released by another label, you can write both labels if there's enough space (otherwise just choose one, and you can specify the other in the additional notes). |
| Additional notes | Guest musicians, technical specifications, bonus tracks, cover artist, etc.; anything relevant to the album that's not specified in the other fields can be added here. |
| Song titles | if you can't figure that one out... |
| Song lengths | 00:00 format. If you know the length for each song, you can add them. Try to be consistent; if you specify the length for a song, do it for all the others. |
| Song lyrics | You can click the link "add lyrics" to open a text box and write/paste the lyrics for the song there. If you made a mistake, you can reopen the text box and edit what you wrote. Be warned: if you refresh the page, all the lyrics you have entered in the text box will be lost just like for the other fields of the form! |
| Cover art | Max of 50 kb, 70 kb for boxed set pictures. You can upload the release's cover art. Same restrictions as band photo/logo. Be warned: if the image is too large, an automatic error message will appear and you may lose all the previously entered songs, including the lyrics. The reason why you must enter the cover art at the end of the submission rather than at the beginning is purely technical, i.e. so that the file gets uploaded only when the release submission is completed. |
Adding a split album for more than one band is a little more complicated. The procedure depends on if all the bands featured on the split are already in the database.
If ALL the bands on the split are on the site, you should select the "add a split release" option from the first band on the split's update menu. You will have to first enter the data above like
an ordinary release, but you will have to enter the number of additional bands (meaning, if 2 bands participate for the
album, enter "1") first. Then you will have to find the unique #ID for the additional band(s). It would have been easier for you
to enter the band's name, but since some bands might have the same name it is simpler to go with the band's unique
identification number.
You have several ways to find a band's ID number; it's not difficult if you're somewhat observant. You can browse the
Encyclopaedia's lists and point the mouse over the band's name, and look down in the STATUS bar at the bottom
of your browser (if you don't see it, open the band page in a new window and watch the URL in the Address bar of your
browser): you will see the URL for the band's page, which has an ID parameter after the ? mark. You can also go to
the band's page and find the ID by checking the URL for pages such as the Update or Add new data links.
When you have found the IDs you need, the application will find the corresponding band(s) for you. Make sure the ID is valid or you will get an error message and will have to try again. But you only need to enter the split album once, and it will be listed for all the participating bands.
Here is an example of how it should look.
If one or more bands on the split are not featured on the site, you will need to add the album separately on each participating band's page. You should select the "add a single-CD release" option from the band's update menu, then choose "split album" as the release type from the drop-down list. When it prompts you for the number of tracks, put in the total number of tracks for all bands on the split. In the additional notes, make a list detailing which tracks are by which band like this:
Tracks 1-7 by Band 1
Tracks 8-19 by Band 2
If more than one band from the split is on the site, please make the list like this, with the bands that are on the site having links, and the ones that are not in bold, using HTML code:
Tracks 1-8: <a href='band.php?id=band1_ID'>Band 1</a>
Tracks 9-28: <a href='band.php?id=band2_ID'>Band 2</a>
Tracks 29-42: <b>Band 3</b>
Tracks 43-53: <a href='band.php?id=band4_ID'>Band 4</a>
Once that is done, add the tracks (as well as the lyrics, cover art and durations if possible) for each band in their appropriate track numbers.
Here is an example of how it should look.
For all splits, there is a small caveat about release titles. If there is no official title for the split, please do not simply title it "Split". Rather title it by the order the bands appear on the split (eg. "Agathocles / Bad Acid Trip / Disgorge", with a space between the slashes). If each band has a separate title for their side of the split, use that instead. If the split as a whole has a single title, then use that. Priority always goes to choosing the most appropriate title.
If you are still unsure about adding a split, don't hesitate to ask our experts on the forums for advice.
This section should be self-explanatory. All registered members can add related links for each band. Just enter
the page's name, its URL and specify the type of site (fan site, official website, etc). You can enter as many
links as you want.
Note: in the band fields "line-up" and "additional notes", you can enter links for pages on this site to
similar or related artists.
For example, if you write "See also Band X" in the notes or line-up field for Band Y, and if Band X is present on the
site, you should include a direct link to Band X's page. Use the {\link Band X} syntax.
Example:
In the notes for Mercyful Fate, write See also: {\link King Diamond}
It will appear as: See also King Diamond.
Note that if you make an error in the syntax, it will not work. Make sure it's really {\link artist} (note the space
between link and artist, and close the {} properly). Also, when more than one band have the same name, we usually append
a country abbreviation, like Ragnarok (Nor) and Ragnarok (UK) (you must include that abbreviation for your link or it
won't link at all). However, some bands have the same name AND the same country, so you can't use this syntax to link to
them; just use a simple HTML tag to link to the page's URL (usually just "band.php?id=ID") where ID is the band's ID #. Don't
use HTML to link to an external page, though: use the "add a link" section described a bit earlier for that.
If you use the syntax for such a band, or for a band that doesn't exist yet in the database, the band's name
will appear but it won't be a link. If you plan on adding the currently non-existant band, the link will automatically
appear when the band in question is approved.
All registered members can write one review per release. You don't have to have contributed band data to be able to write a review, though. You can register only for writing reviews if you want. Just enter a title for your review, a rating on a 0-100 scale (no decimals, shouldn't be necessary with that kind of scale), and the text for your review. All reviews are moderated, just like for adding a band.
Back to topIf your member rank is Veteran or higher, you can modify all the fields except the band's name and its genre.
You can change the pictures as well, but you cannot delete them.
Please don't be an asshole; don't delete or tear apart
huge chunks of texts (for example, the bios Ultra Boris wrote for Overkill, Metallica, etc.) for whatever reason.
Ignore this warning and you might very well get banned! Be reasonable in your editing - you CAN edit out useless information
IF (and only IF) you are sure that the text breaks the rules (self-promotion, just enumerates the discography, is just pasted
from the official website...). Thanks.
If your rank is lower than Veteran, you can only write in the optional missing fields.
For example, if the band does not have a logo, you can upload it; if the lineup is missing, you can add it;
but you cannot change the actual logo or edit the lineup if they have already been entered.
If your member rank is Veteran or higher, you can modify all the fields except the release's title.
You can change the cover art but not delete it.
If your rank is lower than Veteran, the same restrictions for updating the bands apply: you can fill in
missing data, but not change the current data.
If your member rank is Veteran or higher, you can modify or even delete any link. This is of course in case
the link doesn't point to a page that's still active anymore; if the page's new URL cannot be found, you can simply
delete it.
Members with a rank lower than Veteran cannot modify any link and can only add them.
Regardless of rank, members can edit their own reviews whenever they want. However, since the reviews are moderated,
updates to existing reviews must be approved before they appear. So if you change anything in your own review, it
will become temporarily invisible to the visitors until a moderator re-approves it, regardless of the nature of the change!
So it would be best if you proof-read your review *before* it is approved or else it will have to be re-approved again.
It may be irritating if you just want to change your rating, but it's a precaution we have to take.
Members can also delete their own review as they see fit, but it shouldn't be necessary since you can always just modify
it. To update your review, go to the band's page and scroll down to the album, and click "add review", as if you wanted to
write a new one. It'll take you to your own review, which you can edit.
Very simple: to add items to your collections, you just have to go to the band's page, find the release you want to add to your collection, and click the "add to your collection" button. If you don't have the album, you can add it to your wishlist by clicking the "add to your wanted list" link. You can add as many albums as you want.
You can further customize your collection by clicking the "edit your collection" link in the left menu (if you're
logged in). You can add special notes for each albums, or add them to your trade list by ticking the checkbox.
Notes can be anything regarding the CD's version or its condition (important if you want to trade), or something else
you wish to mention.
To move an album from your wanted list to your collection, just go to the album and click "add to your collection".
The album will be moved from your wanted list to your collection.
If you want to trade with other users, please take note of the following:
We hope this file was helpful. Enjoy the Encyclopaedia Metallum! If you have questions or suggestions that were not covered in this page, you can contact us at webmaster AT metal-archives DOT com, or post a query in the forum.