Site Update
Metalunderground.com Upgrades Coming Soon
Metalunderground.com's readership has been growing at a decent rate and we're outgrowing our current set up. I've noticed the responsiveness of the site to be less than ideal a few times lately and want you to know that I am in the process of researching and evaluating various options for the site in the near future. Please bear with us in the meantime if the site seems a little slow now and then. (It's certainly not a problem all the time - just at peak usage times).
I'd be glad to hear your feedback on the matter as well, so feel free to leave a comment and let me know how the site speed is for you or if you've noticed any slow downs. \m/
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28 Comments on "Metalunderground.com Upgrades Coming Soon"
Founder, owner & programmer
2. writes:
It's easy to jump at even the mention of a mainstream band, but I've been looking at what is posted and there is a hell of a lot of underground being posted lately. Surveying the last 50 posts I see quite a bit of underground as well as real/true/extreme metal. Take a poll of the current "News" page, not the latest comments, which are full of Korn bashing and the like. We're definitely working on it.
Member
Member
9. writes:
most underground bands are underground because the general mainstreamers dont like their sound,not because they "suck",there is an enormous difference between what people like and how talented a band is,in no way does fame equal talent,fame just means that people like them regardless of how skilled they are,the bottom line is that 95% of people have no perception of talent in music and just go by what they like,and this explains why most mainstream bands outright terrible,if all people had the presence of mind to analyze what they hear or play an instrument the music scene would look entirely different than what it does today,if it were that way then talented would actually prevail,it seems that all it takes nowadays to make it in the mainstream is one descent song with one descent hook(explains one-hit wonders),no talent required
Member
10. writes:
you also have to clarify what 'mainstream' is.
alot of underground bands aren't selling alot of records or doing big tours, but are getting tons of recognition.
besides, i'll put money down most of you who complain about the 'underground' don't even bother to check out the posts about underground bands that ONLY appear on MU. hell i just made a post yesterday about an underground band.
also if we only had news on underground bands we would be spreading word of bands to same kinds of people. i feel the purpose of this site is to introduce new music to people. it doesn't matter if they are into mainstream or underground. because of this you gotta appeal to both.
11. writes:
by posting mainstream news you're just feeding the evil giant that is the general music industry,not introducing new music to people,.....i like to consider mianstream anything that is known by the masses or that you can find a t-shirt for at your average hot topic store,while most mainstream is talentless garbage you do get your occasional gem(example:unearth,lamb of god),....and may i ask why you use the term "an underground band" instead of simply stating that band's name
Member
12. writes:
haha your right, forgot to mention them. Divinity Destroyed.
second, hot topic shouldn't be the basis for comparison. i've seen great metal bands there. not all the time, but i knew someone who worked there who filed a request for more 'underground' bands (blind guardian for example). this was also like 4 years ago.
you aren't 'feeding' the evil giants if you aren't selling anything. though i see your point, that those bands get more exposure. but have you ever looked at the list of bands we got? i know most are incomplete, but there are certainly more underground bands there.
also you have to consider that some bands blow up while we cover them, not saying we did this, but they get more popular.
bands that stay unknown deserve to stay that way. all this 'stay cult' black metal and 'stay brutal' stuff. come on. i say be yourself and take the good deals if you get em.
i'm not a fan of say slipknot, but i konw people who love them, but also love tons of underground bands. you'd still wanna hear about them. there's nothing wrong with mainstream or popular. and there's nothing wrong with posting that news, unless of course, that is ALL we posted about. but we don't.
Member
13. writes:
real stats: there are about 30 posts per page. about 12 (acording to what i think is mainstream) of those are 'mainstream' thats less than half.
i think thats fair enough to say this is an 'underground' site.
mind you i also didn't recognize about 4 of the bands posted.
14. writes:
12 out of 30 huh?,hate to say it but most true underground sites have a ratio more like 2 out of 20,and ussually 1out of those 2 is just there for laughs,...as far as hot topic goes i think that store deserves their fair share of trashing, and would those "great" bands that you speak of happen to be underground at all,and i definitly dont think they deserve any credit just because 1 employee wanted more underground,was his request granted by any small chance?,i remember the first time i went in that store just for kicks,i asked the person at the register if they had a suffocation shirt,just to f*** with her,of course they didnt and it was pretty clear that she had no idea who suffocation was,i laughed at her and walked out,never to return,.....and heres the problem with taking the good deals,if you sign to a major non-underground label then you are bound to streamline your sound,sure they'll get more popularity but they will lose the sound that made them great and will just be another band that gets sucked into the latest trend,look at killswitch engage and as i lay dying and god forbid,theres no denying that they have takin steps back(especially killswitch) with their most recent releases,....and please dont get me started on slipknot,i was listening to between the buried and me on music chioce recently,the next song to come on was one of slipknot's,it was like a smack in the face,the difference in talent is overwhelming
Member
15. writes:
i think hot topic does deserve trashing as well, but proper trashing. people just trash stuff cause its popular. hot topic has always been that punk-goth-metal store. lately they've taken more on the punk side than the others. back in the day it was mostly goth and metal. guess punk sold well so they went with it.
i've seen PLENTY of bands on major labels stay true to themselves. of course, it really depends which label. some majors force bands to have a sound, while others don't.
what sux is that some of these bands change their sound cause they WANT to sound like the other bands. other times people label it like the other bands when they sound NOTHING like them and then call them sell outs. selling out is like when metallica let bob rock to alter their sound to reach a larger audience. anyone see some kind of monster? i remember this one part where lars breaks out this really fast double kick beat for frantic and bob was like no i don't like that, just give me a groovin beat. if that was me, i'd be like, 'f u its my music!'
In Flames said it best in the interview i did with Bjorn, 'Seriously if we came to somebody and they said we should do this or that, we couldn’t listen to them. It’s hard enough to please us in the band. We’re too picky to listen to somebody else like the management, the record labels, f*** that. No time."
Founder, owner & programmer
16. writes:
OK, it's now on my to-do list to make a FAQ page and define what "metal" and "underground" are for the purposes of this site and to explain why we post some stuff that is sometimes outside or borderline on one of the two.
Sure there are more underground sites out there. But I have yet to find one with the amount of information and of the caliber of metalunderground.com. I can make a new "underground metal" site and host it on my 28.8 modem and feature a couple of obscure bands you've nnever heard of. I'm not saying that we post on less underground bands just for the hits. I'd say that my view when starting up this site is one of broad coverage and inclusiveness, rather than exclusiveness. I'm happy to cover everything heavy (hardcore, metalcore, industrial metal, goth metal, etc). Underground is often equated to "extreme" by the fact that most extreme bands don't make it to the mainstream, but it's a logical fallacy to assume all underground metal is extreme metal (death, black, etc).
Member
Member
18. writes:
Most people who are on this site like both mainstream and underground music, so it's better to have that readership. ALSO! You ever think they try to lure people in to the site by showing them the mainstream and helping them find out about underground bands? I found out about Shadows Fall from this site, now look at that band!
19. writes:
i dont find that to be true at all,most of the kids posting on the mainstream band's threads have no interest in finding and learning about true extreme/underground/independent music,they just go on their little cearsing sprees and they just love to show off their immaturity and inferiority,but unfortunately thats what you get when you host anything mainstream,a bunch of weak minded followers,just take a look at the slipknot threads if you want to see an example of such garbage posting,while i'm probably guilty of making a few immature posts myself it's more than likely that i was in a really sh**ty mood or just drunk(so,sorry about those)and i dont believe i've done so in awhile,...the biggest problem i have with mainstream sh** is that most of the mainstream bands are insanely overated and i cant stand anything thats overated,i have no problem if you post a few articles about clutch or lamb of god because they are excellent bands that i feel actually deserve their notoriety(hell,i wouldnt have that much of a problem if you posted about avenged sevenfold cause i still believe that they have loads of talent),it ultimately boils down to how much skill a band has that concerns me(and part of what makes a band underground has a lot to do with their level of talent in my definition of "underground"),if you can cut out all the overated mainsteeam bands i would be more than happy
Former Contributor
20. writes:
Can't help but chime in with Brokenwings on this.
Keep the mainstream, at least in some detail....I don't need to know that an extra in a Korn video bit his lip at the catering area of the shoot....But it was good to know they had a sh**ty album comming out and that Dimmu turned them down for a tour.
And while they've drifted into uncharted wilderness, Metallica are still a band I want to hear about, even if they're as far from underground as can be possible......they once were ---THE--- best underground act in the world.
Besides attracting that stupid mainstream element makes this place kinda fun/funny sometimes, I'd miss the retards if this were strictly unsigned/indie/minor label stuff.....And sometimes there are a few awesome bands with severe mainstream exposure that I would miss being up to date on (...Tool for one)...therefore I very much second the notion of a FAQ.
21. writes:
Not trying to be that retard. I just joking the day im told or asked not to joke around about
a few bands is the day i'll stop I don't think I ever gave a threatning vibe to this site I think
some of those folks like mr. multi-personality aka professer crenshaw killer crash punch
take them selves way too seriously in defending those goons.
Member
22. writes:
Ok gotta chime my 2 cents in. Anyone got change for a nickel? Anyway as much as we hate mainstream metal we need to look at this from Deaths standpoint. The more bands he has on his site the more traffic he gets. The more traffic he gets the better chance he gets at selling ads. If that happens the more he is inclined to keep this site running. You can only work on a site so long and put all your resources into it and not get anything in return. I think what we all strive for here is for Death to make enough money he can quit his day job and spend his workday here posting about bands we want to know about. I have been to other sites one in particular a cd review site and he is shutting it down because he has run out of patience and time. As much as we b**** about him putting the likes of Korn,Limp Biscuit, and other bands we don't give a rats a$$ about lets at least give him credit for running a informative site. I will speak for at least myself thanks and keep up the good work. As Dennis Miller says this is my opinoin and I am sticking to it.
Former Contributor
Founder, owner & programmer
25. writes:
Hah, thanks guys. I'm not doing this for the money. I'm a professional web developer and make my money at my day job (although I'd love to do this for money, but couldn't bear it if it meant posting about crap all day). It's not about the traffic/hits per se, but if we're pouring all this effort into a site for 3 people to enjoy, it just wouldn't be "worth it". I'm not a metal elitist. I like what I like and that covers a broad range of metal including nu-metal (not much lately) and metalcore as well as more extreme metal. It's not a "business descision" as much as it just fits with my tastes and mindset (inclusiveness rather than exclusion). Still, I don't listen to EVERYTHING or enjoy every band, so I look to the other contributors on this site to round out the coverage quite a bit.
Being a good overall source of news is very high on my list of importance. I hope that many of you find Metalunderground to be THE source for you, covering all the important news (without TOO much mainstream/rock/hair metal diluting it) and introducing you to bands you haven't heard of before.
Anyway, we're a little off topic of the original point of the post, so to come back to that, I think we're doing a decent job given the growth we've seen. I have much more planned and a couple ways to address these problems of tasts and perceptions in the near and long term. Only time and resources are the limiting factors...but we will get there.
Member
26. writes:
Excellent job with..pretty much everything. You have me coming back. I have yet to find a better metal site; I don't feel the need to go anywhere else other than here. I'm a simple person to please, and you sonsab****es have exceeded the expectations. And to think you'll be getting even better. f***in sweet!
27. writes:
Yeah good job Deathbringer like I said before I can care less about those other supposedly faux intellectuals that try and fail miserably to bag me but if you the mod think my little jokes are a problem
then tell me and I'll lighten up. Like I said before it's just a little humour. And yes i do post and
most of the time positive posts on other threads.
Member
28. writes:
Listen, perhaps some of you dont think that everything on this website is as underground as you want it to be, but it really is important for a website like this to feature some bands that some of the mainstream kiddies may know about or be interested in. That is a good way to get the mainstreamers introduced to the real underground metal. Before you know it, all these Slipknot and Korn lovin kiddies will be into the underground sh** like we all love. You gotta bring them in, then educate them! :D BTW, love the site. I visit often.
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1. key to nothing writes:
i've got a damn good suggestion for ya,....more underground,LESS MAINSTREAM