How do you explore your metal?

download sites, what is viewed the most is a good indication of good new underground metal.

also I
lurk in forums like this or on facebook groups,
sometimes pay attention to the propaganda from record labels issued as "news" on blabbermouth / brave words / etc
podcasts instead of radio shows, especially avoid live-only web radio shows because if I listen live and it is interrupted

and more imprtantly , word of mouth.
From friends on the net, will get linksto youtube or an album or myspace or something, because they already have an idea what I like and won't waste my time with some 'core or emo b.s.

Fanzines always have been, always will be my favourite source of my info for bands, even though not always reliable. Still want to hear a band FIRST before buying usually.

Temple of Blood wrote:

2. SNAKEPIT magazine
4. friends
5. other bands mentioned in reviews of bands I like
6. bands with a significant buzz on various music forums

I mainly just look up any band that plays Epic Power and Epic Metal that sing about dragons,sword n sorgery,warriors,demons,and epic battles.Also leather n spikes metal and thrash/speed metal bands.traditional metal stuff.

Spotify, Youtube, blogs, etc.

I look up stuff that people on here rave about, utilize YouTube and both the Metal Music Archives and Prog Archives. I have found some great bands under the progressive metal label on Prog Archives.

I have used word of mouth, Heaven's Metal (now HM), and No Life 'Til Metal

For real, Ult's site exposed me to so many metal acts I never heard of or didn't give the time of day.

I also enjoy Metal Metropolis too

Great suggestions from everyone.

I am too an avid reader of Classic Rock (I am planning to get a subscription soon).

I am familiar with Powerplay but I have not read or seen any issues of the magazine locally since probably 2006. Terrorizer is available in Australia and it is pretty good for the newer breed of extreme metal bands. I do agree, however from my experience Powerplay seems th most well balanaced magazine.

As for other mediums - well websites do serve their purpose but I am also finding youtube starting to be more effective than just written reviews. There are a number of youtube vloggers who have their own reviews ('coverkillernation' and 'runnerjma' are a couple I watch regularly but there are also many others who play their part too).

At this point, I want to clarify my initial post a little because I don't think I made my point across very clearly to begin with ... I guess where I was hoping to steer the discussion was on your listening and buying habits.

So to rephrase my query - in your listening and purchasing habits, do you aim to become familiar with all the new bands and new albums? is it more important to be familiar with the present than the past?

As I said in my inital post - I often find myself in this dilemma because, on the one hand, I want to be as familiar as possible with metal's past (especially as I was very little when metal was in its prime) and bands that I may not have yet experienced, yet I also do not want to neglect the present and end up being stuck in the past, or better said in the mindset that only older albums / bands are worth listening to and anything new is substandard.

I am searching for a balance in between these two extremes, and I think one way of reaching that balance is as simple as buying a mix of old and new albums. I am fortunate to have a full-time steady corporate job that pays well, and with little responsibilities in the way I can often buy up to 20 - 30 albums per month.

As of late I have entered into a new phase of buying complete discographies, or, working towards completing discographies of bands I like, a filling of the gaps if you will. However, I starting to get bored of this pattern, in a way it has become a routine in my music buying habits. I am looking to break away with this pattern, and recently I bought 8 albums all by different bands and (despite what I said above) all were new or newish releases with the oldest being from 2009.

From the discussions here.



From the CDInzane "Coming Soon and New Arrivals" list. I then go to youtube and try those bands out there.



MelodicRock.Com CD Reviews



Ult and Kmorg's reviews.

I used to buy records just from the cover art coolness factor.

Now I use YouTube and what knuckleeads 'round here type up.

I prefer chasing the classics and the much-recorded. If there's someone out there who has been around for long and recorded a lot, it's on my wish list.

If it's a reasonably old band (I'll accept any child of the 1990s as well- most EUPM bands are), has a classic metal sound, progressive tendencies, and (at least one) voice that's not a stereotypical screecher- or is released in the 1980s (and isn't glam), I'll invest in it. Youtube is a nice place to sample bands that are new or we don't know much about.

I stick to power metal (both styles), progressive metal or classic metal with progressive tendencies. Outside, I would pick and choose metalcore (Machine Head, Lamb of God), thrash (The Big Four, Testament), death metal (Sepultura, and maybe one more) and industrial (Prong, Fear Factory), but if I were to open up to multiple artists of a style of metal, it would be the classic sound.

New bands are not really so important for me, as there don't seem too many whom we expect to last long (and many don't).

Seriuosly though, I mostly just use this board, the www and hit up youtube.

As others have said Ult's sight is a great reference. It's turned me on to & reconnected me with lots of bands. Also Blabbermouth & the cable TV metal channel, then some research via youtube, itunes, etc.

I guess I use youtube a lot, and if I see something getting talking up a lot on various sites and it sounds like something I'd be interested in, I'll google the band and see where that takes me.

Youtube and Wikipedia are my main proponents of metal discovery. They sort of work like the liner notes of the past (which I still enjoy reading). I enjoy checking out the related videos/songs to the ones I am actively searching, then i look them up on Wikipedia or Discogs and look at their albums, members, associated acts, etc. You could probably build a web of separation connecting just about every heavy metal band to exist!

Spotify is also an excellent tool for finding new stuff to listen to.

I have found so much great stuff on the related videos on youtube. I go looking for one thing and end up finding five other bands. Keeps the want list endlessly growing.

As great as the internet is for finding music, the one thing that irritates me is trying to find reviews. Googling draws up endless downloads and very few actual reviews. I'd love a site like Rotten Tomatoes for music.

jstate wrote:

I'd love a site like Rotten Tomatoes for music.

rateyourmusic.com?

Once in a while I'll do a google search for "best heavy metal albums of the year". From there I'll check out numerous lists and note the albums that keep coming up on people's lists. From there I'll head over to encyclopedia metallum.com and read reviews. I'll also check out other online reviews. At this point I head over to itunes and see if the album is available to listen to samples of. If it sounds good I'll either purchase a few of the best songs or the whole album. My most recent search of the best of..... lists got me the following new artists/albums:

Ghost-Opus Eponymous etc.
Freedom Hawk-s/t
Enforcer-Diamonds
Enslaved-Axioma Ethica Odimi
Borknagar-The Olden Domain

littleUDO wrote:

Once in a while I'll do a google search for "best heavy metal albums of the year". From there I'll check out numerous lists and note the albums that keep coming up on people's lists. From there I'll head over to encyclopedia metallum.com and read reviews. I'll also check out other online reviews. At this point I head over to itunes and see if the album is available to listen to samples of. If it sounds good I'll either purchase a few of the best songs or the whole album. My most recent search of the best of..... lists got me the following new artists/albums:

Ghost-Opus Eponymous etc.
Freedom Hawk-s/t
Enforcer-Diamonds
Enslaved-Axioma Ethica Odimi
Borknagar-The Olden Domain

welcome to HoM!!