Well, apparently there are at least 200,000 metal bands out there.

When the Metal Archives started in 2002, even 10,000 bands seemed like a pretty ridiculous number. Twelve years later, in 2014, we reached 100,000. And now, in 2026, we've doubled it.

You'd think we'd be running out of bands by now, but judging by how many bands still get submitted every day, we're not even close.

We want to thank everyone who has submitted bands over the years and helped to make MA into the heavy metal resource that it is. A lot of people have put a lot of time into digging this stuff up and cataloguing it, and we obviously wouldn't be anywhere near this amount without you.

Looking forward to the day we hit 300,000! \m/

-Derigin

Hey. Just a quick note to say that we added a "Streaming" category for links, so from now on, put stuff like Spotify, Deezer, YouTube Music, etc. in there.

Note that this category should be used for sites that are primarily used for streaming full releases (often, the entry is created automatically by a digital distributor rather than the band). For sites that a band uses more like social media, with news and features other than streaming (Bandcamp, ReverbNation) or where they might upload stuff other than finished releases (Soundcloud, regular YouTube), keep using the "Official" category.

Also, for artist pages, if you're linking to, say, the Spotify page of one of their non-metal bands not listed on MA, that should still remain in the "Unlisted bands" category (like any link related to unlisted bands).

EDIT: To clarify the case of YouTube, some channels are band-managed and feature individual uploads that may or may not be studio tracks (there could also be live videos, interviews, etc.). Those should be in the "official" category. There are other channels (usually with a name including the word "topic") that are simply automatically generated playlists of the band's releases, serving the same purpose as, say, a Spotify listing, so these should go in the "streaming" category (possibly with the label "YouTube (Topic)" to specify).

-HellBlazer

For those interested in statistics, friend of the site oneyoudontknow has created a project called Metal Graphs that shows the evolution of the number of releases on MA, based on various criteria (year, genre, country, etc.).

-HellBlazer

The results of the Album of the Year poll for 2025 are now available here.

-Derigin

The poll for the 2025 Album of the Year is now open for submissions!

Before we explain how the poll works, there has been an important administrative change made since last year's poll, which never officially had its results posted. Unofficial results for last year's poll can be found here. The Album of the Year poll now has a new organizer moving forward, Voidsel, who we're pleased has taken up the task of collecting, counting, and running the poll. We thank him for keeping this tradition alive.

So how does this poll work? Select your top ten metal albums of the year. Make sure those albums are listed on MA, that they consist of new, original material, and were released in 2025. Put your list in order, with #1 being the album you liked the most. You get one ballot, and your account on MA must've been registered before December 2nd, 2025 in order to participate.

Once you're certain you have your list, send it to Voidsel by private message (pm) on the forum. You have until 12:00AM EST on January 1st, 2026 to submit your list to him - once the year changes, the polls are closed!

The results of the poll will hopefully be announced in early January. In the meantime, feel free to discuss the poll in the thread located here.

-Derigin

Our classic reviews challenge will soon be upon us yet again.

This challenge is a time-honored tradition among our reviewers here. Every spring and autumn, reviewers are encouraged to spend a week writing and submitting as many quality reviews as possible. The challenge is focused on virgin albums: those with no reviews so far.

Every day, the reviews submitted and accepted are tallied, so that participants can see how they compare with one another and whether or not, altogether, we've been able to surpass previous challenges' totals. There's no prizes or rewards except knowing that you've given a review to an album that didn't previously have one. There's also bragging rights for the most reviews, if that matters to you. Please read this thread for the rules and to discuss the challenge!

The challenge is named in memory of our friend Diamhea, a long-time contributor to the challenge and staff member here at Metal Archives, who sadly passed away on May 21st, 2018. He was the first person to have ever written 100 reviews for a single challenge!

The challenge will run from 12:00AM EST on Monday December 1st until 11:59PM EST on Sunday December 7th.

Everyone is welcome to participate - all you have to do is submit reviews as usual during that week.

Looking forward to your participation! \m/

-Derigin

There are no words that could truly capture the importance and influence of Ozzy Osbourne for heavy metal. After a poignant farewell concert (raising an amazing 140 million pounds, likely the highest grossing charity concert ever) just a few weeks ago, the legendary metal icon left us at age 76, leaving behind an indelible and immortal legacy. None of us would be here, creating, enjoying and celebrating heavy metal, without him and Black Sabbath.

Thank you Ozzy and may your songs continue to echo throughout the ages. 🤘


Leave the earth to all its sin and hate
Find another world where freedom waits

-Morrigan

It's nearing the end of the year, and so that means another Album of the Year poll, this time for 2024!

How does it work? Select your top ten metal albums of the year; they have to be metal, they have to be new, original material, they have to be on MA, and they have to have been released in 2024. Put your list in order, with #1 being the album you liked the most. Once you're certain you have your list, send it to BastardHead by private message (pm) on the forum. You have until 12:00AM EST on January 1st, 2025 to submit your list to him - once the year changes, the polls are closed!

You get one ballot, and your account on MA must've been registered before November 30th, 2024 in order to participate. Please read the first post here for more details on how the poll works.

The results of the poll will (ideally) be ready by January 1st, 2025 or shortly thereafter. In the meantime, you can discuss the poll and your picks here.

Have fun, and look forward to your participation. \m/

-Derigin

Recently, there has been a noticeable uptick in the number of bands being submitted to the site which have AI generated music. We want to make it clear what our position is on these bands, and how we plan to move forward in assessing them.

It went without saying, at least up until now, that when we imagined growing the largest and most complete database of metal music, part of that vision was the preservation of art and human expression through music. Until AI, that was a given. The music described on the site is, in some way, played, programmed, and composed by a human being. That still remains an important criterion for us, and it is our belief that AI generated music does not satisfy that requirement.

With the above in mind, we won't be accepting bands with AI generated albums, and we will scrutinize more thoroughly submissions suspected of having AI generated music.

For those users submitting bands, if you have a band suspected of having AI generated music, we may call upon you to provide evidence to prove otherwise, whether it's behind-the-scenes material, statements from the band or its label, evidence the band played live, promotional material showing the band is genuine, and so on. The more evidence we have to show that such a band is real, and its music composed by a human being, the better. Our goal isn't to make this harder on you, or anyone for that matter, but we do want to stay true to our vision for the site.

This policy isn't perfect and is a work-in-progress which may evolve over time. We know there will be some bands with AI generated music mistakenly added to the site, and we also know mistakes can be made and bands without AI generated material may be flagged for having AI generated music. With your help, we hope to avoid this as much as possible.

Thank you. \m/

-Derigin

The results of the Album of the Year poll for 2023 are now available here.

-Derigin