Quick question, yes or no: Are you passionate about the underground Metal scene? If so, then you've come to the right place! This website is perfect for you if any of the following apply:
- Wanna to start-up a new band but don't know where to begin;
- Already have a band but you're still short on a few members here and there;
- Have a full line-up but still haven't made the big debut yet;
- Are playing an instrument and instead of starting one, you'd like to join a band;
- Just lookin' around and see what's going on with your local (but not only) metal bands;
- Have a full band, already successful, yet you want to enroll just to be a part of this community and also inspire others (cause let's face it, there's nothing more inspiring than the power of example).
OK now, ya' wanna hear the short story behind this website? (if no, by all means, just scroll down to the very last paragraph :P BUT be advised that reading this particular intro can shed tremendous amounts of light on what this site is about, cause you might not get to see its full potential at first).
Then, here it goes: it initially started out under the name "YetUnknown" and it was soley intented as an in-house enrollment website, where local bands (that were yet unknown, of course) could join. By doing this, they would each have a personal page, with their name, logo, genre, short description, etc. and well, the most important part of it was that the current line-up of the band would be displayed, thus serving as a tool of recruitment. Let's face it, if you've been doing this for a while, you surely know how tough it is: excitement and fun at first, then band members either quit, or don't return your calls no more, they secretly join other bands, or loose interest, maybe due to school or work, you name it. But it's hard (and ugly) like hell to keep asking from fellow musician to fellow musician if they know any good drummer, or post ads in the paper or on forums, looking for a new guitarist, etc..
So that's when it hit me: why not offer people a more well-organized way of looking for what they need? It's free. It's all in one place. It looks professional. It serves as a mini-official webpage, if you will, for each band, you can post your personal material, and probably the best advantage yet: you don't end up in a situation where your Thrash or Deathcore band is looking for, say a drummer, and when auditioning, all you get are a bunch of guys complaining about your style being too aggressive, too harsh, etc., etc., and kindly ask you if you know any Jimmy Page or Led Zeppelin. I mean it's all fun and all, livin' the rock 'n' roll life, but hey, there's nothing more annoying than explicitly telling people what you're looking for, just so that when all of you are ready to jam, you find there are tons of musical taste-related differences.
And here's when the website would come in handy: it's your page, with your name, your logo (if you have any), where YOU and YOU ALONE decide how you're viewed by others. Remember, it acts like a kind of official webpage of the band. So be sure to be very explicit with what you want in your "description" section and ... well ... you're done. Nobody will ever dare (F#@K YEAH they won't) come to an audition and pretend you're all there to make a mashup of styles in which "everyone gets to blend in their personal views". Don't get it wrong, it's great doing that after things settle in and you each begin making your own musical flavour felt, but not at the audition, and most certainly not by the auditioned one :) That literally shows right from the start, that things ain't gonna work.
Now, why didn't the website remain titled "YetUnknown"? Well, because we've decided to keep the idea, but also make it more welcoming for fans-only alike, not just for the bands inner-circle if you will. So we've added a News section, where you can check the latest updates of your favourite bands, like members coming in, line-up changes, new bands joining, website updates, etc.. Also, there's an Events section where you can always follow upcoming concert and/or tour dates, etc., you name it. Then there's a Material section, where the bands can post their live shows, share YouTube videos, attach .mp3 files, photos of the bands, and not only. Thus the website was really begining to be like a homebase for the underground Metal scene, so here's where the title change came in. Why not call it "Metal" - "Ground"? Cause it's the site for all Metal underground whereabouts. So there you have it, we hope you enjoy MetalGround to its fullest!
Finally, the cherry on the pie: if you have a band (and we know there are plenty of you out there) and want to join the MetalGround community for all the above reasons, stop wasting time and head over to this page! More details about the enrollment procedure can be found inside the link itself ;)
By all means, as the site's set on a continuous improvement mode, we're more than happy to take your feedback into consideration and change things, making MetalGround more suitted to your taste and needs, so don't hesitate to contact us and tell us what you think (good and bad :D)!
Oh and if this whole thing above seems like a long mumbo-jumbo and you don't feel like reading it all, well, just browse through the website, you'll get a glimpse of how, why, what and all other reasons behind it. After all, this ain't the first website you've visited and you've still managed to work your way around it, without a proper, yet boring introduction :)
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