Patrick Galbraith of VENUSfir Web and Graphic Design in Australia, and 'metal historian' Nick Grant, have produced an interesting and very useful Web site for fans of metal music in all its forms. They call it 'Map Of Metal'.
It's a remarkable graphic musical journey. Here's a screenshot of the opening page (click the image for a larger view).
It begins with the category 'Heavy Metal', then spreads out over a fictional map to show every possible variation on the theme, every genre and sub-genre, and every way in which metal music has evolved. You can navigate around the large-scale map by moving a 'window' in a small-scale map in the top right corner (circled in yellow in the image above).
Each variation or genre of metal music is described in a few paragraphs, and samples of music from that genre are linked in a sidebar. The details are found by clicking on an icon next to the name - two samples are circled in red in the image above. A player automatically cycles through the music samples, unless you pause it.
The site uses Flash, and is very graphics-intensive (for obvious reasons!), which I don't particularly appreciate, given how long it takes to download (it would be almost unusable without a high-speed connection). Nevertheless, if you're into metal music of any description, this site is an indispensable source of information: a map of where your favorite genre came from, how it developed, and what sub-genres were spun off from it. You'll also be introduced to some genres you've probably never heard of, and some music samples that will be new to you. I certainly was! I can see myself spending hours there over the next few weeks, catching up on music I'd never encountered before.
Congratulations to Messrs. Galbraith and Grant on what must have been not only a labor of love, but a heck of a lot of work! They've done a great job on Map Of Metal.
Peter
Oh, I'm going to waste sooo much time on that page! Thanks for finding it.
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