Metal Hall Audiofile FAQ (v0.
=contents=
I. Ripping
II. Create Archive
III. Uploading
IV. Posting
V. Neoclassical Music Hub
VI. Lossless Uploads
VII. Beginners / Ethics
This FAQ tells you the basics of ripping MP3s and FLACs, sharing them through file upload services, and posting links in this forum.
The goal of this forum is music downloading, both at a reasonable quality MP3 and in lossless FLAC format for out of print works. It is not for collectors. The idea is that you listen and then buy only the music that you'll want for a long time.
I. RippingMP3sRecommended software:
Rippers
Exact Audio CopyAudiograbberCDex v1.60CDex 1.52Codec:
Please use only MP3 (for in-print releases) and FLAC (for out-of-print releases).
Most people use LAME but
Fraunhofer Codec handles distortion better. It is not freeware, but you can find it as part of the Windows Media Player 10 distribution:
Installation instructions here:
http://www.looprecorder.de/tut_l3codec.phpMicrosoft release of Fraunhofer codecs (thanks to Nikolai Fokov)Some prefer the Fraunhofer codec v1, which is widely pirated and known as the "Radium codec":
Radium release of Fraunhofer codecs v1 & v3 (thanks to Nikolai Fokov)Put l3codecp.acm into your WINDOWS/System folder and double click the .reg file to install v3; for v1, follow instructions in separate archive.
FLACsA note about security vulnerabilities in FLAC format filesFLAC codecDouble click to install. To use in CDex:
Options -> Settings -> Encoder
In Encoder field, select:
* "FLAC Encoder DLL" for FLAC
* "Windows MP3 Codec" and in "Windows MP3 Codec" field (will appear below) "Fraunhofer IIS MPEG Layer-3 Codec" or "LAME Encoder 3.65" for MP3
RippingOpen CDex, Audiograbber, Exact Audio Copy or another CD ripper, and put a CD in your CD drive. The program will connect to a database, either freedb.org or gracenote, and download the tracklist appropriate to that CD.
(a) CDex
You may wish to configure:
* Options -> Settings -> Filenames
Select a directory you want to use for your mp3 files. Then, use this as your filename filter:
%1\%1 - %2\%7-%4
This will create a directory for the artist name, and in it, a directory named after the artist and work:
/artist_name-work_name
artist_name - work_name - nn - track_name.mp3
For example:
C:\MP3s\Emperor\Emperor - In the Nightside Eclipse
Click the button on the interface for "Extract CD Track(s) to Compressed Audio File(s)."
II. Create ArchiveThe best compressor is winRAR. The software is free if you don't mind a warning about missing serial numbers.
winRARRAR for UNIX and MacintoshIt helps promote this forum if you include darklegions.nfo/darklegions.url files in every archive you upload. These are like packing slips for RAR and ZIP packages. The following samples can also be found
here.
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ABOUT NATURAL SELECTION MP3s
We upload music so you can pick only the best to buy. This starves
bad musicians and bad labels, letting only the strong survive, which
in turn strengthens metal music and the metal subculture.
ABOUT THE DARK LEGIONS ARCHIVE
The Dark Legions Archive (www.anus.com/metal) is the net's oldest
underground metal site, being online since 1993 and on BBSs since
1988. It provides reviews, philosophy, history and critical analysis
of underground heavy metal music, death metal and black metal music.
http://www.anus.com/metal
Create a text file named darklegions.nfo in the directory you are archiving; if you use winrar, you can also paste this information into the Comments tab and it will display when the archive opens.
Optionally, you can edit the file to include release information:
Artist:
Opus:
Info:
Compression: Fraunhofer MP3 v2.63, 256kbits/s
http://www.anus.com/metal/band-name
Artist is band name, opus is album name, info is any details about the CD you ripped, compression is what codec you used, and the URL is present if there's a link to a DLA review, like
Slayer or
Burzum.
I also add a darklegions.url file, which you can create with a text editor:
[DEFAULT]
BASEURL=http://www.anus.com/metal/
[InternetShortcut]
URL=http://www.anus.com/metal/
Modified=60A965EE7F2BC801CF
IconFile=http://www.anus.com/favicon.ico
IconIndex=1
To make the archive, drag the entire directory ("Emperor - In the Nightside Eclipse") into the winRAR window. It will produce an archive in the directory it displays in the main pane of its window.
If you are compressing a FLAC archive, please divide it using the winRAR option "Split to volumes, bytes" which you can set to "ZIP-100 size (98,078k files)." This provides an easy size which is less likely to fail in downloads.
Name the archive using the universally readable, clear standard:
Artist Name - Work Name (year)
This means that you will create an archive called "Emperor - In the Nightside Eclipse.rar" which will unpack to a directory named "Emperor - In the Nightside Eclipse." By doing this, you save downloaders time and make the files easy to categorize.
When you compress with WinRAR, open your FILE_ID.DIZ file, copy the data within, and select the Comments tab on the WinRAR new archive window, then paste that text into the "Enter Manually" box. This means the user will see it when they open the archive.
Do not use passwords on archives.
III. UploadingThere are many free upload services which will store RAR archives for download. The best are:
http://www.megaupload.com/http://www.rapidshare.com/http://www.mediafire.com/(
List of other file hosting services.)
These archives will store your file for as long as it is downloaded once every seven days. Analysis of our server statistics proves that making threads easy to find (one per band) and filenames easy to read keeps your upload available longer. To this end, search for an existing band-named thread before creating a new one. Use the
our search facility and remember to click the checkbox marked "Audiofile."
To use one, go to the appropriate site. There will be a "Browse" button to select the archive on your hard drive, and another button or link marked "upload" to start sending it. When the upload is finished, the web site will show you the url others can click to download that file.
Upload images to either one of these sites:
http://www.photobucket.com/http://www.imageshack.us/IV. PostingYou want to create:
* A thread with the band name.
* A link with band name - artist name as the title.
* An optional picture.
* An optional link to a torrent, named after the Artist - Album Name it links to.
This is what your format should resemble:
Artist name
Artist Name - Opus Name (year, Megaupload)
Artist Name - Opus Name (year, Rapidshare)
This format makes it easiest for people to download these CDs. We do not include MP3 information or tracklists or full-size covers because this is not a collector's forum; it's a forum for people who want to hear the bands in radio quality or better.
This is what the code looks like:
[url=http://www.anus.com/metal][u]Artist name[/u][/url]
[img width=100 height=100]http://www.anus.com/metal/asphyx/asphyx2.jpg[/img]
[url=http://www.megaupload.com/fuckmeimlarsulrich]Artist Name - Opus Name[/url] (year, Megaupload)
[url=http://www.rapidshare.de/fuckmeimlarsulrich]Artist Name - Opus Name[/url] (year, Rapidshare)
Example of correctly done thread -
Asphyx:
Note: if more than one band exists using a name, put them in the same thread, and at the top of each listing title them with
Band Name (Country Code) using international domain name codes (SE, US, DE, CH).
Classical PostsMetal and classical/baroque/modern are musically related, so some of this will crop up.
In your post, please use the form:
Artist Name - Work Name No. [1] ([4],[2], [3],[5])
1. "
Opus Number"
2. Conductor last name
3. Orchestra/Symphony abbreviation (BPO, etc)
4. Year
5. Attributes: digital, stereo, mono, analog.
Do not include the host of the file (Megaupload, Rapidshare).
Here's a good exampleV. Neoclassical Music HubFor some years, CORRUPT/ANUS has sponsored a DC++ hub for the use of metal downloaders.
*
Neoclassical Music Hub FAQ*
Hub address*
DC++ client softwareVI. Beginners / Comportment
If this is new to you, start here:
(a) Essential Downloads
Members of this forum have put together a compilation based on a best-of list from the
Dark Legions Archive.
Best of Death Metal and Black Metal(b) KCUF radio
The infamous station that brought to the Internet airwaves the pinnacles in nihilistic death metal, atavistic and romantic black metal, and transcendent ambient soundscapes has been recompiled and archived in its known entirety to initiate the unfamiliar and inspire those who remember.
KCUF RadioVI. Lossless UploadsAny work that is not accessible by fans is fair game to be posted in lossless FLAC format, which produces a byte-exact copy of the original CD when burned by the downloader. Our goal is to keep metal music in circulation, not fight selfishly over ownership or the prestige of having rarities. We cannot keep music "elite" by hiding it; that only kills it. If we send it to the world, only those who understand it will hold on to it for long.
1.
Compilations2.
Lossless Albums/Out of PrintUpload in lossless FLAC any recording that cannot be obtained. Out of print, demos, live recordings, bootlegs and albums inaccessible to most of the world are all fair game.
FLAC codec - use to encode/decode.
Burrrn - freeware CD burner.
It is considered sensible to upload an MP3 recording as well, so people can download 50-90 mb and determine whether they want the 350 mb lossless recording.
VII. Ethics and Comportmenti. Ethics
Specifically: are we "ripping off" artists, and what purpose does this serve? -- a venture beyond ownership morality, and yet, not quite beyond giving what is due.Art and culture are more important than money. If you download MP3s, you hear them before you buy; this way, you buy only the music with which you
really connect. This accomplishes two things:
(a) Natural Selection/Eugenics: it helps weed out the trendy, insubstantial and moronic music.
(b) Environmental: each crap CD not bought represents less landfill created.
This makes the metal genre and our cultures stronger. It is ethical to share mp3s and in the case of out of print items, lossless formats like APE or FLAC, because it helps the genre even if it offends conventional ownership-based morality.
We are like your local library, but not limited by budget and physical space: you can check out any item that interests you, but to be fair, you have to return it. Yes, it operates on the honor system, and some people have no honor in matters of money or without. But it's more important that the honorable people get to hear good metal, and later get a chance to buy that which is available and burn that which is not.
ii. Comportment
(a) Uploading
You are valued more for one quality upload, especially of an undiscovered band, than for 100 flavor-of-the-week black metal bands or other trends. Please, no mainstream music: that is someone else's fight.
(b) Downloading
Click on the link, go to the site, and download.
Use
this tool to download from megaupload without having to go to their site.
(c) Reuploading
It is not the "responsibility" of the original uploader to re-upload. If you downloaded something and liked it, take the time to re-archive and re-upload. This also gets you points with regulars here for helping out instead of only downloading.
(d) Requests and Chatter
If you have comments about bands, please start a thread in the
Chasm forum. The Audiofile section is for downloads and commentary clutters it up. Especially useless are requests, thank-yous, and one-line comments in the band thread.
You can use the
Requests thread to post a link to the band topic, if applicable, and the name(s) of the works you would like to see. Thank uploaders via PM.
How To Request
1. Before requesting, Search for your request, and BE SURE TO CHECK THE BOX LABELED "Audiofile."
2. Format according to the FAQ and post in the Requests Thread.
3. If requesting an album that belongs in an existing thread, please provide a hyperlink to said thread. Example:
THRONE OF AHAZ - Nifelheim FLAC
Your first post should not be a request. There are thousands of other titles already available -- explore them, upload some other requests if you can, participate meaningfully in the Chasm section if you are able, and then come back.
(e) Theory
If you behave well, you invite in other well-behaved people and the forum thrives. If you behave like an idiot, you invite in more idiots. That will "kill the goose that laid the golden egg" for everyone.
Link to this FAQ: http://tinyurl.com/5jsvzt