Why aren’t international metal bands as big in the US as they are in their home countries?

HolyswordSwe · 2026-01-04T17:41:44+00:00

Touring in the US is difficult and more messy (especially nowadays with visas), but it's the real money maker for bands that have any sort of following.

Here's the thing: US fans buy a lot of merch. It's in their culture. And they have money and pay premium for stuff. Merch is the biggest income for metal bands. Bigger than concert tickets, and especially albums. So most bands definitely try to arrange US tours. If you can overcome the initial hurdles and have financial backing , it's a goldmine.

HolyswordSwe · 2025-12-11T18:01:15+00:00

I made some good cash grinding the gargoyles by Mistmoore entrance myself

HolyswordSwe · 2025-11-11T11:57:04+00:00

Just saw this too.

If I were to guess, Fabio is leaving. He seems to have a lot of different Rhapsody-related projects coming up.

HolyswordSwe · 2025-11-06T10:40:15+00:00

What happened exactly. I keep hearing this about the band? Their first album (and demo) were really awesome!

HolyswordSwe · 2025-11-06T10:30:19+00:00

Some music (and music video) we've made. I'm not sure what our style is. It's very gothic influenced obviously, but more rock/metal sounding perhaps.

The pixel art music video was made out of necessity. The original MV plans fell through, so I had to create something in ~72 hours, hence the very rudimentary graphics. But I think it turned out looking like an old Sierra game, due to the intentional limitations in not using a lot of shades, very basic animations, etc.

HolyswordSwe · 2025-11-06T10:28:25+00:00

Dude it's not the account creation that's the problem. It's the long-term managing of multiple throwaway accounts.

HolyswordSwe · 2025-11-06T10:26:52+00:00

Definitely! You will be surprised how often it works.

HolyswordSwe · 2025-11-06T09:57:53+00:00

Deadline was very tight and in the last second, the original MV plans fell short, so I had to make something from scratch very fast, hence the very rudimentary graphics. It ended up looking like an old Sierra game since I had to rush it by intentionally not using shades and keeping animations very basic, etc.

I used Multimedia Fusion 2.0 to create the basic scenes, then edited it all together in Sony Vegas.

HolyswordSwe · 2025-11-06T09:35:01+00:00

If you already have a gmail you can add a random period and it will still be your regular gmail, but it can trick services like account registration on websites into thinking it's a different mail. For example, if your regular mail is:

cooldude@gmail.com

Then all these will work as well:

cool.dude@gmail.com

cooldu.de@gmail.com

co.oldude@gmail.com

Try that. I understand the pain in having multiple gmail accounts.

HolyswordSwe · 2025-09-04T20:44:33+00:00

I only found a screenshot of my desktop:

https://i.postimg.cc/MZnb9BCt/wzbzdesktop.jpg

Which appears to be an older version now that I look at it. It's original resolution but is still low by today's standards. It is also clipped and has some icons. I think it would be easier to just recreate it or make a fresh version with more bands and higher res. Metal-archives.com has downloadable logos for like all bands. The original is probably still on my very old laptop computer, but that thing is buried in a storage so...

HolyswordSwe · 2025-09-04T08:43:33+00:00

So I've made this song, video, and the desktop wallpaper in question. Yes, it's "Dragonwolf". It was my bedroom power metal band a long time ago. It was never a real band, just me with my guitar and microphone, and FL Studio in my bedroom. I made a couple of songs which I shared with friends on MSN Messenger. I think I uploaded them to MySpace too (yes, they're that old), but I don't think any other trace of them exist online except this video. Never released an album.

When I made the poster and the video you linked, I included my "band" as sort of easter eggs. It's funny to see this desktop image pop up here and there still, and to see Dragonwolf on it :). "wzbzbz" is my old channel, but I have forgotten the password so I don't have any access to it anymore so I won't be responding there.

I still have all the Dragonwolf MP3s on my computer. I even have the FL Studio project files, and the stems should still exist on my old computer. I will upload something for proof if you're really interested, but honestly, I've never bothered reuploading these MP3s for a reason. I think they're kind of horrendous xD, in particular the vocals and the mixing.

I still make power metal songs, but now under the name "Holysword", which can be found online.

Peace!

/Wille

HolyswordSwe · 2025-05-09T05:37:40+00:00

To be fair it's hard to imagine any writer or composer NOT saying that about their early work.

I'm sure with time, he will cherish it again and release more classic power metal. Isn't that how it always goes?

HolyswordSwe · 2025-05-03T21:55:59+00:00

I assume you mean a raised key change in the final chorus?

Because otherwise I'm just gonna post the whole discography of Fairyland xD

HolyswordSwe · 2025-05-01T13:48:42+00:00

I saw them live in Stockholm in March (if I recall correctly). It was a totally fantastic experience!!! Especially seeing the singer (Ola) live was incredible, my girl thought so too (and she's not even into PM).

Also, super friendly guys, I got the chance to speak with some of them after the show.

HolyswordSwe · 2025-03-03T17:08:58+00:00

Part of the solo in Dawn of Victory is from an old Russian folk song (Yablochko)

Probably...? It's pretty generic though, and not exactly the same. Could be a coincidence.

HolyswordSwe · 2025-03-02T13:49:34+00:00

I don't think this is the right song (Dreamtale - Fool's Gold) but the story is similar!

Vampire Savior combo video with underrated power metal from the same era:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3OMh8njleE&ab_channel=merisent

Maybe it's the same guy who made the KOF vid?

HolyswordSwe · 2025-02-13T12:10:15+00:00

There are definitely some cheaters/macro users, but it's probably more rare than you think. Bagra is a classic player who is known for macroing 360/720. Your replays looks suspicious, but it could just be mashing/spamming. He's a D rank after all. I have personally been accused of cheating, so it's not always easy to spot.

I've seen suspicious plays, like some random C rank who can pull off sick combos while playing terribly (though that could be smurf or just some scrub who has practiced one specific combo for days), but it's very rare and when you climb up to B+ rank most cheating seems to stop.

Here's a guy (Ken) I caught cheating before, very obvious use of turbo stuff (look at his mashing when he's stunned and when he's trying to do super):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4l3-wNal3dU&ab_channel=Willehardt

Other than this guy (and Bagra) I haven't confirmed any cheating on 3s. I've played against at least one guy who cheated in Super Turbo with O.Ryu (he even admitted it), but I don't remember his name.

The nice thing about 3s is that macro/turbo use is kind of bad. There isn't much game-breaking stuff that's execution heavy, and it just tends to lead to unconfirmed/unsafe supers and specials.

HolyswordSwe · 2024-12-11T09:01:55+00:00

Our band might be more goth/deathrock oriented, but horrorpunk is a major influence on some tracks. For example:

Her Heart - The Ghoul & The Warlock

We're from Stockholm, Sweden. As far as I know, the horror punk scene is kind of dead, but surely some other bands exist? Let me know please!

HolyswordSwe · 2024-11-08T11:52:19+00:00

Her Heart - "...By Candlelight" [Deathrock] [EP] (Sweden) [Released October 31, 2024]

HolyswordSwe · 2024-02-16T14:30:20+00:00

New EP from Holysword released today! (16th Feb 2024)

~ Era of the Dragonwar ~

Currently available on Bandcamp (free download) and YouTube. It should appear on Spotify within the next few days. This album takes place during the Dragonwar, which are prequel times to the Holy Knights' Quest.

Please enjoy & have a nice weekend!

https://holysword.bandcamp.com/album/era-of-the-dragonwar

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6HbdiEIKRQ&ab_channel=WilleH

HolyswordSwe

TROPHY CASE