# Metal-Archives Scraper - Metal Band Database (`lulzasaur/metalarchives-scraper`) Actor Scrape band data from Metal-Archives.com (Encyclopaedia Metallum). Search or browse 170K+ metal bands with genres, themes, discographies, review scores, and band details. - **URL**: https://apify.com/lulzasaur/metalarchives-scraper.md - **Developed by:** [lulz bot](https://apify.com/lulzasaur) (community) - **Categories:** E-commerce - **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, NaN bookmarks - **User rating**: No ratings yet ## Pricing from $10.00 / 1,000 results This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events. Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/platform/actors/running/actors-in-store#pay-per-event ## What's an Apify Actor? Actors are a software tools running on the Apify platform, for all kinds of web data extraction and automation use cases. In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours, and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store. In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server. Actors are written with capital "A". ## How to integrate an Actor? If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects. You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready. The best way to integrate Actors is as follows. In JavaScript/TypeScript projects, use official [JavaScript/TypeScript client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js.md): ```bash npm install apify-client ``` In Python projects, use official [Python client library](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python.md): ```bash pip install apify-client ``` In shell scripts, use [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): ````bash # MacOS / Linux curl -fsSL https://apify.com/install-cli.sh | bash # Windows irm https://apify.com/install-cli.ps1 | iex ```bash In AI frameworks, you might use the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/platform/integrations/mcp.md). If your project is in a different language, use the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md). For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below. For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt). # README ## Metal-Archives Scraper (Encyclopaedia Metallum) Scrape band data from [Metal-Archives.com](https://www.metal-archives.com/) (Encyclopaedia Metallum) — the world's largest encyclopaedia of metal music with 170,000+ bands. ### Features - **Search by band name** — find any band with fuzzy matching - **Browse by letter** — alphabetically browse the entire database (A-Z, NBR for numbers) - **Full band details** — country, location, genre, lyrical themes, status, years active, current label - **Complete discographies** — every release with type (Full-length, EP, Demo, Single, etc.), year, review count, and average review score - **Pagination support** — handles large result sets automatically - **PPE monetization** — pay-per-event billing for each result ### Output Example ```json { "name": "Metallica", "bandId": "125", "country": "United States", "location": "Los Angeles/San Francisco, California", "genre": "Thrash Metal (early); Hard Rock (mid); Heavy/Thrash Metal (later)", "themes": "Introspection, Anger, Corruption, Deceit, Death, Life, Metal, Literature, Films", "status": "Active", "formedIn": "1981", "yearsActive": "1981-present", "currentLabel": "Blackened Recordings", "photoUrl": "https://www.metal-archives.com/images/1/2/5/125_photo.jpg", "logoUrl": "https://www.metal-archives.com/images/1/2/5/125_logo.png", "discography": [ { "name": "Kill 'Em All", "type": "Full-length", "year": "1983", "reviewCount": 44, "reviewScore": 88, "url": "https://www.metal-archives.com/albums/Metallica/Kill_%27Em_All/538" }, { "name": "Master of Puppets", "type": "Full-length", "year": "1986", "reviewCount": 44, "reviewScore": 81, "url": "https://www.metal-archives.com/albums/Metallica/Master_of_Puppets/547" } ], "albumCount": 58, "url": "https://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Metallica/125", "scrapedAt": "2026-04-25T12:00:00.000Z" } ```` ### Input Parameters | Parameter | Type | Default | Description | |-----------|------|---------|-------------| | `searchQuery` | string | | Band name to search for (e.g. "Metallica", "Iron Maiden") | | `browseLetter` | string | | Browse bands by first letter (A-Z, NBR for numbers). Used when searchQuery is empty. | | `maxResults` | integer | 50 | Maximum number of bands to return (1-5000) | | `includeDiscography` | boolean | true | Fetch full discography for each band | | `proxyConfiguration` | object | | Optional proxy configuration | ### Usage #### Search for a specific band ```json { "searchQuery": "Metallica", "maxResults": 5 } ``` #### Browse all bands starting with "D" ```json { "browseLetter": "D", "maxResults": 100 } ``` #### Quick search without discography (faster) ```json { "searchQuery": "Death", "maxResults": 20, "includeDiscography": false } ``` ### Rate Limiting The scraper is configured to be respectful to Metal-Archives servers: - Maximum 3 concurrent requests - Maximum 20 requests per minute - 1.2 second delay between paginated AJAX calls - Proper User-Agent header ### Cost This actor uses Pay-Per-Event pricing. You are charged per band result returned to the dataset. # Actor input Schema ## `searchQuery` (type: `string`): Band name to search for (e.g. "Metallica", "Iron Maiden", "Opeth"). Leave empty to browse by letter instead. ## `browseLetter` (type: `string`): Browse bands alphabetically by first letter (A-Z, NBR for numbers, ~). Only used when Search Query is empty. ## `maxResults` (type: `integer`): Maximum number of bands to scrape (1-5000). Each band requires a detail page fetch plus a discography fetch. ## `includeDiscography` (type: `boolean`): Fetch full discography for each band (album names, types, years, review scores). Doubles the number of requests. ## `proxyConfiguration` (type: `object`): Optional proxy configuration for requests ## Actor input object example ```json { "searchQuery": "Metallica", "maxResults": 50, "includeDiscography": true } ``` # API You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup. ## JavaScript example ```javascript import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client'; // Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token // Replace the '' with your token const client = new ApifyClient({ token: '', }); // Prepare Actor input const input = { "searchQuery": "Metallica", "browseLetter": "" }; // Run the Actor and wait for it to finish const run = await client.actor("lulzasaur/metalarchives-scraper").call(input); // Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any) console.log('Results from dataset'); console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`); const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems(); items.forEach((item) => { console.dir(item); }); // 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs ``` ## Python example ```python from apify_client import ApifyClient # Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token # Replace '' with your token. client = ApifyClient("") # Prepare the Actor input run_input = { "searchQuery": "Metallica", "browseLetter": "", } # Run the Actor and wait for it to finish run = client.actor("lulzasaur/metalarchives-scraper").call(run_input=run_input) # Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any) print("💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/" + run["defaultDatasetId"]) for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items(): print(item) # 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start ``` ## CLI example ```bash echo '{ "searchQuery": "Metallica", "browseLetter": "" }' | apify call lulzasaur/metalarchives-scraper --silent --output-dataset ``` ## MCP server setup ```json { "mcpServers": { "apify": { "command": "npx", "args": [ "mcp-remote", "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=lulzasaur/metalarchives-scraper", "--header", "Authorization: Bearer " ] } } } ``` ## OpenAPI specification ```json { "openapi": "3.0.1", "info": { "title": "Metal-Archives Scraper - Metal Band Database", "description": "Scrape band data from Metal-Archives.com (Encyclopaedia Metallum). Search or browse 170K+ metal bands with genres, themes, discographies, review scores, and band details.", "version": "1.0", "x-build-id": "jUhqw3GmEhQIogc4H" }, "servers": [ { "url": "https://api.apify.com/v2" } ], "paths": { "/acts/lulzasaur~metalarchives-scraper/run-sync-get-dataset-items": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-get-dataset-items-lulzasaur-metalarchives-scraper", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for its completion, and returns Actor's dataset items in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK" } } } }, "/acts/lulzasaur~metalarchives-scraper/runs": { "post": { "operationId": "runs-sync-lulzasaur-metalarchives-scraper", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor and returns information about the initiated run in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK", "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/runsResponseSchema" } } } } } } }, "/acts/lulzasaur~metalarchives-scraper/run-sync": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-lulzasaur-metalarchives-scraper", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for completion, and returns the OUTPUT from Key-value store in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK" } } } } }, "components": { "schemas": { "inputSchema": { "type": "object", "properties": { "searchQuery": { "title": "Search Query", "type": "string", "description": "Band name to search for (e.g. \"Metallica\", \"Iron Maiden\", \"Opeth\"). Leave empty to browse by letter instead." }, "browseLetter": { "title": "Browse by Letter", "type": "string", "description": "Browse bands alphabetically by first letter (A-Z, NBR for numbers, ~). Only used when Search Query is empty." }, "maxResults": { "title": "Max Results", "minimum": 1, "maximum": 5000, "type": "integer", "description": "Maximum number of bands to scrape (1-5000). Each band requires a detail page fetch plus a discography fetch.", "default": 50 }, "includeDiscography": { "title": "Include Discography", "type": "boolean", "description": "Fetch full discography for each band (album names, types, years, review scores). Doubles the number of requests.", "default": true }, "proxyConfiguration": { "title": "Proxy Configuration", "type": "object", "description": "Optional proxy configuration for requests" } } }, "runsResponseSchema": { "type": "object", "properties": { "data": { "type": "object", "properties": { "id": { "type": "string" }, "actId": { "type": "string" }, "userId": { "type": "string" }, "startedAt": { "type": "string", "format": "date-time", "example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z" }, "finishedAt": { "type": "string", "format": "date-time", "example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z" }, "status": { "type": "string", "example": "READY" }, "meta": { "type": "object", "properties": { "origin": { "type": "string", "example": "API" }, "userAgent": { "type": "string" } } }, "stats": { "type": "object", "properties": { "inputBodyLen": { "type": "integer", "example": 2000 }, "rebootCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "restartCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "resurrectCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "computeUnits": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } }, "options": { "type": "object", "properties": { "build": { "type": "string", "example": "latest" }, "timeoutSecs": { "type": "integer", "example": 300 }, "memoryMbytes": { "type": "integer", "example": 1024 }, "diskMbytes": { "type": "integer", "example": 2048 } } }, "buildId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultKeyValueStoreId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultDatasetId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultRequestQueueId": { "type": "string" }, "buildNumber": { "type": "string", "example": "1.0.0" }, "containerUrl": { "type": "string" }, "usage": { "type": "object", "properties": { "ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 1 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_SERPS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } }, "usageTotalUsd": { "type": "number", "example": 0.00005 }, "usageUsd": { "type": "object", "properties": { "ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": { "type": "number", "example": 0.00005 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_SERPS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } } } } } } } } } ```