Nope, you can't.

Here is an adopted reference table for transliteration of the Russian alphabet characters into English alphabet charachters. The table is my personal rendition of several existing standards such as : ГОСТ 7.79 , ISO 9 - 1995, Princeton University Library's Russian Transliteration and others.

Transliteration =/= Transcription. Despite this, in some case fusion of these two approaches is inevitable. There was an option of using diacritical symbols but I decided, that it would make the process too complicated for the end user. The table is first and foremost compiled for the purposes of this website.



Notes :

* Most standards suggest "J", which I deemed unacceptable, since for the vast majority of English speakers this character strictly refers to letter "jay". The original Russian character refers to a sound which is closely reminiscent of the one produced by the leter "wye".
** Some standards suggest : shch, shh and several others which use diacritical symbols.
*** All of the standards suggest "Y". As there is no exact match for the sound produced by this letter in English, and this character is already in use, I opted for the current combination of symbols.
**** Some standards suggest : E, E. and several others which use diacritical symbols.

Hmm, are there plans to transliterate stuff into the ANS field? That sounds pretty clumsy...and I'm not sure what else transliteration would be used for (why else DeathFog would be posting this). I think ANS should only contain a transliterated version if the band itself has used it. Otherwise, if you're just trying to help people search who don't have a cyrillic keyboard, you'd need to account for all sorts of different kinds of transliteration. Е = E or Ye, Х = H or Kh, Щ = Shch, whether or not to use J's or diacritics, etc.

There's already a lot of stuff transliterated into the ANS field of various bands from cyrillic-using countries at present. The idea is to try to maintain some kind of standard that will make it easy for people without cyrillic keyboards to find popular bands like Круиз (Kruiz), Ария (Ariya), and others. We are an english-based site after all and it makes sense to make these bands better available to people accustomed to the latin alphabet. DeathFog and I discussed the merits of transliterating versus transcribing and we agreed upon this general standard to use throughout MA. Of course, some bands are often transliterated in such a way that doesn't adhere to this system (Ария becoming Aria is notable) but we can obviously bend the rules a little to accommodate that.

Anyway, this issue arose when I began noticing that the ANS fields for a lot of bands were really inconsistently transliterated. It'd be nice to have a universal agreed upon standard to make browsing for these bands a little easier.

I think you should also add the transliterated name to the additional notes, so that people who cannot read in cyrillic will know how to pronounce the name.

In that case, I really think it would be better automated.

I think it's helpful to add a visible tab for *officially translated/Latinized name(s)". For example, 閃靈 from Taiwan is official known as Chthonic, so 閃靈 should appear on the top of the band page and Chthonic in *officially translated name*. As for unofficial translation/transliteration (say, unofficial Cyrillic --> Latin transliteration), they should go to the invisible ANS.

Adding both to the additional notes works just fine, including the unofficial translations / transliteration. If I go to a page of a band whose name I cannot read, it would be helpful to have that information in the additional notes, even if it's unofficial.

So do you prefer transcription or transliteration in the additional notes field? Because the modified system DeathFog detailed above is close to the formal standard when transliterating russian in latinate letters but may not be very helpful in helping non-speakers actually pronounce the names. There's also of course the problem of certain slavic sounds simply not existing in english (like the serbian distinction between 'č' and 'ć').

This is a list of Chinese bands (not including Taiwanese bands) with their original names. Bands without Chinese name or bands whose Chinese name never made appearance on releases are not included. Since the Simplified Chinese are the standard written form in Mainland China, band names are only given in Simplified Chinese. In one occasion, the band 轮回 (Again) also used 輪迴 / 輪回 (Traditional Chinese) as their name.

I will also compile a similar list for Taiwanese bands.

The bands marked by three stars (***) use the English name as the main one; these are the names I recommend NOT to change to Chinese.

In the list, "sc" stands for Simplified Chinese.

sc: 206与思想者 en: 206 & Thinker (official translation)
sc: 轮回 en: Again (Somewhat official. As far as I know, the band only put this name on "O Sole Mio". This name is barely known among Chinese fans. Note both logos made appearrence on albums.)
sc: 刺眼光芒 en: Aglare Light (Somewhat official. The band never put "Aglare Light" in album booklets. But the label FMP refers them as Aglare Light in their official English website.)
sc: 甲胄 en: Armour (Unofficial, translated by me when I submitted them.)
sc: 黑冢 en: Black Tomb (unofficial, translated by me when I submitted them.)
sc: 腐尸 en: Cankered Corpse (I am not sure if it's the official translation. This name does not appear in the full-length album.)
sc: 车裂 en: Che Lie (Unofficial, translated by me when I submitted them.)
sc: 尸诗 en: Corpse Songs (Unofficial, translated by me when I submitted the band.)
sc: 王三薄 en: Darkness Over Depth (official translation.)
sc: 深山 en: Deep Mountains (Somewhat official. The band never put "Deep Mountains" in the EP. But their label Pest Production refers them as Deep Mountains in the official English website.)
sc: 郁 en: Die from Sorrow (Official translation)
sc: 颠覆-M en: Ego Fall (Official translation)
sc: 罪魇 en: EvilMare (Official translation)
***sc: 劓刖 en: Excruciate (Official. In the first four releases, they only used 劓刖. In the 2010 EP, they only used Excruciate.)
sc: 渗透 en: Filter (Official translation.)
sc: 霜冻前夜 en: Frosty Eve (Official translation.)
sc: 冰封十字 en: Frozen Cross (Official translation.)
sc: 冥界 en: Hades (Official translation)
sc: 冥界 en: Narakam (Official translation. Note: to many Chinese metalbangers, this is the same band as Hades. The band Hades was formed in 1993. They disbanded in 2000 and reformed in 2006, retained the Chinese name 冥界, but changed their English name to Narakam as all original members were gone.)
***sc: 地藏冥王 en: Hell Savior (Official translation. Note in the 2010 album, they only used Hell Savior.)
sc: 异端 en: Heresy (This is the band from Nanchang, NOT Hong Kong. Not sure if it's official translation.)
sc: 幻世狂想 en: Illusion (Barely official. The name Illusion only appears in the back of the album booklet.)
***sc: 撕裂 en: Lacerate (official. Note they only used 撕裂 in the demos, but they only used Lacerate in the 2011 album.)
sc: 陈磊 en: Lei Chen (The English name should be Chen Lei, not Lei Chen, because the Chinese name follows the surname-given name order. Also, see the cover of his second album.)
sc: 白血病 en: Leukaemia (Unofficial.)
sc: 凌迟 en: Ling Chi (Unofficial. Translated by me when I submitted them.)
sc: 月蚀 en: Lunar Eclipse (Official translation)
***sc: 殉难 en: Martyrdom (Although the band does have an official Chinese name. But it seems that the main name is the English one. If you look at the logo, the Chinese name is so small.)
sc: 暗月冥 en: Moonless Acheron (official translation)
sc: 夜莺 en: Nightingale (Unofficial, translated by me when I submitted them.)
sc: 梦魇 en: Nightmare (Official translation.)
sc: 天行健 en: Norcelement (Official translation.)
sc: 手术台 en: Operating Table (Not sure if it's an official translation. The logo that appeared in their releases are actually written in Chinese.)
***sc: 军械所 en: Ordnance (It seems that Ordnance is the Main name.)
sc: 原罪 en: Original Sin (Official translation.)
sc: 超载 en: Overload (Official translation.)
***sc: 歇斯 en: Powell Young (It seems that currently the English name is the Main name.)
sc: 炼狱 en: Purgatory (Official translation.)
sc: 紫环 en: Purple Ring (Unofficial, translated by me when I submitted them.)
sc: 腥臭体液 en: Rammish Succus (Official translation.)
sc: 祭月奸尸 en: Raping Corpse to Sacrifice the Moon (Unofficial. Never heard of this name before it was submitted to MA. Guess the submitter translated the name into English.)
***sc: 弑主 en: Regicide (Although the band is widely known as 弑主 in China. Their logo that appeared on the albums are only written in English.)
sc: 人彘 en: RenChei (Official translation.)
sc: 复活 en: Resurrection (Unofficial)
sc: 施教日 en: Ritual Day (Official translation.)
sc: 散杀 en: (Official translation. The English name appeared on the demo, but is barely known among Chinese fans.)
***sc: 惊叫基督 en: Screaming Savior (The English name is the MAIN one.)
sc: 败血症 en: Septicaemia (Official translation.)
***sc: 灵迹 en: Spirit Trace (The band logo is only in English.)
sc: 春秋 en: Spring Autumn (NOTE: the official English translation should be Spring and Autumn.)
sc: 陈尸 en: Stale Corpse (Official translation.)
sc: 猝死 en: Sudden Death (Unofficial, translated by me when I submitted them.)
sc: 窒息 en: Suffocated (Official translation.)
sc: 唐朝 en: Tang Dynasty (Official translation.)
sc: 饕餮 en: Taotie (Unofficial, translated by me when I submitted them.)
sc: 长生天铁骑 en: Tengger Cavalry (Official translation.)
sc: 天幕落 en: Terminal Lost (Official translation.)
sc: 苔藓 en: Thallus (Official translation.)
sc: 暗狱戮尸 en: The Dark Prison Massacre (Official translation.)
sc: 末裔 en: The Last Successor (Unofficial, probably translated by the submitter.)
sc: 铁浮屠 en: Tiefutu (Official translation.)
sc: 战斧 en: Tomahawk (Official translation.)
***sc: 痛殇 en: Tomb Sound (Not sure which name is the main one. The logo resembles neither the Chinese or the English name.)
***sc: 哀嚎 en: Ululate (It seems that the English name is the MAIN one.)
sc: 胜战 en: Victorious War (Official translation.)
***sc: 肉噬性病毒 en: Virus of Predacity (It seems that the English name is the MAIN one, although the logo is written in Chinese.)
sc: 内脏缝合 en: Visceral Suture (Official translation.)
sc: 呕吐 en: Vomit (Unofficial translation.)
sc: 零壹 en: Voodoo Kungfu (official translation.)
sc: 暴君之狂怒 en: Wrath of Despot (Not sure if it's the official translation.)
sc: 英吉沙 en: Yn Gizarm (official translation.)

How would it be useful for us to transliterate a name if a non-speaker cannot pronounce it? We have transliterations to help the user to pronounce, as best as possible, the name of the band. Translations, on the other hand, are just a matter or trivia; or at least that's the case if the band does not release any albums with a translated name.

Both the transliterations and translations should be in the additional notes, but only the transliterations should be in the ANS. Exception is made for a band that has released albums with translated names.

I think we should always use the official translations and transliterations. If those are not available, then we can go for an unofficial one. Example, for Ария, I don't see a reason to add the transliteration "Ariya" if they are officially known as "Aria".

I am having an issue when removing certain ANS entries. After screwing it up in the past I have made it a habit to double-check that the entry I removed was not actually needed. So... well, I guess it's easier to show then to tell.

The band "Hark! It's a Crawling Tar-Tar" had an ANS reading "Hark! Its a Crawling Tar-Tar".
I removed it. Searching for "Hark! Its a Crawling Tar-Tar" still yields result.
http://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Har ... 3540338277

The band "Hate's Symphonies" had an ANS reading "Hates Symphonies".
I removed it. Searching for "Hates Symphonies" yields no result.
http://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Hat ... 3540294779

As far as I can see there is no difference in my edit... Both cases had an ANS where the only difference from the archived entry was the lack of an apostrophe... This has happened a few times, and I may just be overlooking something obvious, but right now I am pretty confused. As for now I have reinstated the ANS'es that I noticed acting up, so there should be no damage done.

So, can anyone tell me whether this is a bug, or if not; what I am overlooking?

It must be a bug. Post here if you come across more bands like that.

What the... I have no idea how the first one magically finds the match. I thought it could be that the engine is "smart" to guess that "its" could match "it's", but I ran some tests and I didn't reproduce the matching with other names.

I'll have to investigate this further, sorry. In the meantime it's best to assume that the version without apostrophes should be added to the ANS.

I have had several other entries acting up like this. I guess I can find them again pretty easily by looking at my modification history... But, for now, should I keep on doing what I've been doing (removing were it works, and leaving it were it doesn't) and just report any findings, or should I just leave it the hell alone for the time being until you figure out the underlying issue?

Edit: I apologize if I have ruined a few ANS fields in my confusion btw. At first I thought the search engines guessing was intentional, so I may very well have removed a few valid ones. I will try to backtrack and correct anything I've fiddled with before I realized what was happening.

Forgive the double post, but I also have an entirely unrelated question that I hope someone can answer. It may have been mentioned before, but I didn't spot it so, here goes.

What is the proper way to deal with bands that have numbers in their names? I notice a lot of bands having ANS's with the number spelled out in letters (ex. Band "100 Slain", ANS "One Hundred Slain", Link: http://www.metal-archives.com/bands/100_Suns/87700 )? And what about vica versa?

I would remove them.

That was directed at my last question I assume?

I, personally, agree. But is that the consensus of the mod's here?

Since I'm the only mod who posted here, you can wait a bit and see if someone else posts about it. If not, just consider it a consensus.

Depends on if a user is likely to search for the letter version of the name. But there's no harm in keeping it and it's not redundant, so why not just let it be?

Bug fixes:
-You can now search for bands, genres and songs with &, :, ? and ' on their name.
-Bands such as "Hate's Symphonies" can now be found if you search for "Hates Symphonies" as well.

Tweaks:
-Updates to band names/ANS/etc. only update the index within 30 seconds or so (to avoid constant rewrites of the index, which we suspected caused the constant breaks). So, if you remove an ANS and want to test the search, wait 30 seconds after your update to test.

Now is not valid to put "band (chl)"?

There are some bands with that

There was one band with (chl) as their alternate spelling. Removed.

Well, it was in general... but there are more bands with that. Moloch is an example, i reported to remove it but Inhuman_Nameless add it aggain.

Inhuman_Nameless shouldn't be doing that, either. Even if it's his own project, artists aren't exempt from the rules.

What about bands that have two different names because of language.
One is in Russian and the other is the English Version?

The second name can be added as an alternate spelling. The additional notes should also explain that the band has two names.

Just curious, will there be alternate spellings for albums at some point in the future? For instance, I went to the alternate spelling todo list and opened the last item on the list, a band from South Korea with the name "폐허". They have alternate spellings for the band name, but when you go to their band profile and look at the discography some titles are in Korean and some are in English.
Even worse, some song titles are in Korean and some are in English.
Any plans/ideas on what to do about this?

If an album or a song has more than one official name, just use a "/" between each name. Here is an example.

OK, so in other words, what we really need is for someone fluent in Korean to go in there and do that.
Too bad I only speak English - oh well. There's still a lot of other stuff I can do anyway.