In case you haven't noticed this on your way in - this discussion board is hosted on UltimateMetal.com, which is the same site that hosts the official forums for dozens of metal names we all know so well (love them or hate them)
Amon Amarth, Anthrax, Battleheart, Borknagar, CoB, Dark Tranquillity, Dragonlord, Evergrey, Hypocrisy, In Flames, Jag Panzer, Kalmah, Katatonia, Nevermore, Novembers Doom, Opeth, Orphaned Land, Skyfire, Spastic Ink/Watchtower, Spiral Architect, Steve DiGiorgio, Symphony X, Testament, Turisas, Vintersorg and many others find home for their forums on UltimateMetal.com.
Now that I suddenly find myself being able to reach out to such a well-managed chunk of a metal community (without having to maintain a dozen of different logins/forum engines) I might start using forums again
Make yourself comfortable, enjoy your stay!
Alex
/SV