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The Webernets

BAND NAME PRONUNCIATIONS

 Friday, February 5th, 2010 at 11:30am by

Cosmo Lee posted a fun piece the other day about band name pronunciations: “Let’s help each other out. Use English words and syllables to denote pronunciation, with all caps for syllabic stress. For example, Metallica’s bassist is Robert True-HEE-yo. Got it? Good.” Among the band names and metal personalities he explores are Marduk, Dan Swanö, Mikael Åkerfeldt and Peter Tägtgren. The European readers of Invisible Oranges are really helping out.

I’d like to add a couple more to the debate:

Necrophagist

Necro-FAY-jist? Neck-RAH-fuh-jist? Necro-FAH-jist?

Vader

VAY-der or VAH-der?

Are there any bands with awkwardly written (or foreign) names that you’re wondering how to pronounce? Posit your theories in the comments.

-VN

Tags: , ,
  • ripptuff

    neck RAH fuh jjist

    like esophagus
    or metropolis

  • ripptuff

    also i have heard muhammed himself say necro- FAY- jist

    but hes wrong

    • Facebook User

      …you just told the leader of the band that he’s pronouncing it wrong?

      • SonOF

        hahhaha I was thinking the same thing.

        ripptuff: keep saying, “neck RAH fuh jjist,” no one will know what band you are referring to, and you will generally sound like a tard..but if it makes you happy..

        • ripptuff

          i think it falls under the” stressing the ante-penultimate” rule.

          check out the roots in which this “word’ is derived from too.

          other than that i kinda feels natural for me to say that

          i have no problem sounding like a happy tard

          as long as im correct

  • Cryzthormagnusian

    Hmmm, I have a couple.

    Kyuss, KEY-yoos? Ki-yus?

    Satyricon. Is it just the combination of the words Satyr and Icon? Or do they blend together making a similer but differently pronouced word?

    • Ahab

      i fell into the kyuss trap the other day, some clarification would be nice.

      • Phil Anshlomo

        it’s kye-us, it’s in the intro to their greatest hits album.

        • Matthew Grant Anson

          Phil is right.

        • SourDeez

          Layyyy back, and strrretch your sack…

          • http://www.hatespire.com Nymik

            it’s like keywass

  • Rudi Vargas

    Naglfar

    • Dexter_prog

      Nagl-far

      • Gunnar

        NA-guhl-far

  • Phil Anshlomo

    oh, i get it.

    like this: insane clown posse would be fuk-ing payne-ted ree-tards

    • Eye of Newt

      This.

  • Me

    Metallica: Metal-lika? ME-tall-ika? me-ta-lika?

    • Zoker

      MEH – tallica

      • http://www.heavyblogisheavy.com/ Alkahest

        win.

      • orbital

        hah!

        • slavetothegrinder

          wi nnn

  • Fasshole

    Celtic Frost, not Seltic Frost.

    NecroFAYgist.

    And when has there ever been any question about Vader? They are named after Darth.

    • lordassenfroth

      tom fisher himself has pronounced it both ways, i think this one is more subjective

      • Facebook User

        Tom Fisher is austrian, so he can’t even speak german properly, let alone english!
        But no disrespect to his music.

    • Kuranes

      There was the SOD song “Celtic Frost” in which Billy Milano says “Whatever happened to Seltic Frost?”

      Scott Ian and the rest of those meatheads are sports fans so they’re probably using the “Boston Celtics” pronunciation. But if it’s not really a hard ‘C’ then I think Celtic Frost are stupid.

    • Biff_Tannen

      No shit… Vader has said many times in interviews that the inspiration came from Darth Vader.
      Its becoming painfully obvious that the majority of the contributers to this site have been into metal for a very short period of time

      • Fasshole

        The only time i have ever seen the “C” pronounced as an “S” is when it’s part of a spots teams name. Other than that, it’s a hard c.

      • Andy Synn

        I like to draw random conclusions from vague data too.

        It’s not like it’s possible for people to be less aware of certain bands than others now is it?

  • Ivol

    How the f@$% do i pronounce Coalesce and Kylesa?

    • Phil Anshlomo

      ko-a-less

      fuck if i know the other.

      • Stiggs

        Ki-Lay-Sah.

        • SourDeez

          Nah, it’s Ky-lease-uh. I’m pretty sure anyway.

          • grammartwo

            Coalesce is a word for fuck’s sake. Open a dictionary or read a book.

            Kylesa is Ky-LESS-uh.

    • yetzer hara

      ko-uh-less

      kye-less-uh

    • max

      Coalesce is a standard English word so you can find that in the dictionary.

      Kylesa is like yetzer says. Kai-les-uh

      • Pete

        Kai-less-uh

  • lordassenfroth

    im not sure if theres a band named this but its in alot of songs and lovecraftian lore…

    cthulu is it Ca THU loo or ca TOO loo ive seen is spelt ctulu also

    • Phil Anshlomo

      it’s ka-too-loo, the h is silent.

      win for the lovecraft reference!!

      • lordassenfroth

        speaking of lovecraft, another one would be nyarlathotep

        is it: Na-YAR-la-tho-tep, YAR-la-tho-tep or NAR-la-tho-tep

        • http://www.conorschaefer.com/blog/ Conor

          NYAR-lat-HO-tep. The “hotep” ending has to be so, like Amenhotep, etc.

      • Biff_Tannen

        You need to refer to Lovecraft’s letters and correspondance to get the correct pronunciation for his creations. It is certainly not ka-too-loo, though. I know how to say it, but cant type it correctly. There are some muffled throat sounds involved…..

        • jackattack

          There’s multiple pronunciations you, asshat. You’re so full of shit it’s becoming painful.

          • Tj

            Actually Biff is right, Lovecraft himself described it as “the closet the human mouth can come to pronouncing it right”, it’s actually closer to ‘cgthul – hoo’ the fist word all one syllable, you almost have to choke it out. He was tryi8ng to mimic an alien language, you can’t pronounce it with the same sound rules you use for English, it sounds silly then. It’s like when you read Japanese, it isn’t right in english becuase the sound rules are just different.

    • Kuranes

      Lovecraft never endorsed a silent “h” in Cthulhu. I always pronounce “Nyarlathotep” as “Nee-yar-la-tho-tep”, which is also how The Darkest Of The Hillside Thickets do in their song of the same name (sung in Middle Egyptian, no less).

      Speaking of Nyarlathotep, here’s my t-shirt design featuring the Messenger of the Outer Gods:

      http://www.printfection.com/ArkhamBrewingCompany/Nyarlathotep-The-Crawling-Chaos-T-Shirt/_p_2083770

    • Boob

      I think Lovecraft meant for it to be a word that human’s are unable to pronounce.

      But I think ke-THOO-LOO is the most common, no?

      I actually always thought the C was silent, making it THOO-LOO, which is why it is sometimes spelled Tulu or Thu Thu, but I guess not.

  • James

    here’s one for ya kiddies…

    Anaal Nakrath

    you tell me. cause i have no effin clue

    • Me

      you mean Anaal Nathrakh?

      I thought of it as a soft A, so not like anal.

      • yetzer hara

        Uh-noll Nuh-thrack

    • Facebook User

      Buttsecks

    • Fasshole

      an-al nath-rak

    • Bef

      It’s from the movie Excalibur, I think there’s a sample on one of the albums where you can hear Merlin chanting the name.

      • tman

        anal nutsack…thats how i pronounce it at least

        • Andy Synn

          I saw them on Saturday eve, and their pronunciation was hard A- n-soft double A
          (almost drawled really) and then Nathrakh pronounced hard as you’d expect.

  • Chimp-O-Neg

    I used to say “Mah – Dook” until someone laughed and said “Mah-DUCK!!”.

    I think mine sounds cooler though.

    • Fasshole

      yours is right as well

  • joshkid

    Chimaira: KY-MAI-ra, KY-MI-ra, KI-MAI-ra, KI-MI-ra. I know that it’s pronounced KY-MI-ra, but it took me a while to figure out how to pronounce it.

    • nathan

      Being they started as a shitty nu-metal band, they spell it wrong. The real pronunciation is kī-ˈmir-ə.
      KAI-MIR-A

      • Edika

        Well the true pronounciationn of Chimaira (being a greek word) is hi-meh-ra with a hard h!

    • SonOF

      It’s actually more like KI-MARE-UH

      I have heard people say shit like CHIM-EERA, which is way the hell off.

  • http://thenumberoftheblog.wordpress.com/ groverXIII

    I’ve always pronounced Vader like Darth Vader, simply because my brain cannot fathom doing it any other way.

    And I know that DÅÅTH pronounce their name with a flat A, but with the Ås it should be pronounced Doath, much like the beginning of ‘ocean’.

    • http://www.heavyblogisheavy.com/ Alkahest

      I always assumed DAATH to be, well, “Dahth”

    • Dwarfskeet

      Well, the band named themselves after the sith lord himself, so it’s definitely Vader. VAY-DER.

      • Sacajawea

        Daath Vader

        • http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.channel&contributorid=19569360 Garske

          +9001 Galactic Credits

          • http://thenumberoftheblog.wordpress.com/ groverXIII

            OVER 9000?!?!

          • Michiel

            Do a barrel roll.

    • jtquake

      99% sure Daath is pronounced like some “o” sounds, a la “Goth.”

      (dawth, almost)

  • kelfro

    Eluveitie?

    Is it el-VAY-tee?

    • http://myspace.com/wearecarnevil AEnema175

      El-oo-veh-tie. that’s how one of the members said it in an interview so for their sake i hope its right.

      • Kuranes

        “Eluveitie” and the font “Helvetica” are both named from the same Swiss Gaulish tribe. Now you know… the rest of the story.

        • steve

          Helvetica would have been a better band name.

          • bretton

            shit, I’m gonna call my band “times new roman”

    • http://www.facebook.com/people/Rik-Powell/286400508 Rik Powell

      El-way-tee, apparently. Fuck knows how, that’s crazy foreign languages for you I guess.

    • Dexter_prog

      The band has stated is is pronounce “el-by-tee” (by would be using a “v”, actually)

      • Dexter_prog

        *it is pronounced

    • Hellblasr

      I always wondered how to pronounce it. I heard one of the band members say it el-WAY-tee but then another one say el-oo-vay-tee

      • http://myspace.com/antaresmusicny Andrew

        I’ve heard most of their band members pronounce it El-oo-weh-tee-eh, but if you say it like that, and you’re American, people are going to probably just punch you in the face. So even though I know how it’s SUPPOSED to be pronounced, I still say El-oo-veh-tee-ay

    • Jacob

      i’ve heard a couple different pronunciations, on the live album when they’re introducing themselves there’s more of a w than a v sound, and it sounds most like ell-way-tee almost, so i just always hurry the shit out of it when i say it so that no one can tell properly what i’m saying.

  • Viking_xxx

    Be’Lakor?

    Is it Bee lakor, bell akor, or something else?

    • Mark

      I always presumed it was “beh-lah-core”, but now that I think about it, it could be “beh-lake-ore”… I’m going for my first choice…

  • Skeletonwitchcraft

    byzantine

    biz uh teen

    • Kuranes

      Biz-un-teen

      • Phil Anshlomo

        i’ve always heard buy-zan-teen
        not saying it’s right though.

        • http://www.facebook.com/people/Rik-Powell/286400508 Rik Powell

          Surely it’s just by-zan-tine?

  • Skeletonwitchcraft

    one i hear diffrent a lot

    celtic frost

    pretty sure its prounced like it should be spelled keltic, not like the boston celtics

  • Dale

    Mors Principium Est?

    • http://www.facebook.com/people/Rik-Powell/286400508 Rik Powell

      It’s Latin and Latin always seems to be pronounced exactly as it looks (not that that’s correct, but I don’t think anyone really knows how to pronounce Latin any more)

      • Isaac

        The “c” is pronounced like a “k,” so it would read, “Mors Prinkipium Est.”

        • jtquake

          Are you sure?

          Principium here means “first,” as in, “death comes first.”

          This makes me think that the “c” is soft, as in principle, or incipient.

          • moterola4

            The letter ‘c’ in Latin is always hard (/k/). The softening is (I think) a result of influence from the Romance languages. Similarly, the consonantal ‘v’ is pronounced /w/, and ‘g’ always hard (/g/). If you want to read more, the Wikipedia article on ‘Latin Spelling and Pronunciation’ has great detail.

            P.S.: ‘veni vidi vici’ = ‘way-nee wee-dee wee-kee’

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Sanskar-Wagley/1376400331 Sanskar Wagley

    Anathema and Jesu

    • Biff_Tannen

      How the hell can you not pronounce Anathema ?

      Uh-nath-ema (ema, like the girl name)

      • Mark

        There does seem to be a lot of confusion over Anathema. I consider them one of my favourite bands of all-time, but for about two years I mispronounced their name as “anna-THEME-ah”, which I’ve heard a lot of people say. But yeah, it is “ah-NATH-emma”. At least that’s how their lead vocalist pronounces it onstage, so it’s a safe bet!

        • Deaner

          I’ve heard it pronounce ana-TEM-ah

    • jackattack

      Yay-zoo.

  • Future Ruins

    IHSAHN

    EYE-SAUGHN?

    ISH-IN?

    • Biff_Tannen

      Eye-Sahn

      • http://www.facebook.com/people/Rohit-Gupta/666005820 Rohit Gupta

        Ihsahn is actually a Hindu name for males. It means sun. We pronounce it as ee-shaan.

  • JW Gacy

    Akercocke (actually I know this one, but it’s fun to see people try and pronounce it)

    Ayreon

    Bal-Sagoth

    Agalloch

    Bodom (bottom or boe-tum)

    Chthonic

    Heavils (like heavy?)

    Leng Tch’e

    Spylacopa

    Yyrkoon (wft?)

    • JW Gacy

      I just noticed Spylocopa backwards is Apocalyps

    • Biff_Tannen

      its BO-DUMB

      or, children of bordem

    • Kuranes

      Yyrkoon named themselves after the character from Michael Moorcock’s Elric series. It’s pronounced “yeer-KOON”. Agalloch is a kind of incense and it’s pronounced AG-uh-lok.

    • Discipleofthewatch

      Akercocke?! Oh, man.

      I’ve heard Mr. Laiho pronounce his band more like boo-dm, “Bodom.” (Silent night, Bodom Night!) But either way is acceptable. My aunt, not a metal fan, has called that band “Children of Boredom,” much to my amusement.

      And how DO you pronounce Yrkoon?!

      • Gunnar

        ear-coon

    • Justin

      Ball Saggeth

      just kidding…

      • http://myspace.com/antaresmusicny Andrew

        If you listen to the Tokyo Warhearts album, Laiho calls them Children of Boo-dum…stupid. I’ve always pronounced Agalloch: Aa-gah-lok (I’m from NY, so I have a habit of sounding my A’s like Fran Drescher)

    • http://www.facebook.com/people/Jason-John-Crispen/100000169530540 Jason John Crispen

      heavils is Heh vuls like “heavy” my buddy was friends with the band and that’s how they said it. always though it rhymed with “evils” myself. but that was wrong!

    • SourDeez

      Does the first part of Akercocke rhyme with hacker or maker? I usually say it rhyming with hacker. But with a British accent of course, because they’re so British it’s ridiculous.

      • steve

        I heard it pronounced like this. Aker- rhymes with hacker. then cock-a- rhymes with rocka. Stress the “cock” syllable.

    • SonOF

      Children of BOH-DEM…I have heard people say BAHDEM, but the band members don’t pronounce it like that, and I think it sounds dumb.

    • wolfgoose

      Leng Tch’e = leng shay. It’s an ancient Chinese execution method commonly called “death by a thousand cuts.”

  • Chief

    Kylesa?

    • Discipleofthewatch

      see above discussion for kylesa.

      • Chief

        EYE-AMM-STOO-PID

  • Discipleofthewatch

    Kalmah?

    • Dexter_prog

      Latin is usually pronunced as it is read in any language. For example, my mother tongue is Spanis: It’s been discussed in the official forums. It’s old Finish and the closest pronounciation would be something like “kahl-moh” (yeah, “moh” and not “mah”)

  • Moose_Knuckle

    Celphalic carnage, different people i know pronounce it in different ways. Its not a hard one though

    • http://www.facebook.com/people/Rohit-Gupta/666005820 Rohit Gupta

      I think first you might want to spell the band’s name correctly.

    • Biff_Tannen

      Seph-Fall-ick Carnage

      • SonOF

        SEH-PHAL-IC

  • Mike

    my first encounter with that problem was Chimaira, lol

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Rohit-Gupta/666005820 Rohit Gupta

    Hacride?

    Nachtmystium?

    Nadja?

    Ulver? It looks simple but I’ve heard a couple different pronunciations.

    • Biff_Tannen

      Nacht-mist-ee-um ( this is a really easy one…)
      Ulver ??? How can there possible be a discussion of this one ?
      its UL-VER….. how else have you heard it pronounced

      • http://www.facebook.com/people/Rohit-Gupta/666005820 Rohit Gupta

        ool-Vair

        • Biff_Tannen

          Really ? I’ve never heard that…. hmm

        • SourDeez

          Was the person pronouncing Ulver that way French? Because that sounds entirely French.

    • \m/

      Hacride is a French band — and as such, in concerts they introduce themselves using the French accent, for what it’s worth.

      So that would be “ACK-RRREED”, with the “RRR” rolled in the throat like any regular French “R”, not the one you swallow and sounds like a “W”.

      Note that it is in no fucking way a French word. (Or English, for that matter, unless I’m mistaken.)

  • some girl

    it’s sad that several of you are struggling with band names that are english words. and vader? why was there ever a question about that?

    what about drudkh? the pronunciation of sanskrit words is something that continues to escape me.

    • Biff_Tannen

      It is sad !!! How can someone not pronounce Anathema !?
      Drudkh, Im not sure… and Im sure 99% of these people on this site have no idea who this great band is.

      I’ve always pronounced it : Drood-Kuh

  • no-ghost

    tomato

    Toe-may-toe?
    Tow-mah-doh?

    please help.

    • Eye of Newt

      Let’s call the whole thing off.

      • jtquake

        hahahah funny. win.

  • http://ihatejade.com/?id=1japi3153329oacnd59ftmp5ve6x2l jesus on the dashboard

    I know this is a really embarrassing question but i can never remember
    Sepultura:
    sep-ul-trah
    sep-ul-too-rah

    • Biff_Tannen

      The second one is close
      its actually :
      Sep-ul-toor-rah

      • Dexter_prog

        It’s sep-ul-too-rah (not “toor-rah”, that would be 2 rs and it would sound harsh, it’s a soft R)

        • Biff_Tannen

          That’s not what I’ve heard in inteviews with the band. I’ve always distinctly heard the extra R pronounced after the ‘too’

          Or, perhaps the R comes in the 3rd syllable, not the 4th ?
          as in:

          Sep-ul-toor-ah

          • Dexter_prog

            If the word is meant as in Spanish/Portuguese, then it’s the way I say it. The place where the R is doesn’t change a thing, as long as it is one R. The purpose is to pronounce it as a whole: sepoolturah

          • Deaner

            There is a Mars Volta song in which the word sepultura is pronounced: seh-PULL-trah.

            I don’t know if that has any relevance to the pronounciation of the band, but food for thought. The lead singer speaks Spanish too, so there is legitimacy to this.

          • Anticosmic

            sep-ul (rhymes with pool) – toor – ah

          • Beelzebozo

            Actually, Deaner, he’s saying “Sepulchres.”

      • george

        Seh-PUL-cher-uh, or so I have thought since about 1992… it’s hard to write out the “pul”; it’s like you swallow the “u,” putting it somewhere between “pool” and “Paul,” I guess…

  • Dexter_prog

    It’s “necro-pha-jist”. Here’s the first half of the world: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/necrophagous

  • kazz

    Torche.

    Torch, torch-ay, tor-shay?

    • SourDeez

      Torch-gay.

      • Deaner

        Either “Torsh” or “Torch”

        Definitely not “Torch-ay” or “Tor-shay”

        • SonOF

          Pretty sure it’s just torch.

  • http://Myspace.com/laconic Laconic

    Swedish metal band vildhjarta. Does anyone have any clue how to say that my guess is veel- harta but who knows. Any Swedish peeps out there?

    • Dexter_prog

      I’m learning Swedish. It’s pronounced “Vild-ee-ar-ta” (vild = wild, hjärta = heart). Most Js in Swedish are pronunced like the I in “bingo”

      • orbital

        Most J’s are pronounced like a Y in Swedish.

    • orbital

      vil-year-tah

  • Ian

    Nachtmystium?

    Nach-mystium with a silent t?

    • kazz

      No silent letters.

      Nacht-mist-ee-um, as said above.

    • Biff_Tannen

      No, the “T” is not silent. Its a pretty easy to pronounce German word

      • Biff_Tannen

        Nacht is pronounced like:

        Knock-T

        • Phil Anshlomo

          “Knocked” actually.

          • Biff_Tannen

            huh ? Its a strong ‘T’, why would it be pronounced like a ‘D’ ?

          • Phil Anshlomo

            well you don’t say knock-tuh or nahtched, you say knocked. it’s a t, but comes off the german tongue as knocked.
            Nacht means night in German. my great-grandmother was from germany and that’s how she said it anyway.

          • Phil Anshlomo

            i mean you don’t say knock-duh in english, know what i mean?

      • Biff_Tannen

        Yeah, I get what you are saying. We both pronounce it right, I think we are just spelling it differently phonetically ! I certainly don’t pronounce the “T” as “tuh”. I just put the “T” at the end of ‘Knock’ to show that the “T” is not silent as the previous poster thought.
        Now that I re-read it, I supposed “Knocked” is the sound that I was going for

  • blkmetal

    How do you pronounce the Swedish Viking metal band Thryfing?

    • orbital

      Tir-Fing

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Hayden-Nease/675398726 Hayden Nease

    I had a Between the Buried and Me jacket on, but the “B” of “Between” had been worn off.
    One person, upon reading it, said “Who is EHtween the Buried and Me?”

    • Mark

      First time I saw Testament artwork it was faded around the edges. I thought to myself “who the fuck are Estamen?!” Ah to be young and stupid…

  • http://www.facebook.com/home.php?filter=nf#/profile.php?ref=profile&id=1036866088 Ana FuckYouToo

    What about Keep of Kalessin, Gojira, Neaera, Chimaira?

    • Phil Anshlomo

      I know 2:
      Go-gee-ra (the japanese name for godzilla, watch it in japanese, you’ll hear it)
      Ky-mare-ah (the mythical beast of greek legend)

      • http://www.facebook.com/home.php?filter=nf#/profile.php?ref=profile&id=1036866088 Ana FuckYouToo

        Thanks man.

      • Eye of Newt

        Go-jee-ra

      • Ell

        ‘Gojira’ is actually French, so the J is pronounced like the S in ‘casual’.

        And I’m pretty sure it’s ky-MEER-ah, but I guess either works.

    • Biff_Tannen

      Keep of CAL-eh-sin

  • Ian

    Dimmu Borgir

    Dim-mu Bor-jir?
    Dim-mu Bor-gir?

    I think its the j sound.

  • cougar party

    Piss Turkey.

    piss-turkey.

    • Deaner

      peace Toorrk-eye

      I think it’s Finnish.

  • nathan

    Turisas

    tour-ee-ses

    ter-ee-sis

    any idea’s?

    • http://www.facebook.com/home.php?filter=nf#/profile.php?ref=profile&id=1036866088 Ana FuckYouToo

      I have another one, Isis?

      • Biff_Tannen

        Eye- Sis

    • Mark

      Tuh-ree-ses, I think. Could be horribly wrong though!

    • Eye of Newt

      The band says it Too-ree-sauce

  • Phil Anshlomo

    all these Scandinavian metal bands. where’s the Swedish chef when you need him????

    • nathan

      bork bork bork.

      Random fact of the day, the Swedish Chef is the only Muppet with human hands.

    • orbital

      LOL, us Swedes have metal and hot girls nailed down. How the fuck did the muppets end up with a chef that’s Swedish considering Sweden isn’t a culinary super power like say Italy or France. Or is that the joke?

  • http://myspace.com/antaresmusicny Andrew

    Ensiferum

    I always thought it was En-sif-er-um. But I met the dude in Dublin once, and he said, it was En-see-fear-um…then walked away. Douchebag.

    A couple that I have questions with:

    Suidakra
    (Soo-da-kra or Swee-da-kra)

    Thurisaz

    Tristania
    (Tris-tah-nee-ah or Tris-tan-ee-uh)

    • nathan

      It’s as the Irishman said it. Thats also how they said it when i saw them at Summer Slaughter.

    • http://www.facebook.com/home.php?filter=nf#/profile.php?ref=profile&id=1036866088 Ana FuckYouToo

      Tris-tah-nee-ahh is correct.

    • nathan

      Thurisaz (pronounced Thoo-ree-sawz) is the third rune of the Futhark and of Freya’s Aett. It represents the TH sound for which there is no English letter equivalent. But in phonetics there is the (Thorn) symbol for it, which is a mediaeval variant of the rune.

      • http://myspace.com/antaresmusicny Andrew

        I know this is really nerdy, but I enjoyed getting the history lesson on that one (no sarcasm). Thanks man

    • Discipleofthewatch

      I saw Ensiferum in concert recently, and one of them pronounced their own band name En-SIF-fer-um. They were wearing kilts.

      • Mark

        Unless they take their time to pronunciate it syllable-by-syllable, it’s really hard to hear a difference between “en-sif-er-um” and “en-see-fer-um”… same with whether the third syllable is pronounced “fer” or “fear”. I personally say “en-sih-fear-um”. Most of the time…

  • rupert

    Kreator – Cree-a-tor

  • Itheus

    Brenoritvrezorkre I would imagine is a tough one.

    Dødheimsgard

    Taake (take? tah-kee?)

    And of course…Paracoccidioidomicosisproctitissarcomucosis

    • B. Ewing

      im wondering about TAAKE as well.

      i was thinking TOK but im definitely not sure at all

  • Leprosy

    Meshuggah

    i always hear people say meh-shoe-gah and others say meh-sug-a-nah.

    deicide

    is it de-ah-side or day-ah-side

    demiricous

    krisiun

    myrkskog

    obscura

    viraemia

    • http://myspace.com/antaresmusicny Andrew

      Mashugana (spelling?) is Italian slang for someone who’s crazy (i.e. he’s a little mashugana) – the band is spelled Mah-shu-gah

      I believe Dee-ah-side is correct

      Kris-ee-un

      ob-skyoor-ah

      (sorry, I don’t know proper spelling for syllables)

      • fester

        Meshuggener (pronounced meshuggenah) is most certainly not italian slang. It’s straight Yiddish. As is the related word “meshuggah”. Italian, my god. You must be crazy.

        • http://www.facebook.com/people/Jason-John-Crispen/100000169530540 Jason John Crispen

          yeah, it’s yiddish. like a schlep, or schtickle of something. or being verklempt. coffee talk with linda richman

  • The M_F Beard

    Korn ?

    Tool ?

    Snot ?

    I have trouble with all of these pronunciations.

    • SourDeez

      It makes sense that you can’t pronounce Korn, they threw that K in there instead of a C and it just fucks with everyone’s head. I believe the correct pronunciation is “doosh-mun-churr”.

  • lordassenfroth

    this was a fun game. i you win the joke.

  • Kye

    The singer from Necrophagist has said many times that you can pronounce it however you want. Which seems like he probably doesn’t know how it’s pronounced either. I just say Neckrahfuhjist cause it rolls off the tongue easier.

    Vader is Vader…

    Some of the ones I tend to hear people get confused about a lot are Dir en Grey(which doesn’t seem that hard to me), Dimmu Borgir, Drudkh(why do these all start with D?), Windir, and (obviously) SunnO))).

    • Discipleofthewatch

      Yeah, how do you say SunnO))) ?! Sun OJ?

      • Kye

        Just Sun. I’ve heard Atilla pronounce it SunO before, but seeing as he’s not technically a member, I’m not relying at that. Especially since he usually says Sun anyway.

    • Eye of Newt

      In Japan, they pronounce it “Dee-ru ahn Gu-ray”, but whatever.

      • Deaner

        Speaking of Japanese pronunciations, I saw a Red Hot Chili Peppers dvd that documented a trip to Japan, and the Japanese fans were like:

        “We ruv ooh-red-ooh hort-eh ooh-chirri-uh pepp-oo-aas”

        good times

  • Eye of Newt

    Meutley Crew-eh

  • SourDeez

    What about Akercocke? The cocke part is obvious but I never know if the first part is supposed to rhyme with hacker or maker.

  • John_Locke

    Any thoughts on Aenima, the Tool record? And while we’re on the Tool subject, how bout some of their songs…

    Parabol

    Parabola

    Schism

    Faaip de Oiad

    Viginti Tres

    • SonOF

      AHN (ON)-EH-MA

      Parabola is a regular English word, puh-rab-uh-luh
      Parabol I have always pronounced as par-uh-buhl (like the word “parable,” meaning story)..Like the Tool word “Aenima” is a combination of “animus” and “enema,” I believe that “parabol” is a combination of “parabola” and “parable.”

      “Schism” is also a regular English word, but a tough one. The acceptable pronunciation is “skiz-um,” but originally it was “siz-uhm”..both are correct. I think it’s interesting that there is a schism between the two schools of thought regarding the pronunciations of the word “schism!” Oh man, that is some great stuff for an English teacher nerd like myself. ;)

      “The word schism, which was originally spelled scisme in English, is traditionally pronounced (sĭz’əm). However, in the 16th century the word was respelled with an initial sch in order to conform to its Latin and Greek forms. From this spelling arose the pronunciation (skĭz’əm). Long regarded as incorrect, it became so common in both British and American English that it gained acceptability as a standard variant”

      as for the others, I’m not quite sure. I would probably go with Vig-In-tee trace (like Spanish “3″), but I have no idea..the second word could be “trey” like in French…as for “Faaip de Oiad,” I might say FOP-DAY-OH-ID (or AD?) but it could be WAAAAY off…I’ve never used those titles in conversation, I would refer to them as those noise/instrumental tracks off “Aenema” or from “10,000 Days”

      • John_Locke

        Thanx for the in-depth response. I really appreciate that. Keep up the Englis teaching job. Sounds like it’s paying off. I could be wrong, but I think I heard from somewhere that Viginti Tres has some kind of Italian origin. Dunno. I’ll look into it. Thanx again.

  • B. Ewing

    Den Saakaldte

    Urgehal

  • Utmu

    The above discussion (argument) didn’t really help:

    Meshuggah

    MESH-ugg-ah?
    me-SHUG-gah?

    I’ve wondered this… and it bugs the Hell outta’ me.

    • jackattack

      meh-sug (like sugar)-uh.

      • Utmu

        I get that, it’s just the emphasis I’m having problems with, I’ve heard it both ways posted above…

    • SonOF

      “me-SHUG-gah?”

      that’s correct as far as I know. I don’t know anyone who pronounces their name with the emphasis on the “MESH.”

  • slavetothegrinder

    enseferum or en si ferum????????????????????????????????????????????

  • Rachel

    Korpiklaani?
    Zyklon?- Maybe I’m overthinking this one.
    Therion?- I may be overthinking this one too.

    • jackattack

      Korpiklanni is just like it looks. Core-pick-laah-knee.

    • Jacob

      Just my opinion on Korpiklaani, I’ve always pronounced it core-pi (like pit without a t, or pill without ll)-claw-knee
      Zi-claw-n. but said smoothly. and that zi is like sigh, but with a z. zighclawn.

  • Facebook User

    Lyfthrasyr. I believe they actually say liff thrass er

  • dapriate

    necro-GAY-jist

  • Finn

    How about Eläkeläiset? Eh-lae-ke-laej-set?

  • Ahmed

    can i ask if anyone knows how to pronounce agalloch??

    • SonOF

      looks like there are two pronunciations for “agalloch” (uh-gal-uhk and ag-uh-lok)

      I’ve always used that first one, uh-gal-uhk, although the second one is interesting..

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/John-Anderson/576580493 John Anderson

    even though this is a fun piece deicide was one i always had trouble with to start with , how the hell can you pronounce vader wrongly? thatsjust stupid

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Zach-Gates/14209777 Zach Gates

    Arghoslent: AR-go-slent?

    Agalloch: AH-gah-lock?

    Oceano: Oh-shee-AH-no?

    • SonOF

      Agalloch: uh-gal-uhk and ag-uh-lok seem to both be correct, although I use that first one

      and your Oceano pronunciation is correct

      don’t know about that first band.

  • Noobie Mcnoob

    When I saw Akercoke live they said Ake like Ache so it was Acher-Cockie.

  • Rabiddonut

    Its Necro-fay-jist

    also id like to know is trevor strnad pronounced

    SCHRAD or SCHR-NAD.

  • Deathexplosion

    Dan Swano = Dawn ZZZZ-von-oh

    Vintersorg = Winter-sorg

    Mikael Akerfeldt = Meek-ale Oak-er-feld

    Celtic Frost = Kel-tick Frost(fuck anyone who says otherwise)

    Ulver = ooohl-ware

  • mr. poops

    how do you pronounce Elysia?

  • Natsquatch

    I don’t know if it’s already been asked, but I’m not about to scroll through 200+ comments for something so trivial.

    Zyklon. Is it Zy-KLAHN or Zy-KLONE?

    • SonOF

      ZY-KLAHN, like the stuff they used in WW2

    • Deathexplosion

      the word is pronnounced Zy-klahn but the band pronounces it Zy-clone

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/John-Anderson/576580493 John Anderson

    do they teach english in America ? lol the pronunciations i have seen here are shocking especially those bands of a persuasion outside of north america.

  • Nick

    Since Muhammad said you can pronounce “Necrophagist” however you want, I just pronounce it:

    BAY-bee RAY-per

  • Deathmetalmario

    Tsjuder and Tjolgtjar

  • Brutal Bee

    Arsis?

    Are-sis?
    Air-Sis?

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Thom-Blackburn/1462950043 Thom Blackburn

    in german it’s pronounced ne(like never)-kro(like the bird)-fa(like follow)-gist(like guest), means eater of the dead, wikipedia that shit

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000625075643 Jordasmic Oliverclothesoff

    OH, SHIT!!! You know about Diru?!… o: