Welcome to the 9th Diamhea Memorial Review Challenge!

Originally the "MA Virgin Reviews Challenge," this is a time-honored tradition among our reviewers here. Every spring and autumn, reviewers are encouraged to spend a week writing and submitting as many quality reviews as possible. The challenge is focused on virgin albums: those with no reviews so far. Every day, the reviews submitted and accepted are tallied, so that participants can see how they compare with one another and whether or not as a group we've been able to beat the accumulative totals. Previous challenges can be found here.

The challenge is named in memory of our friend Diamhea, a longtime contributor to this challenge and staff member here at Metal Archives, who sadly passed away on May 21, 2018. He was the first person to have ever written 100 reviews for a single challenge!

This challenge will run from Monday Jun 6 @ 12:00AM EST to Sunday Jun 12 @ 11:59PM EST.

The magic number to beat is 609. That was set in May 2009. It's high but we can beat it.
The second number to beat is 374. That was the total from the last challenge!

Challenge Rules

1. The focus is on virgin albums.
The only albums that count are those that had zero reviews prior to the challenge.

2. Every release listed on the main site is valid including singles, videos, boxed sets and so on.
However, please try to refrain from mass reviewing singles and 'best of' compilations for this challenge. That's lame.

3. Eligible releases have to be virgins at the beginning of the challenge.
Multiple people can review the same virgin. There’s no bonus for getting to it first, so no need to hurry – focus on quality instead.

4. Eligible reviews must have been written during the challenge.
Taking notes is fine, but avoid stockpiling already written reviews in advance.

5. Value quality over quantity!
Everyone is welcome to participate, but keep in mind that the mods won't be more lenient during the challenge.

6. The challenge abides by the default time of the site (Eastern Standard time or GMT-5).
Please ensure that you are submitting your review(s) within the right time frame in order for them to count.

7. The total number of reviews written will be tallied once a day (under normal circumstances).
I will do the tallying as soon as possible. Please don't nag me.

8. Stay cordial and respectful with one another.
Don't hijack this thread with petty arguments or whining. Remember that the mods are watching (and waiting)...

9. The only reward is our eternal appreciation.
The only prize is knowing that there is an album that previously didn't get any love... that now has a review to call its own.

Hall of Fame




The Metal Archives Review Pool

Not sure what to write a review for, or want a change of pace outside of your comfort zone? The Review Pool may be the answer!

The Review Pool is a list of virgin albums submitted by other reviewers for anyone to review during the challenge. Anyone who has at least 5 reviews on MA can submit a virgin album to be included in the pool (just send me a PM with the album name) and I'll include it in the list below. Keep in mind, if it's no longer a virgin before the challenge begins, I will have to remove it. Reviewers interested in using the Review Pool can review any of the albums in the list during the challenge, even if someone else has reviewed it before them. There's no limit.

You can choose your own band, but be aware that reviews may be quite critical and we won't tolerate people whining/begging about scores.

The Review Pool List:

• Archaize - In Dusk We Trust
• Boötes Void - C.O.L.D.
• Cormano - Weird Tales
• Dark Star - Real to Reel
• Dream Tröll - Realm of the Tormentör
• Fat Grass - Shadows
• Jarda - Rockaine
• Slow Machine - Black Tide
• The Ring - Imaginator
• Virgins of the Seven Seas - The Sacrificed Tape

Have fun! Looking forward to your participation!

I'll definitely try again to clinch that 3rd place (and spot in the hall of fame lol) I narrowly missed last challenge - more likely for next December though, I expect this June to be pretty much hell on earth for me. I'll aim for a max of half dozen write-ups just not to lose touch.

Great! Should have plenty of time for this one.

Aiming to get some solid participation in this one. I haven't gotten to go as hard as I would like in some time.

I'll see how many I can squeeze in this time, had some personal stuff messing with my schedule for much of this year, hence my heavily decreased output up until now.

I don't want to sound stupid for saying this, but I've never done one of these before so I figured I would ask this question while I'm deciding if I want to participate this time around. Can I use unfinished drafts from any time period to be submitted during the challenge, so long as I finish the drafts during the time period of the review challenge? I was just wondering because I have multiple drafts for applicable albums for this challenge that have been in My Reviews as drafts for years now, the oldest being around two years old at this point. Do I have to start writing new ones for them to qualify?

Ideally you should start and finish your review within the time frame of the challenge. Rule #4 written above allows 'taking notes', but I guess whether what you have written in those drafts counts as such boils down to common sense. If you feel you'll have to work a lot on them during the week before submitting, probably it's good - if you think they just need some minor adjustments maybe they're too much in an advanced state to be considered 'notes'. Again, it's also a question of trust in a certain sense. Hope that answered!

I think that question can also be answered by looking at your intentions. Are you going to try to finish 5 reviews that you started writing a few years ago in order to help the numbers for the challenge, or are you going to post 30 reviews that were basically written way before? In the end, contributing reviews is the main thing, just make sure you're not spoiling anyone's fun.

I might be wrong about this, but when I joined the site in 2020 I remember a rule that you could only have 5 pending reviews at a time. Is this rule being changed for the challenge?

You are correct about the rule, and it doesn't change for the challenge. However, usually the mods doing the review queue during the challenge will try to read and accept as fast as possible. You wouldn't be waiting very long and could keep writing without submitting anyway.

That's what I was thinking. Thanks!

I want to be part of this again. Let's see

Has anyone heard from Thumbman lately? Will he ever do one of these again? I actually kind of have it in mind to take a shot at 100 again, but that's a lot easier to be motivated if someone else is writing 10 a day or more. When he smashed the record, it kind of dragged my output up too.

Thumbman is still around, and will probably do a few reviews for the challenge, but I wouldn't expect him to put out big numbers like he used to.

That one a few years back really must've burned him out.

I think he did say at the time that he went hard in order to achieve the record and then would thenceforth kind of be done with it. Still didn't stop him pinching third place when he was organizing it

Wouldn't be surprised at all. All you guys that get up to 50+ are absolute machines to be pumping out 7-10 reviews a day consistently for a week - never mind hitting 100! I don't think my poor brain could handle that at all.

I'll try to finally write one for every day of the Challenge. Last time I succeeded must have been in the 2000s.

Well, just a little over 15 hours until the challenge begins!

Looking forward to pumping in exclusively Virgin - capital V meaning virgin bands only - albums; though it's a pity Assassin's Creed's Origins' Xbox Game Pass release coincides with said challenge commencement...we'll simply have to prioritize, with reviews taking the spotlight, whilst putting latter on hold (like Johnny Touch...sniff!). Come to think of it, I might make an exception for earmarked Dream Troll; there's also a wayward Ancient Empire effort worthy of exposition. (Note: I submitted the highly MA conducive band Ancient Warrior, yesterday...hint, hint!)

Yeah man, really want to know what you think of the Dream Troll. I haven't listened to either of the 2 latest albums, so I haven't any context for their recent stuff.

See y'all after a sleep and a busy morning of classes!

For some reason, I thought it had already been reviewed (but that was twist's review for Second To None; I can definitely state their latest is better, having listened to it last Summer). Oh, I hope you're still around this morn to answer this: How many times exactly would you say you high volume scribes listen to any one album prior to reviewal (during the challenge)? I ask because, it seems that to write up 50 to 100 or more items, there would nary be anytime to hear said massive volume of tracks...

I took autothrall's "wise" advice to heart long ago, making it a point to hear a release at least 3 times prior to full input, yet such seems a lofty demand in light of fact a week only comprises 168 hours, minus sleep!

Er...do you think this amazing photo was photo chopped or what!

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid ... 0..&type=3

(There's also a picture of two baffled nuns holding a CD copy of Second To None.)

*Last minute caveat: Would you guys (and gals) say it's OK if we allow ourselves one token preemptive kick at the VRC can i.e. +1 Rogue-like admission before the big Show. (I already wrote up Dream Troll's latest in a fit of spuriously wizened excitement and glory, even accidentally posting it twice, while editing, like a yegg...Oops, it's down now, lurking languidly in view of nocturnal i.e. 9 pm PST publication.) It would also only feel right that ten points be deducted from my tally, as a result - I'm not a points whore, simply clumsy at times. (My goal this week is to break personal record for most reviews in a day, as well as nailing enough to breach exalted Metal Freak status, in addition to 800 level.)

Don't worry, though, my one early bird won't make the difference as to who wins this time, again!

lol not sure why jeff took it on himself to speak on my behalf but I'm not really around MA at all anymore unless you want to count the weekly and I'm not planning to contribute any reviews to this challenge. Hosting the challenge was kind of meant to be a farewell to it for me, which is why I declined to do it again. Who knows, I might write a handful in a future challenge but I don't think I'll ever be competitive again. I hope you break the record, and I agree competition is 100% necessary to get there.

And so it begins!

Got my first two in! I'll see how many I can churn out. I'm laying low a little bit as I was in a car accident last week, so I should have a little extra time to try and bang out some reviews. I might be doing a lot of stuff from Canadian bands again.

I won't be able to start writing until later this afternoon, but I'm very pleased to see some new blood coming into it's own on this thing. I don't think I'll be contributing a massive amount, but I'll do what I can to see if we can push that cumulative score above the magic 609 mark.

Orf! Sorry to head about the car accident; hopefully, your typing paws are still in jabbing order?

I love the opening sentence to your second review, which I'm reading now:

"Grave Infestation are a new band out of Vancouver, but the way they play death metal makes it sound like they’re from the depths of hell."

If they're specifically from the DTES, consider them duly straight out of Hell's bowels (worse than Compton, even, with the street gunplay/warfare and randomized stranger attacks getting worse every day, I hear). Am so relieved and thankful I escaped from that horrible fishbowl of doom, albeit none-too-soon and by skin o' my teeth!

Welcome back!

Cheers Chairthrower! I'm thankfully in one piece, just dealing with whiplash and back pain. I wish I could say the same about my car, it's probably a write-off.

I do know the Grave Infestation folks personally, and they're not too far off East Hastings, so they are indeed from the depths of hell.

Whelp, managed to polish off 6 today and just finished getting them uploaded, and per usual, I ended up hitting one that someone else managed to knock off before me. Props to Nattskog7 for the impressive showing for the first day and the decent review of the new Evil Invaders album in particular, if Natts can keep this output up for the next 6 days he will easily be in striking distance of the current individual record.

None of Nattskog's reviews qualify since they're all just part of a review dump of old reviews from his blog, as such they're not included in the challenge.

Daily Tally for Jun 6 2022
Total Reviews: 66 / 66
Total Virgin Reviews: 65 / 65
Percentage (VIRGINS/TOTAL): 98.4% / 98.4%

Participant List for Jun 6 2022
Total Participants: 18 / 18

Today's Totals per Individual:


Running Totals per Individual:



Compared to the first day of the last challenge, we are up 8 reviews, but down 8 participants.

Congrats to DanielG06 for being today's leader with 16 reviews!

Fewer people this time around, but a strong start nonetheless. Keep up the hard work! \m/

Daniel, that is some crazy shit man. Hope you can keep that going!

No disrespect to Nattskog7, but after reading Derigin's reply to hells_unicorn, I could almost hear the Archer styled "Womp, womp!"!

Surprised Derigin didn't count the virgin bands this time around. Don't tell me you're not gonna count that anymore!

I'm not able to do any tomorrow, as I'm gonna see Judas Priest. The traveling takes time, but I'm returning in the night, so maybe on Thursday, then!

Pretty nice numbers for sure. Hiiiiop!

Lucky dog! Seeing JP has long been on my bucket list, and I was crestfallen when missing out last time they graced Vancouver's Rogers Arena, in 2013.

Gotcha, I did find it amazing that anybody could drop 20 reviews on one day like that. Anyway, major props to Daniel, who I just realized utterly killed it yesterday. This may prove to be a smaller cumulative challenge, but it’s great to have some new talent here regardless.

Thank you so much, I'm doing my year 11 exams right now so balancing my time between studying and reviewing albums for the challenge. I think I finished writing yesterday at about half past midnight, Abigail's Confound Eternal was my 20th and last review. I was so burned out at that point, it was pretty hard to think of ways to describe the music. Hopefully I can keep it together throughout the week.

Edit: I just read the posts above and realised the last 4 reviews I did technically count as today's. Still, 16 reviews is pretty good to start off with.

Great job Daniel, you're fucking killing it! You even just reviewed a band from my town haha.

This line from Empyreal's Maître Espion review is too good:

"And there’s a genuine conviction to it - they don’t sound like they’re merely custodians trying to tiptoe around the legacy of giants."

Very descriptive, much more than their kids' books lyrics! I'm checking them out, right now.