Welcome to the 18th MA Virgin Reviews Challenge!

First hosted over a decade ago, this challenge is a time-honored tradition among our reviewers here. Every winter and every summer reviewers are encouraged to spend a week writing and submitting as many quality reviews as possible, with the aim to focus on albums with no reviews so far (ie. virgin albums). Every day, the reviews submitted and accepted are tallied, so that participants can see how they compare with one another and whether or not, altogether, we've been able to surpass previous challenges' totals.

This challenge will run from Monday December 12th @ 12:00AM EST to Sunday December 18th @ 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 magic number to beat is 347. That was the total from the last challenge!

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

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

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

7. 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)...

8. 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.

The MA Reviews Challenge Hall of Fame





Based on the success from last year we will be continuing with the SECRET SATAN bonus round...

... BUT with a twist! Unlike last December I'm NOT gonna try to match anyone with others that share similar tastes. This time it will be completely random, so beware that you may be matched with someone who does not share your tastes and may have you review an album outside of your comfort zone. If you CANNOT accept this then please do not put your name forward for this.

Like last time you can opt-in to SECRET SATAN. You will be matched with another reviewer by yours truly. You will exchange with one another a virgin album for review (explained below). You will commit to reviewing that album for the challenge. In order to participate, please contact me through a PM on the forum OR mention it in a post in this thread ASAP. Be forewarned, I will not be accepting requests to join once the challenge begins. As I receive requests I will match people periodically. I will put matches in contact. Once matched, you are required to provide a link to the album you want the other person to review. Please keep in mind the following rules:

- It MUST be an album on this site with no reviews at the time it is shared with the other person.
- It MUST be available for FREE online and in either a QUALITY DOWNLOAD or QUALITY STREAM. It should be EASY to acquire without using third-party software.
- Ideally, please avoid sharing your own band's album. There are better avenues for promotion.
- It is best to provide a backup album for the person you're matched with just in case they have problems accessing it.

Once you receive a link to an album, please review it and submit it during the challenge. That way it will count for this challenge.

Please remember this is done in good faith. If you get an album you don't want to review, fine, but don't be a party pooper for others. And, lastly, if you have any problems with the person you're matched with, let me know. I have spare albums for review just in case it doesn't work out.

Signed up for Secret Satan (as of December 7):


Have fun! Looking forward to your participation!

I'll participate again. This falls into a good time frame for me so hopefully this year I can actually knock out a fair number of reviews unlike last time. I'm also down for Secret Satan.

I'm definitely in. There's quite a few virgins on the site I wanted to tackle, so I think this is a good opportunity. Also up for Secret Satan.

Just please, be gentle, it's my first time

Unfortunately this is exactly when I've got exams Also my laptop is on the blink - currently having to type everything using OSK which is a pain in the arse. I'll still manage a few most likely, but probably not as many as I've done the last few times. Secret Satan seems like a no-go this time I'm afraid.

I remember last time you said you could use an assistant - obviously the way things are shaping up I'm not going to be much use, but if you need a hand with anything just give us a shout and I'll see what I can do (could tally totals or something if you like?).

I should be in the position to shit out a few reviews (y)

The timing could not be more perfect on this; right after all classes finish, schwing! So, I'll try my best to contribute. I will have a different approach this time, covering more than just Bucky material (unless of course that teutonic muffintop rears his head like he did last time, in which case the Big B tornado will take no prisoners).

And for secret satan, my newfound appreciation for more styles means I'll definitely be able to handle whatever is hurled at me. Count me in for this one too, Mr. Derigin.

I doubt I'll even get close to half of what I got in my best challenge, but I think I can get at least ten this time. It's great that the Secret Satan is random, the best times I've done review swaps was definitely when the other reviewer had very different taste from me.

I'll be there.

I'll be around, though no Secret Satan for me. I still never did the one batman gave me from the last challenge (though I listened to it a bunch of times and liked it plenty, just couldn't get the words to review it). I'm really shit at reviewing on request and kinda got lucky the first time we did this when I landed something exactly in my niche.

I'm in! Count me in for the secret satan too. My schedule is a bit tight in that period but I'll try my best.

I'm definitely going to contribute, though I'm not quite sure how much as of yet.

I'll likely contribute, but not in Secret Satan. Concept is cool, but in practice it's just not for me so much. Good luck to everyone who does though, and everyone in general!

I am in as well ... Secret Satan as well.

This sounds like fun.

Im in for secret satan. I really wanna get back to reviewing.

I hope to re-ignite my writing spark. I'm waiting at the airport and just wrote this <i>Dawn Bringer</i> review in one sitting so that's a step in the right direction. I have some albums on my personal list I want to get to.

I'll go ahead and do the Secret Satan again, that was fun. I doubt I'll get more than a couple done, but it'll be nice to do some reviewing over the break.

im not really interested in anything but the secret santa....
Ill have to figure out which album to submit though.

I will at least contribute to Secret Satan, but not sure about anything further.

I got some things in my mind that I think need reviews, should do for the challenge. As for the rest of you, there's of course currently 66 unreviewed Black Tribe releases.

You know, your Buckethead reviews on the last challenge actually got me into his music and I've got a couple of his Pikes lined up for the challenge. But I'm not telling you which ones, hahaha! (Would actually love to compare opinions about a few.)

I will have a crack at Secret Satan please, but fair warning for anyone who partners me that I will probably give you something horrible.

I'll try to crank out a few reviews. That week isn't the best week for me, but I have been mulling over a few albums for a while now so I should be able to get at least a few out.

I'll be sending out the first round of matches for Secret Satan very soon.

If anyone wants to get on board with it, I recommend doing so now.

Going full Sloth? Don't go full Sloth.

Even though I may only add one or two reviews, which would be my first one or two period, this seems like a good time and place for me to get started.

It is with a heavy heart that I announce I will not be participating in this upcoming challenge. This will be the first time I've ever missed a challenge; I only missed the very first one, only because I wasn't a member yet. Sadly, Finals weeks and working full-time along with a life that is really, really busy have stunted my interest and drive to put in the usual effort to make my typical batch of mediocre reviews. Thus, I will walk among you, not in flesh, but in spirit.

One day, I will return.

Looks like a runaway victory for... stainedclass? Hells_unicorn?

Heh, working full time again so probably won't get as many done as I hoped. Still going to do a handful including the secret satan.

Put me down for the secret satan, please.

Last chance for Secret Satan today, folks!

Highest number I did in a decade so far, probably.

Dia's killin' it. I guess that's to be expected, hasn't he won a ton of these?

Not a single one, I think.

You can check the "Hall of Fame" in the original post, which lists the winners of each year. Diamhea won both December 2014 and 2015.

Just submitted my Secret Satan review... from last fucking year :/ time makes fools of us all. You deserved better than me, tomcat_ha!

My favorite current band has no reviews on here, but I feel like it would be bad form to just review everything they've done, giving everything 85% or higher. I'll try to mix it up a bit.

I got a late start on this one due to a combination of work related stuff and being at the recording studio all weekend tracking vocals for what will eventually be one of my projects' debut LPs. I didn't come into this one thinking I was going to run away with it, just planned on contributing a respectable amount to add to the cumulative total for the challenge. Managed to polish off 2 before the buzzer tonight, I hope to get a few in each day, barring some stuff coming up.

Have to say I'm really enjoying televiper11's reviews this challenge. Was cool to see Instinct of Survival, just recently got into that band. Also, had no idea War//Plague had a new one out but I'm really excited to check it out now.

I'm off to a bad start, got really sidetracked yesterday and when I finally sat down the first band on my list was so terrible it put me off from actually doing anything. In fact I don't even think they're metal so I moved on from that but still didn't get one done. Hopefully the rest of the week will go better.

Daily Tally for December 12th 2016
Total Reviews: 89 / 89
Total Virgin Reviews: 85 / 85
Percentage (VIRGINS/TOTAL): 95.5%

Participant List for December 12th 2016
Total Participants: 27 / 27
Today's Totals per Individual:

If I get fired from my job, it's because I'm spending more time writing notes for reviews or parts thereof than actually working.

I'm having a lot of fun so far. I'm trying my best to balance the non-Buckethead stuff with the Buckethead stuff, and so far I've done a little bit of both. It looks like Dia came to take no prisoners, he's killin' it.

Also, it's great to see Gasmask, UnholyCrusada, and even that new guy throw in some Buckethead reviews. I've been loving those. One of y'all need to go tackle Monument Valley; it's a fan-favorite that I really don't wanna review any time soon.