Encyclopaedia Metallum: The Metal Archives

Message board

* FAQ    * Register   * Login 



Reply to topic
Author Message Previous topic | Next topic
Derigin
The Mountain Man

Joined: Sun Jan 01, 2006 6:25 am
Posts: 5998
Location: Canada
PostPosted: Mon Sep 09, 2019 7:34 pm 
 

Welcome to the MA Community Weekly!

What is it?
It's a casual activity that I'm hoping some reviewers/regulars here might actually enjoy. The idea is fairly simple: participants recommend heavy metal (and related) albums, every week two of those recommendations are chosen at random, participants rate and discuss the albums, the ratings get posted on a spreadsheet... and on and on and on. Every once in a while there may be themes to mix it up a bit. There's no real goal. I suppose, in the end, you get to check out albums you may not have heard before, and get to see how others view the albums you choose.

Do you review the albums?
Outside of giving it a rating, it's entirely up to you whether you want to review the album for MA or not (if it's on MA). This is meant to be a fun thing to do outside of reviewing.

Do these ratings get posted to the site?
No. This has nothing to do with MA, outside of the fact that we're reviewers/regulars here. Don't view this as an 'officially-endorsed' activity. It's just something I thought y'all would enjoy.

How do I participate?
If you are a regular/reviewer here, there are two ways to participate:

1. Join the Discord, and participate through there. PM me on the forum for an invite to it. It is NOT the same discord server as the Official MA Discord!

2. For those who can't or don't want to join Discord, you can use this thread for discussion and PM me on the forum with recommendations/ratings.

In both cases, I'll include your recommendations/ratings on the same spreadsheet (given below). I strongly encourage those who can to join the Discord, though. I understand not everyone can, but it certainly makes the discussions more dynamic, since they're more likely to happen in real time. Please keep in mind that only those who participate get to recommend albums!

The Spreadsheet

There are a few ground rules to explain before you dive in, so please carefully read the following. It will help explain how this works.

Rules for Participants

The most important rule, above all else, is don't be a dick. Any whining/bullying/trolling/etc. will just get you removed as a participant, and maybe warned/banned on the forum. Play nice and be respectful.

1. Submit a recommendation to me (derigin) either by private message through the Discord or the MA forum.
It should be formatted as below, and should be a band that's on MA or is borderline (ie. Tool/Converge/etc. are OK, for example). Use your discretion here for what may be too far outside the realm of being related to heavy metal music, but remember that the focus should be on metal albums on MA ideally. You get one recommendation per round/season. Try to avoid recommending your own band, and for the time being, please don't recommend highly popular, classic albums (eg. Metallica's Master of Puppets, etc.). Again use your discretion here.

The ideal format for submissions is:
Artist - Release title
Year - Genre
Youtube link
Spotify link
Bandcamp link

2. Every WEDNESDAY and SUNDAY I will choose one of the submitted recommendations at random ('the weeklies').
I will announce it in the Discord and by PM to those who aren't in Discord. Please note that I may start skipping people who do not participate in rating albums.

3. Listen to the album and give it a rating between 0 and 10 based on 0.5 increments.
PM me on the MA forum and I'll add it to the spreadsheet. There is no time limit on when you can submit ratings, but it's best to do it on a timely basis. As soon as I (or if you're in Discord, one of the mods there as well) add it to the spreadsheet, we'll leave an emoji on your comment in Discord or reply to your PM on the forum to let you know that we've added it. If you no longer agree with your original score you can always contact me or one of the mods in Discord to change your score.

At some point in the future I may introduce themes for each round, but for now it does not matter what metal or metal-esque genre/style of album you choose.

Let me know your thoughts about this, and we'll see how this works out.

For clarification, in the spreadsheet there's a tab that says "Season 1" on the bottom. Once everyone who is active has their recommendations picked, we start a new tab, or "Season". This is what I mean by 'round' or 'season'. It could last quite a while as we go through two recommendations per week.

Participant List (as of Jan 4 2020)

Spoiler: show
666kmph
AndromedaVessel
Azmodes
BastardHead
Beer_snob
Derigin
DrummingEdge
Eur0beat
Fetalfeast
Gasmask_colostomy
Goatfangs
God&Anime
LKA
Metantoine
Morrigan
MutantClannfear
Napalm_Satan/Alice
PaganiusI
Penguincamp
PhilosophicalFrog
Polynometal
RapeTheDead
Ribos
Roger/atrocious_mutilation
Sepulchrave
SweetLeaf95
TheStormIRide
Thumbman
Tomcat_ha
Wilytank
Zodijackyl
_________________
¯\_(ツ)_/¯

R.I.P. Diamhea 1987-2018
Live young, die free. Gone, but not forgotten.

Top
 Profile  
Thumbman
Big Cube

Joined: Mon Nov 16, 2009 6:47 pm
Posts: 4473
Location: Canada
PostPosted: Mon Sep 09, 2019 7:50 pm 
 

Very excited for this!
_________________
last.fm

Top
 Profile  
gasmask_colostomy
Metalhead

Joined: Thu May 27, 2010 5:38 am
Posts: 1640
Location: China
PostPosted: Tue Sep 10, 2019 12:42 am 
 

Can’t do Discord and also can’t do Google Docs, so I’m probably going to watch quietly

Top
 Profile  
Derigin
The Mountain Man

Joined: Sun Jan 01, 2006 6:25 am
Posts: 5998
Location: Canada
PostPosted: Tue Sep 10, 2019 7:24 am 
 

Is there a way you could view the spreadsheet, like using a non-Google service if I was to provide one?
_________________
¯\_(ツ)_/¯

R.I.P. Diamhea 1987-2018
Live young, die free. Gone, but not forgotten.

Top
 Profile  
Sweetie
Metalhead

Joined: Tue Dec 16, 2014 1:19 am
Posts: 1091
Location: United States
PostPosted: Tue Sep 10, 2019 9:28 am 
 

I'm not on Discord, but I'm interested in at least trying this.
_________________
"It's not the kill, it's the thrill of the chase" - Deep Purple

Top
 Profile  
Derigin
The Mountain Man

Joined: Sun Jan 01, 2006 6:25 am
Posts: 5998
Location: Canada
PostPosted: Tue Sep 10, 2019 11:07 am 
 

You're now added to the participant list, SweetLeaf95. I'll be dropping the first weekly early tomorrow morning, and will send it to you by PM at that time. Please feel free to send in your recommendation for this round/season.

Please note, for anyone else that's interested, you don't have to signup prior to the first weekly dropping. You can sign up and join in at any time. You don't have to do every single weekly, though it's awesome if you do, and you can always go back to a previous weekly and rate it, too, if you ended up missing it. No rush. It's all very casual.
_________________
¯\_(ツ)_/¯

R.I.P. Diamhea 1987-2018
Live young, die free. Gone, but not forgotten.

Top
 Profile  
BastardHead
Worse than Stalin

Joined: Thu Aug 18, 2005 7:53 pm
Posts: 10857
Location: Oswego, Illinois
PostPosted: Tue Sep 10, 2019 11:23 am 
 

Just know that if you decide to join and then don't participate at all, I will find where you live, go there, and fart in your mouth.
_________________
Lair of the Bastard: LATEST REVIEW: In Flames - Foregone
The Outer RIM - Uatism: The dogs bark in street slang
niix wrote:
the reason your grandmother has all those plastic sheets on her furniture is because she is probably a squirter

Top
 Profile  
Thumbman
Big Cube

Joined: Mon Nov 16, 2009 6:47 pm
Posts: 4473
Location: Canada
PostPosted: Tue Sep 10, 2019 11:37 am 
 

Hey Gasmask, that's not an ideal situation to get the most out of this but I think we can still make it work. You don't have to actually view the spreadsheet to rate the albums. We could just PM you the chosen album and you could PM us back your rating.
_________________
last.fm

Top
 Profile  
gasmask_colostomy
Metalhead

Joined: Thu May 27, 2010 5:38 am
Posts: 1640
Location: China
PostPosted: Wed Sep 11, 2019 12:45 am 
 

Non-Google is a pretty safe bet, since that’s pretty much the only site that’s banned here in that field. I’ll join in, especially if there’s a decent amount of traffic in this thread, but I’m also non-YouTube, so let’s see what happens. God, I sound like a vegan.

Top
 Profile  
Derigin
The Mountain Man

Joined: Sun Jan 01, 2006 6:25 am
Posts: 5998
Location: Canada
PostPosted: Wed Sep 11, 2019 9:13 am 
 

Excellent. We'll do our best to accommodate you, as well as provide you screenshots periodically of the spreadsheet.

For those who haven't entered yet, you're more than free to do so at any time. Just let me know if you're interested.

Also added the current participant list to the OP.
_________________
¯\_(ツ)_/¯

R.I.P. Diamhea 1987-2018
Live young, die free. Gone, but not forgotten.

Top
 Profile  
Sweetie
Metalhead

Joined: Tue Dec 16, 2014 1:19 am
Posts: 1091
Location: United States
PostPosted: Wed Sep 11, 2019 2:57 pm 
 

BastardHead wrote:
Just know that if you decide to join and then don't participate at all, I will find where you live, go there, and fart in your mouth.


Well in that case, I'm definitely not participating! :lol:
_________________
"It's not the kill, it's the thrill of the chase" - Deep Purple

Top
 Profile  
Derigin
The Mountain Man

Joined: Sun Jan 01, 2006 6:25 am
Posts: 5998
Location: Canada
PostPosted: Fri Sep 13, 2019 10:04 am 
 

If any reviewers here are still interested in joining, please definitely do so. You can join at any time, and participate in ranking any albums put up that you want to, including albums you might have missed before. No pressure. Just fun.
_________________
¯\_(ツ)_/¯

R.I.P. Diamhea 1987-2018
Live young, die free. Gone, but not forgotten.

Top
 Profile  
Thumbman
Big Cube

Joined: Mon Nov 16, 2009 6:47 pm
Posts: 4473
Location: Canada
PostPosted: Fri Sep 13, 2019 1:50 pm 
 

It's also worth noting we have a good chat going in the discord server.
_________________
last.fm

Top
 Profile  
Derigin
The Mountain Man

Joined: Sun Jan 01, 2006 6:25 am
Posts: 5998
Location: Canada
PostPosted: Sun Sep 15, 2019 12:07 am 
 

Season 1, Pick 2 has been announced. Please check Discord or your PMs (if you're a participant). :)
_________________
¯\_(ツ)_/¯

R.I.P. Diamhea 1987-2018
Live young, die free. Gone, but not forgotten.

Top
 Profile  
gasmask_colostomy
Metalhead

Joined: Thu May 27, 2010 5:38 am
Posts: 1640
Location: China
PostPosted: Sun Sep 15, 2019 2:16 am 
 

Has anyone else decided to actually write reviews for the albums in this? I definitely won’t write up all of them, but if I listen to something 3 times in a week, chances are I could knock out a decent review.

Top
 Profile  
Thumbman
Big Cube

Joined: Mon Nov 16, 2009 6:47 pm
Posts: 4473
Location: Canada
PostPosted: Mon Sep 16, 2019 3:06 pm 
 

I've been meaning to get back into reviewing now that I've finished school. I'm sure some of the albums here will get hit eventually, they're a pretty good excuse to write outside my comfort zone genres.
_________________
last.fm

Top
 Profile  
gasmask_colostomy
Metalhead

Joined: Thu May 27, 2010 5:38 am
Posts: 1640
Location: China
PostPosted: Mon Sep 16, 2019 8:30 pm 
 

Since I’m not on Discord, here’s my views on the first 2 picks:

Ram - Death: 7.5
My thoughts: Competent and well-crafted trad metal with a bit of a twist from Mercyful Fate and Angel Witch, fitting in very comfortably with the Swedish revival scene. A few songs were great, but the album tried a bit too hard to be atmospheric instead of marrying the ambience to the music.

Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell - Don’t Hear It...Fear It!: 7.5
My thoughts: A band I had thought about checking out before. Didn’t think it would be as fun as it was, especially with some pretty forthright riffing and excellent sparking amps that really give that proto-metal tone a kick. The jamming gets away from the band at times though and the hooks are not all that hooky either at times.

Both pretty nice picks too, and stuff that’s more or less what I like.

Top
 Profile  
Derigin
The Mountain Man

Joined: Sun Jan 01, 2006 6:25 am
Posts: 5998
Location: Canada
PostPosted: Mon Nov 18, 2019 2:00 pm 
 

Just a quick announcement. Season 1 of The MA Community Weekly will be coming to an end next month, probably around the middle of December. We will be starting Season 2 immediately after.

Season 2 will be themed. The theme is to pick an album from the province/state/region you currently live in. For those that live in areas with really small scenes, feel free to extend your search to neighboring provinces/states/regions. Ideally, try to keep it local. Keep in mind that the album should be metal or metal-adjacent. We're fairly relaxed as to what "metal-adjacent" means, just try not to go too far outside the box.

If you are interested in joining this, you can do so one of three ways:

1. Join the Discord group. Most participants have done so. It gives you an opportunity to discuss the picks, as well as other topics. Usually folks tend to use the group to talk about the music, games, shows, movies, hobbies, etc. they're engaged with, too.

2. Through Forum PMs. If you're not interested in the Discord group for whatever reason (:(), I am perfectly fine communicating with you through PMs. I'll send the weekly pick to you every Sunday and Wednesday, and you can provide me with a rating that way.

3. Through Email. If, for whatever reason, it's easier for you to communicate through email, I can accommodate you that way too. I know in some countries/locations it's not easy to access a Google Spreadsheet, so I can also send you a snapshot of the spreadsheet in whatever format you prefer by email, too.

There's lots of flexibility here.
_________________
¯\_(ツ)_/¯

R.I.P. Diamhea 1987-2018
Live young, die free. Gone, but not forgotten.

Top
 Profile  
Derigin
The Mountain Man

Joined: Sun Jan 01, 2006 6:25 am
Posts: 5998
Location: Canada
PostPosted: Sun Dec 08, 2019 12:18 pm 
 

Season 1 will be coming to an end this coming Wednesday, December 11th. Season 2 is set to begin a week later, on December 18th. All those able to finish up Season 1 by that date will get a nice, special role and your picks for the weekly chosen first. No pressure, that is entirely up to you. Everyone who is interested in continuing on to Season 2, please don't forget to send your picks to me as soon as possible. If you're not interested, please let me know so I can take you off the spreadsheet for Season 2. Please also feel free to invite people you know, or to ask to join in, as new faces are always welcome here.
_________________
¯\_(ツ)_/¯

R.I.P. Diamhea 1987-2018
Live young, die free. Gone, but not forgotten.

Top
 Profile  
Derigin
The Mountain Man

Joined: Sun Jan 01, 2006 6:25 am
Posts: 5998
Location: Canada
PostPosted: Tue Dec 17, 2019 10:50 am 
 

Good morning (or afternoon) everyone! Season 2 will be starting in a little over 14 hours (at midnight tonight EST). If you haven't already done so, please consider sending your picks in sooner than later. You are also free to finish Season 1 at any time. If you are interested in joining for Season 2, please send me a PM. I strongly urge that you consider using the Discord for the group if you can, though that's not a requirement.
_________________
¯\_(ツ)_/¯

R.I.P. Diamhea 1987-2018
Live young, die free. Gone, but not forgotten.

Top
 Profile  
kybernetic
Metalhead

Joined: Mon Mar 05, 2007 8:48 pm
Posts: 2169
Location: United States
PostPosted: Tue Dec 17, 2019 4:15 pm 
 

This sounds like fun, I'd do it!
_________________
Last.fm

Top
 Profile  
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Reply to topic


Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 8 guests


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum

  Print view
Jump to:  

Back to the Encyclopaedia Metallum


Powered by phpBB © 2000, 2002, 2005, 2007 phpBB Group