Dear Maelstrom readers,

Hi again. We’re not sure if you remember, but way back in July we mumbled something about how big and great and all this latest issue of Maelstrom was going to be.

Ta-da! Here it is unveiled. Issue #15. The big changes: Maelstrom has gone commercial! Ok, what does that mean? From now on, you’ll be able to buy the records we review through our new web store.

You may be thinking: “what? So much for the objectivity!” Not so. We will continue to not only bring you some of the best writing of any music zine, but also not budge at all in our mission to do so honestly. We hate zines that recommend everything. That’s just dishonest *and* bad journalism. We’re confident that there’s so much new, great music out there at any given time – and so much of that reviewed in our pages – that there’ll be plenty for us to recommend to you to spend your precious resources on.

You’ll see that we’re branching out more and more into non-metal territory. Are we getting tired of metal? Of course not! But we’d like to think our readers appreciate other kinds of music just as much as we do.

Also, starting this month, Maelstrom will be a monthly zine. Yes, we’ve always treated our site like a print zine, and now you’ll be getting notifications of complete blocks of new information every month. All you have to do is sign up – for free.

But on to the issue at hand. Issue #15 further solidifies Maelstrom’s presence around the globe with live reports from THREE continents! And not shitty shows, either. You can read up on our reports from Wacken Open Air 2003, Milwaukee Metalfest 2003, and the Fuji Rock Festival 2003. Also in this issue are interviews with The Lord Weird Slough Feg, Every Time I Die, Aborted, Withered Earth, Ewiges Reich, and more! And last but not least, the bulk of our zine, the album reviews, which this time number in at 160.

And the revolving staff door continues to go around. We’ve got some new arrivals. Firstly, welcome Bastiaan de Vries, a plucky young Dutchman who’ll be covering grind and dark ambient. He’s already contributed a good interview with world dark ambient scene leader Nordvargr. Check it out.

Also poking his head through is our second member of the Maelstrom Israel office, Avi Shaked. Avi’s specialty will be mostly prog metal and rock. We welcome him. Look for more new staff members next month!

In other news, The Condor will be getting hypnotized into liking vegetables; Abhishek Chatterjee is up to his ears in vacuum switches (or whatever he does as an electrical engineer over there in India); Matt Smith has become THE man at the Missouri U. metal radio show; Roberto Martinelli has started writing for hilarious, offbeat porn site skullgame.com; and Dave McGonigle has opened our Maelstrom France office as he moves to Paris in the name of science, and love, and the love of science, and...

And finally, here’s a letter from one of our readers.

From: r r <lemming762000@yahoo.com>
Date: Sun Sep 7, 2003 5:51:43 PM America/New York
To: lnp2@cornell.edu
Subject: your review

Dear Ms. (?) Parson:

I recently read a music review of yours on maelstrom and one on another site I visit from time to time. I hope you won't mind me asking, how long have you been a critic of music, and what kind of training do you have? I ask because your reviews seem very shallow and miss the boat because of generalizations and bad judgments. I have been a semi-professional music critic for 12 years now so I know the business very well. I believe in keeping a very high standard in this business and I don't like to see it tarnished. In case you're wondering, I wrote to one another reviewer too (take heart, his mistakes and technique are far worse!). I hope you will take this as constructive criticism.

Sincerely,
Richard

Dear Dick (we may call you Dick, right?)

Thank you for your mail and critique. We’re not sure if our staff has had quite the same education in music journalism that you have had, but rest assured that everyone who writes for Maelstrom must pass the rigorous exam to be, yes, *knighted* with the title of “staff member.” Why, if you could imagine what the poor souls who dare try to be on our staff must go through – The trials. The physicals. The mental torment. The middle-of-the-night grammar and punctuation quizzes.

Larissa passed such tests with her incredible knowledge of music and intelligence. So, anyway, we’re sorry if we’ve tarnished something you hold dear. (Excuse us for being a little hazy of the specifics of what you’re talking about). Tell you what, we’ll send you some rags and a stain removal product of your choice, and you can get to it.

- Roberto Martinelli