Hello, out there in Maelstrom land,

Maelstrom.nu turns 40, the holidays are here, and we still managed to pull a pretty great issue together. Seriously, this happens every month – just when it looks like the page is going to be thin, Maelstrom’s fantastic team of writers shows up with the goods.

And that team is ever growing. This month marks the debut of our new staffer, Megan Leo, who’s co-axeman (with Larissa Glasser) in Boston-area black thrash band Hekseri. Battle babes rule, and we’ve got the full Hekseri legion, right here.

It seems this month has got quite a few highly recommended albums. We’ve covered 69 in total, including the new Opeth, Horse the Band, The Redneck Manifesto, and Leviathan releases. As always, we have quite the gamut reviewed in our pages, from black metal to 70s prog rock re-issues.

We’re bringing you two interviews this month, one with the drummer and guitarist from Nevermore, and the other with super noted, veteran drummer Derek Roddy of Hate Eternal. Consistent with the direction that Maelstrom’s interviews have been taking, both discussions focus primarily on the technical aspects of the artists’ and bands’ music making, with invaluable insight on gear and technique information. Also on tap is a live review of the Fear Factory, Darkane and Strapping Young Lad tour, and a From the Vault pick.

For this month’s contest, Sound Riot Records has sponsored some copies of Swedish black metal band SVARTSYN's latest album, Bloodline.

To win, be one of the first to correctly answer the following question:

"What notable black metal band did one of the members of Svartsyn use to belong to?"

And finally, we don’t anticipate putting out an issue for January, 2006, as we will be in France for the new year, although we may surprise ourselves. So look for a January/February issue, and keep sending us your recordings!

Happy holidays,

– Roberto Martinelli
Maelstrom.nu
1573 Dolores St
San Francisco, CA 94110
USA