Hello, out there,

Maelstrom has locked and re-loaded. Our valiant, talented staff was starting to get a little overburdened, so in came relief in the form of two new writers, Chaim Drishner (from the surprisingly ever-abundant metal writing land of Israel) and Brandon Strader, from the less surprisingly abundant land of the United States. Look for both to be making some important contributions in months to come. (we've also updated and added long overdue profiles for our staff)

But nothing is as joyous an occasion as having an estranged friend return, a sort of living blast from the past. In this case, it’s the triumphant comeback of Abhishek Chatterjee. We mean it, too. Abhi was instrumental during Maelstrom’s second and third year in helping propel the mag to where it stands in the coverage of all things underground death metal, sometimes covering as many as 30 albums per issue. He’s been a fine friend through it all, and it’s more a case of NOT having him around that feels unusual. Once he gets settled in the University of Mumbai (where he’s getting his MBA to go along with his electrical engineering degree), we expect him to return to his incredible output.

Some are begging for Maelstrom #43 to be dubbed “The German thrash issue.” And with discussions with uber-icons Destruction and cult heroes Desaster, why not? Well, let’s not forget our chat with melodic metal singer and heroic metal purveyor Lance King about his current project, Pyramaze.

In the review category, we’ve got 80 albums chronicled for you, as always honestly, objectively and fairly. We always look out for your best interests, especially where your wallet is concerned. Also featured are two live reports and another killer From the Vault album pick.

For this month's contest, we're giving away promotional copies of GOREFEST's comeback album, La Muerte (one of Pal "the Postman" Meentzen's top albums of 2005!)

To win, you'll need to first answer our latest poll:

We're thinking about adding a forum to Maelstrom. If we did, would you use it? If we had a forum, should we put one at the end of every review, so you could comment? Or should we have the standard, forum-dedicated space like most sites have? Any length answer is welcome. The most insightful answers win the album.

Contestants are encouraged to write Roberto, as the contest answer box doesn't allow particularly long answers.

And now, for some letters to the editor (including one in Italian):

----Original Message Follows----
From: "Mery" <wildhoney_1975@libero.it>
To: <giorgio75@hotmail.com>
Subject: Maelstrom# 16 - Per Roberto Martinelli - Klimt 1918, recensione 'Undressed Momento'.
Date: Fri, 3 Mar 2006 17:56:15 -0000

Ciao Roberto (... o Giorgio?!?)!
Innanzitutto, spero che parli anche un po' d'italiano...
Girovagando in rete, ho trovato la tua recensione del disco in oggetto e l'ho inclusa sul mio fansite, dedicato ai Klimt 1918. Spero che gli darai un'occhiata: trovi un link nelle sezioni News e Memoirs, nonché un link a Maelstrom nella pagina che contiene la tua recensione (tradotta anche in italiano) e nella sezione Links vera e propria.
Eh, eh, eh... m'hai fatto morire dal ridere quando hai paragonato l'effetto vocale usato da Marco su 'Naif Watercolour' a quello usato da Cher nel suo tormentone di qualche anno fa! E pensare che quei versi e quell'effetto sono stati aggiunti soltanto in un secondo momento, dato che la versione originaria del pezzo si concludeva con dei versi di un brano dei Beatles, che ci stavano molto, ma molto meglio, solo che per ragioni di Siae, non hanno potuto pubblicare il pezzo così com'era e hanno optato per la soluzione più 'danzereccia'.

Ciao-Ciao,

+ Mery Temptress +

http://www.klimt1918-fever.net

Ciao, Mery

In fatto, il mio Italiano e molto brutto, ma posso scrivere un poco.
Mi piace che hai letto il mio articolo su il album Undressed Momento. Sai che abbiamo anche scrito un articolo su Dopoguerra? Se puo trovare il link qui

http://www.maelstrom.nu/ezine/review_iss32_2268.php?

Mi piace ancora di piu che hai tradutto il mio articolo in Italiano. Forse e igualmente brutto che il mio vero Italiano. Grazie anche per la historia de la soluzione "danzereccia" de la canzione.

mettero un link a il tuo site in Maelstrom. Per piaccere, fai anche lo stesso per me.

grazie,

Roberto Martinelli
Maelstrom Zine (http://www.maelstrom.nu)
1573 Dolores St.
San Francisco, CA 94110 USA

----Original Message Follows----
From: Markus Sle <m_sle@yahoo.com>
To: giorgio75@hotmail.com
Subject: Arcturus - Sideshow Symphonies
Date: Fri, 24 Mar 2006 02:30:46 -0800 (PST)

Hello Roberto!
My name is Mark and I am from Hellas.Congratulations for your 'zine!
I recently discovered it and I plan to visit it a lot!
I have one remark to make concerning your "Arcturus - Sideshow Symphonies" review.The singer on this album is not Kristopher Rygg but Simen Hestnaes of Dimmu Borgir,Borknagar and Lamented Souls (Doom Metal band).Since you commented the vocals I thought you should know!Rygg left the band after "The Sham Mirrors" because he didn't want to tour at all.I myself,have seen them twice in a concert.One with Oyvind Haegeland (Spiral Architect) in vocals and one with Simen.
Other than that,I agree with your remarks and I believe that their two previous albums were far better.It seems that Rygg made the difference...
Keep up the effort and good luck to whatever you do!

Friendly,
Mark

Hi, Mark,

Funny you should write it. Just yesterday my site's newest writer pointed out my error. What a coincidence. I'll go in and amend the mistake.

thanks for reading,

Roberto Martinelli
Maelstrom Zine (http://www.maelstrom.nu)
1573 Dolores St.
San Francisco, CA 94110 USA