Maelstrom were originally formed in the 1980's making waves in the thrash metal scene that had the power and strength to crash ashore and wipe out a town. Before their career could take off the tides had changed and extreme death metal and Seattle grunge had taken over which would cause Maelstrom to lose some strength and eventually disband. Fast forward to 2008 and the band is back and ready to finish what they started.

Many bands seem to be making their comebacks after forming in the 80's and having either never released an album or maybe released one and went on this long hiatus such as Overlorde, Steel Assassin, Attacker, and Sacred Oath to name a few. The difference with Maelstrom is that I feel they have something special in their formula of metal. I don’t think they should be looked at as one of these cult bands that still play good music and do not really escalate to new heights, but one which make a huge statement today and become a definitive name in the current metal scene.

This three song EP is just a teaser to get you ready for what will soon be the bands first full length album and let me tell you if this EP is any indication of what is to come you better all run for cover. These songs are huge with styles of power and thrash metal present laced with a few death metal arrangements. The vocals mixed with the songs on this album bring about an epic cinematic metal sound that makes Rhapsody look like Ashlee Simpson. I have to draw some comparisons to Manowar as they are present here, imagine Manowar on speed and much heavier and you are heading in the right direction. In the day and age where bands like Dragonforce are captivating audiences across the world and Viking metal is becoming more popular than ever this is the perfect time for Maelstrom to make their splash and turn a lot of heads. Perhaps the wait between the 1980's and now was meant to happen as they may have been too ahead of their time way back when.

The three songs on this EP, "Arise", "A Futile Crusade", and "Predestined" blew a huge breath of fresh air into my face and left me wanting more. I simply cannot wait until this band releases their full length debut as I know it will be a major milestone for heavy metal music. I feel that Rhapsody's time has come and gone and Dragonforce will only take their supersonic power/speed metal so far until they crash and burn. So get ready for Maelstrom because they are coming. Mark my words, this band is on their way to becoming the next big thing.

www.myspace.com/metalmaelstrom