MEKONG DELTA

Mekong Delta's Tales of a Future Past is the second record I've listened to this year by a veteran German prog metal group that is still somehow pushing out high quality music; the other being Ivanhoe's Blood and Gold. While historically considered a progressive thrash metal band, the music on this release puts a power metal polish on the riffing, vocals, and orchestral backing tracks.

The music on the record fosters of strong sense of imminent danger that is manifesting just out of sight, though never quite materializing. This seems to fit quite nicely with the lyrical concept of the record about the discovery of a long-lost civilization and the warnings its demise has for the present day.

While the tracks up until "Hollow Men" are likely to be some of the strongest metal you will hear this year, I feel the quality tapers off from "Landscape 3" and onward. Tales of a Future Past is still a great record that is totally worth your time.

"In a Mirror Darkly" is the 10th full-length studio album by German technical/progressive metal act Mekong Delta. The album was released through Steamhammer Records in April 2014. "In a Mirror Darkly" features the same lineup who recorded the band´s preceeding studio album "Intersections (2012)". It´s actually been a stable lineup since "Wanderer on the Edge of Time (2010)", which is not exactly business as usual for Mekong Delta.

The music style on "In a Mirror Darkly" is a technical type of progressive metal with strong thrash metal leanings. Mekong Delta are relatively distinct sounding but if I have to mention some references it would be artists like Psychotic Waltz and Fates Warning at their heaviest. Lead vocalist Martin LeMar (who at times has a pretty thick German accent) is more of a US power metal type singer though. Pretty powerful and raw sounding but also capable of singing more melodic clean vocals.

The material on the album are generally very well written and at times quite intriguing. Just from listening to the opening trio of tracks, the classical tinged acoustic nylon string guitar intro, the instrumental "Ouverture", and the heavy, thrashy, and aggressive "The Armageddon Machine", it is pretty clear that this is a varied and very cleverly composed release, but the whole album is full of great challenging tracks and high level musicianship. The sound production is also well sounding and suits the music perfectly.

So all in all another quality release by one of the veterans of the genre, who are still actively pushing boundaries and inspiring other aspiring artists in the process. A 4 star (80%) rating is deserved.

For me, Them starts things off on the wrong foot, it feels like a song that doesn't know where it belongs, the production makes the voice sounds muffled and the thrash riffs do little for me. Imagination picks things up though offers some really amazing moments, especially around 1:20 which kicks the song into higher gear? At least a different gear. Vocals fit better and the instrumentation is better on this one. The suite begins and initially I wasn't able to really get into it, I enjoyed parts of it (Allegro, Fugue and Dance for example) but wasn't able to get into the suite as a whole.

On repeated listens however I discovered just how magnificent this suite really was, I'm not going to go into it bit by bit, just know that normally when metal bands try to play classical music it sounds forced and contrived but this sounds genuine, as though it were a natural sound for the band. The low production quality and lack of a backing orchestra aren't really missed on this suite and in many ways it gives the album a more raw DOY feel that I think fits the sound.

The Healer keeps the quality at an extremely high caliber. Unfortunately, the power-metal based Days of Sorrow doesn't bode as well with me leaving the album with a slightly bad taste in my mouth. The album isn't perfect, the production is't great and there are some weaker songs but the sheer ambition found in this record and the amazing technicality of the musicians more than makes up for it.

4/5 stars.

The Wanderer is Lurking in Fear

Third album with new material ("Intersections" excluded as it consists of re-recordings) for Mekong Delta since their revival and second release with almost the same line-up for SPV. Zimniak is missing compared to "Wanderers on the Edge of Time" and "Intersections" and the band is left with one guitar player. In some ways, their 11th studio album comes out as a blend of the 2007 and 2010 releases in that it marries the raw power and the extreme of the former with the more refined, melodic character of the second. A marked improvement, especially compared to "Lurking Fear", is the powerful, mature production.

Apart from that, "In a Mirror Darkly" is what you would call a typical Mekong Delta album, with plenty of their signature tech-thrash (e.g. The Armageddon Machine), a couple of impressive, varied instrumentals with the welcome inclusion of acoustic guitars and classical interludes, and a few (not surprisingly!) deviations to more atmospheric, mid-tempo structures ("The Silver in Gods Eye"). Lemar seems to have glued well with the style of the band and his vocal performance is at times impressive. The characteristic dissonant chords dominate the length of the album and it is fair to say that the melodic aspect has taken a step back, although Hubert does not seem to deviate too much from the classic Mekong Delta song-writing.

I am not sure how many riffs they can fit in 46 minutes, but the trained progressive metal listener and/or Mekong Delta fan will surely not be disappointed from the plethora of structures. What I feel the album might be lacking is the grandiose of the "Wanderer..." album, the quirky melodies, that could have made this just a little bit more special. As it stands, it is another solid release from Mekong Delta, worthy of its legacy. 3.5 stars.

Best moments: Ouverture, Inside the Outside of the Inside, Hindsight Bias

Mekong Delta's Visions Fugitives suffers for being dominated by the Suite for Group and Orchestra. Mashing up metal and orchestral work isn't exactly new - Deep Purple Mark I tried it, for instance - and it's an exercise that's often full of pitfalls. Here, the effect is rather ruined by the cheap-sounding synthesised orchestra utilised, and by the fact that the band don't really blend their music and the orchestra's performance in an especially interesting or novel way. Although some may (unaccountably) find this tedious affair to their taste, I have to give the album a rating consistent with my own reaction to it - and keeping in mind the fact that there will be plenty of other listeners who, like me, find this epic to be downright boring.

Mekong Delta are one of those bands that perpetually fly under the radar, pumping out releases pertaining to their own peculiar style while other trends in the metal and prog scene rise and fall. They were always too "thrashy" for a lot of proggers and even fans of the progressive metal circuit, and yet were too oddball and adventurous for straight-up metalheads to bang their heads to, and not 'brutal' enough for a reasonable amount of extreme fans. Yet, like Voivod, they persevere, but without even the cyberpunk cool angle Voivod encapsules. Mekong Delta are just what they are.

1987 was a busy year for German thrash, and as a debut, Mekong Delta announce right away that they weren't about slowing things down as "Without Honour" proudly displays. A full-on speedy thrashfest with little room to experiment, much like their vicious brethren such as Kreator, Sodom & friends, albeit with a vocalist who can actually sing. By track three, though, the unique aspects of the band are kicking in with "The Hut of Baba Yaga" eschewing fury for progressive flair and some classical influences, while "Heroes Grief" goes for outright gloom, enhanced with a bit of unobtrusive keyboards. There's also the tune "Black Sabbath" that's a pretty amusing ode to the band with the numerous name-checks to Sabbath tunes in the lyrics.

The overall sound is heavy yet murky, which heightens atmosphere at the expense of clarity for some of the faster riffs, but in this case it was probably the wiser choice since at this early stage the band were really just thrashing out much of the time in bullet-belt donning fashion, and the bit of haze gives the album a bit of a horror vibe that works in its favor. The band would opt for much more progressive and technical workouts concerning later output, but as a full- fledged thrash release in the 80's, it remains one of the more interesting ones, certainly concerning the year of its release.

'Visions Fugitives' - Mekong Delta (9/10)

Prior to the release of 'Visions Fugitives', MEKONG DELTA had been no stranger to classical music. Their style of thrashy progressive metal exuded the influence of many a composer, particularly those with a darker sound to their orchestral observations. When it came to actually performing classical music however, the band up to this point had more or less limited themselves to using neoclassical tricks within their metal context, even doing a cover or two. With that in mind, 'Visions Fugitives' and its centerpiece 'Suite For Group And Orchestra' was quite a long time in the making. Although some may go to criticize the band for never going as far as to use a real-life orchestra in its recording, few albums within the 'thrash metal' umbrella have engaged me so much. Throw in a few pieces of cerebral prog metal to flesh things out, and you have a piece of work that would make the old giants of progressive rock proud.

Although 'Suite For Group And Orchestra' is planted right in the middle of the album, there is still a clear division here between the ornate classical 'epic', and the more traditional songs. Like RUSH's '2112', or FATES WARNING's 'No Exit', MEKONG DELTA follow prog metal canon by giving listeners a clear cut of both gears, although every track on 'Visions Fugitives' falls firmly within progressive metal territory. As they have in the past, MEKONG DELTA shares the neighborhood with VOIVOD and WATCHTOWER, in that their brand of thrash favours the cerebral over the speedy riffage of many of their contemporaries. Besides band founder Ralph Hubert, MEKONG DELTA has been a revolving door of musicians since their inception, and 'Visions Fugitives' is no exception. Mark Kaye brings a guitar performance to the band that fits their mission statement like a glove, fusing technicality with the sort of frantic atmosphere MEKONG DELTA had been capitalizing on with prior records. As far as MEKONG DELTA's metal edge is concerned, Douglas Lee's vocals may be the most controversial aspect of the sound. Although the complex vocalizations at the end of 'Them' declare that he is definitely has the ear for singing, his vocals have a tone to them that would fit much more comfortably in prog rock rather than thrash. Fortunately, MEKONG DELTA's metal side is never far ahead of the 'prog', and his performance here works just as well for the context as Wolfgang Borgmann's did on their debut.

The classical aspect of 'Visions Fugitives' is without a doubt the most important part of the album. Though the four progressive metal songs are too worthy of being deemed masterful in their composition, 'Suite For Group And Orchestra' takes up a damned half of the record, and a listener's appreciation of the record will brink largely on their openness to heavy metal being crossbred with classical music so openly. Although classical music has been going steady with metal since the days of YNGWIE MALMSTEEN and even long before, it rarely gets to the point where the two sounds are mixed to the extent where neither is the dominant force. This is the case with 'Suite For Group And Orchestra', an elaborately composed twenty minute piece worthy of the highest commendation. Here, MEKONG DELTA mimic the atmosphere of Romantic-era classical music rather than the erudite complexity of composers before, the result being a piece with plenty of epic melody and variety, not to mention a fair deal of room for the band to incorporate their rock instruments into the fray. The soothing acoustic 'Introduction' leads into an eerie 'Preludium', complete with low horns and eerie bells to make it sound like something out of the haunted mansion in Super Mario Brothers. 'Dance' and 'Fugue' bring the piece into less frightening and more proggy, technical realms, often letting the band play powerfully without getting in the way of the orchestration. As far as the composition itself goes, it's remarkable to hear how many places both emotionally and sonically MEKONG DELTA can take a listener within a twenty minute period.

In terms of flaws, the use of a computerized, or 'fake' orchestra may not hurt the compositions or music, but there is always the feeling throughout listening to 'Visions Fugitives' that things could be even more impressive, had the band had the resources to make a full orchestral rendition of their music a reality. A less-than-excellent production quality carries over to the prog metal songs as well, with the vocals sounding somewhat muffled and less mixed than they rightfully should have been. None of these studio issues are ever enough to take away from the excellence of the band's 'vision' however; it might even be said that the muffled sound and artificial instruments even add to the atmosphere. MEKONG DELTA have long been one of the most engaging acts to come out of German thrash metal, and 'Visions Fugitives' sees them finally realize their dream of bringing classical music to the thrash realm. Even still, it feels as if this project left open room for improvement, but if MEKONG DELTA never tops the majesty they have created here, I won't be one to complain.

A bit of a return to basic thrash metal.

Mekong Delta is normally a very left field band with tonnes of strange beyond belief rhythm structures and melodies. That is not commercial music though and I suspect the band wanted more than admiration from the music scene. Money in the piggy bank, for example.

That would explain this album which is a pretty standard thrash metal album. The first half at least. And I believe the band succeeded because this album sold very well. The music though is still slightly left field avant garde at times. The Mekong Delta signature weirdness is still present here.

This album is not turkey yard material. It has some good stuff. But it is not particular good either. I guess thrash metal fans would like this album better than I do. Half decent is what this album is.

2 stars

'The Music Of Erich Zann' - Mekong Delta (6/10)

After a positive experience with Mekong Delta's debut, I was hungry for more of their material. Taking the name of one of H.P Lovecraft's better known tales, 'The Music Of Erich Zann' is the second album by these German thrashers, and despite a short time between the release of the two albums, there has been some significant development regarding the sound of the band. While the overall style of the band has improved however, it lacks the same naive charm that first attracted me to the debut. This has resulted in a sophomore that I more or less regard on equal grounds with the first.

From the first minute of music here onward, Mekong Delta are certainly not the band that was making straightforward, slightly offbeat thrash on their self-titled. Here, they have evolved into a much more technical and classically-leaning act. The improvements are most noticeable in the guitar riffs here. Instead of an early Voivod-esque style of slightly dissonant riffing, Mekong Delta turn their sights on neoclassical leads, harmonies, and complex instrumental passages. Also notable to the second wave of Mekong Delta is the most greater influence of classical music, particularly an instrumental segment here that contrasts guitars with eerie violins, creating a very modern piece of metal-fused classical music. The symphonic thing has been done countless times in metal, but its rare to hear it compliment the existing mood that the metal would have created on its own.

The downside of 'The Music Of Erich Zann' are the vocals. On the self-titled debut, I loved Wolfgang Borgmann's really energetic delivery. It felt really unpredictable, with him sometimes going for a melodic approach, or a thrashy rasp, or even a falsetto wail that would send chills down my spine. This time around, these things are still there, but they feel arranged in a much less effective way. Borgmann's voice also feels much weaker, especially with the falsettos, which come off as flat and borderline irritating. The rest of the music here is generally more intelligent and stronger than what Mekong Delta was doing on the debut, but this drags the band back down a bit. Largely due to the vocals as well, there aren't any songs that got into my head here, whereas on the debut, I found myself remembering some of the best moments of that album for days to come.

'The Music Of Erich Zann' is certainly an improvement overall for Mekong Delta, although I cannot call it a resounding success in every respect. In their transit to a more serious, and progressive style of thrash music, they seem to have lost some of their raw magic. However, this band's sophomore is a much more promising work, and hopefully on subsequent albums, they will take these intriguing new developments and refine them.

'Mekong Delta' - Mekong Delta (6/10)

Germany has been a hub for metal since shortly after its inception, but it may be perhaps best known in the context of heavy metal of a very prolific thrash metal scene that dominated the 1980's. Bands like Sodom and Kreator come first to mind, and somewhere amidst this sea of Teutonic fury was Mekong Delta. Taking after the more inventive thrash acts- most notably Voivod and Watchtower- Mekong Delta plays a dissonant and quirky style of thrash on their debut. Although the grand classical fusion they would accomplish in later albums is only hinted at here, 'Mekong Delta' is a remarkably fun album to listen to, with a few songs standing out in particular.

In general, I have rarely ever found myself attracted to the style of thrash metal. The excessive speed and lacking sense of dynamic or variety is usually enough to turn me off to many of the bands, although the more inventive bands have made some very powerful stuff. Voivod was one of those bands, and their influence is evident in Mekong Delta, another thrash band that has really impressed me. The music here upholds the tenants of thrash metal; speed, over-the-top attitude, and aggressive riffs that would get a mosh pit fueled up in any live venue. What tends to put Mekong Delta's debut a step above the legions of other debuts that emerged from this period is simply its willingness to do something a little less predictable and different. There is a quick tease at classical music to introduce the second song 'The Cure', but the majority of the quirkiness comes from the dissonant guitar riffs, and Wolfgang Borgmann's all-over-the-place vocal sensibility. The songs here rarely let up their speed or traverse much of an emotional range, but the album is smart enough to end before the music stops being fun and starts getting tiresome.

'Without Honour' opens this album very nicely, with an intensity that most resembles Metallica's 'Fight Fire With Fire'. 'The Cure' is a standout track defined by Borgmann's wailing falsetto. 'The Hut Of Baba Yaga' is a more irregular track, an eerie and atmospheric cover of the Russian composer Mussorgsky. There are quite a few more straightforward tracks on the album that don't do much for me, but 'Kill The Enemy' takes the unrelenting energy and channels it into something erratic, with the falsettos chiming in and guitars hinting at avant- classical chord structures. The high points on this album are some of the strongest German thrash metal numbers of the time, but 'Mekong Delta' is dragged down by songs like 'Nightmare Patrol' or 'Shiva's Return'; songs that while enjoyable and fun to listen to, don't offer much lasting impact or impression.

Mekong Delta may have been young and naive at this point, but they created a very good album on their first try. Things would get better still with their second album, where they would go on to address some of the problematic variety issues that this album suffers from. 'Mekong Delta' does not see this band meeting the level of the heavyweights, but the potential is here.