Lurking Fear

And they have done a fairly good job, out of this lurking I mean, this German batch led by the visionary “madman” Ralph Hubert who shocked the metal world with the controversial metalless opera “Pictures at an Exhibition” in 1997, pictures that the metal audience didn’t want to touch, not even with a single gloved finger, even during barren times like the mid-90’s. With said opus being their last instalment for a lengthy period of time, it failed to generate the requisite level of excitement for an epitaph with Hubert finally indulging whole-heartedly in his passion for classical music (the Russian composer Mussorgsky in this particular case), again to the metal audience’s utter chagrin and annoyance.

The 80’s veterans’ reformation vogue left no old dog unmoved, and here we have one of progressive metal’s finest back on the road again. With the album-title showing a return to Lovecraft territory, the apprehension in the air is much less palpable cause apparently this isn’t going to be another tribute to all things classical. Besides, we have a stellar cast assembled for the task with none other than Peter Lake, the founder and mainman of the technical death metal wizards Theory in Practice; need I say more… two of metal’s greatest auteurs have joined forces here, a marriage in Heaven that can’t possibly generate anything less than outstanding. If we add Leszel “Leo” Szpigiel, the talented vocalist whom the fanbase know from Scanner and the Polish progressive thrashers Wolf Spider, and the drum guru Uli Kusch, who has already worked with Hubert for the recording of “The Music of Erich Zann” some 20 years earlier, then the listener simply packs all his/her troubles, and braces him/herself for this new musical, also horror, journey…

and the journey will be worth every second of your time with the abrupt beginning of “Society in Dissolution” engulfing you in schizophrenic, angular rhythms, and before this hysterical cavalcade reaches an early fever pitch starts the band’s staple surgical, clinical thrashing Szpigiel’s soaring, emotional vocals sounding wonderfully surreal on the jarring musical background, especially on those great choruses which make every track here instantly memorable. “Purification” is a tad more controlled the riff-formulas following in a more logical, gradually evolving fashion Lake adding a couple of arresting twisted configurations ala TiP to a bigger outlandish effect. “Immortal Hate” is a galvanizing progressive thrasher with smashing intense guitars which steam-roll forward intercepted by constant bouncy rhythmic leaps and screamy chaotic leads, with another nice chorus arriving later Szpigiel sounding angrier, with a synthesized blend. Expect Hubert’s operatic infatuations to spring up next with “Allegro Furioso”, another bow to the Russian classical music heritage, Dimitri Shostakovich this time, but this one is pure thrash with virtuoso crescendos pricking the listener’s mind, Lake in his nature as well duelling incessantly with the omnipresent keyboard sweeps.

A pure brief opera etude in every respect, but nothing like the meditative edgeless variations from the previous instalments, the intellectual carnage continuing with “Rules of Corruption”, a hectic amorphous shredder recalling the less speedy labyrinthine puzzles on “Kaleidoscope” with meandering riffage and only sparse faster-paced excursions, Hubert finally making himself heard prominently behind the bass. “Ratters” begins like a chapter from the Scanner discography with sprightly power metal-ish expositions, but before the astonishment becomes bigger the guys take care of the instilling linearity with more spastic rifforamas although this number remains the least complex one Szpigiel given more freedom to indulge in his outstanding vocalisms, making an almost opera tenor-like contribution to a largely positive impression.

“Moderato” is the next in line classical piece, Shostakovich again, but the title promises a more moderate execution, and indeed this is a minimalistic orchestral piece with thrash not occurring under any form, the only one here that resembles the anticlimactic nature of the preceding opus. All technical/progressive metal hell breaks loose on “Defenders of the Faith”, a mini-encyclopaedic tribute to the Judas Priest magnum opus… kidding, of course; this is 7-min of choppy intricate riff-formulas which go through myriad more or less expected time-signatures with barely a laid-back respite along the ride, Szpigiel particularly busy for the umpteenth time, relieved by Lake for the excellent virtuoso lead-driven section. “Symphony of Agony” is a dramatic bouncer trying to match the previous number with a wide array of time and tempo changes with some hard, marginally more conventional, thrashing also involved on top of swirling, perennially spinning arrangements. “Allegro” is the third and final bow to Shostakovich made into an alluring thrashing proposition of moods, superb leads, mazey riff-formulas, and thunderous bassisms all this coming together as one whole encompassing symphony, the way only this act can weave it.

There’s a tangible sense of urgency in the riff applications as though the man wanted to compensate as much as possible for the long period of inactivity, the nervy character of the music bringing it quite close to the band’s first three as well. The fan could only benefit from this kind of delivery, of course, as the riff density is quite big creating a dizzying sensation on the more vortex-like decisions, and also keeping thrash firmly in place almost the whole time. A minor complaint would be Hubert’s restrained exploits on the bass, the man giving Lake plenty of room to wave his rich guitar tapestries. The package offers pretty much everything a Mekong Delta fanatic would like to get, including the more leisurely, dreamy escapades of “Kaleidoscope” and “Vision Fugitives”, and by all means the voluminous classical references which may make some go the extra mile and unearth these mythical Russian composers. This was also the only creation this particular line-up came up with; Hubert bade farewell to his gifted partners in crime as they were getting busier elsewhere.

The reformation campaign of the new millennium was a fairly fluctuating one until this opus’ appearance. Highs (Exodus, Attacker) and lows (Nuclear Assault, Cancer) were taking turns, keeping the fanbase entertained, largely due to the guessing game that was instigated, the metalheads betting on these new showings as to which one would be good, which one just average, and which one plain bad. This “lurking fear” started a wave of highs (Pestilence, Helstar, Atheist, Carcass, Black Sabbath, Forbidden, etc.) that has been going on until the present day, with a few exceptions, of course. From this new chapter of their career the band haven’t been able to top it so far, and it would be a nearly gargantuan task, but each of the two subsequent albums indelibly has its charm, and more importantly doesn’t stray too much from the band’s (un)usual style. And it can’t be any other way, sticking with Lovecraft and the vast classical heritage…

It has not proven uncommon for the lesser known Germanic thrash patrols of the 80s to emerge renewed in the 21st century, but of all of them, Mekong Delta has made the boldest showing. Lurking Fear is a superb album through and through, and surprisingly their most aggressive and best produced. That Ralph Hubert has pulled this off after over a decade of absence, with an entirely new lineup, is akin to a miracle, but perhaps we should not be surprised that a composer of this level was capable of such an immaculate return to prominence. The boys he's brought on board for this record are no slouches themselves: veteran skinbasher Uli Kusch of Helloween, Masterplan, Gamma Ray and numerous others, including Mekong Delta in the late 80s; prog thrash and death guitar wizard Peter Lake of Theory in Practice; and last, but certainly not least, Leszek Szpigiel, the phenomenal shrieker who had done time in Wolf Spider, Scanner and Crows.

What could have stopped such a rogues' gallery from delivering the schizophrenic manhandling the Mekong Delta worshiper had so long craved? Answer: absolutely nothing. Lurking Fear is a mesmerizing outburst of intelligent, punishing tech thrash, the best album since 1989's opus The Principle of Doubt. Actually, fuck it. I'm going one further. This is the best album the band has ever recorded, so it's sort of a shame that this lineup could only be retained for just the one. It drags you into the same labyrinth of clinical, bewildering emotions that the band offered in their heyday, but with far higher values in production and an even stronger bond of songwriting than they had brought to bear on The Music of Erich Zahn or the s/t debut. Hubert has not entirely abandon the classical inclinations here, there are some orchestra instrumental covers like "Allegro" found scattered through the vocal tracks, but it's all so much more frenzied and cohesive. The album is a stunner from front to back, and if I've any complaint is that it's so fresh from the asylum that it's likely to induce paranoia. The title is truth in advertising.

Szpigiel is the perfect vehicle to pilot this whirlwind of riffing and ideas, and I always thought he might be, superior to both Wolfgang Borgmann and Doug Lee. He layers a number of higher pitched tones into some of the passages to create a hallucinogenic menace, but I also enjoy how they'll offset this with simple, percussive gang shouts (i.e. "Rules of Corruption"). The guitars are fucking insanity, just as cyclical, structured and hypnotic a beating as you'd find on any of the Theory in Practice full-lengths, and Kusch has given himself his best workout in many years. Through it all, you can hear Hubert's impeccable, low-end haunting presence and he sits back and grins at the genius he has assembled in one place. There are no stinkers on this entire album, though I heavily favor the vortexes of "Society in Dissolution", "Rules of Corruption" and "Immortal Hate (Accepting Prayers of Supremacy)", which frankly throttled my mind into the next dimension. Then again, who can resist "Moderato", in which the band incorporates familiar theatrical themes from Predator, the 'Imperial March', and others into frenetic metal symphony.

Yes, despite the band's intellect thrashing stimuli they somehow find the time to remember the 'fun' that steadied hands can have with the genre, and ultimately it all contributes to such a total package that just about every sorely lacking retro thrash outfit trying to peddle stolen dreams can go suckle their thumbs and weep. If only more artists were writing albums of this caliber, we could probably send civilization to the stars a few centuries ahead of the scheduled date, which is at this point looking like never.

-autothrall
http://www.fromthedustreturned.com

Mekong Delta were always ahead of their time. When their self-titled debut came out in 1987, the world wasn't ready for the mayhem and chaos these guys had unleashed. Now 20 years later, goddamnit all, we're still not ready, but what the hell! They're still bending it.

The sickeningly underrated German Technical Thrash monsters are back and what joy!

Lurking Fear kicks off with "Society in Dissolution" and tic tic tic toc, time travel time. Dances of Death (And Other Walking Shadows) - What a fucking album! The music is very much in the same vein, but faster, shorter in length and much much busier in every department.

The second song "Purification" is lifted off a segment from Dances of Death, which has been stretched out into a full 5 min song. Here's where I start bitching. There seems to be a serious shortage of material, which is atypical of a band who are known to have written 20 min thrash metal songs and written them so fucking well, they kept us from skipping onto the next track until the last fucking second.

Another fact about this album that I find a tad bit disappointing is the drum sound, but it's more of a technical glitch than a fault in the songwriting department, so it can be excused. So by this time, I'm thinking; "Hmmm. Alright. Not bad". This is when "Immortal Hate" comes on and I'm back to drooling all over my writing pad.

"Allegro Furioso" and "Moderato" are metal re-workings of classical pieces from Five Fragments For Group & Orchestra. The album closer is a re-interpretation of "Symphony Nr. 10" by Dimitri Schostakowitsch. These songs seem out of place and disrupts the flow of the metal juices to quite an extent. Don't get me wrong, as much I love their classical/experimental albums, I'm glad they're back and playing good ol' thrash.

It's here in the second half of the album when the madness really kicks into full gear. "Rulers of Corruption", "Defenders of the Faith" and my current favorite "Symphony of Agony" are all right up there in quality and ready for comparison with any of their earlier material. Also, Leo Szpigiel (of Wolf Spider fame) needs a special mention for rocking my sock off with his career best singing performance.

Despite being constantly compared to technical thrash giants such as Voivod and Watchtower, Mekong Delta have managed to accept those influences, mash it all together and stand out as a truly original and ass-kicking metal band. And as much as i'm tempted to give this album a 5/5, I know for a fact that these guys are capable of much more than this.

http://www.kvltsite.com