Register Forgot login?

© 2002-2024
Encyclopaedia Metallum

Privacy Policy

Mekong Delta > Dances of Death (And Other Walking Shadows) > Reviews
Mekong Delta - Dances of Death (And Other Walking Shadows)

A humble review to a monument - 96%

Forever Underground, June 15th, 2021

My introduction to Mekong Delta came at the end of 2019 through this album and I do not deny that I became a fan instantly and that this group has become a clear reference for me musically, also this Dances of Death has become in less than two years one of my most listened albums by far compared to many others, every very little time I return to it, especially to listen to its homonymous theme which seems to me one of the definitive themes of progressive thrash. For some reason that I don't understand, the simple fact of having to write about this album has cost me a lot, it's as if it was impossible for me to explain what, in my opinion, makes it so exceptional, I know that I always talk about the subjectivity of the critic and that for that reason we should not stop seeing criticism as an exercise of personal reflection and therefore it seems stupid to me to demand absolute objectivity from the critic, since that is impossible for the human being, but I really want to try to be as possibly objective with this album, because I feel that it deserves it. A humble review to a monument.

Dances of Death begins in a melodic way, which already establishes one of the principles of the band's music, the variety in their pieces and their brushes with classical music with a touch of romanticism, but soon all that ends to give free rein to the thrash vein of the band, quickly they can show in a short instrumental of an intense music, with complexity and changes and most importantly, with hook, I think you can perfectly say that this is one of the albums of Mekong Delta that best find the balance between the most technical compositions and the catchiest riffs.

Mekong Delta despite being led by the master "Ralf" Hubert, is still a band that takes advantage of the sum of its parts, "Ralf" Hubert himself controls an exceptional bass, which should be much more valued by the community in my opinion, but above all his brilliance can be seen in the quality of his compositions, I think that in this part is where his eccentricity for classical music and his perfectionism in the compositions and arrangements stands out the most, perfection that unfortunately many times he does not demand in the production of his albums, however the production and mixing of this album is exceptional, truly a gigantic step above his previous works. Also, this album is the first of the American vocalist Doug Lee, my favorite of all the ones, the band has had, and what he contributes on the album is immeasurable, his capacity for the high notes and the falsettos harmonize in a correct way with the music, maybe his contribution to the work is little due to the number of instrumentals, and in the themes "Transgressor" and "True Believers" he is a little weak (but I will detail that later.) But in the homonymous theme his performance is masterful.

As I already said, this is the first album with the participation of Doug Lee, as it is also the last one with the drummer Jörg Michael, who gives a masterful lesson of his instrument, impossible not to value his ability to enable the more technical sections and play them with total mastery to play at the most vertiginous speed, special mention to his double pedal that destroys the performance of many well-known drummers in the field of extreme metal. Having mentioned three of the four members of this album I think it would be unfair not to talk even briefly about Uwe Baltrusch as he offers a solid performance as a guitarist showing the most virtuosic side ever seen in the band, proving to be an outstanding guitarist on both lead and rhythm guitar.

I have spoken before about the production, there is a clear difference in the sound if you listen to the original and the remastered versions, the original has a more raw sound especially in Doug Lee's mix, where in several segments it sounds like Geedy Lee from Rush, and in the choral parts, the remastered versions have a more polished sound and has a electronic/industrial sound. Which one is better? Personally I can't decide, I think it depends on each one and mainly on what each one is used to have listened to first, I have seen that there are people who can't stand the remastered version but for me both are perfectly listenable.

Having spoken in general about the music and other aspects surrounding the album, I think that because this work only has four songs, I can allow myself to go deeper into each of the songs. Starting with the homonymous theme, an epic piece composed by 8 shorter songs that are complemented by harmonic arrangements and appropriate uses of late motivs (Wagner's heritage) and it is really the song that best shows that ability to combine more technical compositions and still be catchy, here we enter in pure subjective terrain because I really find it hard to explain why this song seems so good besides all that I have mentioned above, I will only say that normally I listen to the music I am writing about as a regular routine but in this case it has been impossible in this case because despite having heard it countless times the excitement that causes me to listen to it continues to make me get up from my chair, captive of its rhythm. I guess it is one of those few occasions where the music can not really be described reliably with words.

With "Transgressor" and "True Believers" I have my biggest doubts about the outstanding quality of the album, I explain my problem with them, after the monument that is the initial song the first minute and a half of "Transgressor" feels totally out of wave, although once you get the first chorus and the subsequent guitar solo the song comes back with more than enough, maybe it's because it has grown on me, just like "True Believers" and now I find them quite good but for months my skip button was ready to be pressed twice once I finished "Dances of Death", even so I always considered "True Believers" as a passable song, with a structure, that although classic, works, and reaches a musical climax at 2: 59 with that totally destructive guitar sound that elevates what was being a mediocre track.

I've always wondered what the hell is wrong with these two songs, although I actually like them a lot I can't help but think that it's due to the number of times I've listened to them and that because my perception of the album is so great, it influences me to value these two songs more highly. Even so, the existence of these two songs is strange to me, mainly because of one element that throws me off, and that is the vocal performance. I have already said that I like Doug Lee as a vocalist but in these two songs the way he delivers the lyrics reminds me of the style of the previous vocalist "Wolfgang Borgmann", which would indicate that these songs were recorded before the song "Dances of death" which is strange because the main impression I have when listening to these songs is that they are pure fillers recorded later, but when I listen to Doug Lee so little released seems the opposite, so I assume that they were single tracks recorded prior to the album and that they were added to fill a little more content to the album.

The album closes with an instrumental cover of one of the most important works of Russian romanticism "Night on Bald Mountain" by Modest Mussorgsky, possibly the most influential composer for Mekong Delta as this would not be the first or the last time the group would perform his work. Besides capturing the tone of the work, the darkest and most melodic passages of the whole album are found here in a recreation of their own but measured, Mekong Delta dares to experiment with sounds that for a moment it seems that they should not fit with something like classical music, but this is not a cover, it is a reinterpretation, which is an advantage because they are not limited by the original material and do not have to be absolutely loyal. Maybe some people could be annoyed by this experimentation with the sound, but it can't be denied the quality of the musicians when interpreting the most recognizable passages of the work, and also the end... that end.

The end of "Night on Bare Mountain" and therefore of the album is perfect. Why? You may ask. To begin with it represents with its own style the same as in the original work, the arrival of the dawn, with those soft guitar notes representing the first sunbeams of the day, those same notes that served as introduction to the album 37 minutes ago, giving a cyclic connotation to the album, because death is part of the cycle that we know as life, where walking shadows dance by our side waiting for the end... But even if one day our eternal night comes, the dawn will remain.

This has been "Dances of Death (And Other Walking Shadows)", an incredible work with great melodies, deep messages and small flecks in an almost perfect album.

An Invitation to a Danse (Macabre) - 98%

bayern, May 31st, 2017

The Mekong Delta career can be split into three periods: 1987-1989; 1990-1994, and 2007-until the present day. Ralph Hubert has kept the level high all these years always finding capable musicians to realise his ultimately complex, classical-haunted schizophrenic visions. He teamed up with the Living Death guitarists during the first period, and their clinical surreal, hallucinogenic shreds made the band a name quickly as suppliers of elaborate, not very accessible at times, but ultimately intelligent progressive thrash. By 1990 the two axemen had to go, and were replaced by just one, the unknown at the time guitar wizard Uwe Baltrusch who brought a warmer, more flexible technical thrash template which worked better alongside the growing classical infatuations of Hubert. After the reformation in the new millennium the man hasn’t been able to keep a steady line-up having worked so far with musicians from Scanner, Helloween, Theory in Practice, Annihilator, etc., and consequently this is the most versatile period from the band’s history with a wider range of influences and styles. Please note that “Pictures at an Exhibition”, the 1997 instalment, hasn’t been included in any of the periods due to its non-metal, too classical-immersed nature.

Although my personal favourite from the band’s discography is “Kaleidoscope”, and I consider the second period the finest one, I haven’t been able to find too many metalheads to share my predilections. In 80% of the cases the preferences go towards the first period with “The Music of Erich Zann” and “The Principle of Doubt” splitting the fans’ opinions as to which the guys’ finest hour is. There’s a lot of greatness emitting from those two, there’s absolutely no doubt about that, but I have always found the Living Death lads’ pyrotechnics way too dry and sterile, making the more elaborate sections even more difficult to decipher, devoid of soul and empathy (who needs these on a metal album, man?! get a grip!). With the arrival of Baltrusch the guitar sound acquired a more volatile, easier to mould, character which made the “thrash vs. classical music” hybridization way more coherent and smoother, and needless to add more melodic. Actually, the guy was already a part of the line-up on “The Principle of Doubt”, but his role on that one was only restricted to providing the leads. On the album reviewed here he handles all the guitarisms, and his talent is on full display all over.

Another important new addition to the line-up was the singer Doug Lee, a former “siren” of the American progressive power metallers Siren. Hubert produced their only foray, and decided that Lee would do no wrong to replace Wolfgang Borgmann, the latter another debatable departure provided that his wailing eccentric, hygienically clean vocals were an indelible part of the band’s early exploits. Hubert was obviously doing a major renovation of the interior… but was all that hassle for the better?

After a short quiet introduction, with which the conceptual part, comprising eight movements, of the album commences the band erupt on “Eruption” with frantic, bouncy thrashing which becomes wilder with time reaching headbanging proportions with ease, with outlandish gallops taking over making this very short instrumental a most eventful riff-fest. “Beyond the Gates” follows suit, and Lee comes to the fore with his exemplary dramatic antics sounding way more proficient than Borgmann’s shaky falcetto. The intricate thrashorama is absolutely compelling with steel sharp riffage cutting deep burrows into the listener’s brain as the latter won’t have much time to absorb everything here despite the several more orthodox passages provided; a stupendous technical thrash stroke splits the song into two this particular passage a pivotal moment on the whole conceptual etude. “Outburst” is exactly that, an outburst, 1.5-min of hectic schizoid riffing which flows into “Days of Betrayal”, the definitive progressive thrashterpiece with frenetic fast-paced crescendos and eclectic dramatic build-ups during the supposed chorus the latter handled by Lee in the most quirky semi-dispassionate manner.

“Restless” is exactly that, one min or restless semi-lead driven thrash which gives way to “Sanctuary”, a brilliant surreal piece with creepy mid-paced hypnotic riffs, more ambitious progressive vortexes and a more dynamic exit all this contained within mere 3-min. “Finale” is naturally the end of the “Dances of Death” opera, a magnificent speed/thrashy tractate with busy jumpy interruptions and some truly memorable riff applications. “Transgressor” is minimalistic technical thrash with superb more laid-back atmospherics Lee outstanding behind the mike producing mesmerizing highly dramatic vocal pirouettes. “True Believers” is another delight for all technical and progressive metal lovers with Hubert taking the upper hand with great vociferous bass support, with twisted leads surrounding the engaging rifforamas which alternate hard-hitting dashes with pacifying “idylls” the meanly spat chorus (“I don’t believe you… parasite”) another highlight on this exemplary multi-faceted composition. But that’s not all as the centrepiece of the whole opus is yet to be savoured, “Night on a Bare Mountain”, an 11-min interpretation of the Modest Mussorgski’s symphony of the same title, a supreme blend of classical structuring and aggressive thrashing shreds, one of the ten best instrumentals in the annals of metal, the main motif alone deserving the price of admission with its infectious melodic roller-coaster vibe; Hubert makes himself heard with several authoritative bassy excursions which usually appear after a hyper-active riff-salad all the way to the meditative balladic finale.

Dancing with Death has never been a more tantalizing proposition the band sounding as convincing as ever after the considerable cosmetic alterations. On “The Principle of Doubt” they really found their stride, and apprehension was definitely up in the air the fanbase worried about future recordings with regards to the line-up changes made, also considering the transformational process that was starting worldwide with new sounds entering the audience’s consciousness. It didn’t take long for the latter to see that that it would be business as usual in the Mekong Delta camp, and that the classic progressive thrash panorama would proceed on full-throttle arguably even sounding more appealing with the new musicians involved. If music-wise the shift wasn’t that radical, Baltrusch’s shreds not drastically different from the ones of his colleagues, in the vocal department Lee definitely sounded more convincing than Borgmann, and not much less bizarre truth be told, especially on those high-strung dramatic, semi-quarrelsome tirades. A great new beginning for everyone involved this effort was which had a most worthy follow-up in the form of the mentioned “Kaleidoscope”, the climax in the band’s career. The seeds for that opus’ grandeur were planted by this album here Hubert dexterously conducting all the performers in one flawlessly arranged, thrashy/classical danse macabre.

Walking in the shadows (of their 80s output) - 70%

autothrall, February 3rd, 2011

The severing of Wolf Borgmann from Mekong Delta feels almost as if someone were clipping the umbilical cord from the band's muse. Even though the man had his flaws, he was surely one of the most distinct voices in German thrash, and his presence on the great trio of iconic albums that jump started this band's legacy would cast a massive shadow on whoever was to follow. But the band also lost Frank Fricke after The Principle of Doubt, who was also a piece of the puzzle through their steady rise to cult status, so it was rather a surprise that one year later, they had a new vocalist in tow and a new album flitting about.

Doug Lee (of the obscure US band Siren) was chosen to join the band after 'Keil's' departure, and he would become the new voice of Mekong Delta for seven years. But despite the fact that the band did a decent job of finding a nice match for their crazed, meandering fusion of tech thrashing wanderlust, he's got some notable differences. He has a more pinched, higher register that is often hurled at the listener in waves of shrieking, and at times he reminds me of another Lee (Geddy), especially where he's given more room to breathe. As for the music, it's not a lot different than The Principle of Doubt or The Music of Erich Zann, with the exception that the novelty of their asylum-like testimonials was starting to wear thin, and you were hearing a lot of material that honored and acknowledged the band's past albums, but did little to surpass them. For example, there are a number of tracks here which use a similar, wrenching tempo similar to "A Question of Trust", but are just not as catchy.

The first eight tracks are all components of the title track, "Dances of Death", and they range from a dark, clean classical guitar intro to the bristling force of "Beyond the Gates" and "Days of Betrayal", in between which are twined some shorter thrashers like "Eruption" and "Outburst". Ralph Hubert and Uwe Baltrusch are on fire, the bass skilled and swerving, the guitars delivered with the same clinical precision as a Realm, Deathrow or Psychotic Waltz. But despite the frenzied level of energy and the thinner, better keyed presence of Lee, none of these are really the highlights of the album. Those are manifest late in the album, through the disconnected tracks "Transgressor" and "True Believers", both coiled tightly with great bass work and punchy psychosis; and the impressive, 10:25 metallization of Modest Mussorgsky's epic "Night on Bald Mountain", Anglicized here to "Night on a Bare Mountain".

It's impressive to hear the band tackle such a unique and noteworthy piece of classical history, and not the first time they've visited this one composer ("The Gnome", which appears here once more as a bonus track, rendering it's native EP worthless once more), and though it's absolutely no substitute for its original form, it's important as another presage of the band's future focus on incorporating classical music directly into their thrash. But in the end, it's just not enough to save this album from the merely 'good' category. Dances of Death (and Other Walking Shadows) does possess some of the best production work of the band's career to date, but so few of its constituent tracks offer more than a few moments of writhing, propulsive confusion and head jerking curiosity. After the three intensifying works leading to its conception, it feels like a clear step down in effectiveness, and it cannot all be pinned on the new singer.

-autothrall
http://www.fromthedustreturned.com

Trippy as hell. Twisted Genius. - 99%

FragKrag, March 18th, 2009

Mekong Delta are a damn fine band. Some of the best prog thrash around, and they have yet to produce something boring. The musicianship and writing in this album are absurd... in a good way. I really don't have anything to say that isn't positive about this album.

Alright, so Mekong Delta. A horribly underrated band, and for reasons I do not know. This album is trippy. Most of the riffs sound like random notes put together for maximum awesome abstract affect. Hell, it works! I can't stop listening and god knows how they wrote the riffs. Like most progressive bands, the musicianship is awesome. Guitars and drums are top notch.

Most of the time, when a band goes technical, it's to the point where the music sounds like random assortments of notes. Well, Mekong Delta has almost reached that point. It's as if the band decided to forget everything they know about music theory and just compose by feel. The product however, is truly an awesome experience for your ears.

The riffs are probably the highlight of this album. The riffs are unbelievably complex and unbelievably catchy... I couldn't pull myself from this album. It grows quickly. Many people may be put off by the unique sound, but give the album a few plays and it will soon be stuck in your head. Some of the most memorable riffs are in "Beyond the Gates". The riffing in that song is pure genius. The vocals and the drumming fit perfectly with the riffs. Along with the furious riffing, the album is complemented by sudden... very sudden tempo changes. "Outburst", and "Days of Betrayal" are also highlights from Dances of Death.

The solos in every single one of the tracks are twisted genius. "Fuck normal arpeggios and shit, we're making our own music theory", is what the every solo seems like. Twisted. Genius.

Then, after the title track, there are three other awesome tracks. Transgressor is a real thrasher. The song seems to follow a bit of a thrash formula, with gallup riffs, but also with random tempo changes, and weird melodic breakdowns. Hell, the song is completely fucked up, but in a good way. True Believers is strange, just like Transgressor, but it also has a great chorus. "I don't believe you I don't believe you, Parasite!" It got me.

Then comes Night on a Bare Mountain, a cover of a classical song by Mussorgsky. Again, twisted genius. A metal classic song at its best. The original song seems to lend itself to a metal cover, and by god, Mekong Delta did it. Awesome. +100 respect for that. It takes a few listen to fully appreciate, but once you do, it earns a place in your heart.

One thing I didn't mention in great detail was the drumming. Well, it's extremely good use of the double pedal. The drumming is every bit as technical as the guitar work, but when you have furious riffing like the kind you have in this album, you won't pay attention to the drums as much.

In conclusion, a great album. Get it. So why did I take a point off? Well, because while you don't need to be high to enjoy it, being high makes the album so much better. So for you people who don't have access to a high (be it sugar or meth), this gets a 99!