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Mekong Delta > In a Mirror Darkly > Reviews
Mekong Delta - In a Mirror Darkly

Bark at the Dark - 86%

GuntherTheUndying, February 21st, 2015

As a result of excessive drinking and related conditions, I found Mekong Delta’s “In a Mirror Darkly” biding its time in the purgatorial den that is my review folder months after its release in early 2014. It had been removed from my list of albums forced to face my eternal judgment for unknown reasons. Nevertheless, rediscovering and ultimately getting a chance to digest another opus from these incredible German visionaries was a thrilling ride, especially in today’s metal scene, which sorely lacks keenness and imagination. Mekong Delta has been an eccentric exception to the rule, traversing progressive landscapes on which twisting and turning pages honor their enduring works. “In a Mirror Darkly,” too, is warped like the mind of a mad genius. Mekong Delta’s complex statures remain spectacular next to even the band’s growing phantom limb of creativity, which is truly the source of this magic.

“In a Mirror Darkly” offers an almost schizophrenic view of Mekong Delta’s abstract spirit and compelling imagination, as several components of many scopes—somatic and spiritual—mesh together. Classical influences, represented in the narrative and some song arrangements, while giving a fluid sense of connectivity among the record’s chapters, are unified by the group’s prog-driven interpretation of thrash metal. The opposite natures naturally incite creative havoc, but Mekong Delta’s structuring style makes these tracks feel cohesive and fulfilling, not crowded or overdone; nothing new to zealots of the band, of course. The joys budding from the wide and complex measures forge an album of depth and magnificent imagination, as captured by Mekong Delta’s standard of awe-inspiring tunes.

There’s a nice continuity among songs that are rather individualistic. “Introduction + Ouverture” and “Inside the Outside of the Inside” are instrumentals favoring a progressive metal outlook heavy with Rush-esque themes and eccentric structuring. On a technical level, these tracks show the multifaceted approach of the faction operating smoothly despite a conundrum of comings and goings within. “The Sliver in God’s Eye” is more ethereal and laid-back; an atmospheric, ballad-like staple I find enjoyable. I’m geared to favor the prog-styled thrashers, naturally. “Mutant Messiah” and “Janus” are busy and wild, frenetically transmitting the complex fabrics of Mekong Delta’s progressive elements at the intensity and haste of thrashing madness. The riffs link the best of both worlds together, the rhythm section is detailed and blazing with life, and Martin LeMar kills it ten times over. This, folks, is what the Mekong Delta experience is all about.

Here’s my single stupid complaint: this feels incomplete. Yeah, I know, but the forty-five minutes “In a Mirror Darkly” runs up fly by, and it’s somewhat dismaying to realize its longest slice, “Introduction + Ouverture,” is, you know, an introduction and an overture pressed together. I feel there could be another seven-minute gallery of extravagance placed on either side of “Hindsight Bias” or “Janus” to add a sense of fullness and to further explore the group’s creative dynamic. “In a Mirror Darkly” is otherwise an exceptional treat of the forward-thinking. The kaleidoscopic approach puts a metallic coat over a classical spirit; two visions intersecting to create this portrait. Mekong Delta, as usual, is a stranger in a not-so-strange world. Something special lurks within.

This review was written for: www.Thrashpit.com

...not the fairest of them all - 77%

autothrall, April 25th, 2014

In a Mirror Darkly is a nerdy progressive metal album with some inexcusably shitty cover artwork. It's also a lot less frenetic and psychotic than Mekong Delta's seminal records like The Music of Erich Zahn or The Principle of Doubt, nor is it as forceful and exhilarating as the Germans' 2007 comeback album Lurking Fear. If one or more of those things have turned you off, then I highly advise you skip along and pay this no mind. Otherwise: There. I covered all the flaws, but what I didn't tell you is that In a Mirror Darkly is a thrifty, intricate, intelligent example of progressive demi thrash with absolutely no hesitation to sound as varied and polished as possible. It's Dream Theater with a darker past, Ark without the distractingly Christian undertones, Symphony X without the flourish. Nah, it's Mekong Delta, and sorry to the above, but they were pretty much first...

I am not now and never have been an advocate for Ralf Hubert's decision to clean up the act a little, but this is the second time I've been surprised by that very result. The first was the 2010 classical opus Wanderer on the Edge of Time, which eschewed some of its predecessor's clinical badassery to refine and redefined the band's lifelong love of symphonic music. Now we've got a record which takes on a darker, Lovecraftian exhibition of otherworldly madness in about the cleanest means possible. Nothing new, since they've always had a fascination for this darker lyrical material since at least the second full-length (if not earlier), but this time out you've got a major contrast due to the extremely rich, tidy production values that you'd expect out of far bigger prog metal bands. When it comes down to the riffing, this is more or less a direct channel back to the band's earlier years, with cyclic, psychotic passages of melodic guitars and harmonies which transform Rush-like signatures into something which screams at you from the shadows, or from a surgical slab. Remarkably, the wild cadences and ebbing dementia always present in their earlier records is maintained here, despite the fact that the mix levels lend In a Mirror Darkly a lot more accessibility...

What I mean by that is, proggy mother fuckers who worship the output of labels like Sensory or Inside Out will revel in this album even if they've no interest in its brasher, intense forebears. You've got typical Mekong Delta thrashers like "Mutant Messiah" and "The Armageddon Machine" run up more theatrical, dramatic contrasts like "The Sliver in God's Eye" in which Martin leMar gets to flaunt the emotional range of his vocals, that have more impressive depths than the shriekers of Mekong's past lineups (not to mention a little Tate, Alder or Rivera). Granted, such a piece might be construed as pompous or excessively dweeby by those with a hate on for prog. metal in general, but at the same time there is a whole world of potential fans out there to whom a track like this opens a visible doorway. Personally, I side with the 3-4 heavier tracks on this disc, which are transparently cast as paeans to the band's earlier material, but I cannot complain that the less metallic components are not eloquent, professional, flavorful and help to round out the disc from becoming too manic or aimless, accusations I've seen leveled at the Germans through their past.

I don't know that this has the same level of 'personality' that you'd find on the older works, and LeMar still seems to me one of their least exciting singers, despite the more mature he takes to the material, but it's really damn solid, and Mekong Delta if nothing else prove that they still belong to that explosive second tier of Teutonic thrash, if they only marginally fit that description part of the time. We've little to no hope that Deathrow or Living Death are reforming to produce visionary works of art, but Hubert's group and Holy Moses are at least holding down the fort. In the Mirror Darkly has a narrative quality to it, a completeness which manages to compensate for the initial instrumental cuts, not exactly the murkiest stuff of squamous horror you'd expect considering some of the lyrical matter, but I'm actually grateful to hear the themes taken in a different direction once in a while, rather than monopolized by cavern-core death metal bands.

The cover image, which translates the band's triangular motif into some cloudy, indiscernible green mess, is astoundingly awful. There is absolutely no reason for a band with 30 years under its belt to produce such amateur pap when they might avail themselves of even the crudest technological advancements...just a clear, digital HD picture of something interesting would have been fine. Not that the last (new material) full-length was an eye-catcher, but this sort of thing rubs me the wrong way, nearly as lamentable as Jag Panzer's Dissident Alliance, which at least had the excuse of being releases a very long time ago. No, In a Mirror Darkly is on a "Hey guys, I spent 5 minutes with a computer graphics program in 1993" level of suck. It's not even bad in a fun way. The icon looks bad, the green logo worse, and the album title? Wow. One wonders if they ran out of funds, out of time, out of ideas, or they threw this together in the last 30 seconds before sending off their master? This is far from Mekong Delta's best album musically, I wouldn't even place it in my personal 'top 5', but surely it deserved a little more luster so that when passersby see it they might have some reason to stop and listen...are we still doing that, people? Wanna guess why more people don't know about this band? It's not just because they're plebeians (well, that too).

-autothrall
http://www.fromthedustreturned.com

Awful Cover, Amazing Album - 94%

TheStormIRide, April 23rd, 2014

While the German progressive thrash troupe Mekong Delta had an eleven year silence between full lengths with 1996’s Pictures at an Exhibition and 2007’s Lurking Fear, it’s evident, by now, that the resurgence wasn’t just a short standing trip down memory lane. 2014 brings the band’s fourth full length album since their return in 2007 (and eleventh overall), In a Mirror Darkly. Mekong Delta has always been one of those bands hovering between the absurdly technical and the amazingly melodic. Many bands go for clinical either precision by eschewing melody or the other way around, but Mekong Delta has been traversing that gap since their formation in 1985.

Continuing to juxtapose classically inspired guitar acrobatics with progressive structures and thrashing rhythm section, Mekong Delta strive forth into new territory with In a Mirror Darkly. That’s not saying this is divergently different than any of the Delta’s previous albums, because, if anything, this is continuation of their sound, but, once again, it’s elevated onto a new plane. Ralf Hubert, the mastermind behind Mekong Delta, stated that the concepts on In a Mirror Darkly are a continuation of the themes presented during their previous full length, Wanderer on the Edge of Time, but even he cautioned that this is not the same album. Traces of Mekong Delta’s previous work can be found throughout: in the melodic balladry at the beginning of “The Silver in God’s Eye”; in the blistering and fiery yet precisely progressive rhythms during “Mutant Messiah”; and in the awe inspiring, classically influenced lead guitar runs during “Inside the Outside of the Inside”.

The key to Mekong Delta’s sound being so overwhelmingly brilliant is their ability to smoothly transition from these metallic classical recitals into gut busting thrash metal into virulent heavy metal anthems, leaving no trace behind. It’s good to see that after (almost) thirty years of thrashing, these guys still get it. It’s not a play-it-safe kind of album. In a Mirror Darkly hearkens to the band’s past without copying what they’ve done. Mekong Delta has always effectively combined what I love about thrash and progressive metal and always weeded out most of what I hated. In a Mirror Darkly boasts some of the tightest drum rolls and double kicks I’ve ever heard and plenty of guitar lines that will make your jaw drop. While I will always have a soft spot in my heart for the Delta’s first two vocalists, Wolfgang “Keil” Borgman and Doug Lee, Martin LeMar has definitely earned his right to front one of the planet’s tightest acts. LeMar’s layered vocal approach embodies the range of Crimson Glory’s late Midnight with touches of the wailing, air raid style of Bruce Dickinson. He has a smooth delivery that is powerful, emotive and still allows the instruments to shine through.

In a Mirror Darkly is a true testament to the songwriting abilities of Ralf Hubert and crew. Nearly thirty years after their formation Mekong Delta is as potent and virulent as ever. I must say, though, that like the rest of Mekong Delta’s growing catalog, I find myself yearning for the sections that showcase the band’s ability to play frenetic, technical classical music through a heavy metal lens. This doesn’t mean that the band’s progressive thrashing and more mellow segments aren’t good, it’s just that when I want to listen to Mekong Delta I was to hear mind blowing classical inspired progressive thrash. In a Mirror Darkly will not disappoint fans of Vektor, Watchtower and Voivod, because, despite the band’s constant leaning towards the classical side of things, this is still a thrashing beast of an album: heavy and beyond tight. This is an album firmly plants Mekong Delta into the master class of metal bands.

Written for The Metal Observer:
http://www.metal-observer.com/