MEKONG DELTA — In a Mirror Darkly (review)

MEKONG DELTA — In a Mirror Darkly album cover Album · 2014 · Technical Thrash Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
4.5/5 ·
Time Signature
The armageddon machine...

Genre: progressive metal

Mekong Delta are truly an underrated progressive metal band, who deserve much ore attention than they usually get. For one, their music is very original and seamlessly go back and forth between power metal, thrash metal, symphonic metal and progressive metal. Secondly, their music is at all times challenging to the listener. Thirdly, Mekong Delta is invariably associated with top notch musicianship regardless who's in the line-up at any given time.

On their latest album, "In A Mirror Darkly", they remind us of their excellence over the course of eight tight, yet totally mind-boggling, tracks (on some versions of the release, the two first tracks are conflated into one).

After a mellow, classically oriented introduction, the listener is treated to a challenging instrumental in the form of "Ouverture" and its relentless onslaught of notes, beats, and harmonies. In typical Mekong Delta fashion, the following track 'Armageddon Machine" offers a flurry of riffs and parts, all delivered in the same onslaught manner, with Martin LeMar's vocals floating on top of the instrumentation. 'The Silver in Gods Eye' is a slightly more amorphous affair, which also has a bit of a symphonic feel to it, albeit one that aims at generating atmosphere rather than grandiosity. While 'Janus', 'Mutant Messiah', and 'Hindsight Bias' enter into progressive thrash metal territory, 'Inside the Outside of the Inside' is a driving instrumental fulls of twists, turns and challenging quirks.

Needless to say, the performance is tight and the musicianship impeccable, and Martin LeMar's voice suits the seemingly chaotic, yet stringently ordered, instrumentation perfectly. The production is characterized by a compactness that suits the complex music very well, allowing you to hear every detail. It still has the sort of mechanical edge, which is typical of Mekong Delta (and which is a good thing with this kind of music). Still, it is much more listener-friendly than, say, the production of "Lurking Fear" (which is a magnificent album, too, by the way).

Fans of progressive metal in general, and progressive thrash metal in particular should definitely check out this album. With its relentless onslaught of twists and turns and quirks lurking around every corner, "In a Mirror Darkly" truly challenges the listener in a most welcome way.
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Colt wrote:
more than 2 years ago
Love it! Great album :)
UMUR wrote:
more than 2 years ago
Nice review Kim, which is pretty much in line with the one I´ve written, but haven´t posted yet. A great technical/progressive metal album with strong thrash metal leanings.

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