In his excellent encapsulation of the progressive metal phenomenon, 2010’s Mean Deviation, author and former Metal Maniacs editor Jeff Wagner outlines a definite division between bands that are “Progressive” and those that are “progressive.” To paraphrase Wagner, the difference is this: In the years that progressive rock and metal have existed, a set of parameters for “prog” have developed, and some allegedly progressive bands exist within them solely – here we’re talking about the requisite “prog” hallmarks: complex compositional structures; an over-arching emphasis on technique and instrumental prowess; shifting time signatures and tempos…
But of course, reliance upon established tropes is anything but “progressive,” so Wagner defines those bands who lie within the scope of prog’s defined boundaries as “Progressive,” with a capital P, reserving the lower case for those band’s legitimately expanding the boundaries of metal…
In the mid-to-late 1980s, one of those lower-case progressive bands was Germany’s Mekong Delta. Alongside the likes of Texas’ Watchtower and Switzerland’s Coroner, Mekong helped to push thrash away from its rough and raw influences and toward a spastic, often classically based technicality theretofore unseen. Debuting in 1987, Mekong emerged at a time when the German scene was outgrowing the speed-over-skill mentality of its youth. In that turn, Ralph Hubert and his ever-changing cast of characters helped to force a tightening of the reins through dizzying dexterity and uber-complicated compositions.
For some reason, there are no readily available sound samples from In A Mirror Darkly, so in lieu of listening, please enjoy this picture of the actual Mekong Delta. As far as we can tell, no one in this picture is in the band. Or has ever heard the band.
Now nearly thirty years later, Mekong Delta is still creating quality Prog-metal, though the intervening years have capitalized the P. As the Delta has aged, the countless technical wunderkindern they helped to spawn have in turn rendered this particular blend of hyperactive riffing and shifting tempos as “Progressive,” no longer pushing boundaries. Mekong has settled into a place as one of Prog metal’s forgotten elder statesmen, one that expanded the envelope then, and one that continues to occupy those claims they staked.
Still, make no mistake: Mekong Delta may no longer be breaking any new ground, but one fact remains… They are very good at what they do.
You’d be forgiven for thinking this is a picture of long-time Krokus vocalist Marc Storace, but it’s actually a picture of former Designing Women cast member Delta Burke. Despite the shoulder pads and giant hair, she has never been in a 1980s metal band. And did we mention how there are no sound samples from In A Mirror Darkly?
What’s in this Mirror, then, is well-done Prog metal. Like those of the Mekong records before, Mirror’s compositions tend to eschew individual instrumental showcases in favor of a collective musical workout, an approach that simultaneously embraces and runs counter to the self-indulgence so often equated with Prog. All of Mekong’s players are stellar, but this remains a band effort, so no one member shines above any other. Solos are avoided in favor of intertwining riffs and classical-based melodic motifs, an attack that makes Mirror more symphonic than shred-tastic. Vocalist Martin LeMar sounds a bit like Bruce Dickinson crossed with the lower register of Michael Kiske. He keeps mostly to a moody croon that anchors Mirror somewhere between modern Fates Warning and… well, Mekong Delta circa 1987.
Balancing their hyperactive musicality with the finer points of memorable composition has always been a Mekong strongpoint. Hubert and his cast of characters manage to keep their tunes tightly on the rails, interspersing their tightly wound exercises in head-spinning coordination with melodies and riffs that both broadcast and belie the complexity of the overall piece.
Mirror has no shortage of good songs. The moody “The Sliver In God’s Eye” and the epic “Hindsight Bias” are its two best LeMar-fronted tracks, but as with any good Prog band, Mekong shines on its instrumental numbers. The second half of “Introduction – Ouverture” and album centerpiece “Inside The Outside Of The Inside” are truly top-notch – guitars dance in high-speed tandem; Alex Landenburg’s drums turn circles upon themselves; Hubert’s bass glides beneath. But in both cases, the entirety functions perfectly; the pieces make sense; the songs work like the symphonic / cinematic pieces Mekong has often emulated. (See their reworking of the Twilight Zone theme as a classic, and non-classical, example.) Complexity is no substitute for quality, and Hubert understands that – so he brings both.
Delta Airlines loves to fly, and it shows, but at press time, they had not returned any of our calls inquiring whether they also loved German prog-thrash. Despite their status as one of the world’s largest airlines, it is highly likely that they also do not have any sound samples from In A Mirror Darkly, although it is somewhat likely that they showed the film A Scanner Darkly on flights to and from Beiruit, Lebanon, birthplace of actor and former Wyld Stallyn Keanu Reeves.
Perhaps their days of leading the progressive charge are long behind – who’s to say, really. But Mekong Delta still has Prog metal left to make, and In A Mirror Darkly proves that it’s worth hearing – it’s a quality record from a band too often overlooked, one that continues not to disappoint…
Except that seriously, that album art is awful.
