Mekong Delta - Dances of Death (And Other Walking Shadows) (1990)^{Release ID: 4071}

The discography of Mekong Delta can consist of 4 decade-long periods: 1987-1996, 1997-2006 (that period they were on hiatus), 2007-2016, and 2017-present. Bassist Ralph Hubert is the main founder and has kept the band going at high levels throughout all those active periods, always on a search for musicians to help him fulfill his complex classical visions. He started the first period with guitarists Frank Fricke and Reiner Kelch, both from speed/thrash metal band Living Death, and I heard their shredding has helped supply the band's inaccessible intelligent progressive thrash. Then at the turn of the decade, the two axemen got the axe and the then-unknown Uwe Baltrusch proved himself to be a guitar wizard who made the technical thrash template better and more flexible. After the silent second period, when Hubert reformed to begin the third period, he still wasn't able to keep a lineup as stable as other long-running bands whose members worked with him such as Helloween and Annihilator, but he did gain a wide versatile range of influences along the way. Also, the first period ended with Pictures at an Exhibition, which focused way more on classical than metal.

Dances of Death is part of the first period but it has started a fine transition into the second half of the first period. Though I'm still not up to joining the metalheads who like this band and want to share their predilections. Even then, I probably would rate the band's first 3 albums each just about 80% (4 stars), and that might split me out of that fan club who think one of those albums is the band's finest hour (or whatever that album's length is). I might not be up to finding some greatness in those albums, but I can certainly find some in Dances of Death, no doubt at all. Who needs souls and empathy?! This has what metal should have, technicality that blends both easy and difficult! Baltrusch has helped with the easy part, using his volatile guitar skills for a smoother more melodic turn on the neo-classical thrash metal hybrid. After only being restricted to the leads in The Principle of Doubt, in this album he gets to display his complete guitar talent all over. But he wasn't the only new member for this album, the band also added singer Doug Lee, formerly a progressive power metal "Siren". There was no regret for Lee to replace the band's previous vocalist Wolfgang Borgmann because of Lee's amazing clean vocals unlike the apparent eccentric wailing of Borgmann. With such a renovation in the lineup, did the band get better!? Let's find out...

The 8-movement conceptual title suite begins with a short quiet "Introduction". Then it erupts into an "Eruption" of wild frantic thrash that can easily get you headbanging. It's a short instrumental riff-fest! "Beyond the Gates" follows and Lee comes in with his dramatic melodic shouting that almost reaches falsetto without ever shaking. The music is compelling intricate thrash riff-wrath, as sharp as a steel sword to slice through your brain in an attempt to get it to absorb the wrath. More stupendous technical thrash passages split your brain in half and glue it back together, then give you a stroke and cure you. "Outburst" is definitely an outburst of frantic riffing. Then it flows into "Days of Betrayal", which is indeed a more progressive "Thrashterpiece Theatre" than the one made by Cryptic Warning. There are fast frantic crescendos and dramatic buildups in a chorus handled by the half-passionate vocals of Lee. "Restless" is, you guessed it, a minute of restless thrash leads. Then it's on to "Sanctuary" which is so brilliantly surreal with hypnotic mid-paced riffing that swirls into progressive vortexes before making its dynamic exit after 3 minutes into its final section. And finally, the "Finale" ends the suite with magnificent thrashy speed metal busy with memorable riff applications. So yeah, that was the 20-minute 8-movement title suite of this album, a grand epic that would inspire many progressive (thrash) metal bands to similar attempts. But there are a few more songs left in this album...

"Transgressor" is a short technical thrash song with superb atmosphere and more of Lee's outstanding mesmerizing dramatic vocals. "True Believers" is another technical song to delight progressive metal lovers with Hubert's great bass, along with twisted leads and hard riffs surrounding a meanly great chorus ("I don't believe you, parasite").

Then we have one more epic for this album, "Night on a Bare Mountain", an over 10-minute metal interpretation of a symphony composed by Modest Mussorgsky, supremely blending its original classical structure with aggressive thrash shredding. One of the best metal instrumentals other than Trivium's "The Crusade"! The main motif is enough to get you seated through this melodic neo-classical thrash rollercoaster ride. After all that riffing hyperspace, the meditative outro is where the acoustics really shine.

Dances of Death can never be more tantalizing than the great convincing cosmic amount it already has. Mekong Delta have made great stride, though their fanbase has been worried about massive lineup changes that might affect later recordings and new sound transformations that work out fine for a few albums but might end up jumping the shark. Well it's all just the business of Mekong Delta, and the band is confident that their neo-classical progressive thrash sound would stay on full-throttle with help from guest musicians. If there weren't any radical changes, the shredding would sound the same no matter who's taking over the guitar. Lee does some great convincing vocals which comes out as more dramatic than bizarre. This is a great new beginning for progressive thrash metal, though the band might've had a bigger climax in albums like their next one, Kaleidoscope. But still, Hubert had planted seeds for a grand opus of dexterously arranged neo-classical thrash metal. Come and take this dance!

Favorites: "Dances of Death", "Night on a Bare Mountain"