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.