Artist: Mekong Delta 
   Title: Lurking Fear
   Label: AFM Records

Hailing from Velbert, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany Mekong Delta soon obtained cult status with their innovative vision of Thrash Metal verging on the almost experimental.

The band disbanded shortly after their 1997 ‘Pictures At An Exhibition’ album which in itself was somewhat of a collectors piece as the album was solely and instrumental album containing some 32 tracks, which mixed 16 classical orchestrations with 16 more contemporary rock based tracks.

Now some 10 years later founding member Ralph Hubert has returned with a new line-up consisting of Leo Szpigiel on vocals, Peter Lake on guitar and returning to the fold Uli Kusch on drums, to continue the Mekong Delta legacy.

'Lurking Fear' takes up where Mekong Delta left off all those years ago with an album that takes Thrash Metal and expands its boundaries with some quite outstanding pieces.

Things get underway with ‘Society In Dissolution’ which starts off in typical Thrash Metal way with a streaming guitar and a pounding drum beat, but soon the Mekong Delta approach takes over with the classical Thrash sound mixed with an almost Power Metal rhythm section rampaging through the track, with Szpigiel’s vocals towering over everything from this point on it's clear for all to hear that Mekong Delta are back.

The album continues its bone-crushing assault with ‘Purification’, another all out metal onslaught with Lake’s guitars being the dominant feature of the track along with the thunderous drumming of Kusch, these two simply run riot throughout the entire piece.

The pace is definitely picked up on the rampaging ‘Immortal Hate’, with Szpigiel reaching vocal heights that were only ever though reachable by the mighty Rob Halford.  Once again Lake’s guitar work is just phenomenal as he just shreds like his life depended on it.  This is one of the highlights of the album for me.

The band continue to mix the traditional vision of Thrash Metal with a more Classical Symphonic Metal vibe on the instrumental ‘Allegro Furioso’, which shows the bands ability to expand the term Thrash Metal and take it to greater and a more accessible audience.

It time once again for Szpigiel to rejoin the fold for the outstanding ‘Rules of Corruption’.  A track where the might of Lake and Hubert battle it out for string supremacy as the six string duels with the four string.

‘Ratters’ is yet another Power Metal enthused track which Szpigiel shows his vocal prowess once more just before another symphonic instrumental entitled ‘Moderato’ with its sci-fi film influences.  Then it’s back to the rampaging metal with ‘Defenders Of The Faith’, a more drum orientated track this give us a chance to wonder at the skinsmanship of Kusch which is sustained well into ‘Symphony Of Agony’.

The album closes with ‘Allegro’, another innovative instrumental which outlines the bands no-fear attitude to experimentation and rounds off what is a great return for the band.

As well as the regular version of this release there will also be a special digi-pack edition which will include a bonus DVD - 'Live In Frankfurt 1991'.  If you're a fan of the band then it is well worth shelling out the extra few quid to get this 10 track DVD as well.  Superb value!

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