Mekong Delta (band)

Mekong Delta
General information
Genre (s)	Progressive metal , thrash metal
founding	1985
Website	http://www.mekongdelta.eu/
Founding members
Bass / concert guitar	Ralf Hubert
Current occupation
bass	Ralf Hubert (Björn Eklund)
guitar	Benedikt Zimniak
guitar	Erik Adam H. Groesch
singing	Martin LeMar
Drums	Alex Landenburg
former members
Drums	Jörg Michael (Gordon Perkins) (1985–1987)
Drums	Uli Kusch (Patrick Duval) (1987–1990, 2006–2008)
Drums	Peter Haas (1991-2006)
guitar	Frank Fricke (Rolf Stein) (1989–1997)
guitar	Reiner Kelch (Vincent St. Johns) (1989–1997)
guitar	Uwe Baltrusch (Mark Kaye) (1989–1997)
guitar	Peter Lake (2006-2007)
singing	Wolfgang Borgmann (Keil) (1985–1990)
singing	Doug Lee (1990-1994)
singing	Leo Szpigiel (2007-2008)

Mekong Delta is a Thrash - / progressive metal - band from Germany, founded in 1985 by Ralf Hubert. In the early years, the band tried to keep the cast a secret.

Stylistically, the Mekong Delta fluctuates between Thrash Metal, Progressive Metal and a strong reference to works of classical , impressionist , expressionist and new music . The complexity of the music varies from album to album. The albums, which originally had a rather thin sound (Hubert himself literally confessed in an interview with Rock Hard magazine that the first works of his time as a metal producer were “totally wrong” in terms of sound technology), were remastered in 2002 with a new mix released.

particularities

• The Music of Eric Zann is thematically about the story of the same name by Howard Phillips Lovecraft .
• The text of The Principle of Doubt is partly based on The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant by Stephen R. Donaldson . This fantasy cycle also influenced Visions Fugitives textually.
• Classics is a collection of classical adaptations.
• Pictures at an Exhibition (purely instrumental) adheres relatively closely to Modest Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition , as far as this is possible with a classic rock band line-up. However, the piece is also included in a second, orchestrated version on the album. In addition, this album was also available in a multimedia version. You could navigate through a virtual exhibition with interpretations and listen to the music. Short biographies of Modest Mussorgsky and Mekong Delta are also included, as well as live clips and short interviews with Ralf Hubert. Plans to bring the orchestral version live on stage with appropriate instruments failed.

Discography

Studio albums

• Mekong Delta (1987)
• The Music of Erich Zann (1988)
• The Principle of Doubt (1989)
• Dances of Death (and Other Walking Shadows) (1990)
• Kaleidoscope (1992)
• Visions Fugitives (1994)
• Pictures at an Exhibition (1997)
• Lurking Fear (2007)
• Wanderer on the Edge of Time (2010)
• In a Mirror Darkly (2014)
• Tales Of A Future Past (2020)

Live albums

• Live at an Exhibition (1991)
• Live in Frankfurt 1991 (DVD, 2007)

Compilations

• Classics (1993)
• The Principle of Doubt (Ambitions) (2005)
• Intersections (2012)

EPs and singles

• The Gnome (1988)
• Toccata (1989)

Web links

• Official website of the Mekong Delta
• Mekong Delta Factsheet

Individual evidence

1. ↑ full text of The Music Of Erich Zann ( Memento from December 2, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) (English)