From the workshops of North Rhine-Westphalia, MEKONG DELTA returns to haunt the physical realm. Founded by Ralf Hubert in 1985, their sophomore effort “The Music Of Erich Zann” was originally released back in 1988. It received quite a lot of re-releases since it came out, yet High Roller Records possibly gave it the most generous nod it deserves. MEKONG DELTA always had some unique aura in Thrash Metal with their bizarre technical styled presentation, along with the concealment of their personal identities generated. While their admired debut toyed with offbeat aggression, this second album ornamented the artwork from one of H.P Lovecraft’s fascinating tales (The Music Of Erich Zann, 1922) and dived headlong into a sophisticated, classically tinged nightmare inspired by his cosmic horror. The opener ‘Age Of Agony’ immediately recalls the band’s unique aura. The guitar work from Vincent St. Johns and Rolf Stein provides a dizzying array of maddening riffs and neoclassical leads that feel significantly more evolved than their 1987 predecessor. It is a dense, atmospherically charged narrative that breakneck speed with its overall avantgarde sensibilities. Tracks like ‘Confession Of Madness’ confesses everything within the span of four minutes with the steel technical riffs and these stupendous melodic decisions that indeed may come out of the hands of some demented musician like the album godfather Eich Zann, while the standout ‘Interludium (Begging For Mercy)’, (a nod to Bernard Herrmann’s iconic soundtrack from Alfred Hitchcock’s thriller masterpiece “Psycho”) – showcases the quartet’s fondness for orchestral structures. These three minutes reveal the classic side of the band without lacking electric guitars and drums. As if Erich Zann celebrates his horrific art where his spooky harmonies and violins intertwine with the rhythm section send some shivers down the listener’s spine. It’s some modern fusion that few of their German Thrash contemporaries dared to attempt. ‘Memories Of Tomorrow’ uses the ghostlike vocals alongside a melodic, complex chugging pattern that sees the rhythm section in total freakout mode, and it’s one of the brightest gems on the album. Throughout the record Wolfgang Borgmann (Keil) (R.I.P. 2022) puts in an admirable performance and shows off new aspects to his voice. Wolf’s vocal delivery is a chaotic force; his long, shrill shrieks which reminiscent of KING DIAMOND on a caffeine bender, will either ensnare you or grate against your nerves. While his falsetto on ‘Memories Of Tomorrow’ feels a bit thin compared to the debut’s raw magic, there is no denying the frantic energy he brings to the storming, dynamic flow of ‘True Lies’. The late end of the record moves to an end with the ‘I, King, Will Come’, ‘The Final Deluge’, ‘Epilogue’ and the final instrumental bonus track ‘The Gnom’ (Modest Mussorgsky, whose works MEKONG DELTA have frequently cited throughout their entire career) altogether reminds of the epic passage from the story and subsequently tells about the atmosphere of the whole record in a nutshell – “At this juncture the shutter began to rattle in a howling night-wind which had sprung up outside as if in answer to the mad playing within. Zann’s screaming viol now outdid itself, emitting sounds I had never thought a viol could emit. The shutter rattled more loudly, unfastened, and commenced slamming against the window. Then the glass broke shiveringly under the persistent impacts, and the chill wind rushed in, making the candles sputter and rustling the sheets of paper on the table where Zann had begun to write out his horrible secret. I looked at Zann, and saw that he was past conscious observation. His blue eyes were bulging, glassy, and sightless, and the frantic playing had become a blind, mechanical, unrecognizable orgy that no pen could even suggest.”. Now if the power of the songs in the original version is somewhere held back by the somewhat computerized and flat production, then this 2025 reissue (remastered by Patrick W. Engel at Temple Of Disharmony), breathes new life into this. The result is a sharper, punchier experience that highlights the intricate bass work and the persistent gear shifting that defines the MEKONG DELTA sound. In available formats of 12″ vinyl (limited to 500 copies, 250 x 180g black and 250 x transparent orange with black & white marble vinyl, 425gsm heavy cardboard cover, insert, poster, A5 card), CD (jewel case housed in a slipcase), tape (screwed pro music cassette, limited to 150 copies, 2 panel j-card), it is a definitive re-issue package for a record that remains an autonomous curiosity in this genre. If you demand your Thrash Metal morbid, complex, dissonant and something dripping with sonic horror then this reissue is mandatory to grab and rejoice. Find out more about the band and label here: www.facebook.com/mekongdeltagermany, www.facebook.com/hrrecords