While currently on a short hiatus from recording, to prepare for a live performance at Poland's Hard Rocker II festival, scheduled for the Rudeboy Club in Bielsko-Biala, Poland on September 26th, progressive German metallers MEKONG DELTA have issued the following studio update, courtesy of bassist Ralph Hubert:

"The title of the new album will be Wanderer On The Edge Of Time. Bass is done, for my part I work out the concert guitars at the moment - we got a premiere this time, 1st movement will be with concert guitar and vocals as main instruments. I have often been asked to make a song like this. As you already know Erik (Grosch) and Bene (aka Benedikt Zimniak) are working on their guitars. Finally we have gone through all pieces of the new album, in a kind of a 'pre-pre production', to see whether all things are playable. They are, even if some are pretty tough! This have to be checked out before I could give you further information. So, what is it all about?

The new album will be a 50 minute ( ± 5 minutes ), a concept piece build up like a rondo again. The 'couplets' will be songs with vocals, the 'ritornelli' will be instrumental.

The work is build up like this at the moment:

1. Overture, instrumental and build up like a "Sonata", the main theme will be used for the "Interludes (Ritornelli)".

2. First Couplet, slow song with Concert guitar and Vocals as main instruments

3. First Interlude, fast, instrumental

4. Second Couplet, up tempo song with vocals and a lot of mauretanian influences

5. Second Interlude, mid tempo, instrumental

6. Third Couplet, agressiv high speed ( 225 bpm ) song with vocals

7. Third Interlude, atmospheric, Concert guitar, instrumantal

8. Fourth Couplet, midtempo Song with vocals and very interresting rhythm and harmonic structure

9. Couplet number five, fast with vocals, kind of "Intermezzo"

10. Fourth Interlude, fast and agressiv with some heavy drum things

11. Couplet number six, midtempo and very harmonic, featuring vocals (specially written for vocals )

12. Interlude number five, midtempo, instrumental

13. Couplet number seven, fast complicate track with vocals, this Couplet leads into

14. Finale, where parts of the Ouverture are used.

End of (August) we will start the real pre-production, if we are in this state I can tell more about the lyrics as I first have to see whether the planned mood of the songs came out as planned in the story. It's quite different if you plan with piano, bass and concert guitar and than hear the final result ( mostly it works )."

Further updates to follow.

Hard Rocker Festival II is scheduled for September 26th at Rudeboy Club in Bielsko-Biala, Poland.

Acts confirmed include MEKONG DELTA, TYGERS OF PAN TANG, WIZARD, LONEWOLF, WILD KNIGHT, HAMMERHEART, BLOODWRITTEN and ARONDIGHT.

Further festival details here.