Mekanik Kommando ‎– Shadow Of A Rose

"Say you never heard of Mekanik Kommando, but you've read Vital Weekly 728, and you bought that great, great re-issue of their first LP. And then you browse the website and see another CD by them, 'Shadow Of A Rose'. I can imagine that if you aren't that much acquainted with the development of this Dutch band, it would be quite a shock. 'It Would Be Quiet' is a landmark in 'modern' music, with its rhythm machines, two basses and synthesizers (and lots of effects), with 'modern' subjects, political even, whereas on 'Shadow Of A Rose' we hear lots of guitar, melodies, mellotron, mandolin, violin, acoustic guitars and songs about 'snow', 'dragon', or 'Where The Wolf Sleeps'. What happened? Effectively 'Shadow Of A Rose' from 1985 is the last record by Mekanik Kommando (after that the released 'The Castle Of Fair Welcome', but half way selling that they changed the band name to The Use Of Ashes, which still exist), and the first LP they released on their own Rosebud Records, after they
were kicked off by EMI. In a time span of a mere four years, Mekanik Kommando had grown from home-grown (on their first LP), via another 12" on Torso, to a record contract with EMI and learned a lot of about the technical side of recording in those expensive EMI surroundings (and re-creating it in the studio they built themselves, De Tempel, which was at times also used by De Fabriek, to add a little trivia) and this added a great depth to their music. No more ping-pong recordings on cassette, but state of the art of technology made it possible to add lots more layers to the music, and perhaps the band grew tired from being labelled 'modern'. Mekanik Kommando started to look back, to seventies music, psychedelica. This is what is already forecasted on 'Shadow Of A Rose'. The drum machine - a much more elaborate brand than on 'It Would Quiet' - is still present, and so are the synthesizers, and also the bass parts sounds quite 80s - think: Japan - but Peter van Vliet's voice, now
without effects, already has that mild 'hippy' tone (excuse le mot) to it, and the introduction of 'hippy' instruments, like mandolin and mellotron, surely add to that slight psychedelic feel. Back then I was slightly shocked when this came out, and it took me years to appreciate The Use Of Ashes, but in 2010, I think 'Shadow Of A Rose' is a great album and I am quite surprised to see it released on CD, so soon after the first re-issue. I can only hope for a speedy re-issue of the rest of their back catalogue. I can't wait" ( Frans de Waard Vital Weekly 752 )