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Vision Reflecting E.P.

      
         
         
         
     
             
Introspectrum are a progressive metal band from the UK formed in 2017 by accomplished bass player Dan Mailer. Dan played bass guitar for the British heavy metal band Kaine for six years, leaving in 2015, to join metal band Gabriel and played on their 2016 E.P. 'Death Awaits'. In his role as a session musician, Dan has also played bass guitar for many other bands such as Monument, Daemona, Osmium Guillotine and The Tickturds. His new venture, Introspectrum, was formed to express his own musical ideas, with Dan playing all instruments and taking on the role of singer too.    
             
When you take a look at the genre of bands Dan has been a member of, if you're expecting a classic sounding and traditional British heavy metal romp from his new venture, you will be very disappointed. Without the "tunnel vision" of keeping to a single genre of heavy metal, Dan has opened his mind and stepped over the boundaries of various musical genres. The opening instrumental, 'Motion.Emotion' is a soulful wander, building an eerie atmosphere as it gently builds towards a crescendo, before exploding into life with a thunderous bang...heavy guitars chug along, keeping the atmosphere building, until, thrash, bang and wallop, 'Of Faith And Mind' detonates with an explosive fury. Blending influences from all over the musical spectrum, 'Of Faith And Mind' strides on, with pace and tempo changes aplenty.    
             
Anyone who hasn't heard Dan sing, will be pleasantly surprised. His voice is clean, clear and he sings with passion and pride. Scurrying into view, 'Icon' stands squarely in the progressive metal genre, and features a guest performance by Kaine guitarist Saxon Davids. 'Icon' is heavy, thunderous and has a much more in your face kind of attitude than the opening song. Not forgetting the traditional sound of British heavy metal, listen close enough and you'll detect traces of it here. All too soon, and the four song E.P. has reached its final song...although there are rumours that a full length album will follow, probably at some point in 2018.    
             
But until then, the six minutes plus 'Hopeless' is a meandering, effects laden journey through various genres such as progressive, alternative and grunge...yep, I said grunge! Whilst 'Hopeless' never gets up to a speed that would please the head bangers out there, Dan pushes his vocal talents in different directions, and delivers a very passionate and inspirational, motivational speech (*see below). As a teaser for what may come in the future, 'Vision Reflecting' is aptly titled and an intense introduction to the mind of Dan Mailer.    
             
Overall, an exploration through various musical styles, breaking down boundaries between metal genres to produce a very interesting and infectious listen.    
             
             
Review by Iron Mathew Collins    
             
Reviewed for Introspectrum    
             
             
* as spoken by Dan Mailer during 'Hopeless' . . . " Is it really a bad thing to want to succeed at something, especially something you know you are good at. Something you put all of your life and passion into, something you put your soul into. What does it take to make some kind of impact on the world, no matter how small. I want to make that impact, I want to achieve something, I wont stop until I do "    
             
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