All the way from the Phillipines, this psychedelic doom metal band known as POLYMERASE have been on the metal in their native country for a few years, as they are a trio comprised of vocalist VINCENT JOSE who is seen as the brainchild of this band of three musicians, he is their vocalist and lead guitarist. On bass guitar duties is ALLAN GALIGA providing the warmth and tone for the band, but finally on drums giving those boomy kicks as well as cracking snare hits is none other than FRANCIS IIGAN so that makes up the trio. As mentioned the band have been active for a few years marking their first release with an EP titled UNOSTENTATIOUS which certainly got a real cool sci-fi psychedelic feel to it, but despite the absence of vocals, both guitars and drums steal the show in this EP.

This EP has certainly got me excited already, even instrumental tracks can be so good especially when guitars and drums combine together to produce some top quality doom metal fused with psychedelic rock, as guitars are produced with what sounds like a lot of reverb or lots of audio effects but it works like a treat. They followed this up with another great sounding EP titled DREAMS AND REALITIES I containing four tracks, along with four instrumental versions of these four, as a bonus feature. The psychedelic doom crossover has certainly come to light in this release, the songs are more evolved from the previous release, this is a great EP and this was followed up by the band's third EP; DREAMS AND REALITIES II.   This second installment to the previous EP, is perhaps to be considered a sequel, but let's now move on and take a good look now into their debut full length album, yes that's it, they finally have an album to listen to. So their debut album is called MINDSPACE as it was released a few months ago now, back in May this year, so we can dive straight into the album with its first track being "93 Billion Light Years". As we hear what is most likely to be a short vintage recording or audio clip from the live broadcast of when the three American astronauts landed on the moon in 1969 before lead guitar plays a riff or two. There is some kind of a delay effect on the guitar which certainly gives that theme of a sci fi abstract as the track started with the moon landing recording, so onwards we can go into the next track, which is "Divine Reefer".   The next track opens with low volume vocals, some guitar playing and extraneous sound effects, there is certainly some slow psychedelic music being played, the drums do this very well as do the guitars and vocals. Drums keep it simple with kick and snare, as a fairly easy pattern of a groove, as guitar plays some distorted riff playing and vocals are there, but distant nonetheless this is a good way of portraying the psychedelic influences. The track doesn't drift off its course nor does it deviate in any way, so the track flows nicely with what we have already heard before. The drums might vary a little when they play low end toms and then a crash cymbal but using the same pattern from before, so the rhythm is the exact same.   "Incense For The Beast" is up next as we hear some interesting and mysterious guitar riff playing, some more sound effects in the works and vocals come in a little later on, as they are in screamer mode this time, so there are cymbal hits along the way too. The drums and guitars have some processing being done, some distortion and frequency alterations, but nonetheless this works very well for this track so far even with the screamer vocals. The vocals perhaps represent the beast and the rest of the instrumentation is the incense, so musically and sonically, this track as each instrument symbolises its title, it is very effective in doing so. "Space Child"  comes next as we hear guitar riffs playing once again distorted in some way, but drums are in there to accompany.   In the background we can hear a stirring extraneous sound effect whirling around the track, as the guitars and drums play by themselves for some time. The lead guitar takes the centre of the track for a short time, as drums accompany then the lead guitar fades away briefly but comes back again. The guitar turns up the volume, as we can hear it as it becomes more prominent in the mix, there is a lot of picking notes, the drums step up when they are striking cymbals to add to the track's personality. "Crows And Doves" opens with quiet guitar playing then drums do come with some more groover playing and vocals are there but not too loud, as the guitar continues to play more distorted riff playing.   The screamer vocals do return later on in the track, as this totally takes us by surprise, but when the screamer vocals are not present in the mix, the melodic vocal line is coming back in only for screamer vocals to return once more. The guitars and bass guitar go along with drums, so an instrumental section is in front of us, but screamer vocals have another part to play, then the flow of the track differs slightly, the rhythm of guitar changes a little, drums follow along with cymbals being struck. So a very calm and quieter closing section to this track brings us into the next track which is "Cosmic Wanderlust", as this track opens with a more upbeat drumming pattern, as guitar slides in to play some riffs but they're not too noticeable as they are immersed into the mix with sound effects.   Vocals come in as they chant, but not too loud at all, enough so they can be heard and the drums keep going with the same pattern, as vocals come and go, bass guitar is somewhat there yet also not too audible or jumping out of the mix as much. So the track follows a fairly straight forward course of action, drums do vary their patterns with cymbal hits and improvisation. As we now go into the next track which is "Interplanetary  Echoes", opening with some narrative speaking at the start, maybe some old vintage recording of one or two people speaking but sounds like one person. We hear the repeat and sci-fi theme with sound effects, might even be bass or lead guitar playing this, then drums are coming with cymbals before the drummer plays another simple enough pattern.   So we can hear guitars, lead & bass playing alongside as vocals are present but again they are doing a type of chanting but singing also mixed together to create the psychedelic and doom metal theme that has been consistent in this album. An instrumental sound has now taken over, with drums becoming more active with cymbal hits and playing across the kit with solo pattern, the guitars follow along as vocals are taking a breather. They do come back as the tempo and track is tightened up with more experimental rhythms from drums, guitars and vocals lurking around. So into the final track which is "Downward Spiral" as we come to the end of this debut album, we hear all instruments playing a gradual but steady tempo, so nothing too different here really.   The vocals are there in the track but they are not too high in volume so that way the guitars and drums can be heard just as much, as the track brings this album to a conclusion, there are a lot of positives to take away. Some very cool and groovy patterns by the drummer, so the tempo is fixed in place for guitars to play over and the vocals can come in as they please, at times as well the guitars will pull back to allow drums to shine through to take the spotlight. But there is no doubt the vocals do alternate so well between clean and screamer notes, so we have to commend the vocalist on this approach. The drums do create a crescendo with some heavy cymbal hits as guitars continue on to produce that distorted psychedelic rock tone, as well as any synth sound effects that may be included.   So overall the album considering it's a first for this talented Filipino four piece band, it is certainly worth looking into, there is possibly maybe more of a concept behind this album, from looking into this in more detail. There are various influences in terms of the theme of the album including transcendence, spiritual awakening and altered state of mind, so the album certainly reflects these themes or ideas, as well as mixing sludge, doom metal and post metal with psychedelic rock. So do check these guys out and enjoy the album as it certainly portrays some very interesting themes and perhaps there will be a follow up album.