About the band
vexmantra is an instrumental trio fusing heavy riffs, melodies, grooves, sounds and visuals. The band was formed in late 2021 and is based in Southampton
Colin Dickens – Drums, Sounds & Visuals
Influenced by Zeppelin, Floyd, Underworld, The Prodigy (and many many more), Colin loves to play hypnotic grooves that ebb, flow and erupt.
Always listening to music when I get a chance, it is like having my own personal soundtrack to life
Colin plays an ancient 4 piece Pearl Export kit. A minimalist kit is the way to go as there is more chance of being fully mic’ed at a gig! Sequences of sounds and visual are triggered from a cymbal, so we can play freely and the samples follow us, we are not slaves to the machine
Mike “bas” Kloch – Bass
A death metal connoisseur originally from Poland, Mike’s background in the nastiest of metal genres combines with his appreciation for many types of music, allowing the band’s material to range from crushing riffs to beautiful melodic passages.
Mike has also made the critical mistake of allowing his quote to be written by the other members of the band…
Lubię grać na basie. To jest zabawa. I głośno. Lubię głośny bas.
Mike plays a 5 string Ibanez Soundgear series bass through a Darkglass Microtubes B7K preamp straight into the PA! Easy!
Tom Dicks – Guitars
Tom grew up on an eclectic mix of prog rock, metal, classical, and plenty in between. Tom likes playing interesting riffs that dance around a beat, with the occasional guitar solo thrown in for good measure. Rock ‘n’ roll!
Music has been my lifelong passion and is my main creative outlet. I get a tremendous amount of enjoyment from writing and performing, especially with these guys!
Tom has a page about his live gear here.
Special Thanks
vexmantra has worked with some fantastic people and we wish to recognise their contributions!
Dave Herridge
Dave was on bass from late 2021 to early 2023. Dave’s unique approach to bass made a huge impact to the band’s early sound, and his riffs feature heavily on Shake, Into the Chaos, Bad Trip, and Dead Batteries.