Praying Mantis Legacy



Praying Mantis were one of the leading lights of the NWOBHM scene back in the early eighties with the release of their debut cd Time Tells No Lies in 1981 and now 6 years after their last cd Sanctuary they burst back with Legacy due out on the 21st of August on Frontiers Records Srl.

Legacy sees the recording debut of 2 new members namely John "Jaycee" Cuipers on vocals and Hans In T Zandt on drums who join founder members Tino and Chris Troy on guitars and Andy Burgess on bass and together they have recorded maybe Praying Mantis's best ever cd.

The NWOBHM style of yore has long gone and in it's place is a Melodic Metal masterpiece that has melody at it's core with superb choruses and plenty of guitar's that again have melody lines everywhere.

Opener Fight for Your Honour sees keyboard swathes added to a bouncy melody line in the chorus and Cuipers showing a harder edge to his vocal style with a hint of RJ Dio.Great to be able to hear the excellent bass lines of Burgess alongside the hard hitting drum work of Zandt.I love the way one guitar riffs and the other plays a melody line showing how the brothers Tino and Chris work together.Sure to be a live favourite.

The One is pure melodic heaven with the keys and guitars taking a back seat and let's you listen to Cuipers vocal delivery.Some soaring notes in both the verse and chorus and superb backing vocals in the chorus give it a real depth.A just so guitar solo takes the melodic quota even higher on a song that would have been all over MTV back in the day.

Beleivable has more guitar melody lines at the start before the song builds to another big chorus with keyboard and backing vocals added to the mix then back to the guitar melody.Light and shade after the second chorus before the band crash back in and another excellent guitar solo.

Better Man is a melodic slower paced ballad with all of the band starring.The superb cd mix let's you hear everything with guitar riff's being held,bass line's excelling and keys sparkling alongside Cuipers who really steals it all with a wonderful performance throughout and some hugely impressive lengthy notes and love the guitar soloing alongside his vocal on the second half of the song.One of the best ballad's I have heard in many a year.

All I See is a mid paced rocker with more guitar melody lines to the fore and another built up chorus.A feature of the album is the way the guitar riffs go hand in hand with the guitar melodies and become a focus alongside Cuipers vocal lines and this song shows this off so well.

Eyes Of A Child sees a swirling keys riff alongside a heavier guitar edge in the intro and Cuipers also showing off a rougher edge to his vocal.Some jabbing guitar blasts work well with the keys swirling in and out of the mix and a huge chorus with Cuipers in control.A quick guitar solo at the end of the song with some double bass drumming gives a different feel on a song you can imagine being extended in the live setting.

The Runner is another heavier number but still with oceans of melody around the chorus and Cuipers giving it his all.Guitar soloing at the end of the first chorus and mid verse show a touch of class and a different tone keys solo show they are not one trick ponies.

Against The World takes it down a touch on a guitar led number that has the biggest chorus on the cd with backing vocals too.Cuipers again shines with one particular note mid song very impressive.Guitar soloing alongside Cuipers vocal in the outro again classy.

Fallen Angel has guitar melodies everywhere with keyboard splashes added just because they can before closer Second Time Around finishes the cd on a song that is nearer their NWOBHM roots.Fast paced with Maiden like guitar parts and another chorus built for audience participation.

With a stunning Rodney Matthews artwork cd cover who did their earlier covers this is so much more than I expected.

I hope the fan's look beyond their NWOBHM past because if you look inside you will find a melodic work of art that will be in many people's best of list's come the end of 2015.


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