2008年 12月 9日 火曜日 12:35

(Next NWoBHM Band of the Week)

Having freed up a few extra days in the week's journal calendar. I've decided to begin a new project. If I can keep to my plan: Every week I will investigate a New Wave of British Heavy Metal band that didn't quite achieve the success of, say, saxon or iron maiden and I will present a summary of my research for reader's ease and (hopefully) pleasure on Tuesdays. Kicking off in no particular order, I've picked Praying Mantis pretty much randomly off a list.

So, in brief, who are Praying Mantis? On their first documented official release, a 7" single evidently known as both "Soundhouse Tapes" and "Captured City" released in 1980 (and documented here), the band consisted of brothers Tino and Chris Troy on guitar and bass respectively as well as second guitarist Pete Moore and drummer Chris Hudson. Vocals were credited to Tino, Chris and Pete. I've found all three of the album's tracks at youtube.
-captured city (youtube)
-the ripper (NOT a Judas Priest cover, youtube)
-johnny cool (youtube)
I don't know about you but I think I could hear prominent influence from thin lizzy and chuck berry setting them apart from many other NOWBHM bands. Moments in Captured City also make me think a little of asia (though they had yet to form), but not as much as some of their later work I've managed to find does.

The band only managed two full length albums during the 80s before an eventual reunion in 1990. The first of the two being their best known release: 1981's time tells no lies (documented here on the band's official site), by which time the band had already been reduced to just two founding members, the Troy brothers. Steve Carroll was their new guitarist and Dave Potts was the band's new drummer. Steve, Tino and Chris shared out lead vocals, taking turns as lead vocalist on different tracks of the album. This album contributes the majority of search results when one searches youtube for "Praying Mantis NWOBHM", so I won't link every track I can find from youtube. By the time this full length album was released the band was showing leanings toward American sounding AOR, particularly vocally and were far from the most aggressive of the then NWOBHM bands. Check out children of the earth (youtube, Lead vocals: Chris Troy) to get an idea of the often extravagant chorus vocals almost reminiscent of the Beach Boys, mixed with a fair helping of dual guitar breaks, which while not pushing the tempos to the extremes that some of their contemporaries did, it still represents the NWOBHM riffing and soloing style admirably.cheated (youtube, lead vocals: Carroll) may also be of interest as a similar representation of the band's sound, but with the additional backstory that the track was written after the band had recorded a version of the Russ Ballard penned track i surrender which as anyone who knows their classic rock history will know was then also recorded by rainbow who had a hit with it first, forcing PM to scrap their version and write a replacement. Tracks where Tino Troy took lead vocals however, were far more usual for the NWOBHM: panic in the streets (youtube) or flirting with suicide (youtube) are examples, though the later still has the early prog/AOR vocal style in the chorus.

The band's only other release of the 80s was 1984's Throwing Shapes for which the band temporarily changed its name to Stratus and found itself yet another new lineup, again only retaining the Troy brothers. As Stratus, the band was arguably an amalgamation of Praying Mantis and another NOWBHM band called Escape (formerly Clive Burr's Escape). The new line-up featured ex-Iron Maiden drummer Clive Burr (iron maiden->the number of the beast) and designated lead vocalist: Canadian Bernie Shaw who would go on to later join Uriah Heep and was completed by a keyboardist (note, not a second guitarist) by the name of Alan Nelson. Unfortunately I haven't found any sample tracks from this release.

After Throwing Shapes things must have turned sour - Most likely through either lack of sales or management/record label problems. Praying Mantis weren't heard from again until a 1990 reformation. A live album featuring the Troy brothers, drummer Bruce Bisland and ex-Iron Maiden members paul di'anno and dennis stratton recorded in 1980 was then released titled live at last and credited to "Praying Mantis & Paul Di'Anno, Dennis Stratton".

A 1991 album soon followed predator in disguise featuring Live at Last's line-up minus Di'Anno. Once again without a designated lead vocalist Chris Troy and Dennis Stratton alternated as lead vocalist. It was easy to dig up the album's second track she's hot (Stratton on vocals, youtube).

The band has continued since the reunion with Stratton adn the Troy brothers remaining stable members and drummer Bruce Bisland a regular band member with just a few absences from the line-up. The position of a designated vocalist from here on however has been frequently filled and vacated by many a singer. From the post 1991 period, during which time the band have enjoyed success in Japan, I've managed to find a promo video for a 1993 (I believe) track called only the children cry and a 1995 live video for the very proggy sounding letting go (the latter featuring Clive Burr and vocalist Gary Barden formerly of msg and sounding like the band can't decide whether they want to be early 70s prog band or a late 80s NWOBHM survivor).

Only the Children Cry: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=2Bo4gL9z2CI
Letting Go (live 1995): http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=xcni_k6CHdI

Hmm, I can hardly believe I used the words 'in brief' at the beginning of this. So what's my verdict on the band? Personally, I'm quickly taking up the belief that there weren't any 'bad' bands originating from the NWOBHM, but I can see why Praying Mantis weren't a huge commercial success. Their harmonised chorus lines must have set them apart as "less manly" than 90% of their competition within the movement, and the infrequency of releases couldn't have helped. The 90s only seem to have urged the band into less and less fashionable territory, perhaps beckoning a reclassification to Arena Rock or comparison to the similarly unfashionable magnum and power quest, lying somewhere between the sounds of the two despite not having a keyboardist in the band. But fashions aside, I'm not sure the band's recent material even holds up to either Power Quest's keyboard driven power metal or Magnum's light proggyness, though I do have to acknowledge that a great deal more research and familiarisation could have gone into those comparisons. Though my limited research shows the Stratton-era band as an increasingly light and not particularly boundary pushing melodic hard rock band, there is certainly some value to the band's early output - an exhibition of the NWOBHM's defining characteristics with some unique (for the movement) chorus vocals and memorable tunes complete with effective tempo changes and good instrumental passages (in fact probably the highlight of the band's early output). Not my favourite of the NWOBHM bands I'm planning on covering as this journal (hopefully) progresses, but worth checking out for fans of the movement (and Stratton) provided you have the time to do so.