http://www.melodichardrocktoday.tk/

I was introduced for the first time to Praying Mantis by a friend who gave me their debut Time Tells No Lies, as a gift back in 1981. Since then I have followed the band and I have to admit that Praying Mantis was one of the first bands that really caught my interest and passion for hard rock/metal.

With Sanctuary they sound better than ever, and with a new strong line-up they sound tight and delicate in every direction.

The album open with In Time, a classic Praying Mantis song of the finest mark! An up-tempo catchy song with a fine melody and huge choruses. The new singer Mike Freeland is in my opinion the best singer that have been in Praying Mantis since the start.

A good example on this we get with the next tune Restless Heart. A more melodic hard rock oriented song with a strong melody and rememberable chorus parts with really strong vocals.

Not so many of the bands are left from the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal period, so it pleases me to know that we still have a band like Praying Mantis going on stronger than ever!

Tears In The Rain is a more blues oriented rocker, the guitars and instrumentation sounds really great the first seconds. A melodic fine tune that builds up to a bit rougher chorus parts. I like the steady and tight rhythm in this, and the keys and guitars throughout will get your attention.

So High is one of the songs that reminded me most of the early work from Praying Mantis. It has something with the way it is built, the fast rhythm and the way the instruments are played take me back to the early days.

Turn The Tide is a fine ballad and also the first Video from the album. A diamond of a song with strong vocals and you will easily find yourself singing to this fine tune after some rounds in the player.

Touch The Rainbow opens with fine played drums and guitars. A bit more advanced song, but still with the melodic and catchy intact. A classic hard rock song with all the right ingredients, great vocals, steady rhythm, great played guitars and a rememberable chorus.

Threshold Of A Dream opens slow with nice guitar playing before it kicks of with a faster tempo. The instrumental part is delicate with nice played guitars, and the vocals from Mike takes the song to a great level. Playing God sounds partly more experimental in a way, but what a fine song this is! A song that grow for each listening and that keep me as listener interested with great variety from song to song.

Highway is a straight forward melodic rock/ hard rock oriented song. A strong radio friendly song that easily get stuck in your head. The last song the title track Sanctuary is maybe the most metal oriented song on the album. A perfect song to end the album that eminently sums up all the styles from Praying Mantis. So for all fans and to new fans of Praying Mantis, run and buy one of the finest releases so far this year in this genre!97/100
http://www.praying-mantis.com/

Praying Mantis ‘Sanctuary’ – Released through Frontiers Records in 2009

http://blastmagazine.net/CD%27s/reviews/prayingmantis-sanctuary.html

THE BAND:
Tino Troy – lead guitar/vocals
Chris Troy – bass/vocals
Mike Freeland – vocals
Andy Burgess – lead guitar/vocals
Benjy Reid – drums/percussion

TRACK FRAGMENTS:

1.) “In Time” – This track opens with a short rhythm guitar riff before going into the musical verse. The musical verse consisted of two different rhythm guitar arrangements and gradually picked up speed as it progressed. There is a small drum fill connecting the musical verse with the musical pre-chorus. The band not only slowed the pre-chorus down a little however changed the arrangement. The guys used the same arrangement for the musical chorus as the one for the musical verse. There is a small lead lick underneath the second musical pre-chorus. There is a small breakdown section in between the second pre-chorus and chorus. After the second chorus there is a more predominant breakdown section that leads into the lead guitar solo. The lead guitar solo was heavily influenced by some of the rhythm guitar riffs Neal Schon wrote for Journey. This is the major solo and runs over the top of the outro section.

2.) “Restless Heart” – This intro opens with a short snare fill. There is a minor lead guitar solo over the top of the intro section. Though the notes that came with the promo disc does not say anything about keyboards the way the minor solo was arranged you can hear a distinct keyboard underneath the solo. I am just not sure who is playing it. There are a couple of the notes of the minor solo that is definitely double tracked. The musical pre-verse consisted of just a very simple electric picking arrangement. It sounded as if there was a small echo attached to a few of the lyrics of the vocal lines. At the end of the second lyric line there was a vocal accent attached to the lyric line. There is a pick up within the arrangement change of the musical verse. For the musical pre-chorus the band added a second rhythm guitar arrangement. There is a small lead riff connecting the pre-chorus with the chorus. The chorus was very short. There are a couple lead licks underneath the lead vocal lines of the second verse. The hook of this track is amazing!!!! There is a breakdown section connecting the second chorus with the third pre-verse. At times you can hear an acoustic guitar section bleeding through the arrangement. Though this guitar will go unnoticed it is however the glue that holds the different guitar arrangements together. There is no lead guitar solo for this song.

3.) “Tears In The Rain” – This is one of those amazing Whitesnake influenced blues songs that is a blast to play live!!!!

4.) “So High” – This intro opens with a very progressive keyboard riff. This riff leads into a twin rhythm guitar arrangement. Underneath this Benjy is playing several drum fills. There is a lead vocal accent connecting the musical into and musical chorus. The lead vocal accent runs over the top of the opening musical chorus. The musical chorus also consisted of a musical change. The song opens with the chorus instead of a verse. This is something you see more and more. The rhythm riffs for the musical chorus are mainly just rhythm chords. This lets the vocals become the main focus of the song. There is a small rhythm guitar change for the musical verse. The musical verse consisted of two different rhythm guitar riffs. After the second and fourth lyric lines of the verse there are two small lead guitar licks. The guitar arrangements on this track completely blew me away!!! After the lead guitar solo there is a small progressive breakdown section.

5.) “Turn The Tide” – This ballad, which by the way will be one of the coolest things you’ve heard in a very long time!!! The intro opens with a minor acoustic guitar solo over the top of a very simple electric picking arrangement. This leads into the main musical intro which consisted of a twin lead guitar solo over the top of a drum/bass line. There is a small tweak within the electric solo of the main intro section and guitar riffs of the musical verse. Too me I felt Mike’s vocals on this track was very reminiscent the way Brian Howe (The best of the Bad Cd. Vocalists) feel to them. There is a small rhythm guitar change for the opening musical chorus. For the main hook of the chorus the guitarists kick the distortion pedal in. This alone completely changes the dynamics of the rhythm. All inspiring young songwriters out there should take not on just how something this simple can completely change the feel of a song. After the second chorus, there is a blistering acoustic lead guitar solo. After the third chorus there is a small musical break that consisted of just acoustic guitars and vocals. For the fourth chorus the band added an orchestrated section underneath the music arrangement. This orchestrated music arrangement was used to give the music a thicker sound. There is a small minor solo that leads into an acoustic guitar outro section.

6.) “Touch The Rainbow” – This intro opens with a bass line and tom-tom drum pattern. About two measures into the intro the guitar kicks-in playing the same rhythm as the tom-tom pattern and bass line. There is a arrangement change for the musical verse. The way the band arranged the short pre-chorus caused it to slow down a little. The lead guitar solo connects the second chorus with the third chorus. It is also at this time where you can really hear the keyboard arrangement.

7.) “Threshold Of A Dream” – This intro opens with an acoustic guitar solo over the top of an acoustic guitar arrangement. As this second progresses the band add an electric lead guitar over the top of the two acoustic guitar arrangements. This first intro leads into a second more major musical intro section. This major musical intro consisted of several underling lead guitar licks. Laced throughout the entire musical verse there are scattered lead guitar licks within the rhythm guitar arrangement. All in all this is a very typical progressive style song. For me the highlight had to be the bass line.

8.) “Playing God” – There is a minor twin lead guitar solo over the top of this intro section. The band used the same rhythm for the musical verse as the one they used for the intro section. The rhythm arrangement does not change until the musical chorus. There is a small hollowed sounded vocal accent over the top of the musical arrangement connecting the musical chorus with the musical verse. The lead guitar solo for this song starts real slow then builds-up speed as it progresses. There is a drastic musical change after the third chorus.

9.) “Highway” – This intro was heavily reminiscent of a lot of the intros Journey has written & arranged over the years. This is especially evident on the lead guitar licks. The band changes the arrangement for the musical verse. The phrasing of Mike’s vocals was heavily influenced by Steve Perry. There is a small arrangement change for the musical chorus. The chorus also has a very short simple hook attached to it. There is a breakdown section connecting the second chorus with the lead guitar solo. The drum line for the breakdown section consisted of a small percussion section. There is a minor lead guitar solo that runs underneath the chorus of the outro section.

10.) “Sanctuary” – This song opens with a small progressive type build-up arrangement. There is a small vocal accent connecting this section with the main intro. The main intro consisted of a minor lead guitar solo. The musical arrangement for the pre-verse and verse had a very progressive feel to it. In the way the Mike phrased the lead vocals of the chorus was very reminiscent of Dennis DeYoung. (formerly of Styx) The lead vocal lines of the breakdown were echoed. There was a second breakdown section after the lead guitar solo. For this second breakdown Benjy switched to a double bass drum pattern which completely alters the songs dynamics. For me, when I look at this song in comparison to the other songs this track was my least favorite.

As a first time listener of this band I was completely blown away by this band’s songwriting & sound!! The song “Turn The Tide” alone makes it worth buying. If you are a fan of Praying Mantis then this is a definite must have CD!!! If you are a fan of the Bad Company with Brian Howe stuff then you should really check this band out! Believe me you will not be disappointed!!!!

Darrell – Blast Magazine

http://www.overloadedrocks.com/

Praying Mantis – Sanctuary

When this album dropped on the doormat I was blown away.

Melodic yet rockin’, hook laden and played with passion. The London based 5 piece have put in the work and come up with some outstanding material for this their first new album in six years. This really is one hell of an album, great performances all round. Highly recomended.

Dave Watts

Overloaded Radio is playing tracks on the show on friday nights which are also available as free download at http://www.overloadedrocks.com on the playlists & download page.

Go check it out and tune in

http://www.rockeyez.com/reviews/cd/praying-mantis/rev-praying-mantis-sanctuary-df.html

BAND: Praying Mantis
ALBUM: Sanctuary
LABEL: Frontiers Records
YEAR: 2009
GENRE: Melodic Metal
REVIEWER: David Felix
WEBSITE: http://www.praying-mantis.com
MYSPACE PAGE: http://www.myspace.com/prayingmantisrock

Rating: 4.5 Stars out of 5 Stars

Oh My God! Yes… YES!… YES!!!!

My ears just had an audio orgasm!!!

After over six years, one of the founding bands from the early 80’s NWOBHMNew Wave Of British Heavy Metal) PRAYING MANTIS is back with a brand new studio release titled “Sanctuary.” With founding members Chris and Tino Troy still solidifying the exoskeleton of this sturdy arthropod, they are joined by guitarist Andy Burgess, drummer Benjy Reid and lead vocalist Mike Freeland to produce one of the most potent PRAYING MANTIS line-ups yet… and a release that’s just as dynamic.

Like a shot of adrenaline, “Sanctuary” rips open with the double-bass pounding rocker “In Time.” With its heavy, guitar-driven rhythm combined with a stout, melodic chorus, “In Time” delivers a razor sharp bite and I absolutely LOVE the extended musical ending featuring some stellar guitar work reminding me a bit of what JOURNEY did with their hit “Who’s Crying Now.” Just an awesome arrangement all around and that’s one of the things I really love about this band… not only are these guys talented musicians but absolutely incredible song-writers and arrangers as well putting them a step ahead of a lot of other bands out there.

Continuing on, “Restless Heart” is another solid, melodic composition with a nice, underlying guitar melody which builds to a dramatic climax before rolling into “Tears In The Rain.” With a little more of a bluesy feel, “Tears In The Rain” reminds me a little bit of what FIREHOUSE did with “Shake & Tumble”… and speaking of FIREHOUSE! It finally dawned on me who lead vocalist Mike Freeland reminded me of. He’s definitely got a “hint” of that C.J. Snare style going on only a little smoother in its delivery. Nowhere is this more apparent than on the power ballad “Turn The Tide” which really gives Freeland his chance to shine! Another incredible track with layers upon layers of BIG vocals… I’m really beginning to love this guy! No, he doesn’t have the range of say a Geoff Tate or Steve Perry (but then again, who does?!?) but for what he’s doing, Freeland more than delivers a solid performance on track after track after track.

But I seem to be getting a little ahead of myself here almost glazing over my absolute favorite track on the release “So High.” This is just a great tune… aggressive but still melodic, this power-anthem really delivers and really, REALLY reminds me of something on the lines of an early 80’s RAINBOW from the “Straight Between The Eyes”/ Joe Lynn Turner era. Incredible tune and one you’ll wanna crank up next time you’re heading out to the highway in your car.

Staying in that RAINBOW vein and even having the word “rainbow” in its title, “Touch The Rainbow” is another high-octane rocker that’ll definitely keep your blood flowing. As will “Threshold of a Dream” which is definitely giving “So High” a little competition as far as being my favorite pick on the release. The hard, edgy rhythm of “Threshold…” featuring one of the best guitar solos on the CD makes this one another diamond in this sea of gems.

Holding it back just a hair, “Playing God” proves itself a formidable composition in its own right with yet another amazing guitar solo compliments of the tremendous guitar talent of Tino Troy. “Highway” comes up next and is easily the most “commercial” sounding track on the release having a bit of a heavier OUTFIELD feel to it. Then finally, the title track “Sanctuary” rounds off this extraordinary release in almost epic fashion.

PRAYING MANTIS’ “Sanctuary” is an absolute triumph! Fans of edgier, melodic rock and that old NWOBHM influenced sound ala bands like HOUSE OF LORDS, SAXON or TYGERS OF PAN TANG have a new, ripe apple to sink their mandibles into and will absolutely eat this up! I am just so, so tempted to give this a perfect 5 out of 5 star review but PRAYING MANTIS’ 1981 “Time Tells No Lies” release will always be very special to me but “Sanctuary” is a VERY close second.
Band Lineup:

Mike Freeland
: Lead Vocals
Tino Troy
: Lead Guitar/ Vocals
Chris Troy
: Bass/ Vocals
Andy Burgess
: Guitar/ Vocals
Benjy Reid
: Drums/ Percussion

Track Listing:
In Time
Restless Heart
Tears In The Rain
So High
Turn The Tide
Touch The Rainbow
Threshold Of A Dream
Playing God
Highway
Sanctuary

PRAYING MANTIS – SANCTUARY

FRONTIERS RECORDS

After six long years, there is a new album of UK legends Praying Mantis. I remember like yesterday, when I bought the Metal For Muthas compilation albums, and in my opinion, one of the highlights were the brotherhood of Praying Mantis. As years go by, the style and musical direction changed from, the so called, N.W.O.B.H.M. in the 80′s to Melodic Rock and AOR in present time. Of course, there have been several line-up changes through the years, the band was even put on ice for a while, but all in all, they managed to come back, and that’s praiseworthy!

Well, it was worth the wait! The new album is called ”Sanctuary” and when I received my promotional copy, the first thing that popped up in my head was the similar feeling with the movie ”The Day After Tomorrow”, where we saw the torch of the Statue Of Liberty holding out of a massive ice cap. On the new Praying Mantis album we see what happened with the head of the statue, and it gave me creepy feelings…

Well, this is luckily just art, and the material that is burnt on the silver disk can be described as ‘art’ as well. The music on Sanctuary is from opener ’till closing track pure top-class amusement. The songs are brought with an eye and ear for detail, the structures and arrangements are contemporary and moving with the times, so we can conclude that Praying Mantis is still alive and kicking and stronger than ever before!

Opener ‘In Time’ starts at high speed, it’s like a punch straight in the face, but the musicians of Praying Mantis succeed in holding the strings and keep it interesting for fans of melodic rock that like a heavy riff and fans of the more commercial style. Fact is, the ten songs on the new album have a lot of variety, and above all, there is not one song that is inferior. If I had to point out my favorite songs, it would depend on the mood that I’m in. If I’m into a ballad, there is plenty of choice, if I’m into a wilder track; there is enough to choose from as well. ”Sanctuary” can be described as the best of both worlds, and I’m inclined to say that this is their best album of the last decade.

Besides 10 breathtaking songs, there is also a bonus video clip of ‘Turn The Tide’. It’s all in the vein of the song, and the clip gives the words and lyrics a deeper meaning. (Boy and girl fall in love, the girl dies in a car accident, and the boy wants to turn the tide). I was also amused to see how Mike Freeland is bringing his lyrics with a lot of emotion and charisma, and although he’s not that long with the band, his enthusiasm lifts the song to a higher level. Besides the skills of Mike, we definitely have to mention the brother Tino and Chris Troy who take care of the lead guitar and bass.

They play in this band since 1973, and we can easily conclude that they ‘live and die’ for their Praying Mantis! Keep up the good work, and as it seems right now, this is only the second youth that has begun. I hope that they will team up for another 30 years with drummer Benjy Reid and Andy Burgess (Lead Guitar), and they will continue in bringing such great melodies and dedicated art! Make sure that you visit the website of http://www.praying-mantis.com and order your copy!

I truly have to bow my head for these giants!! My rating is accordingly: 93/100

Patrick de Sloover on behalf of Metal To Infinity Webzine

http://www.surf.to/skrutt

PRAYING MANTIS-SANCTUARY(CD-FRONTIERS RECORDS) Tur för den här gruppen att det inte var för några år sedan jag skulle skriva om detta för då hade de inte fått högt betyg. Men jag har ju ändrat mig om den här typen av musik. De var tydligen redan med på Iron Maidens tidiga dagar och det hörs. Jag menar inte att de låter trötta utan mer att de faktiskt är väldigt bra på det de gör…powermetal. För sången sitter precis där den ska och solona är inte för långa för det gillar jag inte när de är. Allting är ju inte perfekt men för den här musiken känns det nästan som den är det. Restless Heart är en liten låt som känns som en lugnare låt och sådana skall ju alla band av denna digniteten ha.(SEX) 22/7-09

PRAYING MANTIS-SANCTUARY(CD-FRONTIERS RECORDS) Lucky for this group that this wasn..t some years ago because then had this group hadn..t get so high grade. But I have changed my mind for this type of music. They was obvisiously on the road already on Iron Maidens time and that you hear. I don..t mean that they sound tired more that they..re actually really good at the thing they do…powermetal. Because the vocals is precisely there it should be and the solos aren..t so long because that I don..t like when they are. Everything isn..t perfect but for this musicsort it feels like it is hat. Restless Heart is a song which feels a little bit calmer and that shall a band of this dignity always have on their records.(SIX) 22/7-09