Praying Mantis (band)
Encyclopedia
Praying Mantis are an English
rock band
. Although a part of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal
scene, they pursued a musical direction more melodic and AOR
-sounding than their contemporaries.
at Neal Kay
's Soundhouse recording studio
, which was released as the Soundhouse Tapes EP
in 1979.
1980 saw their profile considerably raised with support slots for Iron Maiden
and Ronnie Montrose
's Gamma
. The attention won them a recording contract
with Arista Records
and they released their best-known work Time Tells No Lies in 1981. Management
and line-up instability undermined their success and Arista dropped them. The following year they signed for Jet Records
, but two subsequent singles
flopped and the band folded. They had recorded a version
of the Russ Ballard
penned track "I Surrender
", but ran into conflict with Rainbow
, who went on to release their version, and had a Top 10 worldwide hit. Instead, Praying Mantis recorded another single, "Cheated". It reached #69 in the UK Singles Chart
in January 1981.
The band maintained a strong fan
base in Japan
, and when the Troys temporarily reformed Praying Mantis for a NWOBHM nostalgia tour in 1990, they were encouraged by the response to resurrect the band full-time. Their live work was released as Live at Last, and a follow-up studio album Predator in Disguise was released the following year, and the band soldiered on into the new century. A compilation album
, The Best of Praying Mantis, was released in 2004.
Following further line-up changes, a new album, Sanctuary, was released in the spring of 2009 and has gained worldwide media acclaim.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
rock band
Musical ensemble
A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...
. Although a part of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal
New Wave of British Heavy Metal
The New Wave of British Heavy Metal was a heavy metal movement that started in the late 1970s, in Britain, and achieved international attention by the early 1980s. The movement developed as a reaction in part to the decline of early heavy metal bands such as Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin and Black...
scene, they pursued a musical direction more melodic and AOR
Album-oriented rock
Album-oriented rock is an American FM radio format focusing on album tracks by rock artists.-Music played:Most radio formats are based on a select, tight rotation of hit singles...
-sounding than their contemporaries.
Career
Their formation considerably pre-dated the NWOBHM movement. They were formed in 1974 by the Troy brothers, both college students. Like several NWOBHM bands they made their first available recordingSound recording and reproduction
Sound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...
at Neal Kay
Neal Kay
Neal Kay is a London-based DJ who along with Tommy Vance was a significant factor in the rise of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal. He himself helped in coining this term for this subgenre of heavy metal....
's Soundhouse recording studio
Recording studio
A recording studio is a facility for sound recording and mixing. Ideally both the recording and monitoring spaces are specially designed by an acoustician to achieve optimum acoustic properties...
, which was released as the Soundhouse Tapes EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
in 1979.
1980 saw their profile considerably raised with support slots for Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band from Leyton in east London, formed in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. Since their inception, the band's discography has grown to include a total of thirty-six albums: fifteen studio albums; eleven live albums; four EPs; and six...
and Ronnie Montrose
Ronnie Montrose
Ronnie Montrose, is an Amercian rock guitarist who has headed his own bands as well as performing with a variety of musicians, including Sammy Hagar, Herbie Hancock, Van Morrison, The Beau Brummels, Boz Scaggs, Beaver & Krause, Gary Wright, Tony Williams, The Neville Brothers, Dan Hartman, Edgar...
's Gamma
Gamma (band)
Gamma was a band formed by guitarist Ronnie Montrose and singer Davey Pattison in San Francisco in 1979. They released four albums: Gamma 1 in 1979, Gamma 2 in 1980, Gamma 3 in 1982 and Gamma 4 in 2000...
. The attention won them a recording contract
Recording contract
A recording contract is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording artist , where the artist makes a record for the label to sell and promote...
with Arista Records
Arista Records
Arista was an American record label. It was a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment and operated under the RCA Music Group. The label was founded in 1974 by Clive Davis, who formerly worked for CBS Records...
and they released their best-known work Time Tells No Lies in 1981. Management
Management
Management in all business and organizational activities is the act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals and objectives using available resources efficiently and effectively...
and line-up instability undermined their success and Arista dropped them. The following year they signed for Jet Records
Jet Records
Jet Records was a small British record label set up by Don Arden with artists like Electric Light Orchestra , Roy Wood, Gary Moore, Ozzy Osbourne, Riot and Magnum. The first release on the "Jet Records" label was "No Honestly", a UK top 10 for its singer and writer Lynsey De Paul in November 1974...
, but two subsequent singles
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
flopped and the band folded. They had recorded a version
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
of the Russ Ballard
Russ Ballard
Russell Glyn Ballard is an English singer, songwriter and musician.-Career:Ballard was initially a guitarist with Buster Meikle & The Day Breakers in 1961, together with Roy Ballard, Russ's older brother on piano and Bob Henrit on drums...
penned track "I Surrender
I Surrender
"Stuck in the Middle/I Surrender" is Clea's fifth and final single. It was not released in the UK; however, it was released in the rest of Europe...
", but ran into conflict with Rainbow
Rainbow (band)
Rainbow were an English rock band, controlled by guitarist Ritchie Blackmore from 1975 to 1984 and 1994 to 1997. It was originally established with American rock band Elf's members, though over the years Rainbow went through many line-up changes with no two studio albums featuring the same line-up...
, who went on to release their version, and had a Top 10 worldwide hit. Instead, Praying Mantis recorded another single, "Cheated". It reached #69 in the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
in January 1981.
The band maintained a strong fan
Fan (person)
A Fan, sometimes also called aficionado or supporter, is a person with a liking and enthusiasm for something, such as a band or a sports team. Fans of a particular thing or person constitute its fanbase or fandom...
base in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, and when the Troys temporarily reformed Praying Mantis for a NWOBHM nostalgia tour in 1990, they were encouraged by the response to resurrect the band full-time. Their live work was released as Live at Last, and a follow-up studio album Predator in Disguise was released the following year, and the band soldiered on into the new century. A compilation album
Compilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
, The Best of Praying Mantis, was released in 2004.
Following further line-up changes, a new album, Sanctuary, was released in the spring of 2009 and has gained worldwide media acclaim.
Studio albums
- Time Tells No Lies (AristaArista RecordsArista was an American record label. It was a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment and operated under the RCA Music Group. The label was founded in 1974 by Clive Davis, who formerly worked for CBS Records...
1981) - UKUK Albums ChartThe UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
#60 - Throwing Shapes (billed as 'Stratus') (Steel Trax 1984)
- Predator in Disguise (Pony CanyonPony Canyonis a Japanese company, established on October 1, 1966 , which publishes music, DVD and VHS videos, movies and video games. It is a subsidiary of Japanese Media Group, Fujisankei Communications Group.-History:...
1991) - A Cry for the New World (Pony Canyon 1993)
- To the Power of Ten (Pony Canyon 1995)
- Forever in Time (Pony Canyon 1998)
- Nowhere to Hide (Pony Canyon 2000)
- The Journey Goes On (Pony Canyon 2003)
- Sanctuary (FrontiersFrontiers RecordsFrontiers Records is an Italian record label, predominantly producing melodic rock. It was formed in 1996 by Serafino Perugino and is based in Naples, Italy.-History:...
2009)
Singles
- "Praying Mantis" / "High Roller" 7" (GEM, 1980)
- The Soundhouse Tapes Part 2 ("Captured City" / "The Ripper" / "Johnny Cool") 12" (Ripper Records, 1981)
- "Cheated" / "Thirty Pieces of Silver" / "Flirting With Suicide" / "Panic in the Streets" 2x7" (Arista, 1981)
- "All Day and All of the NightAll Day and All of the Night"All Day and All of the Night" is a song by the British band The Kinks from 1964. It can be found on their debut album "Kinks". It reached #2 on the UK Singles Chart and #7 on Billboards United States chart in 1965....
" / "Beads of Ebony" 7" (Arista, 1981) - "Turn the Tables" / "Tell Me the Nightmare's Wrong" / "A Question of Time" 7" EP (JetJet RecordsJet Records was a small British record label set up by Don Arden with artists like Electric Light Orchestra , Roy Wood, Gary Moore, Ozzy Osbourne, Riot and Magnum. The first release on the "Jet Records" label was "No Honestly", a UK top 10 for its singer and writer Lynsey De Paul in November 1974...
, 1982) - "Only the Children Cry" / "Who's Life is it Anyway?" / "A Moment in Life" / "Turn the Tables" CD EP (Canyon International, 1993)
- Metalmorphosis CD EP (self-released, 2011)