40+ years on and the world is still feeling the ripple effects of the NWOBHM. Besides its influence on every metal subgenre and scene to follow, many of the era’s staples are still touring and recording with the same passion as when they were kids. Among these bands are Saxon, Raven, and the subject of today’s review, Praying Mantis. What separated Praying Mantis from the rest of their pack was their emphasis on earworm hooks and slick melodies. It was this unique approach, coupled with an English metal fury, that made their debut album, Time Tells No Lies (1981), a certified classic.
As the years went by, so did Praying Mantis in one form or another. Subsequent releases varied from melodic metal to melodic rock, and featured members of Uriah Heep (Bernie Shaw), Michael Schenker Group (Gary Barden), and Iron Maiden (Paul Di’Anno, Dennis Stratton). Through it all have been the brothers Troy, Tino on guitars and Chris on bass. Together, the blood brothers proudly soldier the band into their 48th year with a brand new album, Katharsis. Rounding out the lineup on this release is guitarist Andy Burgess, drummer Hans in’t Zandt, and singer John Cuijpers.
Katharsis is largely a continuation of the sound Praying Mantis has cultivated over their past few releases: one part explosive euro metal, one part rollicking hard rock, and one part anthemic AOR. The album opens in grand fashion with the elegant “Cry for the Nations”. Combining the pomposity of acts like Magnum and Asia with a penchant for headbanging riffage, “Cry for the Nations” sets the tone for this killer release. “Closer to Heaven” nails the classic west coast AOR sound of bands like Journey and Toto, while “Ain’t No Rock ‘n’ Roll in Heaven” conjures the gritty swagger of late 80s hard rock. In contrast is “Non Omnis Moriar”, whose drama and intensity is distinctly European in nature.
The bombastic approach of “Non Omnis Moriar” is heard on the album’s heavier moments, like the muscular attack of “Masquerade” and the dark melodic prog of “Don’t Call Us Now”. For those into the more accessible side of things, there’s no shortage of such on the AOR infused pop rocker “Find Our Way Back Home”, or the breezy, nocturnal, neon lit aura of “Wheels in Motion”, which again highlights the west coast sound. Closing it all out is “The Devil Never Changes”. Chock full of “woah oh oh’s” and other customary melodic rock tropes, it does a solid job rounding out a release of this nature.
In the scope of Praying Mantis’s catalog, Katharsis sits comfortably alongside past releases. It’s hard to rank their output in the first place considering they’ve never put out an average album, let alone a bad album. That in itself is an outstanding achievement, one which continues on this latest release. These “Children of the Earth” may no longer be “children”, but their fire still burns with an ever raging intensity.
7 out of 10
Label: Frontiers Records
Genre: AOR
For fans of: Magnum, Rainbow, Michael Schenker Group