Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Email
Answers.com

Praying Mantis

 
Artist: Praying Mantis
Home > Library > Entertainment & Arts > Pop Artists

Group Members:

Dave Potts, Steve Carroll, Tino Troy, Chris Troy, Paul Di'Anno

Similar Artists:

Def Leppard, Thin Lizzy
  • Genres: Rock
  • Representative Albums: "Best of Praying Mantis", "Nowhere to Hide", "Live at Last

Biography

England's Praying Mantis was one of the more melodic bands to emerge from the New Wave of British Heavy Metal scene. They combined a Thin Lizzy-style twin guitar approach with Def Leppard-like vocal harmonies, resulting in a sound not unlike later-day Rainbow. Originally named Junction, the band was formed in the late '70s by brothers Tino (vocals/guitar) and Chris Troy (bass/vocals), later adding Steve Carroll (guitar/vocals) and Dave Potts (drums). This lineup released a three-track demo EP, Captured City, in 1980, the title track of which also appeared in the highly influential Metal for Muthas compilation. The band were soon signed to BMG Europe, and proceeded to record their debut album, Time Tells No Lies, released in 1981. It achieved modest success (by NWOBHM standards), and first single "Cheated" charted respectfully, earning Praying Mantis a slot on the prestigious Reading Festival. Regrettably, the band became embroiled in business and legal disputes with their management soon after, resulting in a year-long hiatus from recording or touring, and completely stalling their career. After being dropped by BMG, Praying Mantis disbanded. Then, in a Spinal Tap-ish twist of fate, the band found themselves enjoying a renaissance in Japan, prompting a reformation (with ex-Iron Maiden singer Paul DiAnno) and tour in 1990, which yielded the Live at Last LP. Praying Mantis has continued to record throughout the '90s with a number of different vocalists, releasing Predator in Disguise (1991), A Cry for a New World (1994), and To the Power of Ten (1995). None of these have charted or come close to recapturing the glory of their debut, but the band continues to tour the U.K. Fall 2000 saw the release of Nowhere to Hide. ~ Eduardo Rivadavia, All Music Guide
Search unanswered questions...

Enter a question here...
Search: All sources Community Q&A Reference topics

Wikipedia: Praying Mantis (band)
Top
Home > Library > Miscellaneous > Wikipedia

Praying Mantis are an English rock band. Although a part of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM) scene, they pursued a musical direction more melodic and AOR-sounding than their contemporaries.[citation needed]

Contents

Career

Their formation considerably pre-dated NWOBHM. They were formed in 1974 by the Troy brothers, both college students. Like several NWOBHM bands they made their first available recording 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.[1]

The band maintained a strong fan base in Japan, and when the Troys temporarily reformed Praying Mantis for an 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, will be released in the spring of 2009.

Discography

Studio albums

  • Time Tells No Lies (Arista 1981) - UK #60[1]
  • Throwing Shapes (billed as 'Stratus') (Steel Trax 1984)
  • Predator In Disguise (Pony Canyon 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 (Frontiers 2009)

Compilations

References

  1. ^ a b Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 433. ISBN 1-904994-10-5. 

External links


Stub icon This article on a United Kingdom band or other musical ensemble is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

 
 

 

Copyrights:

Artist. Copyright © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC. Content provided by All Music Guide ®, a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Praying Mantis (band)".  Read more