Year : 2011 (Japan Edition)
Style : Melodic Hard Rock
Country : United Kingdom
Audio : 320 kbps + all scans + Video
Size : 156 mb
Bio:
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.Their formation considerably pre-dated the NWOBHM movement. They were formed in 1974 by the Troy brothers, Tino and Chris, 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 No. 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.In 2013 the band announced they are to release a new single in October 2013. The single is to officially introduce new members, [John Cuijpers] (vocals) and [Hans in’t Zandt] (drums) to the bands fanbase after playing Colchester, Ipswich (with support from MGR Records band Kaine) and Cambridge Rock Festival with the brand new line up.A new album called Legacy is due for release early June 2015.
Album:
After the recent post here of PRAYING MANTIS' classic album Time Tells No Lies in its remastered form, one of you asked for this "Metalmorphosis", the EP released by the band to celebrate the 30th Anniversary of their debut Time Tells No Lies. It was a limited edition disc featuring 5 classic Praying Mantis songs re-recorded in 2010 by the current band line-up.But exclusively for the Japanese market, "Metalmorphosis" was in fact a full length album including 6 additional tracks plus a completely different artwork.The EP release of "Metalmorphosis" included three songs from that classic Time Tells No Lies (“Children of the Earth,” “Lovers to the Grave” and “Panic in the Streets”) as well as the song “Praying Mantis” from the band’s first single, and the track “Captured City” that only appeared on the original NWOBHM compilation Metal For Muthas.This Japanese version adds the awesome "Running For Tomorrow", "Beads Of Ebony" and "Flirting With Suicide" from that mythical first album, while "Time Slipping Away", "Can't See The Angels" and " Borderline" are taken from their excellent record 'Predator In Disguise'.All these stupendous songs were re-recorded with today's modern technology by Praying Mantis in a slightly more polished & melodic form, but still retaining that vital and spirited attitude when they were a hungry young outfit.The vocals in particular stand out, as it is somewhat surprising (in a good way) to hear Mike Freeland, who delivered such a polished performance on the band’s 2009 album Sanctuary, get into the stomping hard rock of “Praying Mantis” and the otherworldly metallic “Captured City.”It’s always a risky business when long-running acts decide to revisit their classic material, but in this case "Metalmorphosis" sounds exactly like what it was intended to be – a celebration of the band’s history and a testimony to the staying power of a band that has withstood what seems like countless changes in lineups, labels and musical fads.This "Metalmorphosis" Japanese Edition is collectors piece, out of print, a must for every Melodic Hard Rock fan out there.
Line-Up:
Chris Troy - lead vocals, bass
Tino Troy - guitar, vocals
Andy Burgess - guitar
Benjy Reid - drums
Mike Freeland - lead vocals
Tracklist:
01. Time Slipping Away (Japan Bonus Track)
02. Running For Tomorrow (Japan Bonus Track)
03. Children Of The Earth
04. Can't See The Angels (Japan Bonus Track)
05. Beads Of Ebony (Japan Bonus Track)
06. Captured City
07. Lovers To The Grave
08. Panic In The Streets
09. Praying Mantis
10. Flirting With Suicide (Japan Bonus Track)
11. Borderline (Japan Bonus Track)
+ Video "Can't See the Angels" (Official Video)
Download links for all albums only on our blog here: http://goodmetalandhar.do.am/
