ALBUM REVIEW: Praying Mantis – Defiance

It’s been a long time since I listened to Praying Mantis. As an 11-year-old, Time Tells No Lies was an iconic album cover, created by artist Rodney Matthews whose magnificent artwork captured the imagination on albums such as Chase the Dragon by Magnum, Tygers of Pan Tang’s Crazy Nights, and Diamond Head’s Borrowed Time. Now, if I’m honest, that’s about all I can remember about Time Tells No Lies, but I did review their 10th record Legacy in 2015, and recall it was a solid slab of melodic hard rock. It was the first album to feature vocalist Jaycee Cuijpers, drummer Hans in’t Zandt, who both remain integral to the band alongside founder members and brothers Chris and Tino Troy and guitarist Andy Burgess. Almost a decade after Legacy, we see Praying Mantis become another band reaching the half-century milestone with new release Defiance. Chris Troy says of the album, "It sets the tone for what's to come on the album—a perfect blend of classic Praying Mantis with a contemporary twist". 

So, what is classic Praying Mantis you may ask. Well, in summary, it’s a rich blend of melodic hard rock with an edge that provides the band with their own sound. Plenty of excellent guitar work from Chris Troy and Burgess litter the songs here, whilst the sound is underpinned by subtle, layered keyboards that add to the overall feel of the songs. Cuijpers possesses a fine voice, and it’s used to the full, without overdoing any element. The title track comes in second, and it’s a song full of pomp and bombast, with a semi-ballad feel giving it a soothing and welcoming style. Plenty of keyboard wizardry on the poppy Feelin’ Lucky provides a different perspective, whilst the band have got in their cover of the Russ Ballad penned, I Surrender, a track that caused some conflict back in the day and which was a decent sized hit for the Joe Lynn Turner era Rainbow. It’s a faithful cover of the Rainbow version and still one to which you can nod and sing along. Throughout Defiance the music gently finds a way into your inner listening. Very much in the Magnum vein, there are tracks like Standing Tall that cross genres, the beautifully crafted One Heart that has an iconic feel about it, and the triumphant Let’s See which closes out the album. The melodic rock genre, like most, is saturated with bands of variable quality. With their 13th album, Praying Mantis have shown their quality once more, and proved that after 50 years, the band who once were part of the NWOBHM movement can still bring top class rock music to our attention.

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Defiance is released on 19th April on Frontiers Music

Review by Hutch