PRAYING MANTIS “Keep It Alive”

Recorded live at Frontiers Rock Festival V in Milan, on April 28, 2018 this brand new live cd / DVD shows PRAYING MANTIS presenting their then new album “Gravity” in front of the Italian audience. This is a superb performance which presents the band in its absolute top form, offering the crowd new songs and several classic tracks. An awesome release showcasing the repertoire of one of the most consistent British hard rock bands around.

Originally formed in 1973 by the Troy brothers, Tino and Chris, Praying Mantis became one of the most influential bands of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM). The band is also one of a very small number of bands from that era to have remained a going concern over the intervening years, and to still record and appear live regularly. The debut Praying Mantis album, “Time Tells No Lies” (Arista) was released in 1981 to critical acclaim, and it remains a significant NWOBHM recording. Following a short-lived reformation of most of the original line-up of Praying Mantis in 1987, the band went back on hiatus until offered the chance to play in Japan with ex-Iron Maiden members Paul Di’Anno and Dennis Stratton in 1990. This experience injected new life into the band, and also marked the beginning of a productive 15 year partnership with Dennis Stratton. The band’s second official studio album, “Predator in Disguise” was released in 1991, and the band have continued to write and release new material every two to three years ever since, with a shifting line-up which has featured the likes of Doogie White, Gary Barden, Bernie Shaw, Bruce Bisland, Mike Freeland, Gary Mackenzie and many other figures from the cream of Britain’s rock fraternity. Following another major change in line-up (including the departure of Dennis Stratton), Praying Mantis signed with rock speciality label Frontiers in 2007 and recorded the album “Sanctuary”, which was released in 2009. The album, considered to be one of the finest of their career, has received consistently positive reviews from around the world and sets a very high standard for all future Mantis recordings.

Whether gigging in support of their latest releases, writing new material for the follow-up to “Sanctuary”, or re-visiting other songs from their extensive back-catalogue, the Troy brothers, along with guitarist Andy Burgess and newest recruits, John ‘Jaycee’ Cuijpers on vocals and Hans In T’ Zandt on drums & vocals, remain committed to the blend of melody and power in their music that has become a trademark of the Praying Mantis sound, and, some three decades after forming, the band is still completely dedicated to entertaining a seemingly ever-growing army of fans across the globe.

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