The veterans of 'Praying Mantis' who began their adventure in the mid-70s will soon celebrate their 50th anniversary and continue to release albums regularly as this is the fifth column about them that I have written since 2015 and 'Defiance' is so their last baby came out a few weeks ago. Always influenced by the hard rock of the 80s, they have concocted 11 compositions including 10 originals and a cover of 'Rainbow', 'I Surrender'. No surprise, it's an uninterrupted series of hits with a modern sound that offers itself to us, starting with an energetic 'From The Start' which highlights the powerful vocals of 'Jaycee Cuijpers', the sharp riffs of duo 'Tino Troy'/'Andy Burgess' and the well-established rhythm section of bassist 'Chris Troy' and drummer 'Hans In 't Zandt'. In this style, we can also cite compositions like 'Feelin' Lucky' with its electronic sounds and its well-defined tempo, 'Never Can Say Goodbye' and 'Let's See' which can recall the flagship era of 'Rainbow' in the early 80s and the mid-tempo 'Give It Up' with its catchy chorus, without forgetting the very successful cover of 'I Surrender' from 'Rainbow'. In a more measured register, the title song is a very beautiful mid-tempo in the style of 'Can't Let You Go' from 'Rainbow' (see video above), 'One Heart' and 'Give It Up' add two very melodic jewels pleasant and 'Standing Tall' is still very good catchy melodic rock (see the la video here). We also won't be able to miss the beautiful ballad 'Forever My Heart' which is added to the best rock ballads and the instrumental 'Nightswim' offers us a very beautiful duet between the two guitarists. In short, there's no need for a long chronicle to tell you that the band with the two brothers 'Troy' is doing wonderfully and that, more than forty years after their first album, they are still there to put us between the ears of the right one. hard rock in the great tradition of the bands of the 70s/80s...Reviews from myprogmusic relating to 'Praying Mantis':= 'Legacy' (2015)= 'Gravity' (2018)= 'Keep It Alive' (2019)= 'Katharsis' (2022)
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