Praying Mantis are an English

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

band. Originally part of the

new wave of British heavy metal The new wave of British heavy metal (often abbreviated as NWOBHM) was a nationwide musical movement that began in England in the mid-1970s and achieved international attention by the early 1980s. Editor Alan Lewis (music journalist), Alan Lew ...

, they pursued a musical direction more melodic and AOR-sounding than their contemporaries

Iron Maiden Iron Maiden are an English Heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris (musician), Steve Harris. Although fluid in the early years of the band, the line-up for most ...

and

Saxon The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...

Career

1973–1981: Formation and early years

Their formation considerably pre-dated the

NWOBHM The new wave of British heavy metal (often abbreviated as NWOBHM) was a nationwide musical movement that began in England in the mid-1970s and achieved international attention by the early 1980s. Editor Alan Lewis coined the term for an arti ...

movement. They were formed in 1973 while at college by the Troy brothers, Tino and Chris, Pete Moore, and Chris Hudson. The band's genesis can be traced back to the influence of Neal Kay, a DJ at North London's premier hard rock disco, The Bandwagon. Thanks to Kay's support, Praying Mantis gained a platform to showcase their music, featuring tracks like "Captured City" and "Lovers to the Grave". Alongside contemporaries such as

Angel Witch Angel Witch are a British heavy metal band which formed in London in 1976, recognised as one of the pioneering groups of the new wave of British heavy metal (NWOBHM). Originally established as Lucifer by guitarist and vocalist Kevin Heybour ...

, and

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, Praying Mantis quickly rose to prominence in the London music scene. 1980 saw their profile considerably raised with support slots for Iron Maiden and

Ronnie Montrose Ronald Douglas Montrose (November 29, 1947 – March 3, 2012) was an American musician and guitarist who founded and led the rock bands Montrose and Gamma. He also performed and did session work with a variety of musicians, including Van Morri ...

Gamma Gamma (; uppercase , lowercase ; ) is the third letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals it has a value of 3. In Ancient Greek, the letter gamma represented a voiced velar stop . In Modern Greek, this letter normally repr ...

, and "Captured City" was included on the '' Metal for Muthas'' compilation. The attention won them a recording contract with

Arista Records Arista Records ( ) is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the American division of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. The label was previously a division of Bertelsmann Music G ...

and they released their debut album '' Time Tells No Lies'' in 1981. Management instability undermined their success and Arista decided that they did not wish to take up the option of a further album. The following year, Praying Mantis signed for

Jet Records Jet Records was a British record label started by Don Arden in 1974, featuring musicians such as Lynsey de Paul, Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), Roy Wood, Gary Moore, Ozzy Osbourne, Alan Price, Adrian Gurvitz, Riot (band), Riot, Magnum (band ...

, but two subsequent singles did not quite hit the mark and the band folded. During the making of ''Time Tells No Lies'', Praying Mantis recorded a version of the

Russ Ballard Russell Glyn Ballard (born 31 October 1945) is an English rock singer, guitarist, songwriter and producer. Originally rising to prominence as the lead singer and guitarist of the band Argent, Ballard became a prolific songwriter and producer b ...

penned track " I Surrender", but ran into conflict with

Rainbow A rainbow is an optical phenomenon caused by refraction, internal reflection and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a continuous spectrum of light appearing in the sky. The rainbow takes the form of a multicoloured circular ...

, who went on to release their own version, and had a top 10 worldwide hit. Instead, Praying Mantis released "Cheated" which reached number 69 in the UK Singles Chart in January 1981.

1982–1989: Hiatus

While Praying Mantis was on hiatus, the Troy brothers focused on other projects. Stratus (originally "Clive Burr's Escape", then briefly known as "Tygon" and "Stratas"), was a short-lived

melodic hard rock Arena rock (also known as stadium rock, pomp rock or corporate rock) is a style of rock music that became mainstream in the 1970s. It typically involves radio-friendly rock music that was designed to be played for large audiences. As hard rock ...

supergroup. It was formed by ex-

drummer

Clive Burr Clive Ronald Burr (8 March 1956 – 12 March 2013) was an English musician. He was the drummer of the heavy metal band Iron Maiden from 1979 to 1982. Together with fellow Iron Maiden member Dennis Stratton, he joined Praying Mantis for the r ...

, the Troy brothers, plus ex-

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vocalist

Bernie Shaw Bernard Shaw (born 15 June 1956) is a Canadian-English singer, and since 1986, the lead vocalist of British rock band Uriah Heep (band), Uriah Heep. Career At the beginning of 1970 Shaw dreamed of becoming a rock guitarist. He bought himsel ...

and keyboardist Alan Nelson. The band split after only one album, ''Throwing Shapes'', released in 1985. Bernie Shaw became the lead vocalist for Uriah Heep the following year.

1990–1996 Reunion and line-ups including Di'Anno, Stratton and Burr

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. A live album with former

members

Dennis Stratton Dennis Stratton (born 9 October 1952) is an English guitarist best known as a member of the heavy metal band Iron Maiden from December 1979 to October 1980. He was also the lead guitarist and occasional lead vocalist of Praying Mantis from 1990 ...

and

Paul Di'Anno Paul Andrews (17 May 1958 – 21 October 2024), better known by his stage name Paul Di'Anno, was an English Heavy metal music, heavy metal singer who was the lead vocalist for Iron Maiden from 1978 to 1981. In his post-Maiden career, Di'Anno ...

, on guitar and vocals respectively, was released as ''Live at Last'', and a follow-up studio album ''Predator in Disguise'' was released the following year. In 1995, the band recruited ex-

Michael Schenker Group The Michael Schenker Group (often abbreviated as MSG) is an English hard rock band, formed in London in 1979 by former Scorpions and UFO guitarist Michael Schenker. After the release of their second live album, 1984's '' Rock Will Never Die'', ...

vocalist

Gary Barden Gary John Barden (born 27 August 1955) is an English rock singer, best known for his work with the Michael Schenker Group. Career Barden was discovered by Schenker upon the guitarist's hearing a demo of Barden's previous band, Fraser Nash ...

and released the ''To the Power of Ten'' album in Japan during August. As drummer Bruce Bisland suffered a broken arm, he had his position filled by former Iron Maiden drummer

1997–2006: Final years with Dennis Stratton

Praying Mantis, with Dennis Stratton as part of their line-up, continued to evolve musically, adapting to the changing rock music landscape. This period saw the band exploring new musical avenues while maintaining their core melodic hard rock identity. Since 1990, Dennis, Chris, and Tino were the nucleus of the band who wrote all the material. Stratton officially left Praying Mantis in 2006, although his final recorded material with them was in 2003.

2007–2012: Sanctuary and Metalmorphosis 30th Anniversary EP

Andy Burgess officially joined Praying Mantis in 2007, taking on the role of guitarist. One of Burgess's most notable contributions to Praying Mantis was his role in the band's renowned dual guitar harmonies. These harmonies had long been a signature element of Praying Mantis' sound, and Burgess embraced this tradition while infusing it with his unique touch. In 2011, the ''Metalmorphosis 30th Anniversary'' EP was released. It includes 10 re-recorded classic Praying Mantis tracks by the 2011 band line-up.

2013–2014: Hans in't Zandt and John Cuijpers joins the band

In 2013, the band announced they are to release a new single in October that year. The single is to officially introduce new members, John Cuijpers (vocals) and Hans in't Zandt (drums), to the band's fanbase after playing Colchester, Ipswich (with support from MGR Records band Kaine) and Cambridge Rock Festival with the brand new line-up. In't Zandt had previously toured with notable acts such as Toto,

Jeff Scott Soto Jeff Scott Soto (born November 4, 1965) is an American Rock music, rock singer of Puerto Rican descent. He is perhaps best known for being the vocalist on Yngwie Malmsteen's first two albums, and the lead vocalist for Journey (band), Journey i ...

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, Sinner, and

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. Cuijpers was associated with several notable bands and musical projects; his prominent prior affiliation was with the Dutch rock band

Vandenberg's MoonKings Adriaan van den Berg (born 31 January 1954), known as Adrian "Adje" Vandenberg, is a Dutch rock guitarist, best known for his tenure as one of the guitarists in Whitesnake during their successful late 1980s period and the band Vandenberg which ...

2015–present: Legacy, Gravity and Katharsis

Released in 2015, Legacy marked a formalisation of the band's new line-up, featuring John Cuijpers on vocals and Hans In't Zandt on drums, alongside long-standing members Andy Burgess, Tino Troy, and Chris Troy. The same line-up would go on and record ''Gravity'' (2018) and '' Katharsis'' (2022).

Band members

Current members * Tino Troy – lead and rhythm guitar, keyboards, backing and lead vocals * Chris Troy – bass, backing vocals * Andy Burgess – lead and rhythm guitar, backing vocals * John Cuijpers – lead vocals * Hans in't Zandt – drums, percussion Former members * Bob Sawyer – lead and rhythm guitar * Steve Carroll – lead vocals, rhythm and lead guitar *

– lead vocals *

Doogie White Douglas "Doogie" White (born 7 March 1960) is a Scottish rock vocalist who currently sings for La Paz. He has also notably sung for Rainbow (rock band), Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow, Michael Schenker, Yngwie Malmsteen's Rising Force, Praying Ma ...

– lead vocals * Colin Peel – lead vocals *

- lead vocals * Tony O'Hora – lead vocals * Mike Freeland – lead vocals * Jon Bavin – keyboards *

– lead and rhythm guitar, keyboards, lead and backing vocals * Dave Potts – drums, percussion * Bruce Bisland – drums, percussion *

– drums, percussion * Benji Reid – drums, percussion

Discography

Studio albums *'' Time Tells No Lies'' (1981) *''Predator in Disguise'' (1991) *''A Cry for the New World'' (1993) *''To the Power of Ten'' (1995) *''Forever in Time'' (1998) *''Nowhere to Hide'' (2000) *''The Journey Goes On'' (2003) *''Sanctuary'' (2009) *''Legacy'' (2015) *''Gravity'' (2018) *'' Katharsis'' (2022) *''Defiance'' (2024) Live albums *''Live at Last'' (1990) *''Captured Alive in Tokyo City'' (1996) *''Keep It Alive!'' (2019) Compilations *''Demorabilia'' (1999) *''The Best of Praying Mantis'' (2004) *''Metalmorphosis – 30th Anniversary EP'' (2011)

References

External links

* * *
Interview with Chris Troy (2009)Audio Interview with Praying Mantis from Hard Rock Hell Festival 2011
{{DEFAULTSORT:Praying Mantis Musical groups established in 1974 English hard rock musical groups English heavy metal musical groups Sibling musical groups Frontiers Records artists Arista Records artists Pony Canyon artists New Wave of British Heavy Metal musical groups Rock music groups from London