Mantissa were an Australian

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest hard ...

band which formed as Killing Time in 1989. Killing Time included Nina Grant on bass guitar and vocals, Chris Paine on guitar, and Adam Pringle on lead vocals. In February 1991 they issued an extended play, ''Ruby's Mind'', which reached the Top 100 on the

ARIA Singles Chart The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...

. Their ''Dream Alone'' (March 1992) extended play, peaked in the Top 30. Killing Time supported national tours by Jane's Addiction,

Mudhoney Mudhoney is an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1988, following the demise of Green River. Its members are singer and rhythm guitarist Mark Arm, lead guitarist Steve Turner, bassist Guy Maddison and drummer Dan Peters. Orig ...

, Scatterbrain and Baby Animals. In August 1992 Killing Time changed their name to Mantissa and followed with their debut album, ''Mossy God'', in October on Red Eye Records / Polydor Records, which appeared in the Top 50 ARIA Albums Chart. Their second album, ''Thirst'', appeared in August 1995 and the group disbanded in 1996.

History

Mantissa had formed in 1989 as Killing Time in Melbourne with Nina Grant (ex-Good and Evil) on bass guitar and vocals; Chris Paine (Utter Stench) on guitar; Adam Pringle (Compressed Heads) on lead vocals; and Arnie Prazz on drums. By year's end Prazz was successively replaced by Russell Hopkinson and Tubby Wadsworth (aka Alex Nikolzew).McFarlane
'Mantissa'
entry. Archived fro
the original
on 15 June 2004. Retrieved 2 March 2013. Initially the group performed " Stooges-style grunge". In June 1990

Jed Starr Massive Appendage is an Australian metal band based around the McCormack brothers, Darren, Matt and Shawn using the aliases Jed Starr, Big Bird and Snuff Beastley. It is one of multiple highly connected bands involving the brothers, others bein ...

(aka Darren McCormack) joined on lead guitar and the band used a "more adventurous contemporary hard rock stance". The group gained a "fanatical live following" and after a bidding war were signed to Red Eye Records. Their first extended play, ''Ruby's Mind'', appeared in February 1991 and reached No. 72 on the

in August 1991. According to Australian rock music historian,

Ian McFarlane Ian McFarlane (born 1959) is an Australian music journalist, music historian and author, whose best known publication is the '' Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop'' (1999), which was updated for a second edition in 2017. As a journalist ...

, " th its crunching guitar riffs and funkified bass lines, the anthemic 'Ruby's Mind' launched Killing Time as a band with enormous potential and crossover appeal". At the end of 1991 Wadsworth was sacked and eventually replaced by Syd Green (ex-Scoundrel). One of the intervening drummers, Hopkinson, was later a member of You Am I. In February 1992 another EP, ''Dream Alone'', was released which peaked at No. 23 on the ARIA Singles Chart. Soon after Starr left and was replaced by Chris Collins (ex-Greg Brady Overdrive). Killing Time supported national tours by Jane's Addiction,

, Scatterbrain and Baby Animals. In August 1992 Killing Time changed their name to Mantissa due to American and Japanese bands of that name. The new name was chosen from the 1982 John Fowles novel, '' Mantissa''. In October 1992 they issued their debut album, ''Mossy God'', (produced by Mantissa and Terry Date), on Red Eye Records / Polydor Records, which reached No. 47. McFarlane noted "The album mixed grinding, heavy riffs, Grant's rumbling bass lines and Pringle's dramatic vocals with a mystical feel and all manner of psychedelic touches". The two singles from the album, "Mary Mary" (November) and "Land of the Living" (March 1993), peaked at No. 55 and No. 60 respectively. Mantissa supported Red Hot Chili Peppers' national tour followed by their own national tours to promote their releases. In 1993 Mantissa spent nine months touring the US to promote the American release of ''Mossy God'', including a support for Mindfunk. Mantissa returned to Australia by 1994 and opened for

Pantera Pantera () is an American heavy metal music, heavy metal band from Arlington, Texas formed in 1981, and currently comprised of vocalist Phil Anselmo, bassist Rex Brown, and touring musicians Zakk Wylde and Charlie Benante. The group's best-kn ...

in November, they played at the January 1995 Big Day Out festival then released another EP, ''Inter Alia'', that month. In August that year they released their second album, ''Thirst'' (produced by Mantissa and Michael Letho), which did not chart. After one last national tour Mantissa broke up in 1996. On 16 November 2015, founding member and rhythm guitarist Chris Paine died in Melbourne. The news was broken to fans on the band's Facebook page.

Discography

Studio albums

EPs

Singles

References

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External links

Aus Metal GuideLibrarius Metallicus
Mantissa
Librarius Metallicus
Killing Time {{DEFAULTSORT:Mantissa Australian rock music groups Musical groups established in 1989 Musical groups disestablished in 1996 Victoria (Australia) musical groups