As requested, here’s a little gem if you love early ’80s British melodic hard rock & NWOBHM; “Demorabilia“, a 2-disc box set of PRAYING MANTIS unreleased music from the ’80s, only appeared in Japan.
In their early days Praying Mantis gained recognition thanks to radio disc-jockey Neal Kay’s Bandwagon (who was an important factor in the rise of the new wave of British heavy metal), and their gradual ascendance with bands such as Def Leppard and of course, Iron Maiden, culminated in the huge success of the Mantis’ debut album, ‘Time Tells No Lies’.
However, things went significantly wrong for the band in the early 80s, mainly due to contractual complications. In the time it took to free ourselves from the legalities, the momentum the band had achieved with “Time Tells No Lies’ had by and large, ebbed away.
Nevertheless, the passion to create music remained and they continued write and record with variations in their musical style. To this end they released this ”Demorabilia” double album. These are songs recorded between 1981-1983, ranging from raw metal to melodic hard rock, with AOR moments. The packaging is really cool with a golden stamp and contains a photobook and a family tree of the band written out by Tino Troy himself.
Despite being demos the sound quality is very good, and the songs pretty awesome. This is a must if you love early ’80s Brit hard rock, and if you’re a Uriah Heep fan, talented Bernie Shaw sings on most the tracks.
‘Demorabilia’ encompasses a variety of songs from each stage of the Mantis evolution. It includes Clive Burr’s ‘Escape’, Stratus and early recordings of ‘Mantis’ which feature original members such as Steve Carroll and Dave Potts.
It was a time when rock bands really rocked, flesh & blood rock n’ roll from the soul. PRAYING MANTIS were and still is among the best of them.
A Gem
CD 1 :
01 – Escape – One of These Days
02 – Escape – Wasted Love
03 – Escape – Fantasy
04 – Escape – Woman of the Night
05 – Escape – I Don’t Take Prisoners
06 – Escape – Born Evil
07 – Escape – The Horn
08 – Escape – Top of the Mountain
09 – Praying Mantis – All over Again
10 – Praying Mantis – Romancer
11 – Praying Mantis – Your Number
12 – Praying Mantis – Give Me a Reason (1982 Version)
13 – Praying Mantis – Heartache
CD 2 :
01 – Praying Mantis – A Question of Time
02 – Praying Mantis – I Need Your Loving
03 – Praying Mantis – Battle Royal
04 – Praying Mantis – Time Slipping Away
05 – Praying Mantis – Got to Get It
06 – Praying Mantis – Over and Over
07 – Praying Mantis – Never Say No
08 – Escape – Heat of the Moment
09 – Escape – Whose Life Is It Anyway ?
10 – Praying Mantis – Enough Is Enough
11 – Praying Mantis – Raining in Kensington
12 – Praying Mantis – Nightmares
13 – Praying Mantis – Give Me a Reason
14 – Praying Mantis – The Story
Bass, Backing Vocals – Chris Troy
Drums (Escape tracks) – Clive Burr
Drums (Praying Mantis tracks) – Dave Potts
Keyboards – Don Garbett, Jon Bavin
Lead Guitar, backing Vocals – Steve Carroll
Lead Guitar, Keyboards, Backing Vocals – Tino Troy
Lead Vocals – Bernie Shaw
Lead Vocals – Chris Troy (tracks: 2-13, 2-14)
Lead Vocals – Steve Carroll (tracks: 2-2, 2-14)
Lead Vocals – Tom Jackson (tracks: 1-13)