Praying Mantis - Legacy

Praying Mantis have been going on from back in the day, actually predating the birth of NWOBHM but still starting to release albums during its peak years... through the years they’ve been constantly pushing the envelope of melodic, tastefully written and performed melodic rock, no matter what the lineup has been since that never seemed to be constant other the bros Chris and Tino Troy. Having undergone a number of personnel changes in recent years, “Legacy”, their tenth proper studio album, is the recording debut of two new members, the dutchmen, Jaycee Cuijpers and Hans in’t Zandt (vocals and drums respectively), who have helped the band soldier forward and not only that but have given them a pretty much needed shot of energy… while no-one can fault the later albums as they were all pretty awesome with maybe 2003’s “The Journey Goes On” being a little “amiss” but this album sounds like a slightly more metallic counterpart of the bands 90s output, some pretty epic and legendary albums…
 
Heavier than they have sounded in a while with glorious melodies and an amazing new vocalist, the band returns with a pretty awesome album, chockfull of new, but instantly classic tracks like “Fight For Your Honour”, the amazing “The One” back to back with the equally un-“Believable”, “Tokyo”, heck if I went on I should have to pretty much list the whole tracklist here. There’s hardly any song that’s bad here… and several are insta-classics.
 
Rodney Matthews (Magnum, Diamond Head, Allen/Lande) art on the cover is also unmistakable and a pleasure to see… easily on par with everything the band has done in recent or not so recent years… the times might be a-changing but what doesn’t change is Praying Mantis’ focus on great melodic rock/metal… it’s good to know that in a time when countries seem to be “in turmoil” the music is still a safe harbor… “Legacy” is another jewel in the band’s crown and further cements theirs…