For a band which have spent a large portion of their career changing more members than Ritchie Blackmore, Yngwie Malmsteen and Ian Anderson combined, the last few years for Praying Mantis have been exceptionally stable. This stability has reaped dividends as the band have delivered arguably their best work ever and now, the one-time New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM) band are back with their latest offering ‘Katharsis’.
Anyone expecting that NWOBHM sound can shelve those thoughts immediately because they need to acquaint themselves with what Praying Mantis have been doing recently and that is releasing some quality hard rock/melodic hard rock which shows that this band has grown, evolved and finally become comfortable in their own skin. ‘Katharsis’ is the product of this metamorphosis, sticking to the formula laid down on both ‘Legacy’ and ‘Gravity’, the band know what they want to do and they do it well, tracks such as ‘Cry for the Nations’, ‘Ain’t No Rock ‘n’ Roll in Heaven’ and ‘Masquerade’ showcase that enjoyable sing-a-long melodic hard/hard rock sound which vocalist Jaycee Cuijpers shows just how versatile he is with ‘Long Time Coming’ even having that touch of modern Thunder.
There is however nothing special here, it is a familiar sound, but ‘Katharsis’ is a band on top of their game, it is a great mature slice of that melodic hard/hard rock sound that is wonderfully produced and delivered that fans of the genre are bound to love and rightly so.
