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Track Listing
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· Tonight
· The Escape
· The Journey Goes On
· Silent War
· Beast Within
· Hold On For Love
· If Tomorrow Never Comes
· Lost World
· The Voice
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Buy it if you liked:
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Praying Mantis
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Praying Mantis
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The Journey Goes On
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Frontiers FRCD145
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· Produced By:Tino Troy · Running Time: 59.34
· Release Date: April 29 · Released: EU
· Genre: Hard Rock
· LabelLink: Frontiers
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Praying Mantis have a hard time ahead of them. They not only have to make up for the loss of singer Tony O'Hara, but they also have to follow up one of the best albums of their career, in Nowhere To Hide.
While this is a solid enough album, is also does neither of the above.
In comes vocalists John Sloman and Doogie White, who join the rest of the band on lead vocal duties. Sloman sings on 3 tracks, Doogie on 4. The rest is covered by the band internally. What that does is create a bit of a mess, as vocalists are coming and going throughout the album. Highlighting that problem is the vocals of Doogie White, which so clearly stand above those of the rest of the guys. His songs are not only the most enjoyable of the album, but his self-supplied harmony vocals make those the best songs of the album.
And that I guess is the crux of of the problem - the songs just aren't as strong and powerful as the last album. Instead there are too many mid-tempo tracks that fail to ignite the listeners imagination.
The overall sound and production quality of the album is fine - there are still some good English NWOBHM style moody rockers to enjoy and a few dramatic passages of music that will find a home with established fans of the band.
But as far as capturing new fans like the last album did, I don't think it will happen here.
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The Bottom Line
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While this album is enjoyable and thoroughly competent, the difference between this and the well received last album is fairly evident. That album crossed over to a wider listener base, while this one is likely to remain a fans only affair.
Stronger songs and a punchier approach would have made for a stronger release.
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Line Up
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· John Sloman, Doogie White: Vocals
· Tino Troy: Guitar, Keyboards, Vocals
· Chris Troy: Guitar, Keyboards, Vocals
· Dennis Tratton: Guitar, Vocals
· Martin Johnson: Drums
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