Διαβάστε την αποκλειστική συνέντευξη που έδωσε στο Rock Overdose, το συγκρότημα των PRAYING MANTIS, ένα από τα πιο ποιοτικά και πρωτοπόρα συγκροτήματα του New Wave Of British Heavy Metal...
(Σύντoμα και η μετάφραση στα Ελληνικα)
R.O.-First of all a big THANK YOU for the music over the years!!!
-Thats down to everyone who has followed and supported Mantis over the years! A Huge thank you to one and all!
R.O.-Back in the middle 70’s, you’ve started the band under the name JUNCTION. How did the name PRAYING MANTIS come around? Any memories from the early days?
-I think we came up the worst possible name that a band could have and all agree, to use it !!!....... in all honesty it’s hard to believe why we used that name , there is no doubt that it was awful!.
The early days were a long time ago and very hazy, mainly due to copious amounts of alcohol etc. at the time ! Playing Reading Festival, Supporting Maiden, Playing alongside many awesome bands and at the time everywhere seemed to rock!
R.O.-You are considered amongst the leaders of the N.W.O.B.H.M. movement, along with bands like DEF LEPPARD and ANGEL WITCH. What can you recall from METAL FOR MUTHAS tour with IRON MAIDEN? Any conflicts or funny stuff between you?
-It would be good reading to say that we all hated one another and had constant fights during the tour , however its amazing how well we got on. After some 100 shows or whatever it was there was actually a very strong bond between the bands. So much so that the two bands became entwined with members with ex maiden members Paul Di’anno, Dennis Stratton and Clive Burr eventually becoming Mantis members .
The funniest one was when someone drunk most of Paul Di’Anno’s beer which was left in the dressing room and topped it up with Piss!....no doubt you can imagine how we all fell about laughing when he came of stage and drunk it down without stopping for breath !. Classic (he probably still does not know to this day!! )
R.O.-Your first album “Time tells no lies” was extremely successful and gave you the opportunity to support big bands like TRIUMPH and perform in Reading Festival. What did happen to the second album “A question of time”? Did it just disappear completely? Any chance to see the light of day in the future?
-Yes we think the band went through a strange time as do most bands at some stage of their careers.
Were we happy with A question of time?….not really . it was the production that let it down as the studio we were in was totally jinxed ,and the number of problems we had during that recording were unbelievable. Talk about ghosts in the system!.
But its strange quite a few parts of those songs made their way into future Mantis recordings ….so they were eventually re-incarnated into other songs in much more successful albums .
R.O.-There was a long time between “TTNL” (1981) and “Predator in disguise” (1991). In the meantime you had participated in Clive’s Burr ESCAPE/STRATUS and SCORCED EARTH’s “Tomorrow never comes” (1985). Can you recall a thing about that era?
-No really, most of that time I was on drugs …….. Seriously it may have had its ups and downs but we cannot say that time wasn’t eventful. There is no doubt that was a great time, people seemed to be able to go out and enjoy themselves with music without getting legless !...mind you ?
R.O.-In 1990 PRAYING MANTIS was reformed and recorded a Tokyo gig which is released as “Live and last” with PAU DI ANNO and DENNIS STRATTON. The set included both P.MANTIS and I.MAIDEN songs. What was the idea behind that appearance?
-It was the 10th anniversary celebrating 10years since the formation of the NWOBHM . It was great playing many of the Iron maiden songs which we really enjoyed. This hybrid band was actually great and we went down an absolute storm at each of the shows …..I have to say its one of the most memorable and enjoyable shows we ever did . To play for our first time ever to a Japanese audience was so strange but unbelievably mesmerising ….great !
R.O.-Since then, PRAYING MANTIS release an album every 2 or 3 years in Japan. Why is that? What are the differences between Japanese audience and other P.MANTIS fans?
-To me 2- 3 years is actually quite a good period. I think that if the period in between is much less than this then the music writing can quickly dry up and the songs sound very similar to one another .
The main difference between the Japanese audiences and other PM fans ?....they are smaller . Seriously for us they have been incredibly loyal , and I cannot fault them they are obviously very partial to melodic rock of the mantis style . However the Greek fans I would say are of equal stature and the noise they make at the shows is brilliant . They often know the words of the songs when we forget them ……..
R.O.-How did you get in touch with Rodney Matthews, the man behind most of your album covers?
-Via smoke signals I think it was ……… no actually our management company came with the idea and it worked brilliantly. The Praying mantis logo I still think is brilliant. When we do big festivals and I see the logo up against all the other bands there is no doubt it has that magic factor and just stands out . Well done Rodders !
R.O.-You come from a Mediterranean background (Spanish/Greek). How does this affect your music writing?
-My first instrument was the Spanish guitar where I played Flamenco and Tino had a stint playing the Bazouki ……..I think both Tino and me no doubt had that Mediterranean feel and that’s where so many of those melodic guitar licks ( Zorba’s dance !) and harmonious chorus lines comes from.
R.O.-Your latest album “Sanctuary” was brilliant with plenty of melodies and great songs. A real PRAYING MANTIS classic. So what’s next? Any future plans?
-Sanctuary has become most fans favourite album that we have ever done. Personally, it too is one my favourites that we have ever done . it just seems to tick the right boxes.
Future plans ?... the immediate one is that we will soon release a very limited edition 5 track EP which is further described below .
Late next year we will release another album which we can only work to our hardest endeavours to make it better than the album Sanctuary…..!! Hmmm , could be the following year ?
R.O.-You have just celebrated your 30th Anniversary by releasing a brand new single WITCH HUNT, This will be followed by a Special Limited Edition EP in late November 2010 which will include a number of their classic tracks! Could give as more info about this?
-Yes I really like the video that promotes the single Witchhunt …….pretty girl being burnt at the stake which is gruesome but enjoyable at the same time ……have a view and let me know your thoughts , maybe I am just sick in the head .
The EP will feature the current band line up and containing re-recorded versions of the classics taken mainly from the Time tells no lies album. i.e Children of the Earth, Lovers to the Grave and also the song that started it for Mantis , Captured City. This will be released on our own label and hence only available through the bands web sites ( see below for details )
R.O.-You have recently visited Greece for the Up the hammers festival. Did you enjoy it? Any thoughts about your Greek fans?
-I think I mentioned this previously, but the Greek fans are just superb , there is no doubt about that.
The UP the hammers festival was great for us , one of the most enjoyable shows we have done for a long time . We cannot wait to get back to Greece and hopefully this will occur sometime next year .
R.O.-CHEERS YOU LOT !!!
-Its been a pleasure !!!
Provided by Promo Agency: http://www.rockngrowl.com
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