Let’s hear it for power rockers
Praying Mantis, with support Vambo at Arlington Arts on Thursday, October 7
Frontman John Cuijpers absolutely looks the part and his soaring vocals are wonderful
VAMBO opened tonight with a rocked-out cover of the Hollies hit Hey Willy, which came as a surprise. They are very much a band on the rise and both their debut album and live performances have received rave reviews from the likes of Planet Rock and Classic Rock magazine.
Just as I was thinking how much Jack Stiles’ vocals reminded me of Deep Purple’s Ian Gillan, he announced that Purple are one of his favourite bands and launched in to a great cover of their hit Burn.
It was great to see a young band giving it 110 per cent and creating some superb music. They are all brilliant musicians and I loved their self-penned tracks, including This Is Your Life, their new single We’re Not The Same and Running In Circles. Basically if you like classic rock as delivered by the likes of Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple, you will love Vambo. Praying Mantis have been around since 1973. Many people of my age will remember their great fantasy art album sleeves designed by
Rodney Matthews. They were often mentioned in the same breath as Iron Maiden and indeed shared a stage with them many a time (former Maiden guitarist Bob Sawyer even briefly joined Mantis). Praying Mantis arguably pursued a more melodic path, but the power and energy of the band remains undimmed. Frontman John Cuijpers absolutely looks the part and his soaring vocals are wonderful. Opening with Panic In The
Streets and the eponymous Praying Mantis they provided an exciting retrospective plus a glimpse of their upcoming new album (due in January 2022) by way of two great preview tracks. Keep It Alive and the power ballad Dream On were brilliant, as were Captured City (originally from 1979) and Children of the Earth. The Lynyrd Skynyrd track Simple Man, which has also been covered by Shinedown was, in my opinion more than equal to those versions and was proof of just how good Mantis are.
A great night of classic power rock which got the ovation it deserved from the enthusiastic audience.