Album review : PRAYING MANTIS – The Official Bootleg Boxset Vol 1 – Live In Japan

April 13th, 2026 by brianmc

Cherry Red [Release date : 24.04.26]

CD1 : Live From The Bottom Line, Nagoya Japan, 1993 Part One.
CD2 : Live From The Bottom Line, Nagoya Japan, 1993 Part Two
CD3 : Live From The Bottom Line, Nagoya Japan, 1998 Part One
CD4 : Live From The Bottom Line, Nagoya Japan, 1998 Part Two

If ever the “Big In Japan” idiom applied to a rock/metal band, then it’s Praying Mantis.

After a downward curve in NWOBHM ratings in the eighties left them stranded on the UK’s shores, they caught a wave of popularity emanating from Japan.

Subsequently, they released several albums on the Pony Canyon label, and played The Bottom Line in Nagoya twice in the nineties, 1993 and 1998. (Nagoya is awash with music venues, The Bottom Line being among the best, good sound, good audience access).

Both gigs, lengthy and crammed with memorable PM songs, were recorded on set. The recorded sound is not pristine – the title of the boxset is something of a clue – but these are taken from DAT masters. The balance is good, there’s clarity and depth, even if not consistently so.

But, that’s the beauty of live. It comes at you warts and all.
Sometimes technical expertise is lacking in emotion: perfection can often inhibit the expression of feeling. But live, rock’n’roll breaks down the barrier between artist and audience.

The line ups across the two gigs differ only slightly. Anchored by founding members Tino and Chris Troy, along with Bruce Bilsland and Denis Stratton, the band had brought in Mark Thompson-Smith in 1993 to replace Paul Di’Anno on vocals, then traded Smith for Tony O’Hora in 1998.

As you would expect, the gigs, built around the then current albums, A Cry For The New World and Forever In Time, capture their respective moments in time.

CDs 1 and 2 comprise the songs from the 1993 gig.

With only 3 albums under their belt, the gig gave the band the opportunity on CD1 to showcase a few non album tracks, like their Turn The Tables EP from 1982. An explosively melodic ‘Whose Life Is It Anyway’ and a powerful version of ‘Only The Children Cry’ are the picks, both songs illustrative of lyrics that go deeper than most rock and metal.

The band were sometimes criticised for not sticking to the simple sounds of radio romance, but in Thompson-Smith they had a vocalist who sang with authority and feeling, and so they wrote lyrics to suit.

CD2 is bookended with songs from the band’s debut, Time Tells No Lies …. ‘Flirting With Suicide’ and ‘Children Of the Earth’. In between they deliver three songs central to Cry For The New World’s core themes, of which ‘Rise Up Again’ is another rallying cry that fits neatly into the Praying Mantis cannon.

Again live at Nagoya’s Bottom Line, CD3 focuses almost entirely on the the band’s 1998 release Forever in Time, kicking off with the wiry, metalised rock thrills of ‘Wasted Years’. New vocalist Tony O’Hora proves to be a better fit, despite Thompson-Smith’s strengths.

The album proved to be popular with fans…at least those who had quickly come to terms with band’s carefully calibrated, hybrid mix of melodic rock and metal. ‘The Messiah’ and the epic ballad, ‘Remember My Name’, undisguised by heavy metal riffery, are among the band’s most memorable tracks here, well received by an appreciative audience.

CD4 mixes tracks again from Forever in Time with A Cry For The New World, already proven favourites with the Japanese audience.

Again, some patience and adjustment is required in order to come to terms with a less than perfect sound, but as we work our way through these four CDs, one thing is clear, as live testaments from one of rock’s great survivors, they make for a fascinating listen. ***1/2

Review by Brian McGowan

Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK

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KING KRAKEN Call To War (indie)
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