Katharsis is the eleventh album by British
heavy metal band
Praying Mantis
Mantises are an order (Mantodea) of insects that contains over 2,400 species in about 460 genera in 33 families. The largest family is the Mantidae ("mantids"). Mantises are distributed worldwide in temperate and tropical habitats. They ha ...
, released in 2022. A music video was produced for the album's opener, "Cry For The Nations" as well as "Closer To Heaven."
Reception
Reception has been "generally positive" after its release.
Rock Hard
"Rock Hard" is a single by the Beastie Boys, released by Def Jam Records on 12" in 1984. The track contains samples from the AC/DC song "Back in Black", which was used without obtaining legal permission, causing the record to be withdraw ...
gave it a solid rating, labeling it as "nicely arranged, 'fluffy' hard rock." Positively, a review from Metal1 stated in their review that while it might not be the strongest album in their career, "Katharsis is definitely a well-made, multi-layered and, above all, extremely high-quality rock record of the British style." A more critical review from
Metal.de stated how Praying Mantis delivers solid melodic
AOR, and that the troupe knows how to make stadium rock and avoid breakaways. However, they added that the record doesn't contain any big hits and has no real long-term standing effect. "People who tend towards Hard Rock or NWoBHM shouldn't be happy with this disc. Fans of melodic stadium rock should try the work, but don't expect any major highlights."
Blabbermouth spoke well of the album, and showed appreciation towards tracks such as "Cry For The Nations," "Sacrifice," "Wheels In Motion," and "Don't Call Us Now" which they stated as "an infectious pop-rock shuffle, with the album's strongest chorus and faint echoes of rock opera and
Jethro Tull." Moreover, they criticized songs like "Ain't No Rock 'N' Roll In Heaven" and "Long Time Coming" for being straightforward and prosaic in that they pale in comparison with the album's deeper cuts. Concluding with that, at its best, "Katharsis tells of a veteran band with plenty of gas in the tank and a strong grip on their highly distinctive identity."
Tracklist
Personnel
;Band
* John Cuijpers - vocals
* Andy Burgess – guitar, backing vocals, keyboards
* Tino "Daddy Long Legs" Troy – guitar, backing vocals, keyboards
* Chris "The Dak" Troy – bass, backing vocals, keyboards
* Hans In't Zandt – drums, backing vocals, percussion
;Miscellaneous staff
* Rainer Kalwitz – artwork
* Steve Mann – mastering
* Andy Burgess – producer, arrangements
* Tino Troy – producer, arrangements
References
External sites
;Official music videos
*
*{{YouTube, id=Qyskb81m3Lk, title=Praying Mantis - "Closer To Heaven" - Official Video
Praying Mantis (band) albums