''Mantis'' is the sixth studio album by
progressive rock
Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...
band
Umphrey's McGee
Umphrey's McGee is an American jam band originally from South Bend, Indiana. The band experiments with many musical styles, including rock, metal, funk, jazz, blues, reggae, electronic, bluegrass, country, and folk. They have toured regularly ...
. The album was released on January 20, 2009.
The album became available for pre-order on October 27, 2008.
Along with the pre-order announcement came information that unique bonus content would be available and more content would unlock depending on how many pre-orders were placed. This unusual method of distribution has been hailed as the "perfect way to implement a pre-order campaign".
The band has also continued to offer more bonus content to all purchasers of the album by releasing tracks online through PUSH Entertainment. To access the content the physical CD is used as a key for logging onto the PUSH website. Live songs, some previously unreleased, have been added as well as the album's extended liner notes. The bonus PUSH content has been updated every month since the album's release.
Unlike previous studio releases, ''Mantis'' is almost completely composed of material that the band had not played live prior to the album release. Over their 2008 New Year's Eve run "Made To Measure" made its live debut and was played again at the album release show with the addition of "Cemetery Walk." Several tracks feature sections similar to previous live improvisations (known to the band and fans as "Jimmy Stewarts"). Some of the music had been in the works as early as 1994.
Track listing
Bonus Content
Level 1
Level 2
Level 3
Level 4
Level 5
Level 6
Level 7
Level 8
Level 9
The entire set from the 1/19 CD release show at the Vic Theatre is also included in level 9.
Chart performance
Personnel
*
Brendan Bayliss
Brendan Bayliss (born August 11, 1976) is an American musician and the founder, a lead guitarist, and primary vocalist for progressive rock band Umphrey's McGee.
Biography
Bayliss formed Umphrey's McGee in 1997 and took its moniker from the ...
: guitar, vocals
*
Jake Cinninger: guitar, keyboards, vocals
*
Joel Cummins
Joel Nathan Cummins (born January 12, 1975, in La Grange, Illinois) is an American musician, and founding member/keyboardist for progressive rock band Umphrey's McGee.
Cummins tours full-time with Umphrey's McGee, playing a range of shows eac ...
: keyboards, vocals
* Ryan Stasik: bass
* Kris Myers: drums, vocals
* Andy Farag: percussion
with
*
Jeff Coffin
Jeff Coffin (born August 5, 1965) is an American saxophonist, composer, and educator. He is a three-time Grammy Award winner as a member of Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, with whom he performed from 1997 until 2010. In July 2008, Coffin began to ...
: clarinets, saxophones
*
Christoper Hoffman and
Nathan Swanson: violins, violas, cellos
* Kevin Browning: engineer & producer
*
Manny Sanchez: co-producer
* Mark Blanchette: photography & artwork
* David Plain: graphic design
References
External links
Album website(archived)
Umphrey's McGee albums
2009 albums
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