From the outset, Praying Mantis were more melodic and tune-conscious than their rivals in the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal. In an era when blood, studded wristbands, bullet belts and thunderous riffola were king, co-founding siblings Tino and Chris Troy understood – fittingly for a group formed at no less a place of learning than the London College Of Furniture – the value of luxurious upholstery. “We’re more like a chaise longue than a flatpack picked up at IKEA,” Chris Troy says today, grinning. “Melody has always been innate in us.”
Born into a Spanish-Greek family with the surname Neophytou, Chris had started playing music on a Spanish guitar, so in the spirit of one-upmanship a jealous Tino came home from school one day with a self-made electric guitar. “When things got a little more serious I converted it to a bass for Chris to play,” recalls the elder sibling. The brothers were inspired by Status Quo (Chris recalls Caroline being the first song they played), as well as the twin-lead melodic guitars of Thin Lizzy and Wishbone Ash, whose song Throw Down The Sword was covered in early sets.
