Teutonic Thrash in 2020! WHITE MANTIS is a German four-piece at its second release under the great High Roller Records. I would love to say that I’m an early fan but unfortunately I discovered them just with this new record “Arrows At The Sun” – before the listening I was intrigued by two factors: the record label (I believe that HHR is incapable of producing anything bad) and the cover, which is somewhat at odds with classic Thrash Metal artworks. They have been active since 2012 but only have two main releases yet and hopefully this would be the one that will pave the way. “Arrows At The Sun” is a really well-written, played, and produced album! Just to give you an idea of the sound, you can hear the classic mark of ’80s German Thrash Metal, even if at times there are various hints of European style Speed Metal. I repeat, just to give you an idea, because the band is capable of defining its own unique sound, drawing influence from various international Thrash Metal scenes. Vocally, I heard something of DESTRUCTION, TOXIK, but also TESTAMENT. What really makes the difference is the singer’s ability to reach different registers, from darker and more aggressive moments to more melodic ones. The songwriting is for sure very capable since they are able to create singable refrains, but without losing the aggressiveness. Unlike genres such as Black Metal or Death Metal, which always seem to have newer bands to release quality works, the recent years have been lean times for Thrash Metal since there have been really few bands that have been able to uphold the name of the genre and carry on the legacy of the giants. WHITE MANTIS are definitely candidates to turn things around, and this “Arrows At The Sun” is an excellent piece of the puzzle. We’ll keep an eye on them! Be sure to give them a follow at www.facebook.com/white.mantis and of course go grab some version of the album from www.facebook.com/hrrecords.