steve  (1/27/2009 4:25:10 PM)

this album is effin sick-made, i love all the older stuff, few exceptions but this new album is really getting me pumped. screw all you loosers who say it sounds kinda 80s, take a second to listen to the whole album and tell me its not a near-perfect, well played, well written work of art. it doesn't sound 80s at all more like UM in 09, so quit hating and making lame comparisons and enjoy this awesome album.

   Rk  (1/27/2009 4:01:46 PM)

Sorry, rofl, there was some incredible and innovative 80's music, you guys are showing your age. If you don't know the guys' ages, they were heavily influenced by good 80's music. Anyway, this is a studio album of an improg band, so yes the live stuff is going to be much more extensive. However, that being said, off the bat I would say this is probably my favorite studio album by them. It's incredibly complex and deep. I think it will transition to live versions insanely well and am glad to see them expanding their play styles as any good band will. I can't wait to hear these songs live. I love their funk and their hard rock and their melodic trance, etc... that's the thing about UM, they play such a large array of music that if you only want one type your not going to get it, but they seem to perfect just about anything they take on...

   trunad  (1/25/2009 8:13:16 PM)

This album may be too intelligent for most to fully understand. This album is going to be some of the best live songs that they have. The CD is smart and on point and i cant wait for these songs live and the jams that come from them. We are lucky to be part of them evolving.

   Mike  (1/24/2009 11:56:29 AM)

Umphrey's McGee is one of my favorite bands. So you can imagine how much it kills me to say I am really dissapointed with the new album. The dude before was right, this album sounds like cheesy 80's music. What happend to the jazz/funk rock Umphrey's McGee the fans loved when Local Band Does OK and Anchor Drops were released? For the love of god, please start writing music in the same style you guys used to write music on the first two studio albums. The past three have sucked compared to the first two, and Mantis is the worst out of all of them. Even worse than Saftey in Numbers

   Chris  (1/23/2009 9:40:54 AM)

lack of inventiveness? I don't think we are listening to the same album....

   The dude  (1/21/2009 12:10:06 PM)

I don't know what happened to umphrey's but this new album sounds like some bad 80's soundtrack. They are no longer blending different musical styles and regressing to this terrible soft rock style with some heavy change ups. What happened to the jazzy sound mixed with the metal guitar and drums? I am gonna wait to see how the songs are played live but am still very disappointed by the lack of inventiveness of this album.

   Me0w  (1/21/2009 8:13:49 AM)

Cemetery Walk II is the shit.

   Jam Band Evolution  (1/20/2009 11:14:05 PM)

i like the progression that um has made with mantis. its more prog-rock rather than the typical jams, but it doesn't mean that this cd doesn't jam; being composed entirely in the studio, mantis sounds like a jam band in the studio. For the most part, jam band listeners are scared by this concept, but don't be: mantis is art in music, and as an audience, i can certainly tell how much time was put into it! GREAT CD!!!