December 13th, 2025 - You'd Better Circle Back 'Cause There's Nowhere to Hide!

 

Hallo and happy Saturday my rock and roll friends and hoppy craft beer lovers!  Your pal the Meista here again with another killer brew and killer album pairing for ya!  I'm spinning the wonderful and criminally underrated "Nowhere To Hide", the 6th studio album by the legendary Praying Mantis and a crisp and hoppy Circle Back West Coast IPA from Helper Beer!  Hell yeah!

Album Info: 

• Artist: Praying Mantis
• Title: "Nowhere To Hide"
• Recorded: 2000 at Fleetwood Recording Studio in Revere, Massachusetts
• Release date: November 21st, 2000 (6th studio album by Praying Mantis)
• Record company: Frontiers Records
• Production: Steve Mann and Tino Troy 
• Album cover art: Kazuo Hakamada (artwork), Taka Shibayama (design), Martin Valentine (concept)
• Personnel: Bruce Bisland (drums), Tony O'Hora (lead vocals), Dennis Stratton (guitars and backing vocals), Chris Troy (bass and backing vocals), Tino Troy (guitars and backing vocals)
• Musical style: Hard rock, heavy metal, AOR
• Sound: A wonderful rich and intricately textured album, at times it is soft and warm, and at times angry, aggressive, and decisive.  There are elements of metal, progressive rock, and AOR all tightly and masterfully woven into a fantastically engrossing and heavy tapestry!  As always with Praying Mantis, the songwriting and musicianship is utterly astounding!
• Major themes: Life, relationships, humanity, emotions, the future, darkness, mythology, hope, etc.
• Tracks:  

1. "Nowhere To Hide"
2. "Cruel Winter"
3. "The Clocktower"
4. "Can't Stop The Fire"
5. "Future Of The World"
6. "Whenever I'm Lost"
7. "You'll Never Know"
8. "River Of Hope"
9. "Naked" (bonus track)
10. "S.O.S."

Brew Info:

• Brewery: Helper Beer (Helper, Utah)
• Website: https://www.helperbeer.com/
• Brew: Circle Back West Cost IPA
• Style: West Coast Style India Pale Ale (IPA)
• Serving: 16 ounce can
• ABV: 7.1% 
• Pour: The Circle Back pours a clear, bright, golden yellow with a frothy, bright white, 1+ finger head with great retention and lots of sticky, intricate lacing.
• Nose: The nose is citrusy, herbal, dank, and grainy.  There are aromas of grapefruit rind, lemon zest, wild herbs, wet pine needles, pale grains, herbal and black tea, and very light caramel. 
• Taste: Following the nose, the taste of the Circle Back is citrusy, resinous, and grainy.  There are notes of pink grapefruit juice, unsweetened iced tea, light pine resin, lemongrass, and very soft caramel.
• Mouthfeel: Medium in body and moderately carbonated, the mouthfeel of the Circle Back is very crisp and a little bitter, yet refreshing with a clean, slightly bitter finish.

Overall pairing: The crisp, citrusy, and hop-forward, flavors and aromas of Helper Beer's Circle Back West Coast IPA is a very crushable, yet complex beer, perfect for the intricate, open, honest, and compelling music on "Nowhere To Hide" of the legendary Praying Mantis!  The inviting citrus notes are great for the fantastic grooves and melodies, while the hoppy bite goes great with the more introspective and darker lyrics!  I highly recommend this wonderful gem of an album! 

And if you haven't done so already, check out my interviews with current and past Praying Mantis members: 

• Vocalist John Jaycee Cuijpers: https://youtu.be/kV9hG_Pdes8
• Former guitarist Dennis Stratton:  https://youtu.be/pLtFRF-7CZc
• Bassist Chris Troy: https://youtu.be/tNw1qVKsRoM
• Guitarist Tino Troy: https://youtu.be/sf7ZBkI3foI

Cheers!!  Rock on!!