For the past two years, Umphrey’s McGee has been hard at work on an album of material that hasn’t been played live called Mantis. The band is proud of what they’ve come up and wanted to come up with an innovative way to promote the album. Knowing that the majority of folks who will pre-order Mantis are loyal fans, Umphrey’s decided to unlock their vault to give those fans who support the album long-requested gems.

If you head over to the Mantis site, you’ll see a progress bar with nine different levels of bonus material. As of now, seven of the levels are unlocked and two levels are still locked. The more fans that pre-order the release, the more bonus content the band will unlock for everyone. There are nine total levels of material that could be unlocked containing over 45 unique & unreleased audio tracks, including behind-the-scenes perspectives, videos and plenty of quirky surprises. The Bonus Material is available EXCLUSIVELY to those who pre-order.

Now, here’s where you come in. The band wants to know what material the fans want to see included as bonuses for the new album, which hits stores on January 20. Do you want to hear the Much Obliged > The Girl is Mine > Jane Says > The Girl is Mine > “Jimmy Stewart” > Miss Tinkle’s Overture > Anchor Drops > Miss Tinkle’s Overture from a recording of a gig on September 23, 2005 that has never seen the light of day? How about an instrumental version of Bridgeless that was scrapped during a recording session? Perhaps you’re most interested in hearing some of those rare tracks from Jake and Brendan or Joel’s annual Christmas shows.

Here’s your chance to be heard. Simply, leave a comment below with the material you’d like to see included and Umphrey’s Sound Caresser Kevin Browning will look over the list and promises to include at least a few of your suggestions in one of the yet-to-be-unlocked levels of bonus material. Spread the word, tell your friends. The chances of seeing this material get better and better with every pre-order.

Scott Bernstein

Scott Bernstein co-founded Hidden Track in October 2006 and was managing editor until taking over as EiC in January 2008. Scotty also writes for Relix Magazine and curates YEMblog.com.

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