Inglorious, live at The Stables, June 14 2016

Review: Karen Hetherington

Rumour has it that great things are expected from Inglorious and being sold on the debut self titled album after only one listen, I had been waiting patiently for the opportunity to see them live – and they did not disappoint.

Arriving at the “The Stables”, a little later than planned I was immediately struck by what an odd venue it was for hosting a rock gig. Although the sound was superb in this purpose built venue, expectations of a revved up crowd thrashing about the floor were dashed when I glimpsed the generally sombre looking audience seated in theatre style rows. Unfortunately I only caught the last two songs of support act Western Sand which was disappointing as I was loving their sound – another time guys!

Western Sand

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Inglorious

Having duly taken a seat, I soon heard the opening chords of “Until I Die” (possibly Inglorious’ most well known track) before vocalist Nathan James made a flamboyant entrance in true rock star fashion. The heavy guitar riffs, powerhouse drums and raw vocals of the opening track threatened to lift the roof off the venue and set the pace of things to come.
Nathan remarked on how unusual it was to see everyone seated before commanding the enthused crowd to their feet – they were more than happy to oblige, of course.

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Breakaway was up next and I was hearing a distinct variation of vocal range on this one demonstrating Nathans versatility as a singer and just as I was beginning to think that we were going to get a full run of the album in order they launch into the most amazing version of Rainbows’ “I Surrender”. The catchy, fast paced rock song could have been written for them, or by them as they took it to a whole new level, the strength of the vocals was mind blowing.

A hard rocking first half of the set including the track “No Good for you” which will feature on the new album, was concluded with the notably mellower “Bleed for You”. In an unexpected change of events, the assault of the drums ceased, and drummer Phil Beaver switched his drum stool for a seat upfront alongside the rest of the band and proceeded to play a 12 string guitar during an acoustic interlude. Not sure quite what to make of this, I was absolutely in awe as they performed their song “Wake” followed by another couple of covers including a stunning and lengthy version of Guns N Roses classic, “November Rain”.

Another switch back to the heavy stuff saw “Warning”, Your Mine” and the magnificent “ Holy Water” spun out in fantastic, If, it seemed, all too quick succession. By the time they were performing the penultimate self titled track of the night, “Inglorious”, I could clearly see what all the hype was about. “Girl Got A Gun” concluded the set far too early for my liking.

Backtracking slightly here but to save the best for last, the undoubted highlight of the gig for me was the acoustic cover of Deep Purples’ “Burn”. The guitar by Andreas Eriksson was incredible, the vocals amazing, the entire performance was phenomenal, it gave me shivers and had me seriously questioning if Coverdale ever sounded this good…

Inglorious, who are currently touring with only one albums worth of tracks delivered a flawless performance which consisted of their album in its entirety peppered with well known covers and a new song thrown in as an appetiser for the next album.

The covers were exceptionally well received – everyone likes a song they can sing along to, especially if the rendition is surpassing all expectations and I was left firmly of the opinion that when Inglorious do cover versions, they are probably the best cover versions in the world!

In conclusion, the live experience was overwhelming to say the least and I left the gig contemplating how odd it was to see a band with such talent, versatility and energy perform in what I considered a rather inappropriate setting. This band have a sound more suited to head lining in stadiums…and I’m hopeful they will.