Inglorious, Electric Ballroom, London, 20 October 2017

Review: Karen Hetherington

Pictures: Adrian Hextall \ MindHex Media

Back in May this year at the Inglorious II Album Launch an announcement was made which caused a great stir amongst the assembled masses – Inglorious, Electric Ballroom, 20th October 2017. Having been present at a few Inglorious gigs to date and with high expectations it was an absolute certainty that this was a show I wasn’t going to miss.

Having been suitably prepped and warmed up by support act Wayward Sons, the crowd was buzzing and full of anticipation; the iconic Electric Ballroom packed to capacity in what was Inglorious’ biggest headline show to date.

In the darkened venue the waiting assemblage were blasted with the nostalgic theme tune from BBC Grandstand before Inglorious steamrolled onto the stage with “Read all about it” and they were off…

Enigmatic frontman Nathan James is a sure fire crowd pleaser with a captivating stage presence ensuring the audience is eating out of his hand.

He thanked fans for making their album a Rock chart number 1 and they ploughed their way through the first half of the set which was a mixture of tracks from both albums including “High Flying Gypsy” and “Black Magic” before Nathan quipped “Now it’s that time in the show where I get to show you my Beaver”. This statement preceded the multi talented Phil Beaver showcasing his impressive percussion skills accompanied by the fantastic Colin Parkinson on bass. The delight of the crowd was clearly evidence as they chanted “Beaver” in response.

The heavy self titled track “Inglorious” had the audience whipped up into a Frenzy before Nathan James and Drew Lowe – on electro acoustic performed a stunning tribute to Chester Bennington and Chris Cornell with renditions of Limp Biscuit song “Numb” and Soundgarden track “Black Hole Sun”. A fitting interlude, it was also a chance for Nathan to demonstrate his wide ranging vocal skills and the guitar in this performance was quite simply incredible.

When the opening chords of “Holy Water” were heard, much excitement ensued and the crowd had their phones and cameras at the ready as Nathan appeared on steps to the left on the stage and proceeded to walk through the audience as he sang. Back on stage Andreas Eriksson played a blinding guitar solo in the latter half of the song which is a definite favourite of mine

Inglorious’ second album undoubtedly demonstrates more musical versatility without losing the sound which is distinctly ‘Inglorious’ and to hear these songs played live only enhances their appeal, the broad ranging style of the tracks sure to be a key to their popularity.

In a change from earlier live performances – aside from the tribute, Inglorious have dropped the cover versions from their set – they were fantastic and they served their purpose but the fact is with two albums under their belt and an ever expanding fan base who are intimately familiar with their original material, they just don’t need them anymore. In just under two years I have witnessed this band snowball in success and this gig was an exhibition of showmanship, vocal and musical perfection. If its fame they seek – I think they have it!

SETLIST:

Read All About It
Breakaway
High Flying Gypsy
Change Is Coming
Making Me Pay
Warning
Black Magic
Taking the Blame
Hell or High Water
Numb (Linkin Park cover)
Black Hole Sun (Soundgarden cover)
Faraway
Unaware
I Don’t Need Your Loving
Encore:
Holy Water
Until I Die