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INGLORIOUS
Inglorious
2016 Frontiers Records

In 2014, I became aware of British vocalist Nathan James. He was personally selected by Paul O’Neill to perform with TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA after his appearance in 2012 on the UK reality show Superstar>. On the TSO tour in 2014, he really blew me away (as well as the rest of the audience). Nathan is an incredibly talented singer and has the vocal chops and looks to be the next big star in rock. I figured out who he was, and learned that he had a new band called INGLORIOUS that was working on their debut album. Fast forward to 2016, and I now have that brand new self-titled album in my hands.

The rest of INGLORIOUS consists of rhythm guitarist Wil Taylor, lead guitarist Andreas Eriksson, bassist Colin Parkinson, and drummer Phil Beaver. They cite WHITESNAKE, BAD COMPANY, DEEP PURPLE, LED ZEPPELIN, AEROSMITH, and the ROLLING STONES as their primary influences, and you can definitely hear those bands in these songs. I would also throw in BADLANDS, particularly the debut album and Ray Gillen’s voice, as an influence I hear. This is a seriously talented band, which know their craft very well. The production of the album was done by the band themselves and is organic and well done. The album was tracked in a room with all members present at James’ insistence: “There are no click tracks, no autotune and no overdubs to give it that live feel”. He also adds, “This record is about vibe, feeling, excitement, energy and performance of songs we all wrote together. That's how it came out that day and it will never be exactly the same again. We captured a series of moments that make up our debut album.” The songs were all written by band members, with help from guest writers like Al Pitrelli (TSO, Alice Cooper) and Joel Hoekstra (NIGHT RANGER, WHITESNAKE).

There is definitely a spark of energy in these songs. “Until I Die”, “High Flying Gypsy” and “Holy Water” are outstanding songs, while tracks like “Breakaway”, “Warning” and the ballad “Bleed For You” are bonafide hit songs. “Holy Water” in particular highlights the band’s skills in building a slow burning groove with a huge chorus. “Warning” and their signature track “Inglorious” are raucous and have enough swagger to remind you of WHITESNAKE. There are little touches of keyboards and organ throughout the album to remind you of DEEP PURPLE and other bands. “You’re Mine” features James’ highest vocal in the album. What a great song.

There are 11 songs at around 50 minutes. The cover artwork is well done, and one of the best ideas I’ve seen in a while. Let me tell you, this band is set to take off and become HUGE. For blues-soaked soaring hard rock, you probably won’t hear a much better album than Inglorious this year. This is a fantastic debut album! Inglorious is due to be released on February 19th on Frontiers Records.

4.8 Out Of 5.0

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