INGLORIOUS – Inglorious (CD)

Wow!!! Just f***ing WOW!!! I’ve seen there’s been a bit of a hype around this band and before hearing them I was not really paying attention thinking it was just one more, no offence, decent but not overly exciting melodic rock project. Well, suck me sideways! Wrong was I!! I damn near stood in attention after the sneaky intro had finished and the first riffs of opening track Until I Die rolled out of the speakers like a raging steamroller! The first band that came to mind was the long lost Badlands fronted by the highly missed Ray Gillen. The power, the riff and the intensity of phenomenal power house vocalist Nathan James just hit me like a brick! One track doesn’t do an album, of course, which second track Breakaway helps to overcome. This one started out with a touch of Aussie rockers Electric Mary with a Whitesnake sounding chorus. High Flying Gypsy provides a bit of Kashmir-feel to the guitar rhythm, but there end the similarities. Another killer bluesy rocker. Holy Water starts out with a cool bluesy riff, the pumping bass and drums come in and we’re now in Whitesnake meets Purple territory, with Nathan hitting that soul-rattling Hughes vibe. A big, powerful, yet cool and bluesy ballad. A dirty, mean, gritty, ugly and lonely guitar starts off the track Warning, joined by a cool slide guitar. Break. Hell breaks loose! Inglorious may not be bastards, but they sure sound like a bunch of bad boys! Bleed For You also enters into a cool, bluesy Whitesnakey vibe, but better than anything that band has done since 1984. Ok, Girl Got Gun is yet another slow piece. It’s a great track, but I hope you’re not falling asleep, guys, are you? Well, You’re Mine answers the question. Nope! The track Inglorious sticks out a bit with it’s simple halftone descent metallic riff, followed by a Magnum-like passage, making me wonder where this one’s heading. It’s a bit like if Led Zeppelin and Magnum had a love child, and that’s all good in my book! Unaware starts off with a soft piano intro, after which the heavy riff masters take over and turns this into a heavy, yet cool riff-oriented hard rocker with a modern melodic rock chorus. Some bluesy 7-chords, a bit of wah and we’re home free! Even though the album closer is entitled Wake, I think Goodnight would be more appropriate. Acoustic guitars and vocals and then 3 minutes into the song some very unplugged sounding drums and a bluesy guitar solo enter. Kind of a Badlands-vibe to this one as well, actually. This will most likely be the cigarette lighter (now iPhone) moment of the glorious Inglorious live show. Damn fine album, indeed!

Janne Stark

Label: Frontiers

Country: UK

Year: 2016

Video: https://youtu.be/SJTdvTfEFGc