Welcome back, Inglorious, a band once tipped as ‘the great white hope of British rock.’ In 2022, the band decided to go on hiatus for an indefinite period, after an eight-year run which’d seen them releasing several albums, as well as headlining their own shows, plus touring as a support to bands such as The Winery Dogs and The Dead Daisies. But a meeting between vocalist Nathan James and original bassman Colin Parkinson, who’d left in 2018, led to the group coming out of hiatus because, as Parkinson said, “it’s the right time to get some kickass new music out there for the fans, and to focus on the future”. The band now features James and Parkinson, with Richard Shaw, ex-Cradle of Filth, on guitar, plus drum man Henry Rogers, from prog band Mostly Autumn, and V is the result.
They kick off with the throbbing bass lines of ‘Testify’ before the rest join in, and with punchy guitar licks and a solid rhythmic backing, they sound like they’ve never been away. With driving rockers like ‘Devil Inside’ “.. I’m the devil you can’t keep inside ..” it shows Henry Rogers he’s gone from playing lengthy prog pieces with Mostly Autumn to fast-paced rockers like this, but it’s all handled with his customary aplomb.
They are a brand of thunderous classic rock, designed to get the fans on their feet, banging their heads and punching the air .. and if this is your thing, you won’t be disappointed with this offering. With tracks like ‘Say What You Wanna Say,’ ‘Stand and End Of The Road,’ Inglorious draws on the spirit of traditional classic rock, without shamelessly plagiarising it.
The vocals and the harmonies are good, particularly on ‘Eat You Alive,’ with Nathan James sounding like a meld between David Coverdale and Bruce Dickinson.
They’re versatile as well, and not just about the riffs. ‘Silent’ is a moody, gritty mid-tempo piece while ‘Believe’ and ‘Power Of Truth’ both start softly with acoustics before becoming intense power ballads, played with real feeling and desire.
Inglorious haven’t reinvented the wheel with this album. What they’ve done is give their fans some classic British rock, with a solid, tight rhythm section, powerful guitar chords and fine vocals with some good harmonies. Hopefully, their hiatus got whatever it was out of their system and they’ll hang around now for a while longer.
