You are gonna love these Classic Rockers next year, so you may as well get on board now
Inglorious are five young men with a mutual love and respect of the classics of Hard Rock music, big guitar riffs, and soulful vocals. Their influences stem from iconic rock and roll shrine of Rock albums from the 1970s – many years before the band members were born.
The same albums that have inspired generations of musicians and performers are noticeably evident when you listen to the Inglorious debut album. This is the music they were born to play together – inspired by bands in the classic rock genre as diverse as Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, Whitesnake, Bad Company, Aerosmith, the Rolling Stones, to name a few.
Formed in February 2014, the band is fronted by Nathan James, who made a name for himself having sung for the multi-platinum selling Trans-Siberian Orchestra, andScorpions guitar legend Uli Jon Roth. Nathan was looking for like-minded musicians that desired to make incredible rock music in a very honest fashion.
Nathan thought to himself, “Why are those classic albums so awesome?” He realised it was because “the musicians were recording in an organic way; they could track it live and capture amazing energy.”
“Not only in rock but in Motown and even classical music they tracked everyone in the room at the same time,” adds Nathan. “The air movement from a bass drum, that same excitement you get when you perform, and that’s exactly how I wanted the album to feel.”
Nathan wanted all his fellow musicians in the room at the same time, no click tracks, no auto tune and no overdubs. He wasn’t willing to compromise. Says Nathan – “For so long people have been hiding mistakes, singers using auto tune to make them sound perfect, double tracking to make it sound bigger and using click to play in time. There is none of that on this album.
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.”
Inglorious is composed of rhythm guitarist Wil Taylor, lead guitarist Andreas Eriksson, bassist Colin Parkinson, and drummer Phil Beaver. Wil, from the Northeast of England, is the youngest member of the band whose heroes include Mark Tremonti (Alter Bridge), Joe Satriani and Steve Lukather (Toto).
Colin and Phil both hail from Somerset, and have played together in bands for 17 years (at one point, both were signed to Mick Fleetwood’s label while Phil was still at school). Phil’s Bonham-like groove, great snare work and exciting fills, combined with Wil’s solid bluesy rhythm playing and Colin’s fat, gritty bass sound, make for a formidable rhythm section.
Andreas was the final piece of the puzzle – a lead guitar player that shared all the same influences, could command a stage and was able to track the whole album the way Nathan wanted. Guitarist Andreas Eriksson played in bands from his home country of Sweden for many years, and has taken influences from all the greats, making him one of the most musically well rounded guitar players in the contemporary rock scene. His bluesy, melodic, soulful playing compliments Nathan’s soaring vocals. The pair is 2016’s version of the Toxic Twins.
The musicians instantly jelled, both musically and as friends. They recorded the album over the period of one month in Buckinghamshire. “In the day we were writing and recording in the live room. At night we would inflate our air beds and sleep in the same room we had been making music and sweating in all day, I even used my Marshall stack as a headboard,” Wil recalls.
Andreas flew back and forth from Sweden during the recording process. Says Andreas – “For me it was such a special experience because I was in a foreign country with guys I hardly knew, recording songs I had only learnt two weeks prior. It was so challenging doing it the way we did but it was the most awesome time.”
The whole band wrote the album with a few guest writers including Al Pitrelli (Megadeth, Alice Cooper, Trans-Siberian Orchestra), Joel Hoekstra (Night Ranger, Whitesnake) and Neil Fairclough (Queen).
After meeting with a few producers, Inglorious decided to produce the album themselves. Chris Kimsey, who has worked with The Who and the Rolling Stones, said “There is nothing for me to do, you guys are doing what I would tell you to do already.” High praise, indeed.
