Inglorious - Exeter Review

Despite a major schism in the band's line-up towards the end of last year that happened just a couple of months prior to the release of their third album Ride to Nowhere in January, 2019 has been a very busy and successful year for Inglorious. The British hard rock band have really made a name for themselves over the past few years, with some going as far to call them the next big thing in the genre. I would not make such a lofty claim myself, but I have certainly been enjoying the band's output since their self-title debut album was released back in 2016. The band can sometimes be a little generic and safe, but they certainly have the chops and necessary drive to succeed - and Ride to Nowhere certainly saw the band diversifying their sound somewhat. It is to the band's credit then that the departure of three of the band's key members in October 2018 did not totally derail them. While the band's current line-up was probably hastily arranged ready to kick off the band's touring year at the beginning of 2019, the new iteration of Inglorious is a powerful unit. Both frontman Nathan James and drummer Phil Beaver remain from the band's original line-ups with guitarists Danny Dela Cruz and Dan Stevens, along with bassist Vinnie Colla, rounding out the band. Despite the upheaval, 2019 is quite possibly the band's busiest year yet. They barely seem to have been off the road all year, no doubt racking up thousands of miles in the process. Luckily for Inglorious fans in their own country, many of their shows have been in the UK. The band kicked off the year with a decent length UK trek, and scheduled in another whack of dates in towards the end of the year. Previous Inglorious tours have always come at times where I have already have commitments, but with the second leg of UK dates including a relatively local show in Exeter it was time for me to finally see what the band are made of live. Sadly, despite having a few good venues, Exeter is not the hot spot for gigs that it should be - especially being a big university city. I always enjoy a trip up to Exeter from Plymouth however, and the Inglorious show was the first time in a couple of years that I had visited the city for a show. The gig took place at the Phoenix, one of the city's better smaller venues, at which I have seen a few great shows over the years. It is very similar to The Wharf in Tavistock - and I always think we are very lucky in the South West to have a few decent venues, even if they are somewhat underused.

There was only one support act, and the modern rockers Mercutio kicked off the evening with their jagged brand of melodic rock. Inglorious have had a few different support acts throughout the tour, with Mercutio performing on a few of the dates. During their 40-odd minute set, the four-piece somewhat impressed with their potent songwriting, with frontman Ross Wild easily building a rapport with the gathering crowd. The one-time Spandau Ballet frontman is a passionate performer, and really led the band through their set with ease - with plenty of surprisingly hard rocking riffs backing him up. In some ways the band's sound was quite strange, with hard rock riffs mixing in with indie-esque/post-punk aesthetics and rhythms. Mercutio are certainly not a classic rock throwback, but they certainly have plenty of the genre's swagger. Occasionally Wild would plant himself behind a synth to add some additional depth to the sound, but mostly it was just guitars, bass, and drums backing up his over-the-top and theatrical display. While none of the band's songs particular stuck, I felt that their performance was a strong one. It is always good to see a support band really attempting to engage with the crowd, and I feel that Mercutio probably won quite a few around during the course of the evening with their set.

Half an hour after Mercutio finished up, the house lights went down and Inglorious, joined by touring keyboard player Rob Lindop, took to the stage and immediately launched into Where Are You Now?, the opening track from their latest album. I was right at the front for the whole show, so had a great vantage point throughout the evening and got to witness the band's antics up close and personal. Throughout their 90 minute set, the band played a good chunk of material from all three of their albums, with their debut and Ride to Nowhere seeing the most love. An early highlight for me was one of the new songs Time to Go, which featured a huge Whitesnake-esque chorus with the whole band helping out James, while Dela Cruz and Stevens churned out the riffs. I had assumed that Dela Cruz was the band's sole lead player, but Stevens in fact seemed to take the lion's share of the solos. My spot on the barrier was right in front of him, so I had plenty of opportunities throughout the evening to witness his excellent playing. The only somewhat strange moment of the set was the acoustic ballad Glory Days coming so early in the evening. It is a great song, and the band's live rendition with Beaver helping out with some additional guitar was excellent, but it came after only three songs which certainly halted the band's momentum somewhat. It did allow James an early chance to showcase his fantastic voice however, but the song would have been better used as a mid-set breather in my opinion,. There was no doubting the piece's execution however, and the next hour or was packed full of hard rocking numbers. Older cuts like the bluesy High Flying Gypsy sat nicely alongside a killer rendition of the heavier new tune Liar which featured a strong groove and some great vocals from James. The middle portion of the set was built around a powerful cover of Alanis Morissette's Uninvited, which started with James solely accompanied by Lindop's piano before the rest of the band joined in and really rocked the piece up. It was a shame however that Lindop's contributions to the band's sound went completely unacknowledged by James all night. He waxed lyrical about the other band members, but poor old Lindop never even got name-checked. This was poor form I thought, but at least the band actually had a flesh and blood keyboard player on stage and did not rely on backing tracks like so many do these days. The main highlight of the piece however was the closing lengthy solo from Dela Cruz, that really showcased his excellent playing style. The band are so lucky to have two great players in Dela Cruz and Stevens, and I am looking forward to hearing new material written by them in the future. The back end of the set featured some of the band's more well-known tracks, with the epic Holy Water and the closing, emotional I Don't Know You being the stand out cuts. Both really showcased James' voice, and the band left the stage to huge cheers. There was still time for a couple more however, with two singles rounding out the evening. The first, I Don't Need Your Loving showcased more of the band's Whitesnake influence, before Stevens launched into the riff of Until I Die - a powerful track that brought the evening to a perfect close. The setlist was:

Where Are You Now?
Breakaway
Time to Go
Glory Days
Warning
Liar
High Flying Gypsy
Girl Got a Gun
Unaware
Uninvited [Alanis Morissette cover]
Ride to Nowhere
Holy Water
Read All About It
High Class Woman
I Don't Know You
-
I Don't Need Your Loving
Until I Die

I had expected to enjoy the show, but the band exceeded my expectations and really delivered. Inglorious' songs are clearly ones that really come alive when they are played live, with the band's current line-up being an explosive unit that can really play. I hope the current line-up can stick together, as the five-piece certainly have the ability to make Inglorious' fourth album something special. My first Inglorious show was certainly a success, and I will not leave it so long again to catch them live.