One of a whole heap of interviews we managed to get at Wildfire this year was from a band on the very verge of the big time, Inglorious. Headlining the Saturday night, they seem to be on some big tour somewhere all the time at the moment, pushing their self-titled debut album that came out earlier this year. Frontman Nathan did most of the chatting…
I gather you’re suffering a little from celebrating a good set last night?
Yes, we were up till about 5am I think! And after that we found a bat in our toilet. Quite an eventful evening. Very metal!
How long did you get for your headline slot?
We did an hour. With just the one album, we couldn’t really justify any longer. On tour we’ve been doing an acoustic section, but I just don’t think it would have worked here. By late last night most people would have been too drunk to appreciate an acoustic ballad!
Your list of influences reads like a “Who’s Who” of classic rock. Who is your favourite artist out of the whole lot?
Whitesnake… and Deep Purple. Bluesy classic rock.
Your debut album came out in February and already you’re playing the headline here and decent sized venues around the country. Some bands take a long time to achieve this. How do you think you’ve managed it so quickly?
Well the band was formed two years ago so it doesn’t seem quite so quick to us. It feels like two years! We’ve spent a lot of time getting it just right, including going through two other guitarists. We’ve had a fairly solid line-up otherwise. Andreas has been with us for over a year now. We’re very happy with how it’s gone – it’s all about working hard.
You yourself with with Trans-Siberian Orchestra for three years. Do you think your history with that band has helped Inglorious?
Maybe… not so much with contacts as such, but the professionalism. Trans-Siberian Orchestra set very high standards. I’ve toured Arenas in America with them, headlined Wacken last year… so my standards are very high. I think we work hard, it comes out on stage, our songs are good. We don’t do anything if it’s not good. You have to do it properly.
I’m going to say something and it’s a bit rude, but it’s something my dad used to say: if you’re going to kiss it, f*ck it. Go all out or nothing!
So how much time was there as a band before recording the album?
We recorded it last May, so about a year. We just recorded it really quickly. We started off just recording demos, but we were so happy with how it was feeling and sounding that we just recorded the album. The boys did twenty-two songs in two-and-a-half days. We track live with all the instruments so it’s very quick.
Are you working on a second album as yet?
Yeah, there are two or three tracks we have lined up already. One we played last night, and on the whole of the last tour. We’ve another twenty-two written for this album again, so it’s just a matter of weeding out the ones that aren’t so good. We want this album to be as good – if not better – than the first one.
Are you one of these bands that record in order to play live, or play live in order to record?
We’re definitely a live band – we record “live” as I said. It’s just capturing that in the studio. There are bands that layer sounds and so on and you just can’t pull that off when you play live. You don’t want to disappoint a live crowd. You want them to be blown away.
You’re touring at the tail end of the year across Europe with Steel Panther. How did you land that gig?
Their manager is Paul Geary – the drummer from Extreme. He came to see at our album launch show in London and loved us. He sent a clip of us playing “Lay Down Stay Down” to Glenn Hughes who was really impressed. He basically told Steel Panther that he wanted us in support, so they contacted our agent and we’re on it. We’re even being paid! Which is madness!
I met them backstage in Salt Lake City – they were opening for Judas Priest – and I had no idea it was them. They were so sweet, so friendly – absolutely nothing like their stage personas. I think the crowd are going to be warm for Steel Panther… wet and warm! It should be fun to open for them.
Last quick question – is there  a band that you know that we probably don’t but shouldn’t?
Yeah, there’s a brand new band that haven’t done much yet but who are going to seriously shake things up next year. They’re called Gypsy Heart. Female-fronted from Birmingham. I describe the lead singer as like a sexy Ozzy Osbourne, but with a really good voice – a proper rock singer voice. Every female rock singer I’ve heard sounds a little cabaret to me, but she’s got a phenomenal voice. She sings like a bloke, like she’s got a proper pair. Ann Wilson good  – that good.
Their guitarist’s really good, too. A guy called Ali Clinton who was in Uli Jon Roth’s band with me, and the drummer Richard Kirk. It’s a real tight band – they’re very, very good.
Header image by Nedim Nazerali.
