Live Review: Inglorious - KK's Steel Mill, Wolverhampton
7th June 2025
Support: Marisa and the Moths
Words & Photos: Scott Clarke
Another week comes to its conclusion and what better way than with a dose of live music to shake off the stresses and strains of a hectic work week. With a very unsettled week in terms of weather where April showers seem to have been on holiday for 2 months and come to us now with a vengeance, it was a very wet crowd that waited patiently outside the venue for the doors to open tonight but despite the conditions they kept coming and coming. It was set to be a busy evening and a special one that saw the return of Inglorious to the midlands live venue.
Up first tonight to warm up the crowd is Marisa and the Moths. The UK based four piece lead by the multi talented Marisa Rodriguez. Marketed as a “grunge influenced” rock band, Marisa and her troupe have been making waves in the scene of late most recently at the Call of the Wild Festival. They’ve gained a good following, some of which was represented in the crowd here tonight and it’s with good reason.
There was a slight technical hitch with the mic first thing but it was laughed off by Marisa who carried on regardless opening with a belting track in Needy.
It became evident as the set went on and Marisa talked briefly between songs, her bubbly and appreciative personality shone through. We only had short spells due to time constraints but her demeanour seems in contrast to her songs that are thematically dark, the music likewise and heavy, but the person on stage is much like her voice, light and bright, a glimmer in darkness.
With an abundance of material, they really did try to fit in as much as possible in their time with us, bass player Liam James Barnes at one point reminding Marisa of the time constraints when she wanted to introduce the band. They seemed like they were very happy and very comfortable on stage and could easily fill a headline slot. Alez D’Elia on guitar and Liam on bass made their way across the stage and interchanged sides with elegance, each performing superbly but also adding additional visual interest on stage with their movements and performances in the wings either side of Marisa who’s statuesque figure and vocals dominated the stage. Alex Ribchester completed the ensemble and kept everyone together and in check with his incessant drum pounds and cymbal crashes that added a great deal of depth.
The setlist comprised of a healthy mix of the self titled release as well as the What Doesn’t Kill You album including Skin, Get It Off My Chest, Wither Away, Choke, Borderline and Who Are You Waiting For? All of which garnered a very well deserved reaction from the crowd who were able to get involved at several points with some sing and repeats with Marisa.
Personally, I haven’t been too familiar with the bands material before tonight, however I’m quite glad that we’ve crossed paths. Their style is fairly unique and although they’re labelled as grunge, I can detect more than a little Alter Bridge and Evanescence influence along with the tones. There’s a definite darkness to the music. Marisa’s vocals are superb, her range is quite extraordinary and seemingly effortless, when she drops into screams, the contrast to her soaring, soft and clean vocals is actually quite jarring at first and very impressive. Not only that, her lyrics and songwriting ability, able to delve into her own experiences as well as some hard hitting subjects, make you listen intently as the tales unfold in the course of the instrumentally lead poetry. The band are tight and the powerful rhythms serve to elevate Marisa’s vocals rather than overpower or drown them out, guitar work is intricate where it needs to be and never tries to steal the show and the drums and bass respectively provide a distinct foot tapping beat that brings the ensemble together. They blend very eloquently to say the style and the themes associated with the genre are generally a little more chaotic.
They go down exceptionally well judging by the reaction in the room and although the set was concise and a bit pressed for time, they most certainly warmed up the crowd for tonights headline. Afterwards the band came out to the merch desk and spent the remainder of the evening, until the throwing out time, interacting with fans, talking, signing and having photos, it was great to see. They did themselves proud on stage and I think made a few new fans, they most certainly left their mark.
Inglorious burst onto the scene back in 2016, I was there and remember it well, how the group that consisted of incredibly talented musicians joined together and became an overnight sensation, knocking out 2 incredible albums in a short space of time that still hold up to this day, can you believe it was almost 10 years ago!. In fact they are still constant staples of my in car playlist. However it was a tragic time for the UK music scene when events unfolded that caused disagreements and the band to unfortunately go their separate ways during the release of the 3rd record. Things happen, but after Inglorious’s beginnings it was a big shock simply because they were so damn good and had amassed a big following in a short space of time. Roll on a few years, a new line up around front man Nathan James and the release of another album that was made more the difficult due to the pandemic at the time. Undeterred the new lineup hit the road to recapture their earlier success, but it was not to be as they announced a hiatus in 2023.
As they say, time heals and thankfully for us, it is the case once more. After several years and independent projects of their own, original band members Nathan James and Colin Parkinson patched up their differences and set to work on new material together.
Announcement of the project at the time was nothing short of surprising, shocking almost, but a much welcome one that bought a huge smile to many many faces, myself included. Inglorious have always had a familiar, hard anthemic rock sound that harkens back to classic rock staples such as Deep Purple, but they’ve made it their own to a point that nothing really quite replicates their tones and feel, its hard, its heavy and it feels dirty, so to have them back and working on new material is an incredible thing.
Fast forward to tonight and a busy KK’s Steel Mill hosts as the band make their triumphant return to stage, bringing old classics and new material from the, fresh off the printers latest album V, to the fans that never left.
The lights came down and the roars went up as the new members made their steps onto the stage in front of a crowd of Inglorious fans, Richard Shaw taking up guitar duties and Henry Rogers sliding onto the drum kit at the back, talk about trial by fire, but as Colin and Nathan joined them to an even louder cheer, the band launched into Testify. It was a bold choice to open with a new track from the new album but it went down a storm, the nerves, if there were any, faded into oblivion. It was clear immediately that we were in for a treat tonight.
Both Shaw and Rogers are incredibly acclaimed musicians in their own right. Shaw, having just come from a stint in Cradle of Filth, is proof that talent knows no genre, able to turn his hand into a completely different style and feel, likewise with drums provided by Henry Rogers, an artist with a prog background who features recently with Edison’s Children as well as Mostly Autumn. Placing both of them now in Inglorious isn’t the most obvious decision, however it’s an inspired one, as throughout the night they prove their mettle. Henry’s power can be felt throughout the venue, pounding the drums to precision timing and Richard’s guitar tones are deep and gruff, his technical prowess shining through in intricate solos as needed.
Breakaway and Devil Inside, the second track from the new album that is only 1 day old and seems to me to be a touch heavier than the previous releases, round out my time in the pit and the first 3 blistering songs of an evening that so far has kept on giving.
Nathan did say at one point that with the setlist tonight, they had tried to cram in representation from each of the albums in some way, celebrating the past whilst showcasing the future with the new material. They managed just that. It was a very well crafted set that seemed to fly by, simply because of how enjoyable it was.
Where are you now? Is the first entry tonight from Ride to Nowhere, followed up with a few tracks from II in Read All About It and Taking The Blame. I have to give a shout out to the graphic designs on the large screen behind the band for tonight as well, changing per song and representing each in a way that amplifies the performance, it’s a good touch. High Flying Gypsy takes us back to the original album and again the crowd are in fine voice, singing their heads off along with an in form Nathan James who could probably drown them out without using the microphone, his voice was really strong tonight and the audio levels at KK’s are spot on, credit to the sound engineer, it’s one of the best sounding shows I’ve seen here.
We take a dive into the unknown for the following as Say What You Wanna Say and Eat You Alive are both representations from the new record, V that was released to the world only 24 hours beforehand. The band had a few signed copies on their merch table tonight and I made sure to grab one as they sold pretty well and hearing the songs its no wonder why. They have the distinct Inglorious sound, Nathan and Colin have hit a sweet spot with their song writing, the pair are able to bounce off each other and create some genuine memorable tracks and this new bunch seem no exception. Hearing them being played, in a live setting, they fit so well in the repertoire, mixed in with other Inglorious staples from earlier albums.
The highlight of the night for me came when Nathan and Colin did an acoustic medley together, Bleed For You, one of my favourite tracks blended into Glory Days, no offence to Richard and Henry, but there was something magical about seeing and hearing Colin with an Acoustic guitar and Nathan’s vocals, it was raw and it was a glimpse into what their songwriting process must be like, it felt very personal and seeing just the two of them sharing the stage again was heartwarming.
After the closing notes, the crowd erupted into a huge cheer, I think Nathan was genuinely moved by the reaction to be honest, even Richard and Henry came back onto the stage applauding the original members after their short but touching piece. After which it was back on track with Making Me Pay from the second album followed by Holy Water, powerful tracks in their own right but Nathan’s vocals soared along with those in the crowd.
She Won’t Let You Go, the only representation from the We Will Ride album is next up, an album that only featured Nathan at that time yet it was nice to hear that part of the bands past being acknowledged. I Don’t Need Your Loving and Unaware close out the official set before Nathan lets the crowd know, they’re not going off stage to come back on, they have 2 songs left if the crowd chant to hear more which they duly oblige in a humorous exchange as Inglorious leave us tonight with Stand, another of the new tracks and culminates suitably with the anthem, Until I Die.
Seeing Nathan and Colin sharing a stage together again and belting out these songs is something that takes me back and the two of them have never looked better. Vocally, he has always been in a distinct class of his own, the power and control the man has is remarkable, but more recently Nathan has publicised his health and well-being improvements over the past few years and I have nothing but admiration for the man, his hard work and dedication are clear to see and he seems in a good place and enjoying himself so much more, he’s a rejuvenated soul and his onstage persona and his command of the stage are fantastic to see as they’ve always been. Colin remains his ever so energetic and captivating self, having had the pleasure of keeping up with several of his projects since the original Inglorious days, he has continued to go from strength to strength, always humble and appreciative, Colin’s onstage talents make him easily one of my favourite bass players to see, regardless of the band he’s with, his dynamic performances are second to none.
Tonight the band were electrifying, the new guys had big boots to fill yet they were undeterred, unflustered and made the stage their home for the 90 minutes that they entertained and captivated the KK’s faithful, alongside Colin and Nathan, the chemistry between the members was fantastic and they gelled so well. The crowd loved every second, cheered all the way and sang their heads off at the same time, it was a celebration of old and also a joyous look forward to the future. It’s safe to say the band made a triumphant return tonight and the evening overall was simply (In)glorious.
Photo credit: Scott Clarke
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