Following the drastic lineup change just before Christmas, Inglorious have released their latest album, Ride To Nowhere and are currently touring the UK. Mick Burgess called up drummer Phil Beaver, between shows to talk about the tour, the new album and the lineup change.
You’re a couple of dates into your latest tour. How have the shows been going so far?
It’s been fantastic, mate. It’s been exceeding all expectations so far with the new line up. It’s been going really, really well. It’s mad. We did five days of rehearsals before the tour and the new guys have learned everything. It was me and Nathan that were making the mistakes. It’s been absolutely brilliant.
As far as the setlist goes, what do you have lined up for this tour?
We’re doing songs from all three of our albums, including the new one, Ride To Nowhere. There’s pretty much an even split between them. We’ll do about half a dozen songs off the new album.
How have the songs from Ride To Nowhere been going down?
The album has only been out for a few days so people have had very little time to get used to the songs but the reaction has been great so far and people have been singing along to them already.
Talking of your new album, it just came out a couple of days ago. How do you feel now that it’s out?
We recorded it back in May and then it was mixed and everything so it’s been ready for a while so I’m just glad that it’s out now and it’s been received really well. I’m very proud of it. It’s doing really well in the mid-week chart as well which is great to hear.
How do you see this as a progression from Inglorious II?
I think there’s more variety, more light and shade. It’s a bit darker and there’s more ballads. The band is certainly growing and stretching out musically since the last album.
If you were to pick the highlights of the album, which songs would you choose?
Well, the ones that I co-wrote obviously, Ha!! I think Glory Days, the last song on the album, is a definite highlight for me. I like Ride To Nowhere too which is a bit different for us and is over six minutes long. I also really like I Don’t Know You which is the latest single.
When did you start the writing process?
We started writing the year before, around November, December time. We didn’t write together quite so much this time. We all did our own things individually and we’d send them to Nathan to see if he could write a melody and then we’d all get together and work it into a finished song.
Where did you record the album?
We did that at Parr Street Studios in Liverpool and we spent about three weeks there. We did all of the backbones, the rhythm stuff in a few days then the guitars, the solos and the vocals after that and that took a little more time to do.
Kevin Shirley did the mix on the album again. What does he bring to your sound?
Last time we just let him do his thing as we really respect what he’s done in the past. This time we did something similar but we also made comments and suggested changes. Before we let him take control but this time, he really wanted to get our opinion on the overall sound. We wanted to get it a bit more modern, a bit less Classic Rock and a bit more in your face. I think it sounds more raw and heavier.
Obviously there has been a significant lineup change since it was recorded. Does that cloud those feelings about the album a little?
Not really, it’s a new band now and it feels like there’s a new lease of life in it. We’re not dwelling on what happened and we’ve got to move forward.
Did you feel that there was a problem during the making of the record?
Absolutely yes. It’s a Rock band, there’s egos and people have different opinions about stuff. Everyone has their own things going on in their personal lives and it was just one of those things. People wanted to move on and do something different.
Nathan has been in the firing line somewhat since then. How has that been for you, being an original member, seeing your friend and singer subject to such abuse?
I just tried to stay out of it really. It wasn’t really my thing. Nathan comes out and says what he says and you’ve got to take it on the chin. We all say silly things at times and what is done is done. Hopefully it’s all blown over now and we can move forward as a band.
Moving onto more positive things. How did Danny De La Cruz, Vinnie Colla and Dan Stevens end up in Inglorious?
I’ve known Danny for quite a few years. He’s only 19 now but he’s been tech-ing for us for the last few tours. We’ve always known that he’s an incredible guitar player. It’s kind of nice that this has given him the chance to step into the limelight. He has some pretty big shoes to fill but he’s the Cinderella of Rock, the shoes fit.
What do you feel they bring to the band?
They’ve brought a new energy, a new lease of life to the band. They are just so keen and it’s great to be playing with them.
Are you looking forward to creating new music together?
Although we’ve just released our new album we are already looking forward to writing together and you can expect something different next time. It will be a big change as Colin was always our main riff writer so it’s definitely going to be different with the next one. It’s good to do something different as you don’t want to go on flogging the same old horse.
Once the UK tour is over where do you head next?
We go straight over to Europe and will be doing a few headline shows. Then we’ll be off for a bit before having lots of lovely festivals to play over the summer.
Inglorious are on tour at the UK right now see inglorious.com for full details.
Ride To Nowhere is out now on Frontiers Records.
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