Jared James Nichols // Louder Than Fate // Album Review

Jared James Nichols, there is nothing I do not love about this dude! I had the pleasure of interviewing JJN many years ago when he was starting to make ripples on the UK scene. I still remember it to this day as it was old school, pre-Zoom, and I was calling him on my mobile, and he was at home in his kitchen doing his dishes! The occasional clank of plates hitting each other made me chuckle. I busted his nuts about his debut EP ‘Live at The Viper Room’. What a way to announce your arrival on the scene at the legendary Viper Room. The cahoona’s on this guy!

Here we are ,mucho years later, and JJN has risen like a phoenix from the flames and ascended into the stratosphere! He’s everywhere; the UK is like his home from home. He seems to be here touring all the time, which is great! Can’t seem to find your way to Ireland, tho, huh?!!!

We’re back now with his latest offering, ‘Louder Than Fate’, his fourth studio album to date, and it has been a while since I delved into his newer music, so I am looking forward to this one. The album’s opener, ‘Let’s Go’, as Michael Caine says, ‘You Were Just Meant To Blow The Bloody Doors Off ‘, as you get that real old-school rocker vibe from its glorious 70s-inspired rock roots. Killer tune from start to finish with a blistering guitar solo that’s honest and restrained.

While the album opener gave you solid classic rock vibes, ‘Ghost’ is like the bastard child of Black Sabbath and Stone Temple Pilots! Which just lets you know JJN is doing his own thang! Joe Bonamassa is not; he’s a blues guy for sure, but his DNA is deeply ingrained in his rock roots, and he lets that dark side come through as and when it is called for. This one is gnarly, and I would say it’ll be filthy live! As you weave your way across this album, you’ll be taken on a ride with JJN with various sonic influences coming through his music, there’s no one size fits all here with an album rigidly fixed to say this is who I am as an artist and there’s no compromise, instead you’ll get terated to an artsist to flexes and bends at will to create a soudtrack that speaks to him, as he feels inspired and lets his creative juices flow, you get thick bluesy numbers, classic rockers and easy on the ear melodic modern rock like ‘Bending Or Breaking’ that could has as easily came off a Def Leppard album.

I am loving the thick gnarly tones JJN is getting from his setup. He’s such an inspiring player. He mostly keeps it simple. That beautiful Epiphone Les Paul Custom P90 (Old Glory) is a beaut, and even better in the flesh. Such a classy design and that tasty Blackstar Head and Cab he has is seriously tasty too. The tones resonating across this album are gargantuan, which means the crazy tone journey we all go on, chasing those elusive sounds, sometimes just needs to calm the fuck down! They say tone is in the hands, especially for players like SRV, JJN, and the like. There’s definitely something to that. The way they attack the guitar is visceral, and defo adds an extra percentage to that special sauce they bring to the party.

This album is dripping in that special sauce; regardless of the track you are listening to, there is a guitar solo in there like a caged animal just waiting to break out. But JJN is a classy bird and refrains from turning the album into a self-glorifying monument, instead presenting it as a snapshot of who he is in 2026 and where he is on his sonic journey. He is a monster player, and each track reminds you of that. Every riff is huge, and the space he allows for his vocals to soar shows you that his songwriting is beautifully constructed to make the song itself the centre of attention, with the cutting guitar solos the cherry on top.

This album was a joy to listen to, and as it started, it ended with a slamming track that left you breathless! Nobody is hanging those doors ever again! JJN is a breath of fresh air in a scene that can feel quite generic at times, but this cat is as cool and down-to-earth as you’ll find, and that will always be appreciated in an industry so fucking plastic at times it would choke a seal!

So when you get an album like ‘Louder Than Fate’ you crank that shit up to 11 and rock the fuck out.

Louder Than Fate arrives this Friday, June 5th, courtesy of Frontiers Music s.r.l.

Pre-Order Louder Than Fate HERE