INNERWISH – Inner Strength

Inner Wish is a band from Greece that hit the music scene in 1998 via their debut release Waiting For The Dawn, and Inner Strength represents their third CD, a follow-up to Silent Faces released in 2004. The band shuffled the line-up between the first and second albums, bringing in Babis Alexandropoulos as the band’s new voice, and Terry Moros to pound the skins. The result was a very respectable Classic Metal album in Silent Faces, but one that demonstrated a few inconsistencies, showing the band was still looking to find the “right” Metal soil in which to firmly drive its roots. So, with plenty of enthusiasm and momentum in their chambers, Inner Wish was quick to see if they could put all of the pieces together, and in rather quick fashion, headed back to the studio to record Inner Strength with the talents of R.D. Liapakis (Mystic Prophecy, David Chastain, and others) handling the production duties.

Well, it does indeed appear that “the third time is a charm” for Inner Wish, as this album most certainly “has it all.” In general, the band didn’t change those elements of their music what were working well in the past, and tweaked those inconsistencies found in Silent Faces just enough to create what could indeed be a masterpiece for the band. Several songs in Silent Faces found Babis “oversinging” some of his parts, and included some rather annoying vocal harmonies, presumably sung by other members of the band. Additionally, in the prior effort, it appeared that Terry Moros’ drum efforts were left understated in the final mix. To the benefit of the band, these criticisms of the past have been ironed out with the new release, Inner Strength.

Inner Strength does vary a bit from the past formula, as the band has adopted a few more Power Metal and Epic Metal qualities to their Classic Metal foundation … but, you know, it totally works. After a short intro, the track “Travellers In Time” blasts through the speakers, demonstrating top-notch production quality by R.D. Liapakis, vocals that fit much better in the mix of the music, strong playing by bassist Antonis Mazarakis, and more emphasis on the solid guitar work by Thimios Krikos and Manolis Tsigkos. The song’s catchy as hell, to boot.

The energy continues through the next 3 tracks, with one of the heaviest songs on the album, “Far Away,” followed by “Lonely Lady,” which incorporates a tinge of sadness in the lyrics amid an Iron Maiden-esque gallop within the guitar riff. “Bleeding Soul” features a great, heavy guitar intro, and by this point, you realize that this album is indeed something special. The drums come through powerfully, Babis’ vocals ring clear and true, and the band hasn’t ditched the concept in any of the 11 full-length tracks of including extended musical jams at some point within each song.

Inner Wish slows it down, at least for part of 2 songs, via “Feel The Magic” and “Never Let You Down.” “Feel The Magic” has more of a Pop Metal feel to it, though it’s still a successful effort, but “Never Let You Down” may indeed be the only “let down” on Inner Strength. The chorus is awkwardly worded and the song’s just too long at nearly 6 minutes. However, all is forgiven once you hear the other songs in the second half of the CD, especially “Eye Of The Storm” and the closer “Gates Of Fire,” which is Classic/Epic Metal at its best!

In sum, this is the album by Inner Wish that should put them on the map throughout the world. Quality Classic/Power/Epic Metal erases all boundaries, and Inner Strength has enough fortitude within itself to appeal to a large audience of Metalheadz throughout the world. People in Greece have already uncovered the secret that is Inner Wish … now is the time for people outside of the Greek shoreline to find out what this band has to offer. You’ll certainly be glad you did!