InnerWish – InnerWish – Album Review

Artist: InnerWish

Album Title: InnerWish

Label: Ulterium Records

Date Of Release: 18 March 2016

I’m going to begin this review by stating that I know nothing of InnerWish. Or at least, I didn’t until I decided to give this album a try having been sent the promo. I mean, it would be rude not to check it out, wouldn’t it? I wasn’t really expecting much if I’m honest but I have been left pleasantly surprised by what I’ve heard.

For those of you who, like me, are unfamiliar with InnerWish, they are a Greek sextet that have been plying their trade for over 20 years. The press release that accompanies this record talks of a melodic metal band but if I may be so bold, I’d disagree ever so slightly. It isn’t a big problem because what’s in a genre classification anyway? But in order to describe the output as accurately as I can, I’d venture that InnerWish are a blend of classic heavy metal and power metal with a strong melodic and symphonic vein running through them.

Over the years, InnerWish have released four full-length albums and a split CD in the process. This self-titled release is therefore their fifth album and might be the one that gathers the band a bit more momentum and traction within the heavy metal underground, certainly outside their homeland. At least it certainly should do.

After a browse of the accompanying press release, it would appear that InnerWish have gone through a few line-up changes in the last few years, which has been a significant factor in explaining why this self-titled effort is the first recording in around six years. Having most recently therefore tinkered with the vocal and drum positions, InnerWish 2016 is comprised of vocalist George Eikosipentakis, guitarists Thimios Krikos and Manolis Tsigos, bassist Antonis Mazarakis, drummer Fragiskos Samoilis and keyboardist George Georgiou.

Unable to compare the line-ups, I’ll just say that this new incarnation of InnerWish is certainly a very strong one if the content here is anything to go by.

The album kicks off in rousing style with a truly addictive track by the name of ‘Roll The Dice’. It hits the ground running with an up-tempo chugging riff that owes much to classic heavy metal. However, it opens up into a chorus that I simply can’t get enough of. It is catchy, hook laden and features a lyric that is sing-along fodder of the highest order. There’s then room for a rampant lead guitar solo before the chorus returns to hammer home its brilliance.

Happily, the great music doesn’t begin and end with the opening track. There is quality littered throughout the record but personal favourites include the catchy as hell ‘Modern Babylon’ which is reminiscent of Hammerfall at their anthemic best, the epic ‘Rain Of A Thousand Years’ with its lush keyboards, choral vocals and massive chorus and the dark and broody stomp of ‘Machines Of Fear’.

And lest we forget the grandiose ‘Needles In My Mind’ that begins with a rich acoustic guitar intro that really showcases Eikosipentakis’ vocal abilities before bursting into galloping Maiden-esque territory complimented by huge melodies and layers of characterful synths. The chorus of ‘Sins Of The Past’ is strangely reminiscent of latter-day Symphony X but I think that’s as much to do with the powerful, almost angry vocal delivery than anything else. And the album is then brought to a close by the bombastic and wonderfully pompous ‘Tame The Seven Seas’.

This is truly a super album and a real surprise for me. However, if I was to find fault with any part of this record it would be its length. There are no fewer than 13 songs on ‘InnerWish’ which together clock up to nearly 70 minutes of material. Whilst the bulk is of a high standard, it may have been wise for the Greeks to exercise a little quality control and trim some of the fat that lurks on the record. As it is, it feels ever so slightly bloated. That said though, if you want an album that’s heavy, powerful and full of memorable material, look no further than InnerWish.

The Score Of Much Metal: 8.5

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_l1lJPS-a4&w=560&h=315]

If you’ve enjoyed this review, check out my others right here:

Mob Rules – Tales From Beyond
Ghost Bath – Moonlover
Spiritual Beggars – Sunrise To Sundown
Oceans Of Slumber – Winter
Rikard Zander – I Can Do Without Love
Redemption – The Art Of Loss
Headspace – All That You Fear Is Gone
Chris Quirarte – Mending Broken Bridges
Sunburst – Fragments Of Creation
Inglorious – Inglorious
Omnium Gatherum – Grey Heavens
Structural Disorder – Distance
Votum – Ktonik
Fleshgod Apocalypse – King
Rikard Sjoblom – The Unbendable Sleep
Textures – Phenotype
Serenity – Codex Atlanticus
Borknagar – Winter Thrice
The Mute Gods – Do Nothing Till You Hear From Me
Brainstorm – Scary Creatures
Arcade Messiah – II
Phantasma – The Deviant Hearts
Rendezvous Point – Solar Storm
Vanden Plas – Chronicles Of The Immortals: Netherworld II
Antimatter – The Judas Table
Bauda – Sporelights
Waken Eyes – Exodus
Earthside – A Dream In Static
Caligula’s Horse – Bloom
Teramaze – Her Halo
Amorphis – Under The Red Cloud
Spock’s Beard – The Oblivion Particle
Agent Fresco – Destrier
Cattle Decapitation – The Anthropocene Extinction
Between The Buried And Me – Coma Ecliptic
Cradle Of Filth – Hammer Of The Witches
Disarmonia Mundi – Cold Inferno
District 97 – In Vaults
Progoctopus – Transcendence
Big Big Train – Wassail
NightMare World – In The Fullness Of Time
Helloween – My God-Given Right
Triaxis – Zero Hour
Isurus – Logocharya
Arcturus – Arcturian
Kamelot – Haven
Native Construct – Quiet World
Sigh – Graveward
Pantommind – Searching For Eternity
Subterranean Masquerade – The Great Bazaar
Klone – Here Comes The Sun
The Gentle Storm – The Diary
Melechesh – Enki
Enslaved – In Times
Keep Of Kalessin – Epistemology
Lonely Robot – Please Come Home
The Neal Morse Band – The Grand Experiment
Zero Stroke – As The Colours Seep
AudioPlastik – In The Head Of A Maniac
Revolution Saints – Revolution Saints
Mors Principium Est – Dawn of The 5th Era
Arcade Messiah – Arcade Messiah
Triosphere – The Heart Of The Matter
Neonfly – Strangers In Paradise
Knight Area – Hyperdrive
Haken – Restoration
James LaBrie – Impermanent Resonance
Mercenary – Through Our Darkest Days
A.C.T. – Circus Pandemonium
Xerath – III
Big Big Train – English Electric (Part 1)
Thought Chamber – Psykerion
Marcus Jidell – Pictures From A Time Traveller
H.E.A.T – Tearing Down The Walls
Vanden Plas – Chronicles Of The Immortals: Netherworld