Band:	InnerWish
Album:	Silent Faces
Style:	Power metal
Release date:	March 14, 2004
A review by:	Malcolm

01. Dancer Of The Storm
02. Hold Me Tight
03. If I Could Turn Back Time
04. Midnight Call
05. Hold on
06. Silent Faces
07. Dreadful Signs
08. Set Me Free
09. Riding On The Wind
10. Realms Of Tomorrow

If I say Power Metal from Limb, then many of you know what I mean (and some just turn their heads away), so if you're not into Power I guess you don't have to read anymore.
Still reading? Then I guess you're a fan of Power anyway, good. Me too.

The whole story of InnerWish started back in 1995, when Thimios Krikos (Guitar) and Yiannis Papanikolaou (Vocals) got together and started to emulate their idols in a basement.
Soon after a second guitarist joined, Manolis Tsigos, all where fans of the melodic metal and found each other at once.
The guys took the named InnerWish and completed the line-up when Pavlos Balatsoukas (Drums) and Alexis Levenderis (Bass) joined the force.
And in 1997 they started to write material for a debut album, named "Waiting for the Dawn" it was released in may 1998 and it got many good words from the press.
But success does in some cased end up with something else, and so for InnerWish too, Yiannis, Pavlos and Alexis left the band because they didn't like the way the music was going.
Three new members joined, Panagiotis Myolonas (Vocals), Antonis Mazarakis (Bass) and Fotis Giannakopoulos (Drums)
In 2001 this line-up released a split-cd with their compatriots Reflection, and the fans was overwhelmed but happiness and was longing for a new album from the guys.
In 2002 InnerWish was writing new material and playing a lot live with big bands, such as Therion, Anathema, U.D.O. & Brainstorm.
And so another split in the band came, singer Panagiotis and drummer Fotis was replaced by Babis Alexandropoulos (Vocals) and Terry Moros (Drums), and that line-up is still compact.
And they stared to work on the new album, that later was named "Silent Faces".
The album included both tracks from the split-cd and 8 new ones.
And it's that album we now going to concentrate on.

Puuh, damn that was much, I hope you're still with me here, and yes I know, these Greece names is almost impossible to read and believe me, it's as much impossible to write, he he.
But let's go back to what this should be about, the music.
"Silent Faces" is a very good Power album, no doubt, and Mr. Alexandropoulos has a very good voice and his English is very good too, he don't sing with a Greece accent (How that now sound), so there they have a strong ground to continue build around.
And the music is really good (sometimes amazing), but unfortunately not original, but it's as usual, good but not very original.

The guys are really skilful; that's wrong to say anything else, and the production is good, not perfect, but good.
And it's great to hear a band that's really dear use the drums (heavy and loud) as InnerWish does.
Both guitarists doing a fine job, the melodies and riffs are nicely added and it's nothing I would change on this record.

As mention, both songs from the split-cd are included, and it's "Dreadful Signs" and "Realms of Tomorrow". And they stand little of their own on the album. (Even is the last one is the best of the entire album) The difference isn't very big, but it's noticeable.
But it's not only this that's noticeable, the first half and second half of the album is different, the first part is more usual Power and the second part the songs feels more worked out thoroughly, the lyrics seems (can't say really, 'cause I don't have the lyrics) more personal and the music is a bit more skilful.
Overall it's a very good album that I think many Power fans it's going to like, if they ever discover it, and maybe it's something for the people that like just a bit of all the endless list of Power Metal bands.

Unfortunately I know we're going to read a lot of bad reviews of sites, that's calling it unoriginal, but what to do these days?
But I like them, they good a sound on both music and production that's really capture me, I don't know how, but I hear if the Power band is good after just one spin, and InnerWish has got more than that since I got it.

And it's great to hear that a band from Greece is challenge the Metal world with a really good release.
So let's hope as many as possible will discover InnerWish, they really deserve it and I hope for many more albums from them in the future.

Want a foretaste? Check the homepage and download the song "Dance of the Storm", and maybe you'll find a new band that's going to give you a lot of good albums in the future, I know I have found them already.

Favourite Songs: "Realms of Tomorrow" is a killer, no doubt, but "Dancer of the Storm", "Silent Faces" & the rest of the album is awesome.