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August 29, 2008 |
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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
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The sounds of metal have echoed across the globe on every continent, in every country and in almost every city on the map. Europe, in particular, boasts one of the strongest metal scenes today and the Mediterranean is one part of the continent that is exporting more and more promising acts in increasing numbers. One such act is Greek melodic power metallers INNERWISH. Hailing from the ancient city of Athens, the band was founded back in 1995 by guitarist Thimios Krikos and vocalist Yiannis Papanikolaou. After several line-up changes over the years, INNERWISH has now been solidified with the following members: Babis Alexandropoulos (vocals), Thimios Krikos (guitar), Manolis Tsigos (guitar), Antonis Mazarakis (bass) and Terry Moros (drums).
Comparable to the likes of JAG PANZER, RIOT and early QUEENSRŸCHE, their music blends together melodic power metal with classic metal elements. Together, the band ventured into Athens' G-Studios and teamed up with producer R.D. Liapakis (MYSTIC PROPHECY, VALLEY'S EVE, DAVID CHASTAIN, JACK STARR'S GUARDIANS OF THE FLAME) to record their latest effort, "Silent Faces". Composed entirely by INNERWISH themselves, "Silent Faces" contains 10 tracks that cover a variety of styles, but all remain consistent to the true metal sound throughout.
"Dancer Of The Storm" is the opener, a powerful double-kick-driven anthem with some excellent guitar solos and very impressive melodic vocals by Alexandropoulos. The second track, "Hold Me Tight", picks up the pace with some more aggressive drumming (almost thrash-like in some parts) and great double-edged guitar work. "If I Could Turn Back Time" (no, not CHER's) is a catchy melodic song with a solid rhythm all the way through while "Midnight Call" is more along the lines of traditional sounding "classic" heavy metal with crunching guitars and ripping leads. "Hold On" starts off with some great double-kick pounding and slamming guitar work, which continues on periodically over the course of the song, and leads into some great choir-like vocals.
The epic-like guitar solos should be noted as being quite impressive as well. The title track, "Silent Faces", is one of the standouts on the disc for sure, beginning with a 45-second melodic acoustic guitar intro before kicking it into action with a killer riff-crunching bridge. The tempo changes quite a bit throughout the song, going back and forth from heavy to melodic between the drums, guitars and vocals. Speaking of the vocals, you will probably find the best display of Alexandropoulos' talent right here - great track! "Riding On The Wind" (not a version of JUDAS PRIEST's immortal classic) is another standout with it's heavy galloping speed and somewhat MAIDENish-like feel, but songs like "Set Me Free" and "Dreadful Signs" just do not have the strength as its counterparts and are a bit bland for my taste.
Although much of the overall generic sound of the album coincides with the styles of many of the other bands that share this same genre (ie: HUMAN FORTRESS, MAGIC KINGDOM), the quality of the composition and song arrangements must not go unnoticed. The amount of hard work and effort the band put into this recording really shows in their performance. If the band can continue moving forward with that same amount of drive, I think the future looks pretty promising for the quintet and it will be interesting to see what they can do with their next album. But for now, "Silent Faces" will give you a good taste of INNERWISH and what they have to offer. Check it out!
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