Genre: Power Metal
Country: Greece
Label: Ulterium Records
Year: 2016
What I will now do is unfair, I know it. But I feel that i should grumble (as a genuine grumpy old man). Eventually all these “awesome band”, “the new disc kicks ass”, “we have the top scene on the planet (maybe in the whole Universe)” and the rest we have written, read, heard in recent years about the Greek metal scene, are they any good or bad? From there we all snubbed and flatten anything Greek (“for Greeks, is good”), we can glorify ALL releases, ALL bands and eventually put them back ALL in the same sack. In my opinion, ultimate bullshit. First of all, because if you do not point out the weaknesses of a band, you are not helping it to improve. The “agencies” and our Facebook friendships made us feel like we are the Center of the World. We acquired the logic of that we MUST them all because “Come on fool, we’ll see the singer in a couple of lives and if I have written that the album was mediocre, he will be disappointed”. If we really love music, we must be doubly strict with Greek bands. That scene has gone up tremendously, so it is a fact. We now look directly into the eyes of the big European scenes, we are not the poor relatives. But this does not mean that great album shall be presented as a supreme masterpiece. Other than that, all this “packing” ends up to be unfair, really excellent releases not to be distinguished between just good ones.
Let’s go to the point now. The new Innerwish album is really very good. Now you may say “Dude what was all that you wrote before?”. Just because the album is too good, I did well to write it. And the reason? For me it is at least a notch above all their previous releases. Then again, all these years most of the people when they were discussing about previous Innerwish releases, the deified them. Pretty nice they were, in every CD there were some very good songs, but as total releases, they turn pale before the new one. It has some very nice compositions, a good production and the vocals fit perfectly (like a doctor’s glove preparing to do prostate examination. I had to do some black humor). But I have the following questions. Those who read the reviews and see that we all have it on high appreciation, will bother to hear it (or buy it)? Or will think “Come on, it’s crap, bad, they’ve wrote the same thing before, what a mediocre album”, everything Greek we listen to, they tell us that it “ducks “? In the end, isn’t it wrong for a great release to be praised the same just as a good one?
As for the review now, do not take my word for it; go ahead and listen to the album (as they say in my village). It is the most mature work of the band, having “absorbed” all the influences of hard rock and heavy metal, covering a wide range. If i dare to make comparisons or references, I will not do it in every song. I will only say this, the feeling that I was left with, is similar to the feeling I had when I heard some of the releases of Jorn Lande. This ease in which they play in so many different styles, but still the songs don’t sound unrelated, I like it a lot. From the great whiskeys with “Cross the line” to the breakthrough of “Broken”, even though there is much distance, it is covered so comfortably that keeps you surprised. The “Needles in my mind”, “Rain of a thousand years” (EPIC!!!!), “Modern Babylon”, I believe that most people who love Innerwish have already heard and loved them. But the other songs are on a high level too. Overall, a pretty worthy release. And real worth, not a fake one. And just because this year so far does not seem to have the amount of truly good releases (last year in my opinion was the best year in the past five year concerning overall level of releases in worldwide metal map), I predict that i will put it in the list of the best albums of the year. If not that, at least in the top Greek albums of 2016. Do you see now? Let’s hope someone reading it, not to think at once “You say the same for all the Greek bands, they are probably friends of yours”. That’s why I grumple guys. Because, with such way of thinking, great releases are not going to stand out from the mediocre ones. Am i wrong?
4.5 / 6