InnerWish: Ash Of Eternal Flames | Let The Ashes Not Extinguish The Flames
(2024 – Reigning Phoenix Music)
How difficult it is to surpass oneself album after album, especially when one has already reached the peak. That is what has happened with InnerWish, the Greek band that has turned its discography into a repertoire of good excuses to get closer to its music. However, they have long lacked the necessary breath of fresh air, sticking to their guns. With this “Ash Of Eternal Flames,” they confirm their well-known style, centered on a cross between Heavy Metal and melodic Power Metal with epic overtones, and yet they manage to deliver a good album, within what can be expected of them.
In “Ash Of Eternal Flames” we find an album that elevates and enhances what we can expect from a band like InnerWish. It’s true, there’s nothing particularly noteworthy or remarkable about it, except perhaps that this is their most ambitious production to date. In the 12 songs that make up this latest work, InnerWish renews its commitment to what can be expected from the band but in a much higher tone, from the production itself to the sound result. From “Forevermore,” their first track, this album turns out to be a typical work by a melodic power metal band, even approaching the realm of what is commonly called progressive metal, a label that is often used when it is impossible to know what genre a band belongs to. In any case, “Ash Of Eternal Flames” turns out to have an interesting versatility in several of its tracks. For example, in “Sea Of Lies” (featuring the great Hansi Kürsch as a guest), we have InnerWish at full Power Metal, but in “Higher” the decibels drop to almost AOR, or Rainbow-style Hard Rock, and almost without breaking a sweat, the Greeks then deliver a track like “Soul Assunder,” rooted in much harder riffs and a style much more focused on traditional heavy metal.
Continuing the variation, “Primal Scream” seems to be the most pretentious attempt on the album. With a mid-tempo base and matching guitar and keyboard orchestration, InnerWish shows its claws and brings out the best it has to offer, while making clear its roots in more traditional metal. The title track of this album is a much more progressive piece with certain operatic and epic overtones in its conception, but without neglecting the riffs and bases of their well-known style, with a certain influence from Hammerfall, one might say. With “Cretan Warriors,” they return to the centrality of strong riffs and heavy metal as their banner. It is a song that InnerWish spits out with the best of its fury, while “The Hands Of Doom” is mid-tempo, handling a melody of a certain epic cut.
In “Once Again,” InnerWish seems to go down the AOR/Hard Rock path with a heartfelt ballad, and in the meantime, in “I Walk Alone,” the band picks up the pace, with nothing that surprises us at this point. “Breathe” seems to be the right choice to close this album, but something tells me that in this last part of the record, InnerWish lost something along the way, as if it doesn’t quite close the circle and leaves things half done. At least, in the edition we have, the Blackfoot cover that appears here as a bonus track, “Send Me An Angel,” leaves a much more encouraging impression and demonstrates that, even with a great album like “Ash Of Eternal Flames,” InnerWish can raise the bar even higher.
This is possibly InnerWish’s most ambitious work, and the truth is that the result is worth it. However, the letdown in the last part leaves the question of whether it is really their best album to date. It is clear that if this is the path to follow for InnerWish, the last steps of the album are clearly not the way to go.
It must be acknowledged that the sound achieved is truly impeccable. Recorded in different studios in Athens, Greece, the production work shared between the band itself and Fotis Benardo, added to the mixing and mastering by Henrik Udd, who has worked with bands such as Hammerfall, Old Man’s Child, Narnia, Spiritual Beggars, etc., has given “Ash Of Eternal Flames” an excellent sound. The audio levels are very well balanced, and the orchestral arrangements of each song are more like a cushion that adds an air of epicness to each track, without overshadowing the guitars, which sound very pleasant.
The artwork for “Ash Of Eternal Flames” is simply spectacular. One of the best covers I’ve seen lately. This CD edition comes in digipack format (which we don’t like very much, as everyone knows), but at least it has a booklet with everything it should have: lyrics, technical data, photos of the band, and a graphic style that follows the logic of the album cover. It’s worth remembering that this album was also released on vinyl, so you’ve been warned.
The lyrics cover various topics: spiritual, personal, historical, etc. The variety of themes that InnerWish tackles makes them interesting, far removed from the clichés of metal. That’s another plus point, not only for the band but for the album itself.
InnerWish dared to release what is perhaps their biggest bet yet. Is it enough? To make it to the big leagues, possibly not, but I think the band still has a lot to give, much more than it shows in “Ash Of Eternal Flames.” The album is decent, with excellent production and good songs, but it’s possible that some of the fundamental ingredients for achieving that classic, killer album are missing. At least that’s our impression. Apart from that, the album manages to surpass previous works and, at the very least, the band shows that if it wants to, it can raise the stakes much higher. Let’s hope that’s the case.
The album can be purchased at https://www.reigningphoenixmusic.com, both on CD and vinyl, but we’ll also leave you with the band’s social media links and, while we’re at it, the link to the official music videos for “Higher” and “Sea Of Lies” (featuring Hansi Kürsch), so you can judge for yourselves…
https://www.facebook.com/innerwishofficial
