Interview with InnerWish | “I Believe We Experience The Worst Period Of Human History Since The Dark Ages”

They are one of the finest examples of contemporary Metal in Europe, with a distinctive style centered around Power/Heavy Metal. Hailing from Greece, InnerWish has built an impeccable career on albums in which they consistently surpass themselves.
When we say InnerWish is the real deal, we’re not wrong. From their debut album, “Waiting For The Dawn” (1998), to their latest releases (“InnerWish” (2016) and “Ash Of Eternal Flame” (2024)), the Greek band has demonstrated an evolution in their music that positions them as a natural contender to be one of today’s great European bands.
In particular, “Ash Of Eternal Flame” caught our attention with its great production and musical variety, allowing us to confidently say it’s one of the best albums I’ve heard in recent times. For this reason, we felt it was a good time to interview the band, and in this case, we spoke with Fragiskos “Frankie” Samoilis, InnerWish’s drummer, who kindly and warmly shared various details about InnerWish, told us about the band’s upcoming plans, and even offered a pointed and candid analysis of the current times….

We thought “Ash Of Eternal Flames” was an album that surpassed everything Innerwish had done so far. Do you agree? What do you think was perhaps missing?

“If you think so, then all we can say is “thank you so much”! Hehe I don’t know if it has surpassed everything we have done so far. Our previous one, “InnerWish”, is pretty close for us. Almost equal. Hard to choose. But I surely think we are in the right way with these 2 albums and I believe we will continue in the same level with the next one. If something is missing… hm… we had 15 songs ready for this album, so I think nothing. At least for us. It is how we wanted it to be. Maybe there is something missing for you? Hehe”

Innerwish has an interesting mix of Power Metal and traditional Heavy Metal. How do these influences come together in the band’s style?

“It all has to do with our individual influences. As a band, we have some similar influences and mostly are more classic metal and power metal bands. But as individuals, is a totally different story. 6 people, 6 backgrounds, with some similarities and common ground but with huge differences also. AOR, melodic death metal, thrash, modern metal, Groove, alternatiive, symphonic, you name it. So whenever someone puts his touch in a song, i guess the influences come about. But we adopt everything to the vein of our style, because no matter our personal taste, we know what is good for the band.”

When it comes to songwriting, what do you think about first, the music or the lyrics? How does the songwriting process work?

“Music comes always first for us. First we compose the music, then find the proper vocal lines and then we write the lyrics, to fit those lines. Usually our two guitar players, Thimios and Manolis bring the songs. Sometimes completely ready, most of the times in the form of ideas and then whoever has something to add/say, does it. The lyrics come afterwards.”

By the way, Innerwish’s lyrics cover a wide range of topics. What influences you when choosing a specific topic for a song?

“I usually write the lyrics in the last couple of albums. And yes, i try to cover a wide range of topics. Mostly based in reality and the struggles of our times, social, individual, whatever you can think. Everything through my personal beliefs, view. And the same goes for the ohter guys whenever they write lyrics. We also cover topics like history, mainly for our country and tradition. I can only answer to how i write lyrics and choose them for each song. I hear the song and the vibe it gives me, creates the idea about the lyrics. Then i find my first punch line and build around it.”

An interesting point is the stories from Greek traditions and mythology in your lyrics, which seems logical considering your country. How does this converge with Innerwish’s music?

“I think it converges pretty smoothly, because usually these lyrical topics are in songs that are more epic or dark. “Rain of a thousand years” and “Serenity” for example from our previous album, or “Forevermore”, “Ash of eternal flame”, “Cretan warriors” or “The hands of doom” from the newest one. They aren’t always completely about history/mythology. Sometimes they are like parallelism with life’s problems and troubles (“Serenity”, “The hands of doom”). But I think they match really well and I really enjoy writing such type of lyrics!”

Does Innerwish consider itself a “Christian” band? Or are you “Christians” making Heavy Metal? What can you tell us about this? And while we’re at it, I’d like to ask your opinion on the label “White Metal”…

“No we don’t consider ourselves as “Christian band”. Actually, I am not a huge fan of labels like that. Do we have “Catholic bands”, do we have “Muslim bands”, do we have “Satanic bands”? I mean, do we categorize them in such labels? We have genres that lyrically bands use themes about Satanism, Christianity, whatever, but this is something different. In the “Christian metal” label, you find bands from all the genres of metal music. Same goes to “White metal”. “Black metal” for example started as a genre that was identified from the type of music, not the lyrics. For example, there are black metal bands with Christian themed lyrics. Why aren’t they a black metal band but they are a Christian metal or white metal one? Identification through music style is normal to have labels, so we can more easily describe our sound or put some bands in the same category. Lyric-wise though, I don’t get it. Do we have “social bands”? “Historical bands”? These are lyrical themes also. “Dystopian bands”? I totally accept, respect and don’t have a single problem with people wanting to categorize their music depending on the lyrics. But speaking for myself here, I don’t do it. The only categories I use in music have to do with genre depending on the music. Of course lyrics are important for me also, but when it comes to categorizing, for me, it’s music. And yes, we had especially in older albums, themes that are in the “Christian metal”/”White metal” category but we are more than that, since as I told you earlier, our lyrics are mostly about other stuff. Too many categories man… it’s music!”

After the release of “Ash Of Eternal Flames,” you released two new songs in single format. Were these songs left off that album? Or are they completely new songs?

“We recorded 15 songs for “Ash of eternal flame”. And since we write songs that are usually between 5 and 7 minutes long, putting all of them in the album wouldn’t be a good idea J So we chose 11-12 and the remaining 3 were released as stand-alone singles. The two you mentioned, plus the first one that came out, before the album release, “Cult of the blind”.

On this latest album, the production was a collaboration between you and Fotis Benardo. What are the advantages and disadvantages of producing yourselves?

“The main advantage for us, is that Thimios, our guitar player, is also a producer, working actually with Fotis, who is not just a producer for us, since it’s more than a friend. So we are able to do things more easily, totally focused and häving the attention we need on that. We know what we want, all of us, including Fotis and since he is an excellent producer himself and knows us really well, make things easier and great in the stuudio. About disadvantages now, to be honest, i don’t see any! Really like it the way it is.”

What is your opinion on the use of AI in music production, recording, and composition?

“Ah. It’s simple. NO NO NO!!! As simple as that. Sorry. Just write your music, enjoy it, enjoy the whole journey, have fun with it, make memories and if it becomes succesful, it’s OK. If it doesn’t it’s OK again. At least it will be YOURS. Everyone should be happy about what he/she can achieve with his/hers own powers. I really don’t like AI music, don’t like cheating actually. Someone pays to listen to YOUR music. So don’t cheat. If you can’t do it on your own, find people who can help and share the experience. Don’t ruin it.”

The world currently seems to be burning, and everything boils down to an endless struggle between opposing ideologies. What is your opinion on this? Are such political or social situations topics that influence you when composing?

“Of course!!! Many of our songs are about these kind of situations. Both to our latest albums. Don’t make me name them… find them! Haha Joking aside, of course we care about the world we leave in. It’s downfall actually, since I believe we experience the worst period of human history since the Dark Ages. If you think about it, there are lots of similarities with the Dark Ages, just through the modern era prism. And writing lyrics about it, it’s my way of expressing my thoughts, views, etc.”

After “Ash Of Eternal Flames” and the tour to promote it, what’s next for Innerwish in 2026?

“A new album! Not reelased in 2026, but to compose the songs for it. We are actually now starting shaping ideas in order to make this happen as soon as possible and for sure not in 8 years!”

Are there plans for this new album? If so, could you tell us some details or when we might hear more?

I’ll leave the last space for whatever you want to say, and thank you in advance for your willingness to talk to us!!!

“I want to thank you for giving us the opportunity to talk to you! All i want to wish for, is that people start to think more, don’t take everything for granted and please, less quarrels, fanatism and negativity. We stand united or fall!”

Great advice from “Frankie” Samoilis, InnerWish’s drummer, who was kind enough to put up with our persistence in securing this interview—and, of course, our questions. While we wait for InnerWish’s next album release, the band is preparing to perform at several festivals both in Europe and in Greece, their home country. In the meantime, here’s the music video for the impressive track “Sea Of Lies” from their latest album, “Ash Of Eternal Flame,” featuring Hansi Kürsch, the well-known vocalist of Blind Guardian. We’re also sharing their social media links so you can stay up to date on the band’s news and updates—which we highly recommend!!!

https://www.facebook.com/innerwishofficial

https://www.instagram.com/innerwishofficial