Let none, out there, be mistaken. Here, we are dealing with a historical comeback in the soundscapes of Progressive Metal.
INNER STRENGTH have released their sophomore full-length album after 31 years and now we are in the very pleasant position, to listen to the successor of their acclaimed debut ‘’Shallow Reflections’’, which was released back in 1993. The band’s line-up is the classic one, that the fans were acquainted with, back in early ‘90s, when the band began to grow popularity through their exceptional demo recordings.
Thus, the old band mates have joined together and we meet again with the vocalist Scott Oliva, guitarist Joe Marselle, bassist Justin Hosman and drummer Joe Kirsch, under the moniker of INNER STRENGTH.
Joe Marselle says “the album we might have made in 1991 if we had the skills and experience we have today.” That was a statement, which made the ‘’exploration’’ of the new album even more fascinating.
Before I start to dive into the music the band has to present today, I was contemplating what exactly Progressive Metal is delivering in general through complex technical proficiency, multiple rhythm changes and elegantly intricate song structures.
It has been characterized as the ‘’intelligent metal’’ sub-genre. Is this argument a correct one? To my humble opinion, yes, this is absolutely true.
The reason for that is, that it’s able to activate unorthodox music patterns, leading to the very essence of the music itself. What is music after all?
First and foremost is emotion. Progressive Metal can initiate all our senses concerned and even more human elements, such as feelings, memories, images, smells, colors, beloved sounds and voices in our brains and so forth and so on, just to name a few.
Having said that, I cannot just start my review without referring firstly to the exceptional song that was presented as the second single of the album, which is under the title ‘’Dearly Departed’’. A song that starts with a soft guitar sound, then evolves to a churning groove and finally culminates in an amazing chorus, with very emotional and touching lyrics. Brilliant song!
But let’s take the things from the beginning. The album title track ‘’Daydreaming In Moonlight’’ is the opener. I could say that this is a song that brings memories of the band’s debut and to my ears feels like an excellent progressive and mature blend of PSYCHOTIC WALTZ’s technicality, that strides or strolls through the expressive sound passages of mid- to latter era of FATES WARNING. The listener witness again a beautiful chorus and Scott Oliva’s voice that has a similar melodic timbre with RAY ALDER’s voice.
The ‘’Art Of Moving Forward’’ was the first single of the album that was released and has spread enthusiasm and anticipation for the new album of INNER STRENGTH. The groovy sound of the bass is always present and predominant also in ‘’Face Another Hero’’, granting the song a dynamic range, while production-wise all instruments are heard crystal clear and the guitar solos sound awesome.
The ‘’journey’’ continues with the dramatic riff – driven ‘’Truth and Lies’’ and is followed with ‘’Compelled’’, another dramatic, yet dark and introspective composition, with a mild oriental essence. ‘’War Song’’ is emitting a similar character, as the previous two songs, yet more aggressive and powerful. Nevertheless, the cohesion and character similarity, is leading me to consider these three songs as (maybe) an unofficial concept entity.
The album closer track is ‘’The Strength Within – Part II’’, which is the second part of a song that was on their 1993 debut album. It’s the longest composition of the album in duration and an absolutely amazing, complex, yet consistent blending of a song, that brings in mind FATES WARNING and PSYCHOTIC WALTZ influences, alongside with the groovy progressiveness of ENCHANT.
INNER STRENGTH are definitely back for good with a topnotch captivating return and I believe metal fans and especially Progressive Metal enthusiasts, will be extremely contented with this release and will look forward to add it to their collections, if not done it already.
‘’Daydreaming In Moonlight’’ has been released on 19th of July 2024 by Divebomb Records and is available on CD and Digital format.
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Check the discussion about the album in our forum pages.
