I have never seen live INNERWISH before 2025, even though they belong to one of my favorite subgenres. This year, that changed thanks to RockHard Festival and their 30-year anniversary live at Floyd. Of course, I can’t take full responsibility for this, since they hadn’t performed a headline concert in Athens since 2016 (!!). Please don’t let this happen again…
The honorary guests were ELYSION, who also have 20 years of career and have shared the stage with giants such as EVANESCENCE, NIGHTWISH, DRACONIAN, Anneke Van Giersbergen, and others. They had no trouble warming up the already packed Floyd Live Music Venue. After all, ELYSION is a band that has now moved into another league, with last year’s live performance at Gagarin being a turning point, since they proved that they belong among the top bands in our country and abroad. Their latest album, “Bring Out Your Dead,” in particular, helped them skyrocket in popularity abroad. They would not have achieved all this if it weren’t for the impressive Christiana Hatzimichali in vocals, who is as dynamic in her singing as she is humble and approachable in her communication with the audience, an irresistible combination. Their set included all the fan’s favorite songs, such as “Blink Of An Eye,” with which they opened, “Far Away,” dedicated to all the fans who came from other countries, “Killing My Dreams” with the loudest sing-along and “Promise,” which flooded Floyd with little bright stars (cell phone flashlights, but let’s be a little romantic). In general, they honored all three of their full length albums, which will soon become four, as they informed us. After all, the timing calls for new material. One of the oddities of the evening was the absence of a bass player on stage, which of course did not affect the final result musically, but it is strange for a metal band since we are used to the guitar-bass-drums trio. Next year, ELYSION will celebrate their 20th anniversary, so this fact, combined with the new album that is coming, means that we will soon see them again in an even greater performance.
Setlist
- Blink Of An Eye
- Dreamer
- Far Away
- Raid The Universe
- Made Of Lies
- Someplace Better
- The Promise
- Never Forever
- Killing My Dreams
- Crossing Over
Shortly after 9 p.m., it was time for the giants INNERWISH. It’s incredible how a band that has been around for 30 years looks so fresh on stage. From the founding members, Manolis Tsigos and Thymios Krikos, to the newer members such as Giorgos Eikospentakis (who has been with the band for over a decade though), the aura that this group exudes is unique. The reason is that they are a group of friends, if not a family. Keeping in mind that, it was not a surprise that the band made a special mention to those musicians who had been part of INNERWISH in the past. But also, to people from all over Greece who helped INNERWISH in their early days mostly. As expected, the setlist included 23 (!!) songs from their entire discography. From the first album “Waiting For The Dawn” from way back in 1998, with songs such as “Lord Of Truth” and the legendary “Ready For Attack,” and of course their latest album, “Ash Of Eternal Flame,” which gave us the most moving moment of the night when a deeply emotional Thymios Krikos dedicated “Higher” to his recently deceased brother Vasilis, as it was his favorite, and suddenly we all felt like members of his family.
As you can imagine, no one was dissatisfied with the song selection since we heard almost everything. “Inner Strength” and “Modern Babylon” set us on fire almost from the start, the fresh “Soul Asunder” confirmed that INNERWISH never stop writing epic songs, the shocking “Sea Of Lies,” which features Hansi Kursch of BLIND GUARDIAN, proved that INNERWISH also has social sensibilities, and despite the stubbornness of some awful people, it was duly honored by the audience and the band, and “Travelers In Time” was dedicated to all those who stood by them from the beginning. The duet of Eikospentaki and Christiana in “Through My Eyes” was also exceptional. The sing-alongs were endless but strongest in the epic “Needles In My Mind,” where the intro was sung exclusively by us, in “Burning Desires,” in “Ready For Attack”… and the list goes on. At some point, Manolis, clearly emotionally charged thanked the audience, the musicians, and everyone who helped build the INNERWISH family. Not much needs to be said about the musicians. The guitar solos were exceptional, Antonis Mazarakis on bass was totally expressive, Giorgos Georgiou on keyboards was a calm force, and Fragiskos Samoilis on drums was a real beast (who must have lost about 5 kilos after 2.5 hours of drumming). Giorgors Eikosipentakis was impressive since he showed no signs of fatigue after singing so many demanding songs.
Setlist
- The Enemy Inside
- Inner Strength
- Modern Babylon
- Silent Faces
- Bleeding Soul
- Sirens
- Soul Asunder
- Lord Of Truth
- Chosen One
- Travelers In Time
- Sea Of Lies
- Tame The Seven Seas
- Burning Desires
- If I Could Turn Back Time
- Dancer Of The Storm
- Higher
- Through My Eyes
- Rain Of A Thousand Years
- The Hands Of Doom
- Waiting For The Dawn
- Needles In My Mind
- Ready For Attack
- Eye Of The Storm
The truth is that I missed seeing Eikospentakis and Yiannis Papanikolaou together on stage, as Papanikolaou spent a good amount of time backstage supporting his friends. Nevertheless, we are talking about an epic evening full of memories, emotions, good music, and great company. INNERWISH, in their 30 years of existence, have maintained a high standard and, most importantly, exude quality both individually and as a band. I’m keeping their promise that it won’t be another 10 years before they perform in Athens again.
Live Correspondent – Photos: Kostas Boudoukos
Video: Napoleon Gouvis, Kostas Boudoukos
