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Those of you out there who like your Power Metal should know all about Greece's Innerwish, a band that have produced album after album of music that is up there with the genre's giants. But their little known debut from 1998 is a curious item, and though they had a different singer at the time, this is still recognizable as the same band that recorded Silent Faces and the superlative Inner Strength. Actually, were they to re-record "Spacerunner" or "Carry Your Cross", these songs would be truly excellent, though here they are more than a little paltry, thanks to a sopping wet production job.

It's not as bad as some first albums I've heard, but Waiting For The Dawn does have a certain demo-ish feel, especially in the percussion department. But the vocals are clean and listenable (though not always in tune), and the guitars have that typical snarl Innerwish always go for. This is a surprising album in that it plods along at mid pace with a distinct Jag Panzer feel (in fact, it sounds almost identical to their Chain Of Command album). There is more than a hint of Iron Maiden here, as well as a touch of Jacobs Dream. The songs themselves range from quite good ("Lord Of Truth", "Ready For Attack"), to the hideously monstrous ("Last Thing I'll Remember", "Have You Ever"), and with a lot of clean channel, this takes care of any thoughts you might've had thinking you'd picked up an underground gem.

Innerwish are a band all Power Metal fans should get into, but you could safely miss Waiting For The Dawn. Considering the level of consistency here and the huge improvement with Silent Faces, it's a marvel they could produce such good material in one step, but die-hards should hear this, if only to be reminded of a time when the genre was on shaky ground.