The face of progressive metal has warped and splintered and mutated since its origins in divergence from heavy metal. From the theatrical and rifftastical charm of Savatage to the pomp and groove of Psychotic Waltz to the emotional and shifting tug of Fates Warning, progressive music holds roots in complex narrative structures that range in tone from whimsical fantasy to deeply and painfully human. In the American arena, technicality flourished through Watchtower—and eventually Dream Theater—virtuosic elements, and intrinsic thrash pedigrees to give rise to a 90s and 00s movement that birthed bands like Zero Hour, Control Denied, and Nevermore, each ranging between these extremities of noodle-noting and tear-jerking. But before them all, Inner Strength stood at the cusp of these advents with their lone 1993 full-length Shallow Reflections making an underground splash,1 which contained all the aforementioned elements laced together with an of-the-time funk metal groove. And now, another thirty years later, that smorgasbord of influences has crested into this newest Daydreaming in Moonlight.
From Scott Oliva’s (The Nightmare Stage, ex-Wind Wraith) vocal rasp and strained harmonies to guitarist Joe Marselle’s slightly down-tuned and dry twang, every bit of Daydreaming sounds unearthed from a 1995 time capsule. With a focus on open-stringed chiming, melodic chord-driven passages (“Daydreaming in Moonlight,” “Dearly Departed”) find a hypnotic legato that recalls aggressive later-era Rush or King’s X works. Whereas bluesy, pull-off riff tension that explodes into snappy and slinky solo work pushes the Rainbow-on-thrash energy that you can hear in the still developing muscular sound of The Damnation Game-era Symphony X. And when it’s not Marselle’s winding fretwork leading the charge, drummer Joe Kirsch in his Zonderful (ex-Fates Warning, Warlord)2 and classy, hi-hat accented approach provides all the rhythmic shuffle necessary to power the progtrain. Forward motion defines Inner Strength’s approach.
But where Daydreaming really finds its secret, aged sauce is in the application of varied sonic hooks in each song. Early album cut “Face Another Hero,” and the later “Truth and Lies,” Inner Strength finds a switch-up to its groove in Voivodian chord stabs that set up a need to resolve with later soaring, melodic capriciousness. And late album romp “War Song” in contrast to its muscle-forward name marches in a constant stumble guided by a sliding nasal bass line that finds a steady thump only during the closing solo and reprise. In Daydreaming’s most modern move, Inner Strength ties up the curtains with the mammoth “The Strength Within – Part II” which pulses a few tones lower—never djent, rather Train of Thought-era Dream Theater—to tie off a journey started so long ago, an aggressive and hammer-headed in contrast to its origins.
To the ears of a prog-head reared in a post-Meshuggah world, though, Daydreaming’s exact studio playbook may not land as quickly as bass-loaded contemporary production does. Choosing to highlight instead the play and intricacy of a ghost note bolstered rhythm section, and a rise and fall guitar aesthetic, its intricacy resides mostly in higher frequencies. Mid-album anchor (and song o’ the year contender) “Dearly Departed” showcases Inner Strength’s mission best with its smoky, extended guitar intro that crashes against Olivia’s time-worn snarl and full riff contraction, only to find a histrionic charm again as choruses expand with chiming guitar resolutions and reaching vocal harmonies. Steeped in technicality without ever being overbearingly so (have fun counting “Compelled” or following the snare and cymbal dance in the closer), this choice to remain in Daydreaming’s chosen sound pocket keeps the listening experience focused while exposing its many layers.
Being the product of thirty years of planning, living, loving, listening, and losing, Daydreaming in Moonlight could be a product of these name-drops here or none of them at all—a missing link in the prog annals that never was. Inner Strength in 2024 is just as much a reimagining of their own sound as they are a refinement and iteration of learned and borrowed tricks.3 With careful devotion to mastering their works for studio bolstering—multi-tracked guitar and vocal pieces that sum to an astounding whole—Daydreaming in Moonlight soars as the opus the band always knew they could create. Any lover of idiosyncratic and fully realized progressive missions, should take notice, as Inner Strength does not have wash away again in the footnotes of emergent sounds.
Rating: 4.0/5.0
DR: N/A | Format Reviewed: Stream
Label: Divebomb Records | Tribunal Records4
Website: facebook.com/innerstrengthny
Releases Worldwide: July 19th, 2024
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