• Review

Endless Illusion is Inner Quest’s first album (released in 2009 by LM records) which contains 7 songs and runs for 40 pure instrumental minutes. The band was formed in Palermo, Italy in 2003 by drummer Riccardo Barbiera, bassist Marcello Butera, guitarist Giuseppe Di sparti and Alberto Butera Marcello’s brother on keyboard.

Inner Quest - Endless Illusion (2009)

They started off with a vocalist but after some lineup changes, they decided to make instrumental metal music mixed with some classical, thrash, progressive and power.Those influences are clearly heard in their songs, along with some space rock atmospheres and slow tempos. Still, the Symphony-X and Dream Theater base is present which keeps the listener interested throughout the entire album.I liked the song titles which do explain the album’s concept without the need of lyrics.

  • The first song Apophis 2036 refers to the potential deadly asteroid that scientists predicted to hit the Earth in 2036 (more detail here). The song itself is most certainly one of the album’s favorites. The intro is amazing and the song is pure progressive influenced throughout the 7 minutes. It will surely please progheads and encourages others to appreciate instrumental music!

    Rating 10/10

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4RaXRRKQTLQ

  • The next song September Stars is also one hell of a catchy song, with piano parts, great guitar riffs and transitions between slow and fast tempos.

    This one definitely deserves a Rating of 9/10.

  • Last Planet (reference to the Earth and the apophis?) is also one of my favorites on the album (ain’t them all!!). Just check the flow from the 3:45 minutes mark onwards!! Great performance by all the members, with noticeable keyboard and guitar solos, great drum and bass lines as well.

    Rating: 10/10

Band - Live

  • Strange Sensation is a 9 minute song which kicks off with a spacey mood and solo guitar which Lebanese fans can relate to with local guitarist Alan Azar‘s style. If I need to get someone to listen to Inner Quest, I would simply put this song, fast forward till 6:52 and play. From that point onward, the word “Epic” gets defined and oh yes, kudos to the keyboardist! Great job along that heavy riff / harmonics from hell.

    Another 10/10 rating!

  • Cossyra (The Daughter Of The Wind) which is an Italian island characterized by strong winds coming from North Africa. Keyboards are only played here and the song’s mood is dreamy, power-metal influenced but played at a slow tempo.

    Rating: 8/10

Band - Live - 2

  • The Night runs at 2 mins and is also another slow tempo track with no drums. I like the mood here and the bass lines in various parts, but I didn’t appreciate putting two down tempo songs right after one another, especially with a 7 song album like this.

    Rating: 7.5/10

  • Thunder In The Middle Of The Night is the last song on the album and the most power metal influenced song on the album. Great performance by all members again here but comparing to the progressive feel of the other songs is a bit low here.

    Rating: 8.5/10

So for the next album, I’d like to see a better arrangement of songs, because in my opinion this album could have been more ‘complete’ if it had the first 4 songs only. Still, I support the band’s choice of going instrumental and I’m surely expecting their next release!

Killer album, surely one of my favorite of 2009!

Listen to this Inner Quest Medley

  • Interview

  • The most important aspect of the band is the musicianship of the members. What would you say are your biggest influences as the band and how did that affect you being an instrumental band?

Hi Patrick, first of all thanks for interviewing us. Our favorite artists are Yes, Pink Floyd, Dream Theater for the “progressive side” and Symphony X, Derek Sherinian, Deep Purple for the most heavy moments. These are only a few of the artists we hear because we always listen to a lot of new music. We are an instrumental band because we think it’s funny writing music without the (obviously) rules dictated by the presence of a singer. So, we play a kind of music that is similar to a picture / a portrait or every kind of art that is “without words”. We think that’s the most direct method to hit the souls and hearts of our audience.

Band - Live - 3

  • Congratulations on releasing Endless Illusion, your first album. How was it like to work on these 7 songs?

Thank you! This first album is the result of about two years of work. Some ideas are old from many years ago but we think it’s a good start. We always want to make things better. We are currently working for a better production and ideas are never missing!

  • Is Inner Quest playing enough gigs on the local scene or abroad? Describe your best/worst show experiences.

Our local scene is a little poor of possibilities. We have about ten gigs a year. We have many fans here in Italy that would like to see us on stage on their own city, but you know, it’s difficult for an emerging band.

Band - Live - 4

  • Any upcoming releases from Inner Quest? If so, are you guys sticking to the instrumental idea?

Of course. The second album is ready. We are finishing the pre-productions, so we’ll start recording in September 2010. We think that the instrumental idea is “The Idea”. Our fans appreciate this kind of music, so why stopping that?

  • Any last words for the LebMetal.com Community readers and to Inner Quest fans?

We would thank LebMetal.com and especially all Inner Quest fans around the world that bought our CD. We love you all! We would like you to check www.innerquest.it where you can listen to some free music and know more about the band.

Official Website