Metal Express Radio recently caught up with INNERWISH guitarist Thimios Krikos to discuss the band's new album, No Turning Back. An excerpt is available below.

MER: What are some of your major influences that inspire you to create this great music?

Thimios Krikos: "The main composers of our band are the guitar duo of InnerWish, me and Manolis Tsigos. We’ve grown up listening to different kinds of music, from hard rock of the 70’s, and heavy metal of the 80’s and 90’s. Generally we listen to any good music if it has something to say in our ‘hearts’. All these things have, of course, influenced our songwriting and in a way they filtered and come out as the InnerWish sound."

MER: Most of the lyrics on NoTurning Back have darker undertones. There are songs about war, destruction, or self despair. How hard is it to come up with lyrics that match the great riffs and melodies? Is it a collaborative effort or does one person write the lyrics?

Thimios Krikos: "Manolis and I are the main composers, but believe me, this is a team effort. Every one in this band affects the final arrangement of our songs. The same with the lyrics. Most of the time the composer has an idea of the main theme of the song, which has to do with daily things we are all facing. We pay attention to what we ‘say’, so most of the time it takes us a long time to finalize the lyrics."

MER: How long have the current six members been playing together? How much of your success do you attribute to the chemistry among the band members?

Thimios Krikos: "The line-up of this band has been stable for more than eight years. The only change has been when George Georgiou joined the band as a stable keyboard player three years ago. For us, it is very a important thing because things are now easier for us. I’m the oldest band member of InnerWish, and believe in the past we’ve faced many line-up changes, which have caused many problems. InnerWish is more than our band, my friend, it is our home an our shelter. The stability of the band made the last eight years creative for our hearts and minds. I think that the result of this situation is ‘written’ in our new album."

Go to this location for the complete interview.