Member:
Dragonflame713
(Profile)
(All Album Reviews by Dragonflame713)
Date:
1/22/2002
Format:
CD (Album)
Send Me An Angel the new release by Vision Divine, first of all underscores something: this is not a side project for Fabio of Rhapsody and Olaf and Andrew of Labyrinth, IT IS A BAND.
The band progresses on this album in establishing a sound that is uniquely their own. It is not the technical tornado throughout the album, like on their outstanding debut self titled album. That's not to say this album is simplistic by any means, because the technical brilliance still shines brightly, just the album seems more song oriented, and will very likely expand their listening audience even more. What we have here is a well crafted and very listenable album of Italian prog metal at it's very best.
The album begins with a rhythmic synth intro called "Incipit" and then Andrew's icy, swirling keyboards lead the charge into the title track "Send Me An Angel", which starts things off in the vein of the debut album. There are the speed songs like “Apocalypse Coming”, and more mid tempo ones like "Pain". Throughout the album, Fabio displays the more aggressive side to his singing, that was in evidence on the Rhapsody albums in songs like "Holy Thunderforce" and "Rain Of A Thousand Flames".
There are some surprises musically on the album too, like in the more commercial mid tempo ballad/rocker "Taste Of Our Goodbye", which is pulled off beautifully and with taste, and gives us a chance to hear Fabio handle this type of song, and he comes through like a master.
One of the most interesting tracks on the album is their treatment of "Take On Me", the 80's MTV hit from the band Aha. When I first saw they were going to do this song, I thought "what???". But what we see here is Andrew keeping the feel of the song with the keyboards, and the band charging ahead with a double bass and guitar driven attack underneath it. Fabio handles this song beautifully, even showing a crooning side to his voice in the chorus, which then leads to the high falsetto, showing even more sides to his golden voice.
The bottom line is that this release shows Vision Divine maturing together, and becoming a even more cohesive band. Along with Rhapsody and Labyrinth, these bands are set to make the Italian metal scene magical for many years to come...
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