When presented with a new
Vision Divine CD, this wasn't exactly what I had expected. "VD" as they are commonly abbreviated to (all jokes about venereal disease, go ahead and get them out of your system now) was originally just a side project for
Labyrinth guitarist Olaf Thorsen. My attention was brought to the band because at the time of the debut disc, Fabio Lione fever was running high, and I plowed through everything with his name attached, the ever popular Dungeons and Dragons themed Rhapsody, the techno/prog mix of
Labyrinth's debut, the excellent Athena "New Religion" and then hot off the presses,
Vision Divine.
Out of the four discs, it was my least favorite Lione singing vehicle, but the songs were fairly fresh and there was a sense of fun imbedded within, without becoming overly cheesed. Olaf was soon dismissed from the main band, as he began to sink their ship in an ever-increasing display of poor writing, and instead poured all of himself into
Vision Divine. After the second VD release, Fabio bowed out as well, taking his distinctive voice with him and two other musicians parted.
With a new singer on board, Olaf devoting all of his attention to a single musical entity, and the addition of a keyboardist, they really have upped the ante with "Stream of Consciousness". Not just "another power metal band" anymore, they have found their own niche with darker music and while they played with the ideas of celestial bodies and battles between light and darkness before, this takes it to another level indeed, a level that stretches far and beyond "the
Labyrinth". The concept is what is most intriguing. A single song, split into fourteen sections - okay so
Fates Warning did this to "A Pleasant Shade of Grey" and made it a mind numbing bore, so therefore I applaud VD's decision to try and take this route without fear of being stoned to death in the process.
The pieces can stand by themselves, on their own, individually, some bearing the load of individuality better than others of course, and a smattering of instrumentals to break up the high pitched singing in between. And as for the concept itself?
Well it's a dark story that is a bit disturbing but a definite mind trip journey worth taking at least once. The gist of it is this: a rollercoaster ride of emotion that probes the workings of a madman, his suicidal tendencies, deepest depressions and the ultimate desire - to see the world through God's eyes, in a morbid quest to find the meaning of life itself and grasp the concept of infinity. It is this quest, and the granting of his wish by a guardian angel that leads him further into madness, a gift with a double blade, both of which cut him in the end. A story without a happy ending, or is it?
We are allowed to glimpse his anguish, the turmoil, and finally confusion, with the aiding guidance of the winged guardian. It is a masterpiece of a story that deviates from the dungeons/dragons, swords/sorcerers formula that most bands in the power genre use and reuse to varying degrees of success. Any band that steps out of this particular mold should be applauded for their gutsy move, despite the fact I love the generic storylines as much as anyone else.
Running Wild has its pirates and looting,
Vision Divine have their angels,
Genius has their mish mashed messed up crappy story but that's another review all together.
Not just the story has been juiced up, but the music has also been repackaged and ready for show time. As mentioned before, this is the debut of a new singer, Michele Luppi and he has some pretty stellar pipes, more in the mold of Mark Boals from "Trilogy" than the typical squeaky ball stripped Italian screecher. Luppi's voice has a full richness which will likely grow with time and experience, and hides the fact that English is probably not his first language better than others (Fabio used to get a roasting for some of his dubious pronunciations and general slaughtering of the English language - done wonderfully I will add), but the accent pops up from time to time and adds a quaint touch to what would otherwise be by-the-numbers singing. The songs themselves are fast, often times with a touch of brutality, speedy numbers spruced up with a healthy slathering of keyboards that oftentimes battle with the guitars as they seem to attempt to tear each other into shreds. The final section scores some points for its intensity and lavish detail, all set within the restraints of a ballad, but it ends the disc on a reflective feel that gives the tragic end a sorrowful touch.
While there is a lot to like, there seems to be a bit to detract from the overall experience as well. Instrumentals flesh out the emotional aspects of the story, and are entertaining enough for the first couple of run-throughs but lose their luster on repeated listens. Then again, I'm often too enamored with vocal presentations to be bothered with songs that try and strut along without it, so unless it is something truly extraordinary, my attention wanders on these pieces. Also most of these cuts lack a solid chorus for that essential hook factor. There are not a lot of rousing choruses that break out the rock star in us all, in fact, "Stream of Consciousness" is a literal wasteland when it comes to the hook in general. Simply, they do not exist in this world of the hour long song, thus making the entire thing seem to flow together almost too well at times. This was probably an intentional decision, since the disc is supposed to represent a single tune, only diced up into multiple sections for easier musical digestion, but in the end, the running order of the CD suffers because there's not much here that's catchy enough to break up the monotony of drums pounding your skull out and flashy guitars zig-zagging here, there, and everywhere.
I have been careful not to mention song titles, but the various parts are distinguished from each other by having "song titles", and a few that really come together are the translucent beauty of
"The Fallen Feather", the thunder of
"La Vita Fugge" with its "hey its not English!" lyrics giving it a sense of mystique,
"We Are, We Are Not" which prowls the inner self for answers but finds no conclusion other than self realization of "no regrets",
"Out of the Maze" which breaks the madman free of his accursed gift and the finale
"Identities" that makes you wonder if the earthly body is really alone anymore, or is there an angel hiding in this flesh form along with him?
Those looking for something different in their power metal diet will likely be delighted by the originality glowing within "Stream of Consciousness". Like all CDs, it has its flaws, but none are of the fatal kind, and it finds its wings, literally in the end, the goodness of light outweighing the darkness of evil. A surprising mix of higher concept progressive with the brash forward sprinting pound of power metal, that comes out smelling like metal plated roses in the end.
Written by
Alanna Tuesday, May 25, 2004
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