VISION DIVINE
"Stream
of Consciousness" (Metal Blade; 2004)
Reviewed by R. Scott Bolton
"Stream of Consciousness" is a very good power metal album and therein lies its problem. Like too much power metal out there, "Stream of Consciousness" doesn't have a lot of variety to offer. Instead, you get the prerequisite epic guitars, the obvious keyboards, the soaring vocals and lots of metal melody. In fact, here you get more melody than most.
It's not that this CD ever lags, but it very seldom really grabs you either. You keep waiting for a change of pace (which finally arrives, at track 11, in the form of a piano instrumental). The other tracks, for the most part, are like a blur - it's difficult to tell where one ends and another begins.
Again, this is a trait of power metal in general and not Vision Divine in particular. As I mentioned at the top, "Stream of Consciousness" is a very good power metal album. If you like this style of music, you'll probably like this CD. But if you're looking for variety and more than a little edge, this CD likely won't do it for you.
Vision Divine: Olaf Thorsen - guitars; Michael Luppi - vocals; Oleg Smirnoff - keyboards; Matteo Amoroso - drums; Andrea Tower Torricini - bass.
For more information, check out http://www.visiondivine.com.
Rating Guide:
A classic. This record will kick your ass.
Killer. Not a classic but it will rock your world.
So-so. You've heard better.
Pretty bad. Might make a nice coaster.
Self explanatory. Just the sight of the cover makes you wanna hurl.
Copyright © 2004 by R. Scott Bolton. All
rights reserved.
Revised: 16 Sep 2024 12:51:58 -0400
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