Review Summary: After the great successo of the previous album, Vision Divine release its masterpiece
After the great success of "Stream of Consciousness" with audiences and critics, Vision Divine make a new step forward with this "The Perfect Machine", undoubtedly their masterpiece.
The line-up is stellar: in addition to the guitarist and founder Olaf Thorsen (ex Labyrinth) and the bassist "Tower" Torricini, there are the confirmations of the exceptional Michele Luppi and Oleg Smirnoff (former keyboardist of Eldritch and Death SS) and the new entries Danil Morini (hard rock drummer) and Federico Puleri (guitarist of the death metal band Essence).
The first thing that strikes you about "The Perfect Machine" are the lyrics: it is in fact a concept album whose narrative fulcrum lies in the discovery, in the near future, of the remedy for aging (and, consequently, for mortality) of human beings, with all that this entails in social and existential terms. A profound concept, developed by Olaf Thorsen and masterfully interpreted by Michele Luppi.
From a musical point of view, "The Perfect Machine" is a hard power/prog album, which at times borders on thrash due to the tight riffing brought by Puleri and the powerful, articulate and precise drumming of the excellent Morini. In particular, Vision Divine momentarily abandon the atmosphere that had made them famous with their early albums, accentuating the more progressive component of their music. Above all, the great vocal interpretation of Michele Luppi (here at his top) and the excellent performance of Oleg Smirnoff on keyboards stand out: the latter refuses to use the typical orchestrations of Italian power/prog (typical of bands like Labyrinth, Secret Sphere and the same Vision Divine in its early releases), focusing on more modern and liquid sounds that can recall what Highlords did on "Medusa's Coil". The songs are all of excellent workmanship, immediately recognizable and full of changes in atmosphere and sound. Useless, therefore, to linger in a track-by-track.
However, we can't help but mention the opener, with its thrash riffing intersected by Smirnoff's futuristic keyboards; the delicate "Here in 6048", a ballad for piano and voice that highlights the qualities of the duo Luppi-Smirnoff, and the violent "God Is Dead".
Ultimately, an album that requires a listen to fans of the genre.
