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Vision Divine > Send Me an Angel > Reviews
Vision Divine - Send Me an Angel

Italian power metal supergroup goes 1980s pop/rock? - 73%

lukretion, August 4th, 2023
Written based on this version: 2002, CD, Atrheia Records

Formed in 1998 as a collaboration between Olaf Thörsen (Labÿrinth’s guitarist) and Fabio Lione (Rhapsody of Fire’s and former Labÿrinth’s singer), Vision Divine are a sort of Italian power metal supergroup. In fact, in addition to Thörsen and Lione, the band’s initial line-up comprised two more Labÿrinth’s musicians, Mattia Stancioiu (drums) and Andrea De Paoli (keyboards), as well as bass player Andrea Torricini from relatively lesser-known Italian power metal act Shadows of Steel (where Andrea De Paoli also played).

Based on the curricula of the musicians involved, it would be easy to assume that Vision Divine sound like a mix between Labÿrinth and Rhapsody of Fire. But that would be wrong. Although there are obvious similarities to Labÿrinth (which is inevitable, given that the two bands share 3/5 of their members), it is quite clear that, with Vision Divine, Olaf Thörsen and Fabio Lione were trying to pursue a different sound relative to their respective “main” bands. Power metal lies certainty at the core of Send Me An Angel, but the album also explores different influences, ranging from progressive metal to – perhaps more shockingly- 1980s pop/rock, as the inclusion of A-ha’s 1985 classic “Take On Me” also illustrates.

Generally speaking, the album contains two types of songs. On the one hand, we have a handful of tracks that follow quite closely the stylings of the classic speed/power metal sound, with fast-paced, double-bass drumming, crunchy but melodic guitar riffs, and epic, operatic vocals rich in vibrato and full of pathos. Songs like “Away from You”, “Apocalypse Coming” and “Flame of Hate” is where Vision Divine are most reminiscent of Labÿrinth and similarly-oriented speed/power metal acts. These are also the songs that I find least impressive, as personally I do not feel that they add much to what other bands, including Labÿrinth, were already doing at the time.

Things get considerably more interesting when Vision Divine incorporate in their sound subtle 1980s Euro pop/rock influences, such as on “Send Me an Angel”, “Pain”, “Black & White” and the instrumental “Nemesis”. These influences are perhaps most prominent in Andrea De Paoli’s retro-futuristic keyboard tones that bring to mind bands like Europe (which Vision Divine had covered on their debut album with the classic anthem “The Final Countdown”). The combination of 80s pop/rock glamour and power metal grit – channeled through Lione’s shouted vocals and Thörsen’s powerful melodic riffage, work like a charm, especially when the songwriting also explores slightly unusual solutions, hinting at sly prog metal ambitions. In “Pain”, the pre-chorus surprises with a sudden slow-down in tempo and very melodic vocal lines, before the song picks up again its bludgeoning tempo and riffage. “Black & White” offers again tempo changes aplenty as well as interesting dynamics and excellent interplays between Lione and female singer Ale Gatti. I also love the unexpected keyboard break that follows the first chorus of this song, as well as Lione’s Dickinson-esque vocals on the last part of the choruses. The instrumental “Nemesis” is another favourite of mine, with its keyboard deluge and that recurring, percussive guitar/keyboard riff that for some reason reminds me of the theme song of the movie Rocky.

I wish Vision Divine would have embraced this direction more fully through the whole album, instead of regularly returning to a more standard power metal sound in about half of the songs. In a way, it almost feels like Thörsen and Lione wanted to play it safe, anchoring the album in a sound they knew fans of Labÿrinth and Rhapsody would be comfortable with, instead of embracing full on the more interesting – but risky – 1980s pop/rock leanings they experimented with in the other half of the songs (that A-ha cover being perhaps the most daring experiment of all!).

To these ears, this playing it safe is mildly disappointing and it also makes for a slightly disjointed album overall. However, this does not detract too much from the album’s strengths, which are many – from the excellent production with good balance between guitars and keyboards, to strong performances across the board. Overall, with Send Me An Angel, Vision Divine consolidate their status as a supergroup that is more than just the sum of its parts and whose reason to exist is not mere commercial exploitation of what at the time were the most prominent brand names in the Italian power metal arena. Viewed through this lens, it’s hard not to see Send Me An Angel as a resounding success.

A heavier Vision Divine. - 94%

hells_unicorn, July 14th, 2007

At this point in Vision Divine’s career the label of “Labyrinth” clone was in full swing, and perhaps the fact that drummer Mat Stancioiu and keyboardist Andrew McPauls were also in congress at the time lent some credence to the charge. The first album, which preceded this one and had the same line-up, was probably the most Labyrinth-like of the bunch save Fabio Lione’s super-flamboyant opera vocals and a greater electronic/synthesizer presence. This one breaks away from that sound significantly and puts a lot more emphasis on heaviness and riffs, sometimes completely drowning out the keyboards. The overall feel screams a greater sense of aggression, which is further illustrated by such song title choices as “Flame of Hate”, “Pain” and “Apocalypse Coming”. But obviously keep in mind that this is still a power metal album with a lot of pomp and circumstance, which is to be expected from Olaf Thorsen’s end of the creative spectrum.

The opening instrumental “Incipit” sounds a lot like a techno segue in the same sense as was the beginning of “New Eden” on the debut, but what follows it is quite different. The title track has a much darker arrangement, featuring a drum sound that is a lot less mechanical than the previous album, and a darker guitar driven introduction. The keyboards still provide some softer edges to the mix from time to time, but the guitar is clearly dominating the mix. From here on in the songs tend to feature a lot of riff driven sections with tastefully utilized keyboard work. “Pain” has 2 very memorable riffs, one almost reminding me of the guitar line of “Message in a Bottle” by the Police. “Away from you” and “Apocalypse Coming” take the lead in terms of sheer speed, the former featuring the most technical leads, while the latter really showcases Stancioiu’s amazing drumming abilities.

“Black and White” is the closest thing to a ballad on here, and although sporting a rather dream-like piano intro, can’t resist the urge to throw in some galloping guitar riffs and a fast paced chorus. “Taste of Goodbye” also contains some ballad-like elements, including an acoustic guitar track and some piano fill-ins, but doesn’t come anywhere close to the quiet and serene atmosphere that was “Of Light and Darkness”. “Nemesis”, the longer instrumental of the two, is the most synthesizer-driven and almost listens like something you’d hear on Luca Turilli’s “Prophet of the Last Eclipse”, but with a lot more Prog elements and less symphonic tendencies. “Flame of Hate” takes my pick for the best original song on here, mixing the synthesizer elements of the debut with a simplistic guitar groove before launching into more speed metal; not all that far off from the sound heard on the album “Stream of Consciousness”.

Surprisingly the best song on here is not an original, but the remake of the old Aha classic “Take on me”. Although it is tempting to envision this song with tons of insane leads, Vision Divine has elected to take the road of lesser pretension and kept this cover faithful in terms of the notes used. However, not one to be uncreative either, they have elected to really ratchet up the drum work, especially during the chorus. Fabio’s vocal interpretation is what puts it over the top, during the chorus the backing vocal tracks are almost a dead ringer for Ronnie Dio, and the falsetto wails are a lot less girlie sounding than the original version, which may shock Rhapsody detractors.

Out of every Vision Divine release to date, this one is the shortest, the most compact, and ultimately the most accessible to non-Labyrinth/non-Italian power metal fans. It keeps the emphasis on the guitar and utilizes the keyboard in a tasteful fashion similar to the way Stratovarius does. Obviously core-fans of Rhapsody and Labyrinth will be taken in by Lione’s top notch vocal performance and shred fans will eat up Olaf’s insane sweep-picking solos, but this album contains probably the least of those elements of any albums that carry this band’s name. Although I still prefer “Stream of Consciousness” to this one, it rides a very close second, and takes my pick for the most underrated album ever put out by this outfit.