Vision Divine: Destination Set to Nowhere

With the return of original vocalist Fabio Lione, I was curious to see what kind of direction the band would pursue. The previous album, 9 Degrees West of the Moon, saw them branching off into a more stripped down format in terms of vocal delivery. Luppi's complex, multi-tracked harmonies were replaced with Lione's classic high-pitched vocals, and the music had taken on a more direct, riff-based approach. After Lione's brief stint with Kamelot, some fans wondered whether he would have a finger in the direction of the new album, Destination Set to Nowhere.

But he hasn't. If anything, the band continues in a similar vein, but they are emphasizing their strengths more prominently this time around. As a matter of fact, the compositions still carry a distinct Olaf Thorsen signature to them.

Based on the two-minute-long Italian lyrics spoken over ominous keyboards sounds on the album opener "S'io Fosse Foco," one can tell this is another concept album. This disc finds the band capitalizing on their strengths: writing heavy, riff-centred power metal with gripping melodies and hook-laden vocal parts. The guitar work is powerful and at its best. The solos cut through the mix effortlessly, taking on a gritty tone and melodic weight on the mid-tempo material like "The Dream Maker" and even a slightly blues-tinged vibe on the album's ballad "Message to Home." There is also a great amount of keyboard work supplementing the arrangements. This being a concept album about a group of people leaving planet Earth in search of a better world (which could be likened to Seventh Wonder's The Great Escape in this aspect), Alessio Lucatti utilizes a fair amount of futuristic sounds, especially during the intro of the songs. "The Ark" features the same electronic theme, first in the beginning and then in the middle, before giving way to a phenomenal guitar solo. "The House of Angels" also boasts similar thematic elements: this time the slowed-down passages are filled with indiscernible voiceovers before making a shift into chorus-filled passages steeped deeply in melodic power metal.

The highpoints of the album are certainly the unabashedly shred-infested unison solos, where guitarists Olaf Thorsen and Federico Puleri as well as keyboardist Alessio Lucatti contribute their shining lead work, which Vision Divine was known for on their earlier albums. Of course Lucatti's style is vastly different from former keyboardist Oleg Smirnoff's, but as far as the shred element in concerned, this is his finest accomplishment.

I was disappointed when I heard Vision Divine had parted ways with vocalist Michele Luppi, who I consider one of the greatest metal singers in the world. The fact that he does not exactly come from a power metal background actually added to his diversity and set the band apart from many of their contemporaries. To this day, my favourite releases by the band are still Stream of Consciousness and The Perfect Machine, but this album is still a solid addition to Vision Divine's catalog.

Track Listing

1. S'io Fosse Foco
2. The Dream Maker
3. Beyond the Sun and Far Away
4. The Ark
5. Mermaids from Their Moons
6. The Lighthouse
7. Message to Home
8. The House of the Angels
9. The Sin Is You
10. Here We Die
11. Destination Set to Nowhere

Added: August 5th 2012
Reviewer: Murat Batmaz
Score:
Related Link: Vision Divine Facebook Page
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Language: english

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