FRENZY FIRE

    

METAL & ROCK REVIEWS

    
             
HOME            
REVIEWS            
ARTISTS            
UPCOMING            
LINKS            
             

 

     
   
   
       
       

Blood And Angels' Tears

    
       
       
       
     
             
Vision Divine are a power metal band from Italy formed in 1998 releasing a total of nine albums to date, the bands ninth and most recent 'Blood And Angels' Tears' was released in 2024...    
             
...featuring eleven songs over fifty minutes which form the first half of an epic saga that unfolds across two albums - the second one yet to come! Founded by guitarist Olaf Thorsen (Labyrinth, Shining Black), the bands current line-up features vocalist Ivan Giannini (Derdian, Artaban's Redemption, Violet Eternal), guitarist Federico Puleri (Exence), keyboard player Alessio Lucatti (Deathless Legacy), bass player Andrea "Tower" Torricini (Tommy Vitaly), and drummer Matt Peruzzi (Labyrinth, Shadows Of Steel), along with a number of guest vocalists - Ray Alder (Fates Warning), Alle Conti (Trick Or Treat, Twilight Force), and AC Wild (Bulldozer). Phew what a line-up! And phew what an album! 'Blood And Angels' Tears' is "set in a distant epoch before known civilizations. The narrative revolves around three angels banished from heaven for their indecision during the cataclysmic war between Lucifer and Archangel Michael".    
             
Each album is "a chapter in a grand movie-like tale: themes of redemption, unity and resilience permeate the melodic orchestrations and haunting vocals" - so let's dive straight into 'Blood And Angels' Tears' and see, or rather hear how the saga unfolds, the two and a half minute mellow and serene instrumental 'War In Heaven', layered with a tension fuelled, anticipative and scene setting spoken word narrative, builds to a knife edged crescendo, 'The Ballet Of Blood And Angels' Tears' storming in at a hundred miles a fucking hour! The band are fairly ferocious here, melding symphonic elements with their power metal roots to deliver a jaw dropping opener to grab the attentions of a worldwide audience! And tightly too, for 'The Ballet Of Blood And Angels' Tears' has way more grip than gravity! And we all know how tight gravity's grip is - stopping us all from falling off the face of the planet!    
             
A barnstorming and quite sensational opening salvo from the Italian metallers, 'Blood And Angels' Tears' strides on at a faster pace with the blistering 'Once Invincible'. And if 'The Ballet Of Blood And Angels' Tears' was a hundred miles an hour, 'Once Invincible' is two hundred - Vision Divine rocking listeners heads back and forth at an extremely high rate of knots! By crikey what an electrifying opening double, 'Drink Our Blood' making it a threesome! Displaying a much heavier attitude, 'Drink Our Blood' is heavy, power metal to shudder the ground and shake buildings to their foundations, the band breezing across the land like a force ten hurricane! And leaving just as much devastation behind too, the bands unforgiving brand of power metal oozing an out of this world strength, Vision Divine dropping a gear to stride on with majestic grace courtesy of 'When Darkness Comes'. Striding by at a mid tempo pace, 'When Darkness Comes' is a phenomenal barrage of elegance personified, the band walking tall and proud with shoulders back and head held high!    
             
And returning the mighty punch of heavy, power metal to the fore, 'Preys' is a thunderous gallop of traditional come symphonic come power metal with the most gorgeous of choruses you'd ever wanna hear! The sing a long ability of 'Preys' chorus is straight off the top shelf, an in concert crowd participation moment in the making for sure! But only if the band perform this one live! And suddenly, all the power and pace of the album up to this point takes a back seat to be replaced by a beautiful bout of balladry, 'A Man On A Mission' wrapping the album up in a veil of serenity and mellowness, the final few seconds of 'A Man On A Mission' turning sinister as it segues into the punchy 'Go East' - and the resumption of the bands heavy, power metal leanings! The incredible melodious streak that runs right through the heart of this album is magnificent, the band attracting fans from a multitude of genres - more specifically, the symphonic, power and traditional metal ones! And if this is the kinda glorious metal to expect from the bands second album to bring the epic saga to a close, I for one can't fucking wait!    
             
But as there isn't a release date for it yet, the wait's gonna be a long and agonising one, so let's just enjoy 'Blood And Angels' Tears' final third - beginning with the red hot 'The Broken Past'. The speed here is stunning, Vision Divine giving light a run for its money - and with the speed of light clocking in at a staggering 186,000 miles per second, 'The Broken Past' is fast, very fast! And the intensity level too, has been top shelf, none more so than for 'Dice And Dancers', the hardest hitting song heard so far, the power driven power metal style shining brighter than a thousand fucking suns! 'Blood And Angels' Tears' is at its punchiest here, knocking listeners into next week with tremendous force! I'm telling ya readers, no-one is safe from the bands all consuming, all conquering power metal onslaught - an onslaught which reaches its climax with the final song 'Lost'. And the return of balladry, no, power balladry in its finest form, Vision Divine reining in every ounce of energy, an emphatic hymn-like aura descending upon the albums finale.    
             
Overall, a simply sensational power metal album filled to the brim with pace, power and immense head bang ability.    
             
             
Review by Iron Mathew Collins    
             
Reviewed for Metal Gods TV    
             
             
Top