{"id":650005,"date":"2026-06-21T04:21:12","date_gmt":"2026-06-21T04:21:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/650005\/"},"modified":"2026-06-21T04:21:12","modified_gmt":"2026-06-21T04:21:12","slug":"review-vision-divine-a-clockwork-reverie","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/650005\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: Vision Divine – A Clockwork Reverie"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Published by Francesco<\/a> on 2026\/06\/202026\/06\/20<\/p>\n

\"\"Artwork by Augusto Silva<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Style: Power metal, progressive metal (clean vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Angra, Evergrey, Firewind
Country: Italy
Release date: 22 May 2026<\/p>\n

Italian power metal has always been my home. From initial discovery, it became king among the first subgenres I was exposed to, and its melodic and anthemic sonic landscapes still reverberate loudly within me, even if I have since migrated to other musical territories. In some ways, the style firmly roots me to a homeland I left as a teen many years ago. Keeping up with name releases means I\u2019m dialed in to a small part of the local scene, and some of the bigger outfits that are able to venture overseas to Toronto have even left their mark in ink on the large green-white-and-red flag that hangs on my wall. A few years now I\u2019ve been aware of the growing strength of Tuscany\u2019s scene in particular, with an army of dwarves at the forefront.1<\/a> But smaller acts play just as loudly, and the marble stone of Massa\u2019s metalliferous hills echoes the sounds of one such outfit: Vision Divine.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Vision Divine are a group who have few misses in their expansive discography and have been considered among the top power metal bands Italy has to offer long before their newest album, A Clockwork Reverie. The album delivers on those laurels with another impeccable performance, showcasing their propensity for razor sharp riffing and saccharine hooks that catch your ear and never let go, supported by clockwork drumming and sprinkled with virtuosic guitar and keyboard soloing. The album displays Vision Divine\u2019s masterful progressive power metal songwriting, with each arrangement maintaining their recognizable musical identity, deftly crafted over nearly thirty years of the band\u2019s career.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

After a French spoken-word intro, the album really opens with the self-titled \u201cA Clockwork Reverie\u201d, which changes gear three times just from the intro to the first verse, exhibiting frequent increases in pace, and delivering huge overdubbed choruses over a machine-gun kick. \u201c18 (It Feels Like Heaven)\u201d brings down the tempo some and hearkens vocalist Michele Luppi\u2019s more 80s AOR-oriented sensibilities2<\/a>, with shimmery reverberant guitars, a polished melodic lead, and an easily memorable refrain. Luppi\u2019s delicate and agile countertenor provides an emotive attribute to the vocal work that\u2019s, in this reviewer\u2019s opinion, of a decidedly higher quality than many of his contemporaries. Stepping back to their power metal leanings, \u201cAndromeda\u201d starts with some heavy riffing and a wicked synth lead before speeding up to a more blistering tempo with a high-octane and demanding keyboard and guitar duel that\u2019s typical of the band\u2019s style.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Technical and energetic, A Clockwork Reverie taps into classic power\/prog elements without becoming tropey. It\u2019s apparent that the divine vision which mastermind and guitarist Olaf Th\u00f6rsen has for the band has never waned, and touching back on what I said about a recognizable musical identity, the later half of A Clockwork Reverie includes three tracks from past Vision Divine albums that have been re-recorded for this release, from 2004\u2019s Stream of Consciousness, 2005\u2019s The Perfect Machine, and 2007\u2019s The 25th Hour. While these arrangements remain mostly untouched, the updated production breathes new life into works I was already intimately familiar with, making the tracks more congruent with Vision Divine\u2019s contemporary work\u2014even if the band\u2019s core sound has not significantly changed throughout their career. They also provide a springboard for those looking to dig into their earlier discography, as the tracks have been cherry-picked from some of the band\u2019s most successful works.<\/p>\n

A Clockwork Reverie includes a variety of the standard features of any good Vision Divine album and is a sufficiently interesting, if short, addition to their discography. Of note is that this is the first release to feature this lineup in some nineteen years; the cynic in me is ready to admit that sometimes returning to a classic lineup can be a recipe for success instead of merely a rehashing of glory days gone by3<\/a>, although I don\u2019t necessarily think stacking a new release with half re-recorded songs is the best way to go about it. Still, with nary a stumbling moment on the album, the band holds firm their position in the upper echelons of the Italian metal scene.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Recommended tracks: Andromeda, 18 (It Feels Like Heaven), A Clockwork Reverie
You may also like: Lab<\/a>\u00ff<\/a>rinth, DGM<\/a>, Secret Sphere
Final verdict: 7.5\/10<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Related links: Official Website<\/a> | Facebook<\/a> | Instagram<\/a><\/p>\n

Label: Scarlet Records<\/a><\/p>\n

Vision Divine is:
\u2013 Michele Luppi (vocals)
\u2013 Olaf Th\u00f6rsen (guitars)
\u2013 Andrea Torricini (bass)
\u2013 Oleg Smirnoff (keyboards)
\u2013 Matt Peruzzi (drums)<\/p>\n

\n\tRelated\n<\/p>\n