The new Virgin Steele hit the streets many months ago now and its about time for me to review it. Since Invictus (to this day my favorite Virgin Steele album), I've been a big follower of Virgin Steele and anything involving David Defeis. So I clearly remember how nervous I was the first time I put this new album into my car autoradio, to discover what master Defeis had cooked for us.

Visions of Eden first starts with a fast paced (at least drum-wise) sound called Immortal I Stand (The Birth Of Adam). This song is very reminiscent of the House Of Atreus albums, operatic to some level, with piano and lots of keys to bring the atmosphere in the songs, with David's vocals using the full spectrum of his abilities, from the agressive to angelic voice only he can master. The guitar work is good while not stellar (except maybe on Black Light on Black, where a raging solo after only 2 minutes of music makes a very good break). But this song alone was a rather good sign when I listened to the album the first time. The next four songs are all of the same caliber, using piano a lot, and you'll recognize many song-writing elements of the last few Virgin Steele album and that's all and good but there is not much new here either. I mean, I get the feeling that most of it we've already heard before. Of course not the exact same songs, but some vocal melodies come back, some bridge sound like previous work, and therefore there is not much (if at all) originality to this album. But that's not the main problem with it in my humble opinion. The REAL downside of Visions of Eden is the fact that the first part of the album is pretty strong, even though not original and almost mellow compared to some of the more aggresive songs Defeis have used us to. But the second part of the album sinks to such a slow and mellow pace, that it actually feels like the entire second part of the album (6 songs out of 11) is a big collection of boring filler songs. And I'm a huge fan of Virgin Steele, so I don't say this lightly !

I can't shake the feeling that David Defeis has let us down on this release, this is not the usual work of quality we're used to, and it sounds like half-done album, quickly finished and doesn't bring anything new. If the album had been an EP with the first 5 songs, I would have found it a worthy addition and a good "interlude" album until the next work, but as it is, it feels half-baked, and almost boring. I know I can't stomach the second part and once I reach track 6 I feel compelled to either go back to track one, or better yet, pull out Invictus or House Of Atreus part II instead. Disappointing album, and I really hope that David will deliver a much better follow up next time, as this Visions of Eden feels unfinished and sounds like it could have been a lot better than this and more heavier too. In the end my favorite thing about this album is its artwork (photo) and that's sad...