The 25th Hour is Vision Divine’s third concept album in a row and it is here where their slow but steady climb in the Power Metal ranks has been halted. While never uttered in the same breath as other Italian metal greats such as Labyrinth or Secret Sphere, Vision Divine have managed to release two quality albums upon the arrival of Michele Luppi behind the mic. Stream Of Conciousness has some of the band’s best individual songs such as Colours Of My World, La Vitta Fugge, and Versions Of The Same. The follow up, The Perfect Machine, is where these guys hit their creative stride just right. That album had memorable songs, quality hooks, and a stellar performance from Michele. So what happened with The 25th Hour? The most noticeable difference is that the emphasis of the music has been shifted from Michele to… nothing. Excepting a few songs such as Voices and Perfect Suicide there are little if no hooks to be found at all. You won’t find soaring moments of clarity like on Now That You‘re Gone from The Perfect Machine nor are there any songs that have any sense of urgency whatsoever.

Sonically, The 25th Hour is also inferior to it’s predecessors. The guitars don’t crackle with power and the drums don’t ring loud with aggressive authority. Even on moments where the guitar team of founder Olaf and the muscle bound Frederico let it rip, (and they do this often because despite the lackluster production this album does contain what would be their heaviest riffs) the end result doesn’t have me thrashing around with my air guitar. A new keyboard player Alessio Lucatti is in the ranks and it seems like he did not have enough time to meld his style with the sound of Vision Divine. When he comes to the forefront like in the title track using electronic sounds it ends up being a bit clumsy. He’s not a bad player, the intro to Eyes Of A Child shows he knows his shit, but for the most part the keyboard work is inferior to previous outings. Listen to Land Of Fear from The Perfect Machine and then any song from The 25th Hour. You’ll notice the difference immediately.

Maybe it’s that this is concept album number three or it might be that Vision Divine are trying to continue a story from two albums ago that had a completely different lineup, but The 25th Hour has fallen short of the quality they have set for themselves. I really am at a loss for words at how Michele has been under utilized during the making of this album. I would like to see Vision Divine give it a go with an album that is not encumbered with the task of making the music fit a concept. We don’t need another Grave Digger of Power Metal who feel the need to release a concept cd with every release.