VISION DIVINE – “A CLOCKWORK REVERIE” (EP) (2026)

Just when the Italian prog-power veterans started picking up steam with “Blood and Angels Tears”, they had to deal with the departure of vocalist Ivan Giannini and keyboardist Alessio Lucatti. Since Olaf Thörsen is more than accustomed to handling vocalist departures, he made a surprising but welcome move by recruiting Michele Luppi, who also sang in the albums “Stream of Consciousness”, “The Perfect Machine” and “The 25th Hour”. Another returning figure is keyboardist Oleg Smirnoff, who aside from VISION DIVINE, also participates in LABYRINTH and ELDRITCH. Under these circumstances, the band introduces its newest form with the EP “A Clockwork Reverie” that features three new original compositions and the same number of re-recordings of their own songs from the Luppi era.

Focusing on the new songs first, they alone make this release feel worthwhile. The title track itself can justify this claim by being one of the best tracks this group has ever released. It is fast-paced, packed with superb vocal melodies and features Michele Luppi at the height of his powers, topped off by a chorus that made me want to put it on repeat. “18 (It Feels Like Heaven)”, while not matching its predecessor, is another good song with an emphasis on melody rather than speed, without sacrificing technical edge. “Andromeda” brings the train back to the speed lane, another fast and heavy song with strengths similar to the title track.

As for the second part, the band chose one representative from each full-length that featured Luppi behind the microphone. Those are “Identities”, “God is Dead” and “The 25th Hour”. We are not strangers to such a move, as “Destination Set to Nowhere” featured a full album of rerecorded VISION DIVINE material with Fabio Lione. In fact, this is the third time that the group has recorded “God is Dead” and “The 25th Hour”. I may like these new versions even more as they come with a refined, crystal clear production that suits them greatly. If you liked the raw sound of the originals you may not share the same sentiment, but either way, the execution is hard to fault.

This EP leads me to a few conclusions. Without taking anything away from their past work, VISION DIVINE are currently in one of the strongest periods of their career. All members bring years of experience with them, resulting in what may be the band’s most mature era. At the same time they do not sound tired or like ghosts of their past selves. Take Luppi for example. All songs demonstrate that his voice is in prime condition, so I couldn’t think of a better choice. The instrumental parts are rich and energetic as well. Most importantly, both VISION DIVINE and LABYRINTH have been on a spectacular run in the past few years, with “A Clockwork Reverie” cementing that status. It hints at a great new dawn for the band and I am very eager to see what the new line-up can achieve in their next full-length. If this was just an appetizer, I am more than ready for the main course.

80/100

Pavlos Pavlakis   

100: Godsent

90s: Excellent

80s: Very good

70s: Good

60s: Enjoyable

50s: Uninspired

40s: Bad

0s -30s: Unlistenable