01. The Perfect Machine
02. First Day Of A Never-ending Day
03. The Ancestor's Blood
04. Land Of Fear
05. God Is Dead
06. Rising Sun
07. Here In 6048
08. The River
09. Now That You've Gone
10. The Needle Lies [Queensrÿche cover] [Japanese bonus]
11. New Eden [2005 version] [Re-release bonus]
12. Send Me An Angel [2005 version] [Re-release bonus]
13. Pain [2005 version] [Re-release bonus]

I'll admit it: I always considered Vision Divine a side project of Rhapsody Of Fire's Fabio Lione, and so not worth my listening. At least until a friend of mine recommended that I try The Perfect Machine, first of all for its concept. That's been my first reason to trust this band; in fact, I consider concept albums on a higher level than normal ones.

The concept is one of the most beautiful and intelligent I've ever heard. In the future, man has reached great scientific results, like defeating illness and death, to feel like a "perfect machine" which doesn't need God's help. Hearing this, God decides to leave man the freedom he is asking for. But God's departure leaves man empty inside, unable to feel joy and emotions. So the humanity recognizes his error, asking for forgiveness, which obviously God accords. This is the most touching and meaningful topic I found in any power metal band.

Music-wise, this album was a real surprise. First of all, the singer is not Fabio Lione, but another Italian talented singer, Michele Luppi. His particular and high-pitched voice instantly caught my attention: his vocal range seems made just to follow Vision Divine's cheesy notes.

Then, on the songwriting level, the band shows once again great talent, displaying great experience but also innovative ideas. Olaf Thorsen's riffs are catchy and well related to the lyrics, solos are really interesting and show a pretty good technique. In general, every instrument, including the fundamental keyboard, which often guides the song, seems well balanced with each other, and the final result is a really great journey after which you'll find yourself repeating the choruses over and over, feeling like you have known them for years.

I found only one low point in this album: the song structure is always pretty much the same, even with some modifications, and every song risks to sound a bit too much one like another. It's an effect which certainly helps in a concept album, linking every track with the others, but sounds too emphasized. An example is the chorus structure. Even if they are really great, as previously stated, they're all quite the same: a wide chorus begins, and Luppi answers. It's a really good frame, but here seems overused.

But, in the end, this is a really little blemish, and The Perfect Machine remains a great album, which made me think about my life and enjoy charming melodies. Some advice: don't listen to the tracks individually. Take an hour for yourself, relax, and enjoy the full experience. Vision Divine won't leave you disappointed.

Performance:	9
Songwriting:	9
Originality:	8
Production:	9