Vision Divine

Vision Divine are an Italian power metal band founded in 1998 by guitarist Olaf Thörsen — the stage name of Carlo Andrea Magnani — who at the time was a member of Labyrinth. The project began as an outlet for ideas that did not fit that band, and took shape with the arrival of vocalist Fabio Lione, then also in Rhapsody, forming a creative pairing that would define the group's sound: Italian melody on an epic scale, symphonic keyboards, and writing that pulls toward power metal and progressive metal in equal measure. The self-titled debut appeared in 1999 and was followed by Send Me an Angel (2002), the record that consolidated the band's identity and still ranks among fan favourites. Lione then left and was replaced by Michele Luppi, who sang on Stream of Consciousness (2004) and The Perfect Machine (2005) — the first a denser, more progressive concept work, the second a push into more modern, mechanical territory, both received as the most experimental passages of the discography. Lione returned in 2007, bringing with him a move back toward the symphonic power metal of the band's origins. 9 Degrees West of the Moon (2009) and Destination Set to Nowhere (2012) confirmed that direction, with sturdier production and broad choruses. Throughout this period the band worked around the schedules of its two pillars' other projects — Thörsen's Labyrinth and Lione's long list of bands, including Rhapsody of Fire, Angra and Turilli/Lione Rhapsody — which explains the irregular gaps between releases. After seven years of silence, When All the Heroes Are Dead arrived in 2019, a heavier and darker album than its predecessors, its themes marked by disillusion and collapse. Blood and Angels' Tears, released in 2024, kept the group active and showed the Thörsen–Lione core still productive more than twenty-five years after its founding. Within Italian metal, Vision Divine occupy a distinctive position: they never reached the commercial reach of Rhapsody of Fire, but they built a more varied and restless discography than the country's power metal average, alternating between melodic epic, progressive concept work and frankly dark passages. For many listeners this is the band where Fabio Lione had the most interpretive freedom outside fantasy repertoire — and Olaf Thörsen's principal vehicle as a composer.