Eleventh album in for Symphonic Metallers 'Virgin Steele' and they continue in their usual bombastic fashion, which at times is pretty reminiscent of a more melodic 'Manowar'. 'Visions of Eden' goes under the full title of “The Lilith Project- A Barbaric Romantic Movie of the Mind” and despite the pretentiousness, is a pretty accurate description of a concept which explores the biblical Adam and Lilith. Personally I find the theme a bit weighty, but 'David DeFeis' has done a superb job both musically and lyrically to construct a wonderful 80 minute epic. But and this is a big but, whilst 'DeFeis' has done so magnificently in the studio, he has let the album down with a very wishy-washy, light-weight production.

The concept unfolds very strongly with the masterfully melodic, mid-tempo rocker 'Immortal I Stand', which combines both driving rhythm with sublime keyboards for a magnificent melody, while the splendid chorus and 'David DeFeis's' crisp vocals just further enhance. Equally impressive is the epic 'Adorned with the Rising Cobra', which commences with a piano driven intro indicative of 'Savatage' and yet again is wonderfully harmonious with plenty of passion fuelled vocals, unsurprisingly as with all the material present, gloriously penned and executed. 'The Ineffable Name' ensues in a slightly more aggressive pulsating manner and at times has slight 'Manowar' undertones both musically and lyrically, the featured tempo changes and orchestration are shrewd and fitting, helping make this another respectable cut. Not quite so striking is the harder edged 'Black Light on Black', there's plenty of potential, but I don't like some of the shrilly vocal work and the unnecessary swearing, overlooking this the arrangements are as always excellent. Next up is the hard rocking 'Bonedust' which initially is reminiscent of 'Messiah's Kiss' especially with the style of heavy driving rhythm, the astute melodic mid track change of direction is a nice touch, before the tempo is restored to conclude the track. The mid point of the album is reached with the subdued ballad 'Angel of Death', which musically has a very powerful end of album feel, so to me seems out of place, despite this it's a wonderfully and passionately crafted song, you can really feel the sentiment in 'DeFeis's' voice and overlooking the dodgy choir towards the end, another winner. Following with the slower material is 'God Above God' which introduces more acoustic sounds, personally a little long-winded and maybe a tad pretentious, but features some nice fret work courtesy of 'Edward Pursino'. The momentum is increased with the mid-tempo rocker 'The Hidden God', a winding, slightly mystical track, which emphasises plenty of variation, at times a little reminiscent of previous material on the album, but nevertheless another solid effort. Brisker still is the harder hitting 'Child Slayer' a strangely arranged song, driven heavily by 'Frank Gilchrist's' drums, regrettable at times these come across as too mechanical, but all said 'David DeFeis' again steals the show with a glorious performance. The tempo softens for the penultimate track the poignant ballad 'When Dusk Fell', which despite being a slightly drawn-out affair is still beautifully performed, at times has a 'Queensrÿche' feel, but 'David DeFeis' stamps his superlative keyboards and vocals all over this, while being braced by nice guitar licks from 'Edward Pursino'. The concept bows out with the title track, a sweeping harmonious piece that opens with a piano intro, only to develop into a mid-paced rocker, lyrically strong and combines many pace changes to make for a strong and fitting conclusion.

Beautiful work throughout and full respect to 'David DeFeis', but ultimately you can't listen to 'Visions of Eden' without thinking how much better it would sound with a superior production.