Like most music in this style, the band is better on the faster songs. When they trip into ballad territory, the songs tend to get a little overwrought and melodramatic. That’s certainly the case on “Rising Sun” and “Here in 6048,” which reminds me of Warrant. That’s never a good thing. Never, ever, fucking ever.

They recover from that slump with another one of those big riffs on “The River,” which is on a more solid power metal footing similar to the band’s past work. The record comes to a strong close with the military-march riffing of “Now That You’ve Gone.” I do wish the band would have put more balls in that opening guitar riff, but it’s still one of the strongest efforts here. The jazzy runs about three-quarters of the way through the song are a nice touch, too.

Now, back to that concept. I know a lot of power metal fans love the concept album, and I like it, too, but the concept can get away from you (like when you need a couple of paragraphs of liner notes in front of each song to explain what’s going on). Still, Vision Divine handles it well here, and the album works as a whole without any knowledge of the concept or the liner notes.

The Perfect Machine isn’t awe-inspiring, but it is a very strong blend of prog and power. Fans of both styles should find something to like here.