I went though a spell where I thought Visions was their best, but it was fleeting. I do love how the production and keyboard sounds give it kind of a gritty and dirty feel, and the title track and Deathless are undoubtedly two of their best songs.
For me, the run from Insomnia to Deathless is perfect. I still have a high regard for the epic Visions, but over the years, I got tired listening to it. It has the opposite flaw of Celestial Elixir. While Celestial Elixir's problem is that there is no proper climax or payoff that's worth the time listening to such long piece of music, Visions' problem is that it has so many climaxes.
On another note, I just like to say that I love Ray Hearne's drumming. It's a shame he's not talked about much as one of the top prog drummers of this generation. I guess what's lacking with him is that he does not yet have a signature sound, the way Mangini, Portnoy, Jarzombek, Donati, Minnemann is recognizable just by hearing how the drums are played. He's like the Alan White of prog metal.