Pagan’s Mind : Heavenly Ecstasy
by Franco Cerchiari
Staff Writer
Norway, long known for the black metal sounds of Immortal, Kampfar, Enslaved, Old Man’s Child and others, also have to give to the fans of the power metal genre, such bands as Age of Silence, Beautiful Sin, the excellent Winds and this, with hints of power, progressive and death metal, Pagan’s Mind, Heavenly Ecstasy. While some may assume so many styles would only offer a detracting stance to the overall sound, when hearing such tracks as “Revelation to the End,” the outstanding “Follow Your Way,” the fist-pumping, “The Master’s Voice,” and “Never Walk Alone,” these delusional thoughts are quickly silenced.
But, guttural vocals, keyboards and sweeping choruses do not necessarily a progressive power metal band make. Granted, each of these components are an integral part of the overall sound of such a genre, but what must be included – and felt – are the lyrics, the musicianship, the sound coming from each of these tracks, and how the individual tracks sound as a completed CD. So, in that light, it must be said, thank the Lord for such bands as Pagan’s Mind, in that what they do, they do well. Very well.
The sound is heavy, yet melodic, theatrical but not pretentious, and in the times when such death vocals are heard, they make sense and only add to the feel. Which is what makes Pagan’s Mind so good at what they do. Rather than have guttural vocals for little more than the sake of having guttural vocals, here they add an emotion, a punch to the gut effect. Listen to the dramatic, moody (albeit short) CD intro, “Contact,“ the downtrodden guitars of “Eyes of Love,” the screams of “Into the Aftermath,” the incredible drums and piano of “Live Your Life Like A Dream,” and the beautiful, soothing sounds of the ballad “When Angels Unite.”
It is truly ideal when a band, upon gathering together for the sake of creating a new release, that the overall vision is taken into consideration. One can surmise that Pagan’s Mind came to the studio with the question: what do we want the feel of this CD to be? What do we want the audience to take away from this music? And what is it we, and most important of all — what direction do we have to take so that at first listen, the audience will “get” what we are trying to do? And the end result is that this is a CD that answers all those questions. It’s is rich and tuneful, with all the instruments coming together perfectly, and never at any time do they compete for space. The sound is excellently mixed, the melodic vocals outstanding and as the various sounds of progressive, metal and rock come together it plays out wonderfully. The vision of the CD is evident, and each track was written carefully, taking into consideration “the direction” that needed to be taken, so we feel of the songwriter’s emotions.
Although it has been a long four years since their last studio release, 2007’s God’s Equation, Pagan’s Mind has been on tour appearing in some of the world’s biggest progressive and metal festivals, and sharing a stage with such metal dignitaries as Fate’s Warning, Sonata Arctica, Brainstorm and Stratovarius. So while the time away from the studio has been too lengthy, what we have here has indeed made up for such an absence of new material. So it is a good thing when it can be said “the wait has certainly been worth it.”
Genre – Progressive Power Metal
Track Listing:
Contact
Eyes Of Fire
Intermission
Into The Aftermath
Walk Away In Silence
Revelation To The End
Follow Your Way
Live Your Life Like A Dream
The Master’s Voice
Never Walk Alone
When Angels Unite
Band Members
Nils K. Rue – vocals
Jorn Viggo Lofstad – guitars
Steinar Krokmo – bass
Stian Kristoggersen – drums
Ronny Tegner – keyboards
Label – SPV/Steamhammer
Hardrock Haven Rating: 8.8/10