martindavey87 ‘Celestial Entrance’ is the second album by Norwegian progressive metal band Pagan’s Mind. Released in 2002, it sees a vast improvement upon the groups 2000 debut, with song-writing, instrumentation and vocals all taking a huge step up in quality.

I first got into Pagan’s Mind by stumbling upon some of their music videos on YouTube, and found myself instantly digging their sound. So when my first album experience of theirs was their debut, 2000’s ‘Infinity Divine’, I was slightly disappointed. I just felt like the music wasn’t very inspired, and that vocalist Nils K. Rue (who is absolutely fantastic, by the way!), maybe hadn’t quite found his niche in the band.

That all changes with ‘Celestial Entrance’.

The band really hit their stride here, with a sound a bit more their own. With some fantastic compositions, excellent musicianship, including some remarkable interplay between the guitars and keyboards, and of course, the aforementioned Nils K. Rue, who’s vocals are incredible, and has really found their place in the music.

While a couple of the tracks are still fairly hit-or-miss, there is plenty to enjoy here. ‘Aegean Shores’, ‘…Of Epic Questions’ and ‘Back to the Magic of Childhood’ are all great tracks that are well worth repeated listens. But the true gems are ‘Approaching/Through Osiris Eyes’ and ‘Dreamscape Lucidity’. Both songs are absolute masterpieces, and the album is worth checking out for these alone. Then there’s the closing track which horribly rips off Dream Theater’s ‘Leaning to Live’, in key, melody, even the lyrics are almost identical. It’s a weirdly hilarious but forgivable way to end the album.

Overall, Pagan’s Mind will go on to release much stronger albums than this, but this is a solid follow-up to their debut, and a highly recommended addition to the collection of any progressive or power metal fan.

siLLy puPPy Norway may have been the epicenter for the explosion of black metal in the 90s, but the small nation of only 5.3 million inhabitants has had more than its share of stellar progressive metal bands emerge from within its borders as well. Of course the biggest contenders are Enslaved, Arcturus, Ved Buens Ende and even Leprous but another band that formed in Skien was PAGAN’S MIND who followed in the footsteps of the American band Watchtower and crafted an interesting sound that added plenty of technical wizardry along with the more melodic elements of band’s like Dream Theater, early Queensryche and even the power metal bombast of Helloween.

Formed by Nils K. Rue (vocals), Thorstein Aaby (guitars) and Stian Kristoffersen (drums) in the year 2000 from the ashes of Silverspoon, the trio successful scouted the cream of the crop Norwegian metal musicians lurking in those fjords and found Jørn Viggo Lofstad (guitars), Steinar Krokmo (bass) and Ronny Tegner (keyboards) and wasted no time releasing their debut album INFINITY DIVINE which came out in the same year. The album was a success commercially and critically but the band was unhappy with the results and thus a new version emerged in 2004 with certain tracks re-recorded, a new spruced up mixing job and even a couple bonus tracks including a new version of “Embracing Fear” as well as a killer cover of King Diamond’s classic “At The Graves.”

I have to admit that i am unfamiliar with the original version as i own the 2004 re-release so all comments and my rating is based on that version. Basically PAGAN’S MIND delivers a more technical style of progressive power metal. On the power metal side of the equation, certain tracks clearly bring early Helloween to mind with those classic backbeat drumming techniques and power guitar riffs but some of the slower acoustic parts are more reminiscent of Crimson Glory as well as Nils Rue’s powerful vocal performances. There are also moments where he sounds like Geoff Tate in the early US power metal phase of early Queensryche which places him in the top taken category for his wide power range that spans many octaves.

On the progressive metal side of the fence, PAGAN’S MIND clearly did their homework studying Watchtower’s two landmark albums from the 80s and while not as angular and jittery, the band borrows some of the thrash riffs as well as some of the jazz-infused compositional elements that give it that advanced musician’s feel. Add to that there are clear references to Dream Theater especially in the keyboard department with crazy lightning fast keyboard solos as well as spaced out atmospheric embellishments however even the riffing often reminds me of stylistic approaches on “Awake.” With all the aforementioned styles, PAGAN’S MIND flawlessly delivers an incessant rampage of high quality prog power metal without missing a beat. The band also delivers a creative mix of riffing styles, drumming patterns and Rue’s vocal prowess takes everything to a ridiculously high level of coolness as well as keeping things from stagnating with interesting guitar tones, creative uses of pauses and dynamics.

Not sure about the 2000 version of this but i can highly recommend the 2004 re-release as the production is warm and inviting and the musicianship is as good as it gets without sacrificing any creative juices from flowing. You can think of this as a more accessible form of Watchtower or a proggier mix of Helloween, Queensryche and Crimson Glory but no matter how you slice it, PAGAN’S MIND stands out as one of the more gifted bands in the legion of prog metal bands that emerged after the success of Dream Theater’s 90s run. Another reason to hunt down the 2004 version is that the King Diamond cover “At The Graves” is worth the price of admission alone as it matches and exceeds the fiery passion that the original delivered with extra technicalities introduced without sacrificing the emotional connection of the original. It’s good enough to make the King himself bow down in humility. That good.

martindavey87 Yikes! What is this?! Did I pick up the right album? This isn't the same Pagan's Mind who had that awesome video for 'Through Osiris' Eyes' is it? This isn't the same band who released 'God's Equation" surely?

Oh God... it is.

I was so excited when I finally came around to getting a Pagan's Mind album. I'd heard a few of their songs beforehand and was instantly won over. They have a good reputation amongst the progressive and power metal scenes, and I thought for sure this is a band I would really dig. Sadly for me, my first official venture into the music of Pagan's Mind would come through their debut album, and boy, this album sucks!

It's not that the music is terrible, it's just so uninspired. The riffs are so devoid of any life or emotion. The keyboards seem tacked in to make the music feel more spacey, whilst not really adding anything at all. And the vocals... what happened?! Nils K. Rue is one of my favourite vocalists, but this is horrendous. Whiny, screechy, and again, very uninspired (a recurring theme here), the vocals on this record are just awful. They're very irritating and I don't think there is a single instance where the vocal melody actually suits the music. Or vice versa. As a whole this album is just... "there".

So why the two-star rating then? Because thankfully there is one saving grace to 'Infinity Divine', and that's the closing song, 'A New Beginning'. Sure, the vocals kind of ruin that song too, but damn it if that intro doesn't get heads banging nothing will.

I'm clutching at straws here, but I'll take what I can. Shoddy debut, but better things are coming.

Primeval Scum I had been hearing the name Pagan's Mind thrown around a lot recently, with comparisons to Dream Theater. Despite my dislike for Dream Theater, I finally decided to check out Pagan's Mind's highest rated album on RYM, "Celestial Entrance".

My expectations weren't particularly high, but I was immediately drawn into the album by "Through Osiris' Eyes". The song is now one of my favorite power metal songs of all time, featuring a chorus that is simply beautiful, epic and melodic. Though the rest of the album never quite reaches the level of eargasm I experienced on the second track, there is no shortage of great songs.

There is a nice variety here. There are the slower, more melodic songs like "Through Osiris' Eyes" and blazing-fast heavier songs like "The Seven Sacred Promises". Perhaps the most technically impressive sequence in Pagan's Mind's entire career is the two-part Back To The Magic of Childhood instrumental. "Part 2: Exploring Life" in particular is stuffed full of sheer awesomeness and great riffs. It was nice to heard this band just do its thing and shred and make wonderful music without relying on Nils K Rue.

The overall sound Pagan's Mind goes for is sort of a blend of power metal and progressive metal. The songs are quite long with a lot of progressive elements, keyboards and complex riffing, but the vocals are the sort more often heard in power metal (high, operatic choruses...etc).

Not including the intro, here are my ratings for each song: 2. Through Osiris' Eyes - 5/5 3. Entrance: Stargate - 3/5 4. ...Of Epic Questions - 4.5/5 5. Dimensions of Fire - 3/5 6. Dreamscape Lucidity - 4/5 7. The Seven Sacred Promises - 4/5 8. Back to the Magic of Childhood, Part 1: Conception - 3.5/5 9. Back to the Magic of Childhood, Part 2: Exploring Life - 4.5/5 10. In Brilliant White Light - 2.5/5 11. Aegean Shores - 4/5 12. The Prophecy of Pleiades - 3/5

Overall : 3.73/5

Warthur Pagan's Mind may have an "Enigmatic Calling" but their musical agenda here couldn't be more easily digestible, offering up mostly traditional power metal fare with sufficient influence from progressive metal to add some interesting twists to proceedings. With a futuristic sheen added at points by Ronny Tegner's keyboards, I'm reminded of a mashup of the prog-leaning approach Iron Maiden took on Seventh Son of a Seventh Son with the aesthetic they adopted for Somewhere In Time, which is no bad thing. Vocalist Nils K. Rue takes the opportunity to show off some impressive range to boot, helping set Pagan's Mind ahead of the pack, but the musical backing itself is sufficiently generic that you're only likely to give this heavy rotation if you are very into the more prog-flirting end of power metal.