Steamhammer
2011
1. Contact
2. Eyes Of Fire
3. Intermission
4. Into The Aftermath
5. Walk Away In Silence
6. Revelation To The End
7. Follow Your Way
8. Live Your Life Like A Dream
9. The Master's Voice
10. Never Walk Alone
11. When Angels Unite
Heavenly Ecstasy marks the 5th release from Pagan's Mind and I've got to say that I've been enjoying all the band's releases to this point. I have a sort of love/hate relationship with the Progressive genre, but these guys have been good. Pagan's Mind represents the kind of Prog Metal that I like fairly well. Good emphasis on melodies and songwriting over just tinkering, soloing, and showing off. Technical music has it's place when rooted in strong song structure. Structure can be challenging, but can't be lost.
That being said, I think this album does the right things and plays to the band's strengths. Nils K Rue is a great singer and this strikes me as a fairly vocal-centric sort of album. Strong vocals seem to drive the songs here and the music complements them well. The album sets the tone early by starting off with a strong emphasis on melody and atmosphere on the first couple of tracks. I have no complaints with this at all as both Eyes Of Fire and Intermission are very powerful sounding. As to not get boring though, along comes Into The Aftermath with more of a guitar driven sound and this is also done well before getting back to the melodic approach on Walk Away In Silence.
From here on this is about how the album gos. Some heavier moments in songs like Revelation To The End and a lot of focus on melody and soaring vocals overall. Another heavier one worth noting is The Master's Voice which features some harsh vocals here and there and much more of a heavy guitar focus. For the most part though I find this album tends to hit home more based on melody and power than heaviness or technicality. This could be a mark down for some of the more technically minded progressive types, but not really for me.
In the end, this sounds like the Pagan's Mind we know and has some strong songs on it. I think there's enough here for most in terms of both heaviness and melody though it may lean a bit more on the later. Personally, I'm highly satisfied with the end result.
Highlights: Eyes Of Fire, Intermission, Walk Away In Silence, Live Your Life Like A Dream
Rating - 4.0/5
2. Eyes Of Fire
3. Intermission
4. Into The Aftermath
5. Walk Away In Silence
6. Revelation To The End
7. Follow Your Way
8. Live Your Life Like A Dream
9. The Master's Voice
10. Never Walk Alone
11. When Angels Unite
Heavenly Ecstasy marks the 5th release from Pagan's Mind and I've got to say that I've been enjoying all the band's releases to this point. I have a sort of love/hate relationship with the Progressive genre, but these guys have been good. Pagan's Mind represents the kind of Prog Metal that I like fairly well. Good emphasis on melodies and songwriting over just tinkering, soloing, and showing off. Technical music has it's place when rooted in strong song structure. Structure can be challenging, but can't be lost.
That being said, I think this album does the right things and plays to the band's strengths. Nils K Rue is a great singer and this strikes me as a fairly vocal-centric sort of album. Strong vocals seem to drive the songs here and the music complements them well. The album sets the tone early by starting off with a strong emphasis on melody and atmosphere on the first couple of tracks. I have no complaints with this at all as both Eyes Of Fire and Intermission are very powerful sounding. As to not get boring though, along comes Into The Aftermath with more of a guitar driven sound and this is also done well before getting back to the melodic approach on Walk Away In Silence.
From here on this is about how the album gos. Some heavier moments in songs like Revelation To The End and a lot of focus on melody and soaring vocals overall. Another heavier one worth noting is The Master's Voice which features some harsh vocals here and there and much more of a heavy guitar focus. For the most part though I find this album tends to hit home more based on melody and power than heaviness or technicality. This could be a mark down for some of the more technically minded progressive types, but not really for me.
In the end, this sounds like the Pagan's Mind we know and has some strong songs on it. I think there's enough here for most in terms of both heaviness and melody though it may lean a bit more on the later. Personally, I'm highly satisfied with the end result.
Highlights: Eyes Of Fire, Intermission, Walk Away In Silence, Live Your Life Like A Dream
Rating - 4.0/5
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