Pagan's Mind - Heavenly Ecstasy

Progressive Metal
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

Pagan's Mind - God's Equation

Progressive Metal
Limb Music

2007

1. The Conception
2. God's Equation
3. United Alliance
4. Atomic Firelight
5. Hallo Spaceboy (David Bowie cover)
6. Evolution Exceed
7. Alien Kamikaze
8. Painted Skies
9. Spirit Starcruiser
10. Farewell
11. Osiris' Triumphant Return

Pagan's Mind is a name that is recognized by most serious followers of progressive and power metal at this point so I don't think they need much introduction. This is just one of those releases where any fan of this style has to look forward to it and wonder what will they do next.

Well the answer in my opinion has to be 'continue to kick ass'. I've been a little slow in getting this review out there so I've already read a few other reviews, some of which have said the band has dropped the ball, but I think that is far from the truth. On this release Pagan's Mind did exactly what they needed to do and that's not release the same sort of album again and keep things fresh. Throughout God's Equation I get a feeling of genuine experimentation through different styles, including a very cool and strangely catchy cover of David Bowie's Hallo Spaceboy. At many times this album seems to draw more from progressive rock than progressive metal cliches and in this reviewers opinion it works very well. In a genre as sometimes stagnant as progressive metal I like this sort of adventurous approach. Maybe not as directly ripping but majestic, catchy, and varied I find this album to be another winner under Pagan's Mind's belt. From rich atmospheres to quirky prog rock and back to sheer ripping metal like Alien Kamikaze, which is probably their most direct metal tune to date, I like what I hear.

In conclusion this is a damn good experimental progressive metal album with roots in prog rock. This one may take a little more time to digest (as it did for me), but what I'm left with is a varied and interesting release from these budding progressive metal greats.

Highlights: Evolution Exceed, Alien Kamikaze, United Alliance, Hallo Spaceboy

Rating - 4.0/5

Pagan's Mind - Enigmatic : Calling

Progressive Metal
LMP

2005

1. The Celestine Prophecy
2. Enigmatic Mission
3. Supremacy,Our Kind
4. Entrance To Infinity
5. Coming Home (instrumental)
6. Celestial Calling
7. Taken
8. Resurrection Back In Time
9. Appearance (instrumental)
10. Search For Life
11. New World Order

After 3 years of wait, the follow up to the critically accalimed progressive opus named Celestial Entrance is here. Often when an album is forced to follow such an album it is inevitably a disappointment, but I'm happy to say that it's not the case here. Fan's of the band and progressive in general should not be disappointed with what they find.


Enigmatic Calling continues to forge on in their own sound while still remaining creative and building on what they've already done. The soaring vocals are as strong as ever and layed over constantly changing yet heavy and well structured songs. While many progressive bands are content to emulate what other prog bands like Queensryche and Dream Theater have done, Pagan's Mind sets themselves apart as a true force in the genre. The songs are technical, but not just for the sake of it, and retain a certain catchy heavyness. Most of all they don't get too bogged down in experimenting and keep things metal and somewhat accessible. If more progressive was up to this level I would like the genre a whole lot more. This is just a good show of innovation without overdoing it.

Highlights: Entrance To Infinity, Supremacy Our Kind, Celestial Calling, New World Order

Rating - 4.0/5