Avtor: Rok Klemše
Izvajalec: Pagan's Mind
Založba: Diversity Media
Izid: 2007
Norway is known musically mostly for weirdos stomping around the Norwegian fjords in corpse paint, with an unstoppable urge to flip crosses 180 degrees and worshipping the Goat at every turn. Sadly, because of the dominant black metal, the other genres coming out of the north of Scandinavia stay more or less, and unfairly, overlooked. One such act is the progressive metal band Pagan’s Mind, who turned heads with their first three albums, Infinity Divine (2001), Celestial Entrance (2002) and Enigmatic: Calling (2005). They seemed to have no idea how to screw up, since all three in a row delivered progressive metal with symphonic power metal touches and otherworldly, ethereal atmospheres, at the highest possible level of quality.
November 2007 brought their fourth studio album in a row, God’s Equation, and one look at the cover shows that Pagan’s Mind are sticking to their charted course of sci-fi and enlightenment themes. A quick skim of the track titles makes it easy to see that a lot of them are pretty brainless, cliché affairs like Atomic Firelight, Evolution Exceed and Alien Kamikaze. Yep, you read that right, Alien Kamikaze. But you can’t judge a book by its cover, right? Sadly, not this time: God’s Equation is one of the bigger disappointments of this year. Pagan’s Mind were never exactly famous for big musical evolution, since their first three records don’t differ all that much, but their passion for creating intellectual, spiritual metal made those albums very listenable. God’s Equation doesn’t bring anything new either; if anything, you could say Pagan’s Mind are repeating themselves quite a bit, while at the same time trying to wedge in some pretty experimental parts here and there, which mostly don’t pay off. A calm acoustic intro, The Conception, takes us on an interstellar journey, with ethereal guitar lines and a mystical atmosphere, which is then cut through by the hard-hitting title track, which is both one of the brighter moments of the album and even one of the best songs they’ve ever written. It has all those “trademark” elements that made Pagan’s Mind special: punchy, groovy riffs, excellent, melodic vocals built up into a phenomenal chorus, and mysterious, ambient keyboards. United Alliance carries on with similar quality, its intro delighting us with powerful drums and typical keyboard melodies, but then, unlike previous Pagan’s Mind releases, which were distinguished by nothing but great songs, God’s Equation takes a steep nosedive. Already with Atomic Firelight it feels like Pagan’s Mind are seriously running out of ideas, like they’re recycling themselves, and worst of all, the really good vocals of Nils K. Rue get buried time and again under layers of all sorts of weird effects. On top of that, they stuck a cover right in the middle of the album, and it sticks out like a sore thumb from an otherwise totally coherent record. Hallo Spaceboy by David Bowie is solidly done, but it would have worked better as a bonus track or at the very end of the album. Evolution Exceed, an almost thrash-style blast, lifts the quality of the record a bit again, but unfortunately it’s followed by one of the worst songs Pagan’s Mind have ever written, the dreadful Alien Kamikaze, which lives up completely to its idiotic title. Sadly, the remaining minutes spin by in much the same fashion. I had high hopes for the closing, almost nine-minute epic Osiris’ Triumphant Return, announced by Farewall with a reprise of the gorgeous opening motif. Nearly nine minutes of waiting doesn’t go by easily, though; it actually just drags, and the album’s ending is soulless and boring. I don’t think Osiris will be making a triumphant return any time soon.
After the first three albums, you could have easily predicted a brilliant career for Pagan’s Mind, but now, after what they’ve given us on God’s Equation, I have serious doubts. All we can do is hope the Norwegians pull themselves together and give us something of higher quality on number five.
Lineup
Nils K. Rue – vocals
Jørn Viggo Lofstad – guitar
Steinar Krokmo – bass
Ronny Tegner – keyboards
Stian Lindaas Kristoffersen – drums
Production
Pagan’s Mind
Tracklist
1. The Conception 02:03
2. God’s Equation 07:57
3. United Alliance 05:04
4. Atomic Firelight 05:19
5. Hallo Spaceboy 05:30
6. Evolution Exceed 06:08
7. Alien Kamikaze 04:37
8. Painted Skies 06:33
9. Spirit Starcruiser 06:02
10. Farewell 02:10
11. Osiris’ Triumphant Return 08:45
