Artist: Pagan's Mind
Label: SPV Records
Release: 2011
Runtime: 66:46
Rating: 2.5/5
The new Pagan’s Mind have pushed out an album that will surely be the easiest of all their studio releases for the masses to get into! The previous album “God’s Equation” (2007) already hinted at a move toward minimalism (which is almost too harsh a word in this case), and “Heavenly Ecstasy” digs deeper into that, right up to a turning point. I’ve got the version with two bonus tracks, so there are 13 songs on the album in total. Since those two sound very much like the rest of the regular material, this time we’ll treat the album as a bundle of 13 equal tracks.
Pagan’s Mind are considered a European prog metal act that has managed to carve out a recognizable style on the prog metal map. You’d certainly expect a new album from them to be a barrage of ruthlessly complex song structures, drenched in plenty of prog metal wizardry. But the guys obviously wanted a change and took a different musical direction. I’d even call it a mini-revolutionary one.
At the expense of less complication, the choruses are now the centerpiece, and a power metal template for arranging songs is stepping more and more to the front alongside them. That is, verse-pre-chorus-chorus. Of course, we couldn’t talk about the album being very accessible if Pagan’s Mind got tangled up in combining motifs that are hard to fit together. They’re far too experienced to wander into a dead end, so there’s no fear on that front.
The problem with the album lies elsewhere, though. The first half is excellent, while in the second half things get a bit watered down. But let’s take it from the top.
In the opener Eyes Of Fire, Pagan’s Mind still show their prog metal roots, because despite the very accessible lead melodies they “spit out” a few breakneck transitions that point to the musicians’ incredibly brilliant technical polish. Intermission, on the other hand, is literally stripped of prog metal elements and is therefore a proper power metal charge, with a ridiculously catchy chorus riding high on the wings of bombastic arrogance. This is a track that, in an edited, radio-friendly version, would make a real candidate for a single. Walk Away In Silence is another such moment on the album, even though it brings a completely different atmosphere. It’s interesting how the keyboards in this track are minimized to the role of a gentle sonic blanket that merely strengthens the atmospheric backdrop to the wall of guitar riffs. Yet here too Pagan’s Mind once again play a winning poker hand of aces in the pompous chorus. A second single candidate, then!
You could say the punchiness of the production has grown in line with the simplified style. The riffs are sharpened more dangerously in the mix than ever before. The guitar tone is tuned lower and sounds modern and smeared, with less control, and the vocal lines in the songs are deliberately run through a distortion effect more than once. That’s how Into The Aftermath “bites”, a truly special track in Pagan’s Mind’s career when it comes to experimenting and flirting with trends. But don’t worry. Despite all the novelties, the band has kept its recognizable musical face.
Revelation To The End is a track that unveils the band’s new face in one go over eight minutes. Incredible how fitting the title is. Those eight minutes are enough to instantly form a picture of the whole of “Heavenly Ecstasy”. This track throws the classic prog metal elements of Pagan’s Mind, which the band has always spoiled us with, into the melting pot, and in the same breath it features a pompous (power metal-minded) chorus, and it’s also equipped with some extreme guitar phrases, deliberately in a modern, squeaky-rasping smear. And yet. The band manages to hold on to its recognizable face this time too, which means they saved their skin in this experiment as well.
One of the boldest experiments in simplifying the Pagan’s Mind face and bringing in modern sonic structures comes from the track Follow Your Way. A smeared, loose riff leaves open space, which Pagan’s Mind skillfully fill with predatory rhythmic tightness. And of course, there’s once again an infectious bombastic chorus melody, which earns the band its winning points.
From here on, though, the album starts to go watery. Live Your Life Like A Dream doesn’t budge an inch from the worn-out, thousand-times-soaked form of melodic arrangement, and the sped-up The Master’s Voice after it, in its search for an aggressive face, brings Pagan’s Mind closest to the reach of the new Helloween, which is hardly an achievement worth mentioning. Here too we get vocals sung through a distortion effect, which shows the band’s shared desire for a modernized sound. In Never Walk Alone as well, Pagan’s Mind seem to have no more interesting solutions to offer musically, and the second-to-last track, Create Your Destiny, leaves a similarly lukewarm feeling. There, the drumming is extremely important, with the lively wit of its transitions, especially the wise use of the double bass pedal, effectively filling the empty space left by the lining up of simple, power metal-style riff templates. The drumming is hugely important on this album, as it maintains the required dynamics, especially in the predictable and less interesting spots. When Angels Unite is a syrupy filler that steals two extra minutes from the listener. Luckily the excellent Power Of Mindscape is placed at the end, where the combination of excellent vocal solutions and a dynamic mix of piano arrangements really shines. A highly atmospheric, punchy track that happily brings the album back to the quality level of its first half at the close. Even though it’s labeled a “bonus”.
This is an album where Pagan’s Mind, in order to bring their sound closer to the modern, sacrificed part of the unique creative streak that adorns their classic prog metal albums. They unwittingly took a step back, even though they were trying to measure out a step forward. Fans of the band will end up more disappointed than thrilled. But it will appeal especially to those of you who didn’t know the band before this album and aren’t burdened by their past work.
The “experiment” only half worked for the band. In the first part of the album, Pagan’s Mind prove they can keep their recognizable confidence throughout, since the integration of the novelties was successful there. Sadly, though, there are a few fillers that take away from the album’s credibility. That’s why the next album will be very important for the band. It will show whether Pagan’s Mind will successfully get through the transition of their sound as they’ve set it up, while keeping their recognizable musical integrity, or whether they’ll lose the credibility built on their earlier studio work after all. So. The new album isn’t bad, but listening to it still leaves a void, along with the realization, which unmistakably hints that Pagan’s Mind are capable of delivering studio works of far greater expressive insight and tangibility.
Line-up
Nils K. Rue – vocals
Jørn Viggo Lofstad – guitar
Ronny Tegner – keyboards
Steinar Krokmo – bass
Stian Lindaas Kristoffersen – drums
Track list
1. Contact (0:48)
2. Eyes of Fire (5:48)
3. Intermission (5:41)
4. Into the Aftermath (5:18)
5. Walk Away in Silence (5:08)
6. Revelation to the End (8:32)
7. Follow Your Way (5:18)
8. Live Your Life Like a Dream (5:55)
9. The Master’s Voice (5:16)
10. Never Walk Alone (6:09)
11. When Angels Unite (2:03)
12. Create Your Destiny (5:49)
12. Power Of Mindscape (4:17)
