Pagan's Mind - Celestial Entrance

Thursday, 04 May 2006 Pagan's Mind - Celestial Entrance

Pagan’s Mind. The first thing that probably comes to mind when you first hear the name is “what kind of a name for a band is that is that?”. After that you probably guess that they play some form of power metal. Well, you are right there, in which case the cheesy name is all right. But your average power metal band they are not. I will also warn you that this will be a fairly lengthy review, at least for me. Chalk it up to my love for the band.
Celestial Entrance is the second album by the Norwegians and the one that really put them on the map in the prog metal world. On this album, they perfect their mix of power and prog metal with small traces here and there of the black metal more common to their homeland. Their sound is very original and nothing short of listening to it will do it justice. They have many of the characteristics of power metal (power chords, frequent double bass, catchy choruses, etc) with the technical skill of prog metal. I can honestly say that no other band I have come across combines the two genres like they do. I won’t go into the details of each and every song because they are all of nearly the same high quality. I will, however, give some details on the first two which you can carry on to the rest. “Approaching” is the intro to the album and to the song “Through Osiris’ Eyes”. It does its job perfectly. It builds up tension and then storms into a wonderful but short instrumental that utilizes themes from the upcoming track. “Through Osiris’ Eyes” is what you might call the stereotypical Pagan’s Mind song. I don’t mean this in a demeaning way, just that you could use this song to represent what the band is all about. It has a verse and chorus that is very melodic but still skillfully played. Its rather simple structure (for a prog band) belies an underlying complexity. The keyboards take an atmospheric role, except for the solo at the beginning. It also has a staple of Pagan’s Mind songs: an incredible guitar solo. I cannot give a higher praise to the guitarist, Jorn Viggo Lofstad. His solos, each and every one, are works of art. They are both melodic and technical at the same time. They sound like they were labored over for weeks. The bassist, Stian Kristofferson, is also perfect (getting tired of hearing this yet?). He is there supporting the rhythm and drums, but he also manages to be melodic and technical when needed. The drums are also worth noting. They make use of the combined styles of black metal, prog metal, and power metal. For example, you can hear a lot of Mike Portnoy in the more progressive moments, your typical double bass speed in the power metal moments, and people like Hellhammer and Nic Barker in the black metal moments. This provides for a varied experience and an overall more enjoyable listen. Finally, a very high mention must go to Nils K. Rue, the singer. Right off the bat I will state that his voice is very different and original. He is rather high pitched, but not your typical Geoff Tate or James LaBrie impersonator, like we often hear in the prog world. One of my favorite things about his style is the way he can let rip with some amazing high-pitched screams. You just don’t hear people sing the way he can very often. I will also say that he can repeat this live, as I have seen him perform “Through Osiris’ Eyes” on the ProgPower dvd. He also makes great use of vocal effects to create a perfect atmosphere for the lyrics. Speaking of which, they are about as cheesy as the band name. Nils is into aliens, the origin of man, and Stargate (a sci-fi show that you either love, hate, or mock). Now, I’m actually a huge fan of the show Stargate (I know, now I’m a real geek), but I would never write any lyrics about it(and certainly not put a huge one on the cover of my album). Really, they’re no worse than anything by Rhapsody or Stratovarius, so if you can withstand a little cheese with some really good music then this band just might make it to the top of your favorites list. In fact, they are so good that they landed just below my favorite two bands, Opeth and Dream Theater. I give them a 9/10 and my highest recommendation.

1. Approaching 2:48
2. Through Osiris' Eyes 6:08
3. Entrance Stargate 6:01
4. ...Of Epic Questions 6:10
5. Dimension Of Fire 7:28
6. Dreamscape Lucidity 6:39
7. The Seven Sacred Promises 6:28
8. Back To The Magic Of Childhood - Conception, Pt. 1 2:46
9. Back To The Magic Of Childhood - Exploring Life, Pt. 2 9:17
10. In Brilliant White Light 2:44
11. Aegean Shores 5:14
12. The Prophecy Of Pleiades 9:53

Commentsgreat review
Written by Guest on 2006-05-14 03:52:37i most agree with you, great review!Written by timegrid on 2006-11-04 17:20:24 Always the same bullshit!