Norway does not only boast a unique, impressive nature – this country also has to offer a lot regarding music. Norway has been considered the breeding ground of Black Metal for years - knowing that, many people tend to forget that the land of unaffordable alcohol has hatched a handful of top-class, unmistakable Progressive Metal bands. In the Eighties, bands like CONCEPTION, TNT or TORCH catapulted Norway into the daily Metal news with their genre forming outputs – at the beginning of the new millennium, a new innovative scene has evolved. - In the year 2000, this scene brought up PAGAN’S MIND.
PAGAN’S MIND are talented - you could already notice that on their debut album `Infinity Divine`, released 2000. At that time, this album was produced by no lesser than TNT guitar player Ronny Le Tekro. Within the scene, the album –released on a small label- became a fast-selling item and got excellent reviews. The band, established by Nils K. Rue (vocals), Stian Kristoffersen (drums) and Thorstein Aaby (guitar), operated as a sextet from the beginning until after the release of the second album. Encouraged by the success of their debut album, the band started immediately to work on new material for the next one, `Celestial Entrance`, which was produced by successful producer and at the same time DREAM EVIL guitarist Fredrik Nordström (among others, DIMMU BORGIR, HAMMERFALL, ARCH ENEMY, SOILWORK, ....). On this album, the sextet deepens its progressive style partially based upon DREAM THEATER, QUEENSRYCHE or RUSH, but topping the whole thing off with filigree Power Metal elements. 2002, these facts lead to a cooperation with Limb Music Products: the company released `Celestial Entrance` in the fall of the same year. The cooperation even intensifies, and 2004 band and label decide to rerelease the debut album `Infinity Divine` due to growing demand. Completely overhauled and remixed by Tommy Hansen, the album contains a propulsive cover version of the KING DIAMOND classic `At The Graves` as a bonus, and a newly recorded version of `Embracing Fear` - as illustrious guests for that song, the band could win over Gus G. (FIREWIND) and Glen Dover (MEGADETH, EIDOLON).
The final mix of the third album `enigmatic : calling` was done in well-proven cooperation with Fredrik Nordström in his Studio Fredman in Gothenburg. On this album, the band sounds more melodic, yet at the same time harder. The opus is to be understood as a concept album dealing with the origin of mankind and the possibility of modern mankind being a creation of an alien intelligence thousands of years ago. It took over one year of work, and after its release in 2005, PAGAN’S MIND got the chance to play on prestigious festivals such as ProgPower Europe Festival, Sweden Rock Festival, Rjukan Rock, and Norwegian Rock Festival. It was unforeseeable that the album stormed the Norwegian album charts shortly after its release – but that only affirmed the work of the band. At the end of that year, they even played a headliner tour in England!
All that encouraged PAGAN’S MIND even more: they started immediately working on the new album entitled “God’s Eqation” and at the same time they decided to climb to a new level with the band. Their support for that plan: Stefan Glaumann in Toytown Studios / Stockholm (Glaumann is well-known for his productions with RAMMSTEIN which sold millions of copies).
