┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │■ ■│ │ .-/ .-. │ │ _.-~ / ___ | ~-._ │ │ \:/ -~| / __/| .\:/ │ │ / || (:/:| \ │ │ / /\/| |:\___\| |\ \ │ │ / /:::|.::/:::/:.|:\ \ │ │ / /:::/ \\/:::/::/:::\ \ │ │ / .::\ \-~~~~-/\/:.. \ │ │ /..:::::\ /:::::..\ │ │ /::::::::- -::::::::\ │ │ \:::::-~ ~-:::::/ │ │ \:-~ ~-:/ │ │ METAL CLASSICS ARCHIVE │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ P R E S E N T S │ │ │ │ │ │ + Pagan's Mind - Infinity Divine + │ │ │ │ │ │╔═════════════════════╗ │ │║ Release Information ║ │ │╠═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════╗ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Release Date.Feb-10-2014 Encoder......L3.97 -V2 --vbr-new ║ │ │║ Genre........Metal Graber.......EAC ║ │ │║ Year.........2004 Khz/Bitrate..44,1/ Br ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Ripper.......anthem Songs........12 ║ │ │║ Covers.......Yes Url... www.pagansmind.com ║ │ │║ ║ │ │╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │╔═════════════════════╗ │ │║ Release Notes ║ │ │╠═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════╗ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Artist : Pagan's Mind Rating : You Decide! ║ │ │║ Album : Infinity Divine Label : LMP ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ ║ │ │╠════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Description : ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ ItÆs difficult to go wrong with PaganÆs Mind if ║ │ │║ you have an ear for unconventional music that ║ │ │║ somehow manages to seem conventional the whole ║ │ │║ time through. Their entire sound is essentially ║ │ │║ a tightrope walk between the melodic and ║ │ │║ symmetrically structured style of power metal ║ │ │║ and the technically impressive and stylistically ║ │ │║ defiant prog. metal genre. There is a sort of ║ │ │║ cosmic or outer spacey nature to their songs, ║ │ │║ very idiomatic to the astrology and mythology of ║ │ │║ the pagan cultures that they take their name ║ │ │║ sake from. ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ ôInfinity Divineö is unique amongst the four ║ │ │║ albums that theyÆve recorded in that it is ║ │ │║ tilted more towards the power metal genre with a ║ │ │║ strong prog. element, rather than balancing the ║ │ │║ hybrid 50/50. It contains all of the middle- ║ │ │║ eastern interludes, Lydian mode chord ║ │ │║ progressions for that Stargate affect that is ║ │ │║ their trademark and plenty of guitar and ║ │ │║ keyboard majesty that avoids the overbearing ║ │ │║ tendencies of Dream Theatre and a few others. ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ The album kicks off with an intro that sounds ║ │ │║ like a satellite transmitting radio waves before ║ │ │║ coming into an airy keyboard line that makes you ║ │ │║ picture a sea of comets swirling around a nebula ║ │ │║ in some distant galaxy. Unlike the opener of ║ │ │║ ôCelestial Entranceö it is more of a prelude and ║ │ │║ less of a short instrumental composition. What ║ │ │║ follows is a series of well conceived, though by ║ │ │║ the standards of the band, extremely polarized ║ │ │║ songs when you compare them to each other. ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ ôCaught in a Dreamö is very simple and combines ║ │ │║ a series of complex guitar grooves with an ║ │ │║ extremely dense atmosphere, painting a mystic ║ │ │║ illustration of interstellar travel without ║ │ │║ motion via the mind. The title track, ôEmbracing ║ │ │║ Fearö, ôAstral Projectionö and ôTwilight Ariseö ║ │ │║ are mostly power metal in style; and although ║ │ │║ the rapid changes in feel and the somewhat odd ║ │ │║ rhythmic devices give them a prog. twist, the ║ │ │║ choruses just scream epic power. The mixture of ║ │ │║ sounds on each of these songs varies, much of it ║ │ │║ accomplished through vocal effects while relying ║ │ │║ on traditional guitar and keyboard sounds. ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Other stuff on here goes in the exact opposite ║ │ │║ side of the hybrid and simply relies upon ║ │ │║ unconventional devices to throw the listener for ║ │ │║ a loop. ôDawn of the Nemesisö and ôKingÆs Questö ║ │ │║ both rely heavily on keyboards and run-on verse ║ │ │║ melodies that is not far removed from Symphony ║ │ │║ XÆs approach, albeit with a radically lighter ║ │ │║ atmosphere. ôA New Beginningö is one of the ║ │ │║ strangest songs IÆve heard out of any band, ║ │ │║ especially considering the strong power metal ║ │ │║ tendencies of the rest of the album. It ║ │ │║ progresses through a series of heavy riff-driven ║ │ │║ sections, occasionally hitting a few dissonant ║ │ │║ chords, and then out of nowhere the middle ║ │ │║ section morphs into a jazzy ballad complete with ║ │ │║ a piano solo. ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ And as if the surprises were seemingly over, the ║ │ │║ closing track is essentially the greatest cover ║ │ │║ of a King Diamond classic IÆve ever heard. IÆve ║ │ │║ heard power metal veterans like James Rivera ║ │ │║ attempt to perform a song by him and not even ║ │ │║ come close to matching his neurotic and ║ │ │║ technical vocal acrobatics, but somehow Nils Rue ║ │ │║ not only matches the King, he actually surpasses ║ │ │║ him in technique. ôAt the Gravesö was already an ║ │ │║ extremely complex and progressive track before ║ │ │║ PaganÆs Mind got their skilled sound mason hands ║ │ │║ on it, but what is on here is actually more ║ │ │║ impressive and even more otherworldly. You canÆt ║ │ │║ really put into words all of the devices at ║ │ │║ work; you just have to hear it for yourself. ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ I canÆt really recommend any PaganÆs Mind album ║ │ │║ over another one because they all have their ║ │ │║ unique articulation of power/prog. perfection ║ │ │║ within their dozen or so tracks. This is the ║ │ │║ least prog. oriented of their releases, so it ║ │ │║ might appeal to fans of Helloween more than ║ │ │║ their later material, but any fan of power metal ║ │ │║ should be able to enjoy everything that this ║ │ │║ band has put out. If you get this on CD, make ║ │ │║ sure itÆs the 2004 re-recording, the quality is ║ │ │║ much better and Jorn Lofstad is a superior ║ │ │║ guitarist. ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ ║ │ │╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │╔═════════════════════╗ │ │║ Release Tracklist ║ │ │╚═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════ │ │ │ │ 01 - Prelude To Paganism [01:03] │ │ 02 - Caught In A Dream [06:02] │ │ 03 - Infinity Divine [06:12] │ │ 04 - Embracing Fear [05:57] │ │ 05 - Astral Projection [05:42] │ │ 06 - Angels' Serenity [04:20] │ │ 07 - Dawning Of The Nemesis [05:10] │ │ 08 - King's Quest [05:40] │ │ 09 - Twilight Arise [04:36] │ │ 10 - A New Beginning [08:06] │ │ 11 - Embracing Fear 2004 (Bonus Track) [06:18] │ │ 12 - At The Graves (Bonus Track) [09:35] │ │ │ │ Total Length : [68:41 minn │ │ │ │ │ │ ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ ╔═════════════════════╗ │ │ ║ Greetings To: ║ │ │ ╚═════════════════════╝ │ │ │ │ Too all people who contributes to make this │ │ archive of good music in a exceptional conditions │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │■ ■│ └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘