review by: Roberto Martinelli

How many CDs have you got in your collection? Dozens? Hundreds? Thousands? No matter how many you’ve got, can you think of any that you listen to, day in and day out, for months?

This reviewer generally takes an objective look in his articles, but for this one, I just can’t. You see, Pagan’s Mind has become my favorite band on the planet. Every day since I got Enigmatic: Calling a few months ago, I’ve listened to one of this Norwegian prog metal gem’s three records on a daily basis. I’d probably been listening to them a ton before this newest one came out, too. So it’s partially that I’m writing for EQ now, but really, partially because I devote so much of my listening time to Pagan’s Mind that my production this month has slipped off.

Why? Well, partially, Enigmatic: Calling has got perhaps the best production I’ve ever heard in metal. Super famed producer Fredrik Nordström took care of the mixing, but he’ll tell you (as he does in his forthcoming interview with him), that Pagan’s Mind themselves did the bulk of the production work. It’s clear and powerful without being overbearing, and greatly contributes to the band’s unique sound.

Pagan’s Mind band is driven and focused. This album (much like its predecessor) has the blessed quality of being immediately engaging, yet doesn’t fully reveal all the details of its structure until many, many listens later. Another remarkable quality is how the progressive nature of the band doesn’t necessarily lie in its making the most technically difficult material, but rather in its innovative arranging and layering. Nowhere is there a better example than with the vocals, whose wealth of catchy phrasings and melodies are more than ever are awash in a multitude of effects and layers, making Nils Rue’s already great delivery even more original.

Each listen to Pagan’s Mind makes me wish my band had a keyboard player in it. The keys here are ideal: they’re not blatant syntheses of acoustic instruments, nor are they horribly artificial or plastic. Rather, they serve the same purpose as all the other instruments: they fill a crucial role that doesn’t overshadow the other sounds by their presence.

Have we mentioned the guitar work? Jorn Viggo Lopstad is one of the most original lead guitarists in a long time. Where the metal norm is technically amazing but often samey, this man’s voice is more and more expressive as you take it in.

For returning fans, Pagan’s Mind’s biggest progression remains from the first to the second album, where the band broke out of what generic metal syntax that they employed to more progressive and original territory. Enigmatic Calling is a further progression for sure, but it’s more in terms of refinement. Now heavier, fuller, and more urgent, without the few failings that brought Celestial Entrance down a bit, namely far too much use of the obnoxious low, distorted talking and screaming through a distortion box, and too many instrumental tracks.

The result? Pagan’s Mind isn’t the fastest, the most technical, or the most flashy, but if there ever was a synergy of members that came together with a strong vision to forge something fresh and worthwhile, this is it. THE best album of the year, hands down. (10+/10)