PAGAN'S MIND
INTERVIEW, 2003
A melodic progressive metal band from Norway? Not since the days of the truly great Conception has Norway seen such a band - at least not with International potential. Forget about the more technical Norwegian acts such as Spiral Architect, Manitou or Trivial Act ... no, with Pagan's Mind it's all about melodies. We got a hold of singer Nils K. Rue for a little talk about the second release of the band;

Interview by Martin Jorgensen
1. First of all, with "Celestial Entrance" you have ended up with a GREAT album. It went directly to the top of my playlist along with Symphony X's "Odyssey", and I have a feeling it's going to stay there for quite some time :-)

"Thanks a lot! Weīre actually quite satisfied with the album ourselves. This time we felt that things were running more smoothly, we had more time to do everything and that had a direct impact on the result."

2. Well, this is only your second studio album, and your first release, "Infinity Divine", got great reviews worldwide and was very well received by the public. What have been the reactions so far with "Celestial Entrance"?

"The feeling is that quite a lot of journalists and metal press in general have welcomed the album surprisingly well, so we hope the fans feel the same good thing about it! The feedback have been so to speak tremendous, so these days Iīm really happy about everything. The hype around the band are really big and most all reviews we have seen are extremely good. We have been voted "best album of the year" in several zines and magazines and it seems that the band has earned big reputation just the past half year. We get lots of fanmail everyday, it's great to hear feedback from fans, that's an enormous reward and better than all the money in the world. All in all it seems we have gotten ourselves a name compared to the past two years. The more interesting gigs are starting to come in also, I guess thatīs an direct effect of all the hype and the good feedback, so thatīs really great indeed. People are talking of us in terms of Dream Theater and Symphony X all the time, and yet I think we really have our own sound I donīt get upset by the resemblence metioned - at this point it really should be an compliment to us. (Not just musical resemblence, but "quality" resemblence as well - and thatīs even better!)"

3. What type of audience are you aiming at?

"The thing is that we (without directly intentioned) are a band that I think most all kind of metal fans can find interesting, and that is also the absolute feeling so far, from all the feedback from for instance black metal fans. I believe that the fact the band internally having such different taste for metal, (me being a power metal fan, Stian is into black metal, Jorn Viggo is a big Van Halen fan and Steinar and Ronny being influenced by funk and jazz) but agreeing what we should do when we write music, make the unique symbiosis in the sound repesenting a variety of moods and feelings making every "real" metal fan finding something just for them. We are at times dark and aggressive, at times catchy and "open", sometimes silent and beautiful - but all in all convincing in what we do so I truly believe that most metal fans could appreciate our music. Back here in Norway we also get much credit from "regular" music fans as well, especially those who are able to see the song structures and appreciate the melodies and moods in the music although they may be not regular metal fans. We have in general received lots of good critics from people into more commercial commercial as well as "old proggers" and pop/rock people as well."

4. How would you describe "Celestial Entrance" compared to "Infinity Divine" - musically and lyrically? What are the main differences?

"There are rather big differencies between these two albums, especially musically but also in a way lyrically, as the concept behind the album are have another edge to it. The thing with Infinity Divine (the debut album) was that all of the songs (except from one) were already written when the band formed, and there was no time for the "new members" (Jorn Viggo, Steinar and Ronny) to participate in the song-writing process and the chance to add their special colour the songs. There were too little time for everything, and the first release is somewhat coloured by just that. Problems with vocal transfer between two studios, etc. etc. made the result not so good as we had hoped in the first place. After the first album we worked hard together writing songs for almost a year, which really made results compared to the previous. Having time to plan everything better this time, we think we have made Pagan's Mind as a band stand up in a matter that we deserve as musicians and songwriters. We are in other words satisfied with the new CD, itīs like "this is how the debut should have sounded! But we consider the newest as our first "real real" release, because the first one really had big distribution problems. Regarding the lyrics and concepts behind the albums, both albums are inspired by mysticism, etherical questions in space and time, alternative ways of philosophy around questions about life, and in general we try to add an sophisticated "overlooking" way of expressing the concept and lyrics, never "telling anyone"....it's like it's up to everyone to figure out for themselves what the lyrics may contain and if they mean something to the individual listener. The first album concept are inspired by dreams, lucid dreams, out-of-body experiences, and "spooky" phenomenons. "Celestial Entrance" is more an concept-album inspired by questions around extra-terrestrial life, the similarity between certain details in all of the four great religions, parallell dimensions and the fact that human beings have been seeing strange objects in the sky for thousands of years......and still ignoring them. Throughout both albums there are frequently big questions, ha ha!"

5. "Infinity Divine" was released on Voices of Wonder Records, but you had certain problems with distribution. Do you think that the signing with Limb will help on that issue?

"I think of course the signing with Limb will help on that issue! We see the effects of that very well already. Limb has SPV distribution in Europe and one of the best distribution networks there is, so to speak distribution everywhere in the world. We didnīt get fan mails from lands like Australia, Mexico and the Domician Republic on Voices Of Wonder. We do that now! Voices Of Wonder is really only a distribution company for Norway and do not have good distribution outside Norway, at least not for FaceFront, the "underlabel" of VOW whom we were signed to. Limb has a great promotion and distribution, and this have helped spreading the word in a completely new matter already. The thing was, Voices had a deal with Zomba/Rising Sun on the first release, but whem BMG bought Zomba approx. a year ago the distribution was no longer functioning for us. Iīm glad we signed to Limb, I think we deserve a proper chance of exposing us when working this hard with our music. And I think the fans out there deserves as much as well hearing our music!"

6. What pro's and con's do you see being on a label that also have artists like Rhapsody, Luca Turilli, Vanden Plas or Mob Rules just to mention but a few?

"Well, Limb has of course some rather big bands in their roster, and as always the labels put money and big attention upon acts who sell in big numbers in the first place and that I understand perfectly. It requires a big effort to get the big attiention compared to these bands, but it is a business as everything else and you have to put the money where it can grow. Now, personally, Iīm proud to be on the same label as for instance Rhapsody and when there are other big bands on a label you get a more fair chance to be heard of, to make contacts and be "hyped up" as colleauges with the bigger ones. Now, I also believe that if you deliver the real stuff, work hard and aim at the right target, the label will notice your hard work and you will be rewarded in the matter that you deserve - they put more money and attention into just you! Itīs just like getting your first job - you canīt sit on your ass and hope that things just happen. If you work hard the boss will notice you and reward you for that, youīll even maybe get a raise and get promoted. I think that also goes being a band on a label. We intend to make Limb see that we are a band that he really should pay attention to, as we work hard, that we always deliver the goods in a professional way and never sits on our asses. We believe they are our partners, not just our bosses. Weīd like Paganīs Mind to become big together with them! With hard work and doing the right things I believe we will be one of Limbīs label priorities in time. I think they already have noticed the hype going around us!"

7. I know that lyrics and concept are an important factor to you. Who came up with the idea of writing the kind of "mystical-philosophical" lyrics that you do and why? What is it you want to offer the listener, or is it just a result of your own personal interests in the philosophical field?

"I could probably write page up and down on this one question, but this is an interview and I canīt do that, ha ha!. I write all the lyrics, come up with the concept and the ideas in addition to that I design the covers, logo, internet site and all graphic art in Paganīs Mind. It is extremely important for me to have full control over all the "image"-matters regarding Paganīs Mind, that being the expression we should give the listener of what we write about, the allround impression of what we stand for. Now, I work really hard on the lyrics and as I have mentioned earlier this is mostly about rather "big questions" about space and time etc. I am personally very interested/attached to the philosophical fields and I could never sing about things that were just "bullshit". Making me sing and express myself the way I do need the right lyrics and meaning behind it to work. I have problems singing lyrics I havenīt written myself, it gets too unnatural for me so I rather write them myself, which I do in Paganīs Mind! :-) I am blessed to get the chance to share with the listener some of my ideas and stories and thatīs a really great reward to me. Some of the lyrics I write are based on personal experiences. I have experienced quite a lot of unexplainable, strange things since I was a little boy (donīt know why) and the burning urge to express it I can get in writing lyrics. The things I experienced almost made me crazy some years ago, now I have learned to keep an "overlooking view" to strange phenomenons. All in all this has inspired me in a great way and my idea of getting the same mystical feeling/mood when you see the cover as when you read the lyrics or just hear the music is important to me."

8. You all have different musical backgrounds from jazz, to classical on to rock/metal, and on "Celestial Entrance" I tend to call your musical style power progressive in the vein of especially Dream Theater. How would you describe "Celestial Entrance" in your own words?

""Celestial Entrance" is the symbiosis between the strong musical powers in Paganīs Mind stretching from power and progressive metal, to straight catchy rock and metal, to experimental fusion parts, classical interludes , big and open chords, colour and choir arrangements arranged cleverly and with no coincidence whatsoever. Everything is jammed together and built up under the surveillance of our own very critical minds. The album is partly moody dark, at times desperate, at times victorious, at times soothing and calm, at times crying and stretching out for something more, at times aggressive and furious, at times beautiful and sad, it is deeply intricate and intelligent all the way. The complex song structures, lyrics and concept toghether with the crystal clear brutal and crunchy production tells of its own what the record may give the listener."

9. Norway aren't known for producing that many progressive metal bands, and since TNT and Conception, we haven't seen anything mentionable from the Norwegian prog. scene. Is Pagan's Mind the heir to the Norwegian progressive metal throne as a lot of critics say?

"Well, I certainly hope that myself but I have a good portion of common sense and do not believe anything before I see it happen. Nevertheless, I would be extremely proud to represent Norway carrying the great heritage of great bands like TNT and Conception (being an all-time great fan of those) and as you say, this have been mentioned by people in the metal press. One can only hope - but I really see the great excitement from abroad coming from people who thought Norway are just black metal already - there seems to be a lot of people praising us bringing the power progressive thing up here in Norway and I also think the time is ready for a genre-shift in the metal community back here. The trend of doing black metal was something too many musicians did here in Norway for some years, because it was easy to get attention and a deal abroad, but maybe with what we have done now hopefully also melodic bands hailing from Norway can also get the same attention."

10. You are going to play at the Sweden Rock Festival. Are you planning on playing on other festivals or perhaps even go on tour? And if you are, are you going to visit Denmark?

"There are some really exciting festivals coming up - I canīt tell anything yet as things are confidential just now. Check out our website www.pagansmind.com for updates and news on gigs and festivals. We would love to go on tour, and hope to do so within the next year. We would love to come and play in Denmark if possible, but we have no confirmed gigs there now. We would love to get booked for something in DK though! I really hope Limb would push us out on a tour with some bigger band also, and I do believe that will happen. We are starting to get really good contact with great bands that already has long experience in touring and in this business "friendship" and contacts is "alfa and omega". I have good hopes for a tour within the year, but nothing is confirmed right now. Promoters reading this are herby welcomed to contact us!"

11. Let's try and look 3-5 years ahead. Where do you see Pagan's Mind? What are your future plans and expectations?

"Itīs always impossible to know what may be in 5 years because thatīs an result of your own decicions, work and situation (I donīt believe in any destiny - I believe you build your own based on your actions!) BUT, I believe, if we work as hard as we have done till now, in the right pace and doing the right things, I believe Paganīs Mind could be a name "up there" with bands like Symphony X, Pain Of Salvation and (but not as big as) Dream Theater. I believe that in approx 5 years we have done support act touring with bigger bands and maybe have done our own headline tour. I think we have released at least 2-3 more albums, have done big festival jobs and that we are a well-known, good-selling band that everybody know well. I hope to play in Japan and go see the country. These are my goals going over the next few years, but to mention plans ahead right now I can mention that we just have finished a video for "Through OsirisīEyes", and will be working on promoting that and get airplay. Besides a great deal of gigs and promotional work during the summer, I hope we get time for songwriting as well. I must begin the writing process for some idea or concept till the next album, and hope to start the work on that very soon. I hope Paganīs Mind never gets to be one of those lazy bands giving up just because some times could be harder that others, I believe in the faith and strong will of making things come true, and I believe we all will work for that, and thatīs really the way to make it come true!"

12. I wish you all the best of luck in the future, and of course with your newest release. Any last words?

"Thanks a lot for your support. This is to the readers: -Be nice to each other, don't drink & drive, have fun, try to see what's beneath the dull surface and don't accept the materialistic bullshit and hypocrisy, support faith, art, positivity and good will. Buy "Celestial Entrance" and support us by coming to a gig the next time we are around you hometown! Lock up your daughters….:-)"