PAGAN'S MIND
Interview with Jorn Viggo Lofstad and Stian Kristoffersen
Q>> Hello there! It seems that you guys cleverly avoided the Prog Power clichés on this new album. Is that something done on purpose or is it due to some kind of a natural talent that you've developed through the years?
A>> Thanks, we're glad to hear that you think so.. I think the main reason that you wont find "the usual clichés" is because within the band we are inspired by much more musicwise than the Power Progressive bands that are around today. We all have kind of different musical backgrounds, some are into Black Metal, Power Progressive Metal and "classic" Metal, others are into Jazz, Fusion and Pop music. I also think that it's quite easy to hear just that in the "colors" and moods of our music - being just a band where everybody contributes in the creative process.
Q>> In your bio, they compare Pagan´s Mind with TNT and Conception. Are you aware of this? Is it something you overtly claim or is it just commercial blahblah and maybe you would you like to add some nuances to this statement?
A>> Yes, we are aware of this and we think its ok to hear. Nevertheless, I guess often when a new band appears, people will always try to compare you with more known bands in the specific genre and in our case it's easy to draw musical lines to TNT or Conception as Pagan´s Mind are a Norwegian band as well; actually we really don't try to sound like them or anything, but as we´re not a Black Metalband coming from Norway it kind of justifies it :-)
Q>> Nordstrom did - as always - a hell of a great job, but have you ever thought that your music could be nice with a "less Metal and more Prog" production? Do you maybe fear that if you did so you would loose some power in the guitars or something?
A>> We really don't think that the classic more "70s" type of Prog production would be the right thing for us - as we as also are a Metal band, not just a Prog band! When we recorded "Celestial Entrance" we decided that we'd go for no less than really top-class production, partly because the previous album wasn't that good productionwise and we were willing to pay more to achieve the sound we wanted. Having just heard the production on the latest Dimmu Borgir CD, which we thought sounded awesome, we tried to find more releases produced by Fredrik Nordstrom and see if they were as good as that one. At the time we nearly hadn't heard of the guy, but the first impression was that we all thought his work sounded way better than several over-hyped European producers with big names and a big reputation. We discovered that all the CD's we heard produced by him sounded way better than everything else and agreed that this was the man to create and justify the sound of Pagan's Mind in the right direction. We wanted a crystal clear, brutal and defined sound where you could easily hear the different details in the music, yet without sounding too "polished".
Q>> Lots of your riffs remind me of both Dream Theater albums "Awake" and "Metropolis pt.2". Are they kind of a reference for you or are there stronger influences that I failed to spot?
A>> The Dream Theater resemblance has been mentioned, that's true, though it really was not intended. We are all big fans of DT, and of course they have inspired us. One of our all-time favorite album is Images & Words, by the way. Nevertheless, We don't think we sound like DT. We are a lot more aggressive in the way we express ourselves and we are nearer to early DT if there should be a resemblance. Having said that, Dream Theater is greatly inspired by old Prog dinosaurs like Yes, Genesis and Pink Floyd. Our inspiration comes more directly from those sources than from DT itself. This band is composed of a bunch of guys who widely differ in both their tastes for Metal music as music in general. But as mentioned earlier we are also inspired by Power Metal, Black Metal, Fusion etc...We really think that the symbiosis between the contrasting tastes in Metal and music in general within the band makes our music more diverse and exciting. The song-writing process in strictly democratic and then we take what's best in all of the different styles and make a big melting pot out of it, creating a crossover between many different styles though many would describe it as power or Progressive Metal. We think that someway we have created a sound of our own despite of what critics may say about us and Dream Theater although that of course is a compliment in a way!
Q>> Let´s talk about the meaning of "Celestial Entrance". What´s the lyrical "key"? Is there a concept, a storyboard or something?
A>> Yeah! Regarding the concepts, the album is inspired by mysticism, ethereal questions in space and time, alternative ways of philosophy about questions of life, and in general we try to add a 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. Celestial Entrance is a concept-album inspired by questions on extra-terrestrial life, parallel dimensions and the fact that human beings have been seeing strange objects in the sky for thousands of years... and are still ignoring them. Throughout both albums, big questions are frequently showing up, ha ha!
Q>> Bands with a strong Progressive edge like you usually write their songs with a lot of care on music sheets etc... Do you also improvise a few things or do you like to leave some looser parts here and there?
A>> Almost all the music on "Celestial Entrance" has been written during rehearsal and jam sessions, when we're going to the studio to record, almost everything is set, but of course some solo parts and vocal lines are being improvised in this process as well.
Q>> Norway always brings us killer bands. Why? Your ancestors probably sailed Drakkars... There was no Mozart or Chopin up there... and people of our country are rather unfamiliar with Norwegian folk music. So, where's all this musical feeling coming from?
A>> Ha ha,we have of course the great heritage of the great composer Grieg! He was Norwegian! Seriously, hard to say - but the averages of a Norwegian musician are quite high I believe, maybe that's the reason.
Q>> On the other side, having a lot of great bands in the same country also implies that people may become jealous of each other and have to fight harder to beat "rivals". Are you the kind of band who fights or do you rather not care about what the others do?
A>> We really think its better to be inspired by good bands than to be jealous of them!!:-) Help each other out instead...
Q>> What's the temperature like out there? Ever thought of moving to some hotter place?
A>> The winter
is cold and dark "a good time to work on our music". The summer is
warm and beautiful "and so are the girls" - ha ha! So I guess we're
staying...
Q>> This is a free space for you. Share whatever you want with our readers...
Go ahead...
A>> -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 in your neighborhood!
Lock up your daughters...
RNO