Norway is mostly known for its black metal scene. However, there are bands such as Pagan’s Mind who try through an explorative trip in the musical dimensions to find their sound, which is melodic, progressive and outside the usual Norgewian type of metal. Find out yourselves by listening to their music and reading this very interesting conversation we had with their singer Nils.

1.HOW DID YOU CHOOSE YOUR NAME AS A BAND? WHAT IS THE MEANING OF PAGAN’S MIND?

• The dream of creating a kind of sophisticated frame around a band, it being concept, music and lyrics had to have a name that suited it all. Pagan's Mind is an actually an ancient egyptian way of philosophy, (many books have been written about the topic) and this name suited the new concept in all ways we thought. So it was in no way coincidential. Pagan's Mind is a suitable name for a thinking man's metal band! :-) It creates the right framework for all that Pagan's Mind stand for, and for my lyrics. It's in general mystically orientated all in all the concept around this band, and is a personal driving force for me when creating music.

2.DO YOU WANT TO TELL ME SOMETHING ABOUT YOUR STYLE?

• The fact that we listen to very different styles of music within Pagan's Mind makes the sound of Pagan's Mind. We have generally grown up with the same kind of music, but the members differ big in what they listen to today, (we're all together in the "metal world" though, so we're not talking Britney Spears or something here!:-)) for example are some of us into extreme metal, some into fusion/prog, some into power metal and some into "standard" heavy metal! We have favourite bands that we all agree on, but we believe that this mix of different influences within the band makes the music we make sound more creative and exciting. We all agree on our musical vision and what we should sound like, so these are the important elements that create the sound of Pagan's Mind!
• Some like to call our music "Power Progressive Metal", and that may very well be a suitable term for what we're doing.

3.WHAT ARE YOUR MAIN INFLUENCES?

• Well, there are many, but Queensryche and Dream Theater have of course had an impact on our style. As mentioned, we have grown up with much of the 80' s metal music and of course many of the great bands from back then have had influenced us in many ways. I listen to a lot of "relaxing" music myself also, as Enya and Secret Garden, and get inspired by the mystical and "chanting" moods found there. There are many good bands around nowadays, and I'm also inspired by what I hear from day to day.

4.HAVE YOU STUDIED MUSIC OR ARE YOU SELF-TAUGHT?

• Within Pagan's Mind, there are both educated and self-taught musicians. Ronny (Tegner, keyboards) is educated at the University Of Music back here in Norway, and work as a piano music teacher. That is the highest musical education (classical/jazz) you get here in Norway, btw! Steinar (Krokmo, bass) have gone to bass guitar academy in Ontario, Canada for 4 years. Stian (Kristoffersen, drums) have gone to music high school here in Norway, but me, Jorn Viggo and Thorstein have no musical education at all. I will point out that the symbiosis between these backgrounds do function perfectly in Pagan's Mind! We get "the best of both worlds" with the more "theory" side of it but also the impulsiveness of being self-taught.

5.YOUR SOUND IS VERY OPTIMISTIC AND MELODICALLY...ARE THE MEMBERS OF PAGAN’S MIND OPTIMISTIC PEOPLE?

• Absolutely! We're not the kind of people who hang our heads down low and complain about everything. We are the "fighting spirit" kind of people and do not believe you acheive something good by being negative. There are too many bad things in this world so we don't bother being dull and self-destructive. You only live once (as far as we know), and we're enjoying the gift of life, the ability to play music and to get heard in full. On the way to "power and glory" (ha ha!) you need an positive spirit to get there. Only stupid people are negative, and we're not stupid people. We aim for our goals with a "killer smile" on our faces and are having a hell of a time doing it. I think in general metal musicians are positive people - they do have the ability to get their frustrations and anger go through the music intead of doing bad things to other people.

6.DO YOU WANT TO SAY SOMETHING ABOUT YOUR LYRICS? WHAT INSPIRE PAGAN’S MIND TO WRITE THEM?

• The use of terminology is very important to me while writing the lyrics, because that creates the poetic touch to it whom I believe adds the right "sophisticated" feel to it. English is a language with such many words to describe one single thing, and I prefer using a term with class to it rather than the "simple" ones.
• The concept in the lyrics are based on mysticism, etherical questions in space and time, alternative ways of philosophy around questions about life. 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. "Celestial Entrance" is partly a concept-album inspired by questions around extra-terrestrial life, parallell dimensions and the fact that human beings have been seeing strange objects in the sky for thousands of years......and still ignoring them. I have to speak for myself when it comes to personal interest in these topics though, everybody in the band has different opinions on this and that, but since I write lyrics and concept, you will notice some of my own personal beliefs and ideas. I have been interested in different aspects of mystisicm since I was a little boy, and think I always will be. I have experienced several strange episodes during my life, and some of those inspire me when I write lyrics. I am personally convinced that we can't see everything around us. We can't see electrisity, but it excists. We can't see radio waves either, but that also excists. Either way I think these topics are an very exciting deep well of inspiration. Note that I personally prefer the "positive powers", though I can write and sing/express all aspects of them!

7.ARE YOU SATISFIED WITH THE PRODUCTION OF THE ALBUM?

• Yeah, we're very satisfied indeed. Let me tell you a little about how we ended up at Fredman's: 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 production-wise and we were willing to pay to acheive 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 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 matter. We wanted a crystal clear, brutal and defined sound where you could easily hear the different details in the music and still not sound too "polished".
• We contacted Nordstrom, and he applied that he could produce the album, which we were very happy about. Thing is, he's very picky on who he decides to produce, and like he said he gets requests from bands all over the world wanting him to produce their stuff, but he ditches a great deal of them, as he says - he requires quality bands to acheive a quality sound.
• Well, working with was incredibly fun, and while we learned and picked up a lot from him, we felt more and more every day that this guy really had it. He's a true natural talent, and it's such a calming thing just to let someone like him produce something you worked on for months. Already the first day he had done a mix of one song that sounded so great we just kept on smiling for the rest of the time we were there. We definately have found THE producer, and the next time we'll head for Gothenburg again! Not just does he put his pride and proffesionality into his work, he's worth every penny as well.

8.WHAT ALBUM DO YOU THINK WAS THE BEST IN THE LAST YEAR AND WHY?

• Hm, that was a difficult one and I have to speak for myself as I'm really the only one in Pagan's Mind that are into the "fast Power Metal stuff." I think Lost Horizon's "Awaking The World" was the record I played the most during 2002. I just love the vocals, and the sound reminds me of an aggressive version of Crimson Glory or something, which is one of my favourite bands of all times. It's really breathtakingly fast and melodic, well played with good songs and keeps up the good mood and the spirit in me. The message behind their lyrics are also positive and with a great deal of fighting spirit, which I love. They are great guys with lots of humour and self-irony in addition, so the grand price must go to them this time. Images & Words by Dream Theater is my favourite album above everything, by the way!

9.TELL ME SOMETHING ABOUT THE SONGWRITING OF PAGAN’S MIND. WHAT DO YOU DO FIRST, WRITE LYRICS, COMPOSE MUSIC, A COMBINATION OF THESE?

• I always write the lyrics after the music is finished. I make the melodies together with the rest of the band while rehearsing on the songs and putting the song structures together and are just babbling "nonsense" while finding the right vocal melodies. I think it's easier to find the right words for the sound in a specific vocal part after deciding what tone, mood and spirit it may have. I sometimes get certain ideas while working on the melodies, and some words do "stand all the way from there", maybe a refrain or something though. I get ideas for the lyrics after I have decided finally what kind of mood and expression the song have. I can't sing of "women and partying" on a song that sounds "mystical" and dark, ha ha! I need to get to know what kind of message that could fit first. I have always had big problems singing lyrics other people have written for me, and I really hate what I call bad lyrics as well. I tend to get uninspirated if the lyrics are just bullshit, so I write all lyrics myself in Pagan's Mind. All of the music created in Pagan's Mind are jammed and put together by everybody in the rehearsing studio. There is an overall democratic law, and everybody gets to contribute. There is no "ok, guys, here's my new song. Play like this and that" thing in the band. We individually come up with ideas, but never do nothing we don't agree on playing.

10.WHAT ARE YOUR GOALS AS A BAND?

• Our goals do not differ very much from everybody else playing in bands i guess. Everybody wants to get famous and get their music heard and acheive something "big". What I can tell you now is that I feel I have reached goals I never could dream about some few years ago already, and that makes me thankful and glad. This have been a hard fight in many ways, we have never had the attitude that things come for free, we have worked really hard to come to the point we are now. The last year have been really fantastic, with new record deal, a great CD, big festival gigs and lots of new fans all over the world. We really feel that Pagan's Mind have come a big step forward, but we just need to work even harder now. Today all of the guys have regular jobs in Pagan's Mind, but the dream would be living of the music on full-time. Touring with a well-known band and "see the world" would be great, selling lots of records as well, but of course above all get even better and better musically as a band - these are our goals among many others but note that I am very happy just being able to be a part of this great band which also are my best friends.

11.WHAT ARE YOUR FUTURE PLANS? WILL YOU GO ON TOUR?

• I think maybe I answered that briefly abovementioned, but I can tell you what's going on this summer (at last this is what we know so far): The chances of touring with a really well-known band in Europe this summer is really big right now, but I can't tell anything before it's confirmed. Check our website for updates! We'll be playing at the Sweden Rock Festival in june, on the Prog Power Festival in USA in september and at the Prog Power Festival in the Netherlands in october. In addition, i reckon there will be some small gigs here in Norway and also some in Sweden. We also work on material for our next album, and will be working on that inbetween the gigs. We work really hard all the time as I already said, and there are always news coming up when you work for it, so it's never easy to tell what's coming next all the time.

12.TELL ME THE 10 MOST IMPORTANT CDS OR RECORDS OF ALL TIMES.

• Again, I have to speak for myself as none of the other guys is with me right now!
• Here are my top 10 list of all times:
• Dream Theater - Images and Words
• Queensryche - Rage for order
• King Diamond - Them
• Mercyful Fate - Don't break the Oath
• AC/DC - Back In Black
• AC/DC -Highway To Hell
• Beatles - Sgt. Peppers' Lonely Hearts Club Band
• Crimson Glory - Transendence
• Iron Maiden - Seventh son of a seventh son
• Nightwish - Oceanborn

13.WITH WHICH MUSICIAN DO YOU WANT TO WORK WITH?

• Well, I would most certainly like to get a phone call from Chris De Garmo from Queensryche telling that Geoff Tate has retired or something, ha ha! After seeing "Rock Star" i got certain ideas, :-)! Jokes aside, it would of course be an honour to work with the guys in Dream Theater or Queensryche. Besides that, Pagan's Mind is absolutely incredibly fun to work with. Don't want to lose them for nothing above all!

14.DO YOU WANT TO SAY SOMETHING TO THE GREEK FANS?

• I have never been to mainland Greece except for a holiday to Rhodes a couple of years ago. It was a really cool island, with a cool rock scene and lots of nice people. The Greeks are polite and nice people, I personally know Gus G. from Dream Evil and Mystic Prophecy and he's a really great guy and he's really a great ambassadeur for your country indeed. I also have the impression that metal is a big thing in Greece, so I hope we gain lots of fans there. The girls you have in Greece are also absolutely astonishing so I would most certainly come visit Greece sometimes.....anyway, here is my words for the Greeks: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, but most of all watch out for us coming to your hometown.
• We reached at the end of the interview and this lines are for you. I wish you luck as a band, and fullfil all your expectations. Keep up the good work and I am sure you will find your place in the genre.
• -Thanks a lot!