Customer Reviews

Enigmatic: Calling

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

(Actually 4 1/2 Stars)

PM's best yet. Better than Celestial Entrance in every way (songs, melodies, harmonies, guitar), and IMO, that's saying alot. The only way PM could get better is if they wrote lyrics that weren't pure cheese, but hey, I'm not complaining.

Trying to find something to quench my thirst for new and inventive prog rock the likes of Dream Theater, I decided to give this album a spin. The benchmark for album greatness is how long it stays in the car (no CD-changer). This album is unbelievably good. The vocals are just phenomenal not only lead but harmonics as well. I am a drummer and praise the handy work of all of the musicians. This album is not an example of "the fastest, the hardest, the longest" but is a series of very well-thought out songs painting a bigger picture throughout. I really hope that you enjoy it as much as I have. It is five weeks and it is not leaving my car just yet.

I got into Progressive Metal about two years ago with Dream Theater's Train of Thought. Ever since, I have been trying to find bands that provide the same thrill. With determination, I found two: Symphony X and Vanden Plas. Now, I have found the fourth band to entering this lofty distinction in my CD collection: Pagan's Mind. With Enigmatic: Calling, Pagan's Mind blends almost non-stop energy with excellent musicianship. The CD starts off strong with The Celestine Prophecy with a repeated sequence of seven crunching cords. The CD then transcends to the stratosphere with Enigmatic Mission, Supremacy Our Kind and Entrance to Infinity, a three-song back-to-back tour de force. Enigmatic Mission has a roaring riff with very unique vocals soaring over the top from Nils Rue, who a times reminds me of Ian Gillan and at other times sounds like Graham Bonnet. The song includes a very flashy guitar solo from Jorn Viggo Lofstad, who for me is the star of this star studded CD. In style, Jorn reminds me of the best of a hybrid Petrucci/Van Halen. Supremacy Our Kind may be the most progressive song with several changes in tempo and heaviness. Entrance to Infinity probably has the most addictive vocal melody. The lyrics are interesting throughout, all based on alien and cosmic imagery. Stian Kristoffersen is a maniac drummer - listen to the end of Taken. Steinar Krokmo lays down an exellent foundation with the six string bass, and Ronny Tegner provides plenty of texture with the keyboards, not to mention several exceptional solos.

With heavy sophisticated riffs, complex arrangements, stunning solos and inhuman vocals, Enigmatic: Calling is a feast for Progressive Metal fans and is in my opinion the best release of the year!

Pagan's Mind has proven that they aren't a one great album band. Any time that I can count over 3 great songs on a cd , I feel lucky. I count about 8 on this one. Track 1 is a good opener and things progress from there. My only complaint is that when I saw them live, their drum sound was as good as Celestial Entrance and I don't believe it is quite as good on this album. The drumming is great but sometimes the punch of the sound on the prior album isn't there. Great drumming though! The drumming really propels this band and makes such a difference. Another great band to check out is Brainstorm. These are 2 of the best out there now. You will not be sorry you bought this!

After being teased with the unbelievably stellar riff from "New World Order" on a preview that was briefly on an intro to Pagan's Mind's website earlier this year, to say I had high hopes for this album would be a major understatement and I'm happy to say that those hopes were certainly not dashed with the final product, easily one of the most amazing power/prog releases this year. For those not familiar with the band, they got off to an impressive start a few years back with their first album "Infinity Divine," which put them on the map as a band to contend with on the power metal front. With their follow-up, "Celestial Entrance," we saw much more of a prog influence creep into the music with more than a hint of Dream Theater thrown into the song writing, while keeping the power metal edge intact. With "Enigmatic: Calling," we see a perfect continuation of that progression with improved songwriting and virtuoso performances all around.

I have to say right away that if you were even slightly intrigued with "Celestial Entrance," this album will absolutely not disappoint and will certainly draw you into the thinking of many that this is a band that has quickly evolved into one of the most talented bands on the power/prog metal front. The album begins more than impressively with "The Celestine Prophecy," a guitar-heavy epic that certainly continues the band's tradition of opening an album impressively enough to command attention. Continuing with the album's first single, "Enigmatic Mission," the band does not let the intensity of the album die down in the slightest bit. I have to add that the instrumental breaks on most of the songs on this album are nothing short of mind-blowing, especially on "Enigmatic Mission" and "New World Order," a track that overall qualifies as the best power/prog song I've heard this decade. "Supremacy, Our Kind," the third track, begins with even more blistering guitars than the album openers and then transforms into a mid-tempo ballad that builds in intensity, switching back and forth from dreamy keyboard balladry and powerful vocals delivered over smoking guitars. Just when you think they can't keep up this pace of greatness, we move into "Entrance to Infinity," a little more on the mellow side, but keeping with the epic sound. This song starts with rather mellow sounding opening verses, moving to an epic sounding chorus with an almost jazz-fusion instrumental interlude before becoming addictively melodic in the final chorus.

If you haven't figured out from the song titles, "Enigmatic: Calling" pretty much continues along the storyline that was the theme of "Celestial Entrance," speculation that an alien race created mankind as some sort of twisted galactic experiment. While neither qualify as a concept album per se, this theme permeates the lyrics and general feel of the music on both albums, but they really perfect this musically on "Enigmatic: Calling," especially on tracks like the sinister, yet powerful "Taken" and equally jarring "Resurrection: Back in Time." To top it all off, just when you think the album can't get any better, in Pagan's Mind style, they save the best for last with "New World Order," the longest song on the album, clocking in at almost 8 ½ minutes, and easily the greatest song the band has recorded to date. As I mentioned previously, this has got my early vote for song of the decade so far and this song alone is worth buying the album for! (not there's even an ounce of fluff on the album!) Starting innocently enough with a lone keyboard mirroring a melody from the chorus, the song breaks into an epic drum march very reminiscent of Queensryche's "Anarchy-X" from Mindcrime and then breaks into one of the greatest guitar riffs ever written building it with epic keyboards before going to its opening vocals. There is nothing about this song that I don't like from the opening to the lyrics to the jaw-dropping three minute instrumental about halfway into the song. This album is an absolute must have for fans of the heavier side of Dream Theater who enjoy hearing plenty of power in their prog metal and the sci-fi storyline will certainly appeal to Ayreon fans. As if "Celestial Entrance" weren't powerful a enough album, Pagan's Mind have certainly come into their own with "Enigmatic: Calling," making this one an absolute must for metal fans - easily one of the most powerful metal releases of 2005! Get it NOW and watch for their new DVD later this year, which was shot at the "Enigmatic: Calling" album premiere party, so it will contain performances of songs from all three albums!

Nils K. Rue - Vocals
Ronny Tegner - Keyboards
Jorn Lofstad - Guitars
Steinar Krokmo - Bass
Stian Kristoffersen - Drums

I was trying to decide between "Celestial Entrance" and "Enigmatic: Calling" before I bought this cd. I wanted "CE" because I had heard the song "Through Osiris' Eyes" and I fell in love with that song. But I thought about getting their cd that had songs on it that I've never heard before, so I did. And I have yet to regret that decision.

The album opens up with "The Celestine Prophecy" which is an actual song and not just an intro. It's melodically enchanting and is not a song to let go of. In fact it's in my top 3 song list for this cd. Then it moves onto "Enigmatic Mission," which is another beautiful song. "Supremacy, our Kind" is next, and that beautiful song is also on my top 3, mainly because of the part where the vocals come in. It's so beautifully atmospheric with their deep voices intro singing...and the famous Jorn lets his skills out on this song, with his fabulous guitar solo! "Coming Home" Instrumental has to be my FAVORITE song on the album, I mean the intro just hooks me and pulls me right into the stereo. There's no escaping this song. I wish I could go on about every single song, but I don't think you guys's would enjoy reading a novel...because Pagan's Mind is made for listening, not reading!

Along with other progressive bands, Pagan's mind is very virtuous and melodic. Their sound, though, is very distinguishable and original. Especially with Jorn as their lead guitar which makes everything the more worth listening to. And unlike many progressive bands, Pagan's Mind, though they are musically complex, has a fairly simple song structure that is easy to follow along with. Ex: Chorus, Verse, Breakdowns, etc... They give you just enough time to start headbanging before they move on to a different time signature and different groove, which some progressive bands are unable to do.

I wish there were samples for this cd, because you have to hear it to believe what I'm saying. Well, actually....not even the samples will sum up to how good these guys are...basically, just buy this cd. You WILL NOT REGRET IT!!

John

My daughter raves about this music and listens to it as often as she does her AC/DC music. Yes, a 14 yr old in love with AC/DC holds Pagan' Mind in the same caliber - that says a lot for the band Pagans Mind!

Great album. I waited patiently for months for this guy with baited breath and was not disappointed. They took the recipe from celestial entrance and made some tweaks. The tempo has been given a shot in the arm in many places and the overall heaviness is greater than before. Vocals are amazing and mindboggling. Guitar playing is excellent with lots of catchy riffs and memorable solos. Keyboards add nice depth to the sound but are not overused as to make the sound sappy like straight prog sometimes becomes, rock-solid drumming brings it all together with plenty of frantic fills and double bass to keep your attention. I never thought a band like this could come from Norway. Keep up the good work, boys! Heed the call, 'cause there's a new world order...

First of all I must admit that I am surprised by some of the luke warm reviews of this album. While I liked their previous album quite a bit this one really blows it out of the water IMO.

Enigmatic Calling is a lot tighter and more focused. The songwriting is much better front to back and the songs never seem to loose direction as they sometimes did on Celestial Entrance. Another improvement is the guitar sound. Wow the guitars are much thicker and up front making this album heavier as well. The guitar work on display here is really awesome and powerful. The keyboards are still eaisily heard and add that surreal atmosphere that takes you away but they never dominate the sound like they sometimes did on Celestial Entrance.

Overall this is one of the best albums I have ever heard period! The potential they showed on previous albums has been perfected on this album to deliver a true masterpeice. The combination of heaviness, melody, and atmosphere combined with top-notch song writing makes this an all time great album!

Enigmatic: Calling simply never lets up. The range on the music, the ideas, the unbelievable technical abilities of the musicians, the writing. It just never stops. WOW. The vocals take some getting used to, but these guys are every bit as brilliant as Symphony X and Kamelot (and those 2 bands are absolutely brilliant). I love complex, hard edged, well written and played concept music, and these guys are all virtuosos.

From the unusual drumming (no generic metal double bass gymnastics, but amazing changeups), to the blistering guitar, pounding bass and of course the massive MASSIVE keyboards, these guys have everything the progressive rock lover could ever want.

Of the nearly 20,000 songs in my music library, these days Enigmatic: Calling and Pagan's Mind are nearly always in the queue.